Democracy Fund

Our democracy is a complex political system made up of an intricate web of institutions, interest groups, individual leaders, and citizens — all connected in countless ways. Every attempt to influence and improve some aspect of this multifaceted system produces a ripple of other reactions. While some of these reactions may be predictable, many are not. This reality makes it difficult to anticipate what will happen when we try to help U.S. democracy work better. At the Democracy Fund, we believe that widespread system change calls for the humility to acknowledge that there are no simple answers or silver bullets in a complicated world. We need to embrace the complexity of the problems we are facing, which requires that we experiment, learn, and iterate. Progress must be made through multi-pronged strategies that reinforce one another, are sustained over time, and reflect a comprehensive understanding of the major forces driving and constraining change.