Give the Gift of Democracy
Read on for a note from our founder, Bithiah Carter.
It is National Philanthropy Day—a day to celebrate philanthropy and the impact philanthropists have on our communities. This year, we look to our past as a pathway to the future. Today, we honor one of our greatest philanthropists: Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer.
The definition of a philanthropist is well known—one who promotes human welfare. The Greek root of philanthropy literally translates to “loving people,” and in the United States, the word refers both to general goodwill toward others and to the active effort to promote their well-being. If philanthropy is loving people, then voting is the purest act of love. No one embodied this more than Ms. Hamer.
Voting demands our time, our talent, our treasure, our ties, and our testimony, which is the heartbeat of democracy. Democracy dies when voices, action, and liberty are silenced. Autocracy and fascism don’t just erase freedom of speech; they erase the freedom to care. Philanthropy can’t breathe without democracy. When the rights to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are stripped away, our ability to be philanthropic dies with them.
That is why voting is the ultimate show of philanthropy. Ms. Hamer understood that when we don’t vote, we lose the right to govern ourselves. We also lose the right to even petition for the welfare of others. Without that, we aren’t philanthropists. We are not even spectators; we are dead.
Since the beginning of 2025, our philanthropic power has been under siege. Fear has crept into corporate boardrooms, governing bodies, nonprofits, and other institutions. We are all asking the same questions: “Do we still have the right to speak? Can we still support our communities’ voices? Do we still have the right to pursue excellence through diversity, equity, and justice?”
When organizations, like Give Black Alliance, must pause and seek counsel to determine whether we have the right to our own identity, we know there is a cancer. When we have to seek or hide behind legal counsel to exercise our most basic right—the right to express ourselves—we know that the cancer eating away at our democracy has metastasized.
The antidote isn’t polite advocacy, cautious statements, or even angry rhetoric. What is needed is bold, loud, unapologetic participation in democracy. Democracy is sick, and voting is our only cure.
We witnessed on Election Day that voting changes outcomes. It shifts narratives. It sets the stage for every form of justice and generosity that follows. This past Election Day will have an impact on the midterm elections, whether we acknowledge it or not. We can say New York was a one-off, but we thought the same of the 45th President. The real discussion is this: where does this authentic philanthropic power take us?
To name a philanthropist who isn’t using their vote is impossible. To name a voter who isn’t a philanthropist is equally impossible. Restricting voting, whether mentally or physically, is strategic and intentional because voters move agendas. Ms. Hamer understood and taught us that every vote cast is an act of resistance. Voting is a statement of love for your community, your people, and your power.
So, on this National Philanthropy Day, in honor of Ms. Hamer, we have a challenge: let’s collectively create new philanthropists. Over the next 353 days, until the midterm elections, let’s each convert ten nonvoters into voters. We know who they are and where they live. We need ten new philanthropists. Ten new voices for democracy. Tell us your stories! Who did you convert? How did you do it? What was your journey of expanding philanthropy? Democracy needs all philanthropists. For the love of our people, let’s collectively give and receive the greatest gift of all…the gift of voting.
