Announcing the Business & Democracy Initiative: New Coalition Will Empower Business Leaders to Stand Up for American Democracy – PR Newswire
As Free and Fair Elections Face Unprecedented Threats, Business Leaders Recognize A Strong Economy Requires a Strong Democracy
In New Polling by Morning Consult, Business Leaders Say Companies Should Protect American Democracy And Customers Say They Will Support Them
WASHINGTON, May 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, a coalition of business leaders and organizations announced the Business & Democracy Initiative, a new partnership dedicated to protecting the integrity of our elections and rebuilding trust in democratic institutions, becausea strong economy requires a strong democracy.
The Business & Democracy Initiative's founding partners are top business leaders and advocates: the Black Economic Alliance, the Leadership Now Project, and Public Private Strategies. Leaders in America's business community view democracy and voting rights as an economic issue. Fully 45 of the top 50 global companies operate in a democracy, according to research by Freedom House. The Business & Democracy Initiative will engage business leaders to shift the conversation around our democracy, drive corporate change, and secure the next generation of American prosperity.
New research by Morning Consult on behalf of the Business & Democracy Initiative shows the business community wants to be active in protecting American democracy, and their customers will support them. The results show:
"With our nation's democratic system under more stress than ever, the business community is a critical voice in the fight to preserve our free, open, and democratic system," said Rhett Buttle, founder of Public Private Strategies. "We believe that a strong democracy is the cornerstone of a dynamic and inclusive American economy, and we will be engaging with stakeholders across all levels of business to advocate for reforms that strengthen our democracy."
"Business leaders across the country are concerned about the health of our democracy. They understand that our economic dynamism depends on a capable and accountable government," said Daniella Ballou-Aares, CEO of the Leadership Now Project. "The Business & Democracy Initiative will provide business leaders with the knowledge and platform to lead on the issues from preventing election crisesto expanding civic engagement and secure a strong economy for the next generation."
"As businesses continue to expand their influence on the American public, they have an increasing responsibility to proactively preserve and protect American democracy," said David Clunie, Executive Director of the Black Economic Alliance. "Through the Business & Democracy Initiative, the Black Economic Alliance and our partners will help the business community utilize its increasingly expansive reach to help fortify the integrity of our democracy, which is necessary to achieve an inclusive and sustainable economy for all Americans."
Read the full survey report and learn more about the Business & Democracy Initiative at businessanddemocracy.org
About Public Private StrategiesPublic Private Strategies (PPS) creates opportunities where the public and private sectors meet. We bring together diverse allies including foundations, associations, corporations, small businesses, and entrepreneurs to solve pressing societal challenges. By harnessing the power of the private sector, we build coalitions, activate campaigns, and create strategic partnerships to drive desired policy and market outcomes. Learn more at http://www.publicprivatestrategies.com.
About the Leadership Now ProjectThe Leadership Now Project is a membership organization of business and thought leaders who are committed to long-term solutions to renew American democracy. Leadership Now has four guiding principles that transcend political parties: to protect democracy while renewing it; to promote fact and evidence-based policymaking; to create an economy that works for all, and to embrace diversity as an asset. In 2019-2021, the organization is focused on the threats to the fundamentals of democracy, including low voter participation, gerrymandering, and the influence of money in politics. You can follow LNP on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @LeadershipNP. Learn more at http://www.leadershipnowproject.org.
About the Black Economic Alliance The Black Economic Alliance is a coalition of Black business leaders and allies committed to driving economic progress for the Black community through public policy, advocacy, and engagement with government and business leaders. Led by a board that includes executives from a range of industries including media, finance, pharmaceutical, nonprofit, and tech, BEA uses its collective power and business acumen to advance policies that will improve work, wages, and wealth for Black Americans. Learn more at blackeconomicalliance.org.
