How New Colossus Donors changed in its second year of funding democratic values

A year in, the members of New Colossus Donors (NCD) are still making a statement with their collective grantmaking.

The local giving circle funds nonprofits that support “fundamental American values” and related issues its members deem as being under threat; it was formed immediately post-Election 2016.

“In 2017, it became apparent pretty quickly that the drive I felt to become more engaged and start New Colossus was an exceptionally common instinct, and lots of people were off and running, doing amazing things in all kinds of ways,” founder Mary Broach wrote in an email. “That now seems a very predictable response to the 2016 election, but I didn’t foresee the magnitude of the trend!”

She’d already cofounded the all-women giving circle Impact100 Philadelphia, which follows a strict grantmaking process and distributes over $300,000 per year. But she wanted something more flexible and replicable that anyone in any region could start quickly to respond to the needs in their communities. She even circled a public guide to starting an NCD group.

Broach wrote in an email that since then, NCD has inspired two new giving circles (though neither has taken its name), but this year, she’s more focused on growing the local group than expanding the NCD model.

“I was more than happy to shift away from spreading the New Colossus Donors concept, and instead focus on the work our small Philadelphia group was doing,” she said. “I think this second cycle in 2018 was even better than the first in terms of what we learned as a group and how much we got out of the experience.”

At the top of March, the original NCD completed its second giving circle, awarding $7,255 in unrestricted funds to four organizations.

“We started this second round of giving by identifying the issue areas that felt most compelling and important in 2018,” she said. “We quickly agreed on four areas: gun violence prevention; immigration; voting/fair representation; and women’s health. After researching key challenges in each area, and organizations addressing them, we looked closely at eight organizations.”

The group funded these orgs:

• CeaseFirePA PAC — $3,200

2018 issue area #1: Gun violence prevention. Our New Colossus research led us to believe that changing policy hinges on electing candidates who care about this issue. We feel that CeaseFire's PAC is where our funds will have the greatest effect. Thank you, @CeaseFirePA!

— New Colossus Donors (@NewColossusDnrs) March 14, 2018

• Community Fund for Immigrant Wellness — $1,500

2018 issue area #2: Immigration. Our donations will add to the $200,000 Community Fund for Immigrant Wellness @ScattergoodFdn to support positive health in the immigrant and refugee communities. We love that service providers will decide the grant awards. Great potential!

— New Colossus Donors (@NewColossusDnrs) March 14, 2018

• League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania — $1,350

2018 issue area #3: Voting. We looked at the League of Women Voters of PA in depth and saw how straightforward yet essential its work is. Great mission statement: "Let people know. Make people care. Help people act." We funded its 501(c)(4) to support crucial advocacy work. @LWV

— New Colossus Donors (@NewColossusDnrs) March 14, 2018

• National Women’s Health Network — $1,205

2018 issue area #4: Women's health. @TheNWHN has a small staff but a big footprint. We were awed to realize the many benefits we've gained from NWHN's decades of work. We became Network members to support its strategic, intelligent advocacy for women's health. Thank you, NWHN!

— New Colossus Donors (@NewColossusDnrs) March 14, 2018