Overall, too many American adults neither understand nor trust how our system of government works. Instead of insisting on a free and fair competition of ideas, too many look the other way when their politicians bend or break the rules to win. In response, we help American adults understand and explain why democracy is precious and how, together, we can protect and improve the foundations of trust in our republic. We do that by providing materials for civic education.
We differ from traditional K-12 civics because we focus on adults ages 18 and up. We avoid the trivia of who did what, when, and where. Instead, we emphasize why liberal republicanism has value and how our institutions have (and haven’t) helped create that value over time.
Preliminary survey work suggests our approach can have a positive impact. After reading material like ours, survey respondents were more likely to assert a willingness to defend liberal republicanism even if it meant voting against favorite candidates.
We made a lot of progress in 2021!
- Massive growth in website visitors: 18,041 in 2021 compared to 5,687 in 2020.
- Viral blog post (The Last Line in the Declaration of Independence), earning over 151,000 impressions
- New course of federalism, reviewed by experts, one conservative, one liberal
- Publication by Ballotpedia of three excerpts from our course on the Presidency
- Creation of a glossary covering key concepts
What comes next? With your help, we can reach more people, with more content, with more impact! We are working to make our current materials easier to read and use, while also getting them ready for conversion into audio files, videos, and other formats. We intend to continue expanding our list of topics. We will conduct at least one new survey to learn more about our audience and impact.
Please consider making a contribution. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin
The Center for Free, Fair, and Accountable Democracy is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
EIN: 83-1505463
CFFAD is non-partisan. We do not participate in, or intervene in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
Financial statements are available from the State Division of Consumer Affairs, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218.