SOURCE The Business & Democracy Initiative
- Drake University Appoints Jessica Vanden Berg as Executive Director of the Olson Institute for Public Democracy - Drake University Newsroom - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Sing Democracy 250: A Musical Reflection on Americas History and a Call to Citizenship - Kettering Foundation - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- The Floor Was Always Ours: Ballroom, Belonging, and the Democracy We Built Before They Let Us In - Nonprofit Quarterly - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Congress Directs Trump to End U.S. War on Iran - Democracy Now! - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- In big win for voters, court permanently blocks key parts of Trumps first anti-voting executive order - Democracy Docket - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Second Nature: Elliot Page on New Film Exploring Animal World Beyond the Binary - Democracy Now! - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Food AND Medicine Members Went to Workers Revive Democracy Jobs with Justice National Conference - Maine AFL-CIO - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Ousted Dan Goldman warns antisemitism will be undoing of our democracy - Jewish Insider - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- LAZARRE: Who Is Pro-Democracy Content Actually Reaching? - The Washington Informer - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Remembering Ahmed Wishah, the Latest Palestinian Journalist Killed by Israel in Gaza - Democracy Now! - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Trump weaponized the government against American democracy: Dem blasts GOP for spooking voters - MS NOW - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- The people in this room are the backbone of our democracy. 67 complete state elections training. - Rhode Island Current - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Tang Wing for American Democracy Opens on Eve of USA's 250th - World-Architects - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Ben Wikler: My state was a democracy desert. This is how we turned it around. - WisPolitics - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Democracy, the Military, and Americas Future: A Conversation with Admiral McRaven - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Shared Stewardship: How We Build a Thriving Democracy Together - The Fulcrum - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Letters to the Editor: Preserve a healthy Cubberley, protect democracy, support housing near transit - Palo Alto Online - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- At Atlanta church, Ossoff casts Senate race as test of faith, character and democracy: "Georgia's spirit of tolerance will overwhelm and defeat... - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Walt Whitman Saw New York as Key to the Future of Democracy in his Publications Celebrating Americas Centennial. What Would He Make of the US at 250?... - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- What the Knicks and a White House UFC Spectacles Reveal About Ritual and Power in Today's American Democracy - ZME Science - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- For Imre Huss, Fixing Democracy Starts With Talking to a Stranger - The Fulcrum - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Why Somaliland needs democracy more than ever? - The Times of Israel - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Threats to UK democracy: Disinformation, foreign interference and declining public trust - House of Lords Library - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- On the Necessity of a Political Parties Law as a Prelude to Democracy in Syria - The Syrian Observer - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Video: The Democracy of The Dive Bar - The New York Times - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Top Grants, Fellowships and Research Opportunities for Democracy and Governance - fundsforNGOs - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- First-Time Voters Ahead of the 26th Knesset Elections - The Israel Democracy Institute - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Opinion: IRIS, ACLU and LWV unite in Connecticut to shield democracy - CT Insider - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- UKs tech strategy failure is a threat to democracy, experts - Computing UK - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Procedural Justice Sustaining Sports and Democracy - - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- GUEST VIEWPOINT: There is no democracy without journalism - dailyrecordnews.com - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- The era of trillionaires will be dire for democracy. Here is how we can fight back | Gabriel Zucman - The Guardian - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Georgia Republicans backtracked on gerrymandering because they feared a showdown over Black voting rights - Democracy Docket - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Europes fractured politics and what they reveal about democracy - Brookings - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Two Declarations, One Democracy: On Freedom, Exclusion, and the American Project - Nonprofit Quarterly - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Democracy needs more than just opinions - EBU - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Defending Democracy in the 2026 Midterms: What Public Health Needs to Know - American Public Health Association - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- The Point Is to Spread Fear: DOJ Charges 15 with Conspiracy for Anti-ICE Protests in Minnesota - Democracy Now! - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Democracy, Under Construction: Kettering Fellows on Americas 250th Anniversary - Kettering Foundation - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Right-wing legal group sues to obtain Oklahomas voter rolls - Democracy Docket - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Opinion | Hickenlooper: I will continue to fight for you, our future and our democracy, if elected - SkyHiNews.com - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Americans split over future of democracy as 250th anniversary nears - Muslim Network TV - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Trita Parsi on What May Be in the U.S.-Iran Peace Deal & Being Threatened with Deportation - Democracy Now! - June 17th, 2026 [June 17th, 2026]
