Type of Activity: General Operating Support
Grantee: Down Home North Carolina
Amount: $200,000 in 2023 over two years
What is Down Home North Carolina?
Down Home North Carolina is a 501(c)4 that aims to support, promote, and develop the common good and social welfare of working and poor rural North Carolina residents through civic engagement, leadership development, and educational events. Down Home North Carolina’s long-term vision is to support member-driven organizing that represents the multi-racial working class, working at the local level and together as a statewide coalition, in all 80 rural counties in North Carolina.
Why do we think this work is important?
Democracy Fund Voice supports state-based power-building efforts, and Down Home North Carolina’s work has the potential to have a significant positive impact on building power in underfunded rural communities. North Carolina’s rural population (3.4M) is larger than that of any other state except Texas (3.8M), but few civic organizations primarily serve rural areas in NC. Down Home uses leadership development, strategic campaigning, multiracial movement building, and civic engagement to build infrastructure and power in rural places.
How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Down Home North Carolina?
In 2023, Democracy Fund Voice approved a two-year grant of $200,000 to Down Home North Carolina.