The Resilient Democracy Fund (RDF) – also referred to as Resilient Democracy – is an activist group which pushes for changes to election laws that favor left-of-center candidates and constituencies. The managing director of the RDF is Nick Chedli Carter, who previously worked for the far-left Vice Media, the abortion advocacy group Planned Parenthood, and the United States Department of State. He is also affiliated with the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation, a philanthropic organization sponsored by the grantmaking management firm NEO Philanthropy, which directs funds from high-level donors to activist groups that work to expand and strengthen left-of-center voter blocs. ^{1 2}

Resilient Democracy appears to have significantly reduced the scope of its activities since 2020. The RDF website was last copyrighted that year, and as of 2022, content on the site remained limited to a home page and a contact form. ³

Policy Advocacy and Impact

The Resilient Democracy Fund has provided funding to the Democracy and Power Innovation Fund, a pressure group which works to mobilize left-of-center constituent groups and increase their influence in politics. The organization is managed by the Rockefeller Family Fund, a leading philanthropic institution which primarily backs environmentalist causes. ^{4 5}

The Brookings Institution, a leading left-of-center policy think tank, included RDF founder Nick Chedli Carter in a working group that contributed to a policy paper from the institution which called for mandatory participation in elections, as well as penalties against those who would refuse to comply. The team behind the report claimed that their proposed policy was different from mandatory voting, instead comparing it to jury duty or taxation. They also argued that allowing voters to leave a ballot blank or choose a “none of the above” option would be sufficient to defend against legal challenges on the basis that mandatory election participation amounts to coercing speech. ⁶

In 2020, Carter joined hundreds of other left-of-center activists and nonprofit leaders to sign a letter on behalf of Resilient Democracy demanding that the United States Census Bureau extend its deadline for the 2020 census. The letter noted that the activist groups involved had spent a total of more than $100 million on campaigns to increase turnout for the census within their constituent groups. ⁷

Leadership

Nick Chedli Carter is the managing director of Resilient Democracy. He holds a fellowship position at Harvard University, where he also works on developing left-of-center election policy. Carter previously worked for Vice Media and Planned Parenthood, as well as numerous federal and state electoral campaigns. In 2014, he was part of a United States Department of State exchange program to Turkey, and prior to that, he spent time as a volunteer with the AmeriCorps government service program. ⁸

Financials

The Scherman Foundation, a left-of-center foundation based in New York City, gave Resilient Democracy a $50,000 grant in 2020 as part of its “response grants” program, a series of gifts towards causes including alleged “voter suppression” and the so-called “threat to American democracy.” ⁹

The same year, the Bauman Family Foundation, managed by prominent Democratic Party donor Patricia Bauman, also gave the RDF a $50,000 grant through the Tides Foundation, a major left-of-center philanthropic pass-through organization. ¹⁰ The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation donated $200,000. ¹¹

In 2021, the David Rockefeller Fund gave Resilient Democracy a $75,000 grant, also through the Tides Foundation. The grant was part of the fund’s climate program, which includes funding left-of-center election policy reform as well as environmentalist causes. ¹²

1. Resilient Democracy. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.resilientdemocracy.com/
2. “Nick Chedli Carter.” Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://funderscommittee.org/staff-board/nick-chedli-carter/
3. Resilient Democracy. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.resilientdemocracy.com/
4. “Our Funders.” Democracy & Power Innovation Fund. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.dpifund.org/funders
5. Democracy & Power Innovation Fund. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.dpifund.org/
6. “The Urgency of Universal Civic Duty Voting.” Brookings Institution. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Br_LIFT_Every_Voice_final.pdf
7. “506 Philanthropic Leaders Say Do Not Cut the 2020 Census Short.” Raise Your Hand Texas. August 7, 2020. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/advocacy/506-philanthropic-leaders-say-do-not-cut-the-2020-census-short/
8. “Nick Chedli Carter.” Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://funderscommittee.org/staff-board/nick-chedli-carter/
9. “2020 Response Grants.” Scherman Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.scherman.org/2020-response-grants
10. “Tides Foundation.” The Bauman Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.baumanfoundation.org/index.php/grantee/22
11. ProPublica, Gordon & Llura Gund Foundation 2020 990. May 10, 2021. Accessed May 16, 2022. Nonprofit Explorer – GORDON & LLURA GUND FOUNDATION – Fu https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/222987293/202111309349102301/full
12. “Climate.” David Rockefeller Fund. Accessed May 15, 2022. http://www.drfund.org/programs/environment/