- Americans are more dissatisfied with how their democracy is working than people in other high-income countries - Pew Research Center - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Democracy Forward Sues the FBI and DOJ for Records Related to Director Kash Patel - Democracy Forward - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Ask an Expert: How Can the Science Community Protect Science and Democracy? - The Equation - Union of Concerned Scientists - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Democracy as the practice of loving our neighbors - Baptist News Global - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Protecting voter privacy and the integrity of U.S. elections - Protect Democracy - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- [Webinar] America at 250: Competing Visions of Democracy and National Identity - PRRI - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Cracking Down on Pass-Throughs - Democracy Journal - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Myths About Israel, Debunked: Why Iranian Democracy Is the Path to Peace - The Times of Israel - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- World Cup Kicks Off in Mexico Amid Protests Against Austerity and Forced Disappearances - Democracy Now! - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Talking about media and democracy with the League of Women Voters - Media Nation - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Civics and Democracy Program at the Sam Rayburn House on June 19th - Herald Democrat - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- LGBTQ+ activist Ed Lally mobilizes Tampa Bay for inclusion and democracy - Watermark Out News - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- I Was Just Forced to Resign from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Climate Scientist Peter Kalmus - Democracy Now! - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Opinion | Alabamas redistricting reversal is a warning for American democracy - The Crimson White - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- South Carolina, Nevada and Maine primaries put the stakes of democracy in focus. Heres what were watching - Democracy Docket - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Fresh Food and Local Democracy Bloom: City Officials and Community Celebrate Grand Opening of The Peoples Market in the International District - City... - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Feminist Lessons from 2020 to Present: The Fight for Democracy Is Far From Over - Ms. Magazine - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Exhibition Exploring Democracy Across America Opens June 16 in Smithsonians Arts and Industries Building - Smithsonian Institution - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Nevada Democracy Groups Warn the SAVE Act Would Undermine Voting Rights - The Fulcrum - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Merton Redux: Re-Confronting the Norms of Science in Democracy - Issues in Science and Technology - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- European Democracy under Pressure - Impulses from Poland, Perspectives for the Future - European Committee of the Regions - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- GUEST COLUMN: A nation worth striving for: The unfinished story of democracy - Rogue Valley Times - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- The revenge of context in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Administrative reforms under the weight of the past - Democracy in Africa - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- If Colombias Left Loses, Will It Accept the Verdict of Democracy? - The City Paper Bogot - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Opinion | If California's race for governor is a stress test for democracy, it's failing - CalMatters - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Is Direct Democracy The Solution To The Looming Global Debt Crisis? - The Common Sense - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Ron Lora: Great wealth disparity and our eroding democracy - LimaOhio.com - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Gov't resumes awarding state honors to democracy martyrs after 4-year suspension - The Korea Times - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- Israel, as a democracy, should be held to higher standards than surrounding regimes - The Irish Times - June 10th, 2026 [June 10th, 2026]
- To Save Democracy, We Need to Reimagine the Economy - Time Magazine - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]
- Wheres Democracy Headed? TED Talks to Ponder Founding Futures - The Pew Charitable Trusts - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]
- Oregon Leads in Democracy but Falls Behind in Mental Health, Report Finds - Willamette Week - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]
- How a democracy survives 1,561 days and counting of war - International IDEA - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]
- Report warns attacks on workers rights are weakening democracy - Democracy Without Borders - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]
- 5Qs: McQuades New Book Details The Fix for Democracy in the US - University of Michigan Law School - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]
- Filmmaker Ken Burns: "The Bulwark against Enemies of Democracy Is Threatened" - DER SPIEGEL - The German View - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]
- Our democracy is run by two private clubs: can a pro-hunting Democrat lead a blue wave in Iowa? - The Guardian - June 3rd, 2026 [June 3rd, 2026]