Faith & Philanthropy, an exploratory joint grantmaking initiative that aims to shape “a philanthropic landscape that embraces the transformative potential of spirituality and faith to address the pressing challenges of our time,” recently released a Spiritual Imagination report featuring twelve grantees rooted in various spiritual traditions that are leveraging faith and spirituality for social impact.

Faith leaders and religious communities across the United States have time and time again played a pivotal role in promoting justice, democracy, and civic responsibility. Their ongoing work continues to be essential in shaping a more inclusive democratic process. In the lead-up to the 2024 Presidential Election, faith-inspired actors are stepping up to provide a wide range of tools and resources that foster civic engagement and strengthen our democracy. The leaders, initiatives, and organizations linked below are not only preparing voters but also addressing critical issues such as equitable access to the ballot and community healing in times of deep division and polarization.

If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the upcoming U.S. Presidential election, she will make history not just as the first woman, Black woman, and South Asian president but also as the person with the most religiously diverse background to ever hold the role.

Meet Nikhil Mandalaparthy, Deputy Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, and a committed advocate for pluralism and human rights. All over the world, we’ve seen how when religion and nationalism intertwine, it can drive hate, violence, and injustice. Inspired by his own faith, other traditions, and bhakti poets, Nikhil works to foster inclusive expressions of Hindu identity.

If you need a place to start, read We Need to Build: Fieldnotes for Diverse Democracy, a new book by Eboo Patel, Founder of Interfaith America. It is at once a rare tribute in these anti-institutional times to the importance of civic institutions, and a broad call to action relevant to an era of rapidly multiplying social movements. But unlike most calls to action these days, We Need to Build does not emotionally incite us to a particular political position or rally us behind a cause. It invites us to do the deep, sustained work of building the society we want.

As predictable as the events of January 6 should have been, they have forced us to make a choice. And we should all take a deep breath and a hard look at ourselves, as a society and as individuals, before proceeding. …Our institutions remain strong. But what about us? Depending on how we direct it, that fury we feel can drive us either to real change or to civil war. Stepping out of the emotions of the last week (or years) and into a creativity or innovation mindset can help us choose the former. Specifically, if we activate our empathy, loosen our grip on our ideologies, and leverage our assets, we have a real chance at forging new horizons for our democracy in changing times.

The Trump era in the US has triggered a lot of angst over the state of our democracy. There is a lot of blame going around. Everyone expresses concern about our civil discourse. New efforts to understand, restore, and strengthen democratic institutions and the social capital that undergirds them emerge daily. At the same time, there is a lot of talk about the economic inequality that may or may not, depending on who you listen to, have led to our current political reality. … Could one solution lie in the centuries old concept of cooperatives—shared ownership/management organizations for workers, producers, or consumers—renewed for the modern era?