Over the past few months, and especially in moments of upheaval, we’re reminded of a simple truth: enduring progress depends on people’s ability to come together, speak up, and act—peacefully and with care. When the world feels volatile, the institutions and networks that hold communities together become even more essential.

Civil society is the sector of public life made up of nonprofit, grassroots, and community organizations where people come together to organize, advocate, and act on issues that matter to them. A thriving and active civil society is the backbone of progress across every issue we care about in the social sector. From climate action to education access, from reproductive rights to public health, change depends on people having the freedom and ability to speak up, work together, and sustain their efforts over time. 

Yet, across the United States and around the world, it is becoming harder—and riskier—for people and organizations to do this work. Leaders face narrowing civic space amidst growing restrictions, intimidation, and retaliation. At the same time, funding for civil society is shrinking, leaving organizations stretched just as demands on them grow. 

For philanthropy, this should be a wake-up call. If we care about lasting progress on the issues we fund, we must also care about the conditions that make progress possible. 

Shrinking Freedoms, Growing Consequences

In many places around the world, those with power are limiting basic freedoms and targeting groups that challenge abuses. Core rights—free speech, peaceful protest, and the ability to organize—are declining in 60 countries across the globe. Today, nearly three-quarters of the world’s population lives in an autocracy, with democracies outnumbered for the first time in decades.  

These trends are not confined to specific regions. In the United States, restrictions on protest are spreading. Free speech is increasingly politicized. Proposals to strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status threaten the ability of organizations to operate.  

These shifts may sound abstract, but their effects are anything but. They determine whether health advocates in Mississippi can help families and young people access care. Whether community organizations can support children’s development and well-being. Whether Indigenous leaders in the Congo Basin can protect forests critical to the climate and livelihoods. And, whether organizers, coalitions, and community leaders can work for a more just and sustainable future. 

The freedoms to organize, speak, and associate are foundational to progress across the full spectrum of causes and communities. When civic space is protected, everyone benefits—regardless of ideology, geography, or mission. 

Philanthropy Has a Role to Play

Every philanthropic mission depends on a healthy civil society. Yet the systems that support civic action are often overlooked or underfunded. This work is sometimes treated as secondary or peripheral, yet it is essential infrastructure. Without it, even the best-funded strategies on a given issue will falter. 

As funders, this moment calls on us to look beyond our individual portfolios and invest in the shared foundations of progress. This includes investing in: 

        • Networks, coalitions, and associations that connect organizations across issues and represent the nonprofit sector locally, nationally, and globally. These are the groups that serve as critical connective tissue in moments of crisis.  
        • Organizational strengthening and leadership resources that equip leaders with practical skills, including digital and physical security and organizational resilience.  
        • Sector defense that supports groups who monitor threats to nonprofits, provide legal support, and communicate the public value of civil society. 
        • A forward-looking vision through resourcing movements and advocates working to expand civic freedoms and define the future of civic engagement. 

At the Packard Foundation, we support partners in these areas and collaborate across geographies and issues to help ensure civil society has the strength, connections, and protections it needs to deliver lasting change. 

A Shared Responsibility

 Our CEO Nancy Lindborg recently wrote, “Democracy does not sustain itself. It depends on people and institutions willing to act peacefully, with care and courage, especially when systems are under strain.” 

Safeguarding civil society is not separate from our work as funders—it is a precondition for success. Philanthropy has both an opportunity and a responsibility to support the people and organizations working to sustain civic life. 

In an election year and beyond, it matters whether people can speak up, organize, and be heard. The strength of civil society shapes the strength of democracy—and the durability of every outcome we seek. 

Let us not look away. Let us invest in what makes change possible.