Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Common Defense Civic Engagement
Amount: $100,000 in 2022
What is Common Defense Civic Engagement?
Founded in 2016, Common Defense is the nation’s largest grassroots organization of US military veterans and the only one that invests in the leadership of its members through training and deployment in campaigns that connect directly to their history of service, including voting rights, climate justice, and anti-militarism.
Why do we think this project is important?
Building on the deep organizing model of voting rights work launched in 2021, Common Defense leverages the moral authority of the veteran voice using messages that underscore the threat of the disinformation undermining our democracy, and instills faith in our democratic systems from our country’s most revered and trusted messengers. The voter education, base building, and coalition work with allied organizations conducted in 2022 has allowed Common Defense to center the veteran voice in the ongoing fight for voting rights, racial justice and immigrant rights, including the passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act.
How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Common Defense Civic Engagement?
In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a one-year grant of $100,000 to Common Defense Civic Engagement to support their Veterans for Democracy campaign.