The Unfinished Fight for Transgender Freedom Listen Now From Stonewall to today, LGBTQ+ victories haven’t reached everyone. Jules Gill‑Peterson explains how class, health care, and solidarity shape the future of democracy. Jules Gill-Peterson 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} The Stakes Hungary after Orbán: The Work of Democracy Begins Watch Now Viktor Orbán loses in a landslide—but Hungary’s illiberal system remains. CFK Global Fellows Gábor Scheiring and Kristóf Szombati discuss how the opposition broke through and the challenges ahead with rebuilding democracy. 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} America's Democracy Is in Decline Read Now Legislative dysfunction, unequal justice, and weakened norms are putting pressure on US democracy. Yet new research shows Americans continue to believe in democratic ideals. 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} As the International Order Collapses, Emerging Democracies Have an Opportunity Read Now! Global politics is becoming more transactional and unequal—but opportunities still exist. This piece explores how smaller democracies can navigate external pressures and protect their sovereignty. 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} When Women in Public Life Are Not Safe, Democracy Is Not Safe Read Now “If women cannot safely serve, democracy cannot fully function.” This article explains why rising threats to women leaders demand urgent, deliberate action. 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} Summer Institute of Civic Studies 2026 Read Now! Apply for the 2026 Summer Institute of Civic Studies and spend a week in an immersive, in‑person experience engaging with civic studies literature, seminar discussions, and community partners. 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} Kettering Foundation Appoints 15 Dayton Democracy Fellows Read Now! The Kettering Foundation names 15 Dayton Democracy Fellows—local leaders from the nonprofit sector, higher education, business, and faith-based communities working to advance inclusive democracy through community-led collaboration. 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} The 14th Amendment Redefined America Listen Now Before Reconstruction, the word “equal” wasn’t in the Constitution. This episode follows Sherrilyn Ifill’s case for the 14th Amendment as a Second Founding—and a roadmap for renewing democracy today. Sherrilyn Ifill 0{{current_slide_index}} 0{{total_slide_count}} keyboard_arrow_up keyboard_arrow_down The Latest At Kettering

News & Ideas

We Envision a World of Thriving Democracies

Everyone is empowered to build and preserve resilient democratic systems in which all people’s rights are protected.

Welcome to The Context

A podcast about how to get democracy to work for everyone—and why that’s so hard to do.

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Our Work

Our Work

We advance our work across five focus areas. Through these focus areas, we promote democratic principles and values and counter attacks on democracy.

  • 1

    Defending Inclusive Democracy

    Defend inclusive democracy by raising awareness of and responding to its greatest threats.

  • 2

    Information for a Democratic Society

    Provide the public with information to heighten awareness of the needs of democracy and to enable the public to recognize authoritarian threats.

  • 3

    Democracy and Community

    Strengthen community voices, mutuality, and collective action for greater citizen engagement and influence over local problem-solving and government.

  • 4

    Democracy and the Arts

    Integrate the unique power of the arts into the Kettering Foundation’s work locally, nationally, and internationally.

  • 5

    Democracy around the Globe

    Strengthen an international community of partners to promote and defend inclusive democracies around the globe.

Awards & Fellowships

2025 ANNUAL REPORT
RESOLUTE IN OUR STAND FOR DEMOCRACY

Resolute in Our Stand for Democracy:
The Charles F. Kettering Foundation 2025 Annual Report

Resolute in Our Stand for Democracy reflects a defining year in which the Charles F. Kettering Foundation confronted extraordinary threats to democracy at home and around the globe. Amid accelerated executive overreach, censorship, and attacks on civil and human rights, the foundation met the moment. In this second year of our strategic plan, we continued our commitment to speaking plainly about the stakes, stood with courageous leaders, and expanded partnerships committed to protecting democracy domestically and worldwide.