News

Naomi Jackson, program officer for the New York City program, examines why only 21 percent of eligible voters, ages 18-29, turned out for the 2010 midterm elections, and offers ways to engage and empower young people in time for 2012.

Jared Duval’s book, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change debuted as the number one bestseller in Amazon’s Democracy and Civics category on Nov. 9. The book began as a project about youth organizing, climate change, and democratic renewal for Demos.

During the 2010 midterm elections, voters below the age of 30 were racially and ethnically diverse and primarily voted for Democrats, according to data released by Generational Alliance, a project of RBF grantee the Tides Center, and the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).  The findings were compiled from data of the National Exit Poll by Edison Research.

Civic engagement and advocacy are important tools for nonprofits to utilize to make change happen, but how organizations are allowed to get involved is governed by federal rules.  RBF grantees, the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest  and Council on Foundations, have created two civic engagement toolkits for foundations.

In preparation for the November 2010 climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, the World Resources Institute hosted a civil society strategy session to discuss how to best approach mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The National League of Cities (NLC) has released a guide for municipal leaders about developing strategies to engage recent immigrants.

The Center for Public Integrity's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) International News Services have unveiled a nine-month investigation, focusing on the global trade of asbestos.

The Investigative News Network (INN), a collaboration of 32 nonprofit news organizations producing public service journalism, has named digital publishing executive Kevin L. J. Davis as its inaugural chief executive officer. INN was formed at The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 2009.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has updated its Pivotal Place: New York City and Democratic Practice guidelines.

RBF grantees Demos, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) co-hosted a strategy session called "Dethroning GDP," featuring RBF trustee and WRI founder Gus Speth.