How Funders Can Mitigate Political Violence
As a workshop partner for Building Together 2026, Over Zero has created this blog post to share additional insights. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Council.
Political Violence and its Impact
You may have felt it recently: a slight hesitance to wear political symbols, a subtle self-censoring, or perhaps not feeling the way you used to in public space. And for many of us, a more pronounced fear to go to the grocery store, pick your kid up from school, or show up to vote. This is political violence — violence that controls or changes who benefits from and participates fully in public life — at work.
Political violence creates a culture of fear that undermines pluralism and democracy. It sends a signal that democratic norms and protections are no longer at play. It accelerates tensions between groups, making interactions less frequent and higher stakes. It amplifies extremist voices and harmful rhetoric while making it harder to speak out for justice and peace.
A single act of political violence can have an outsized impact, chilling participation in public life and creating an opening for retaliatory cycles of violence. How we respond to and how we prevent this type of violence is critical. And we believe that everyone — faith leaders, parents, content creators, organizers, public officials, and yes, philanthropy — has a role to play.
Community-based Approaches to Building Resilience
In times of uncertainty, people look to trusted community members, leaders, and institutions to know how to react. History teaches us that when these trusted messengers are connected, supported, and united around a common goal of keeping their community woven together, we can rise above political violence.
That’s why Over Zero is dedicated to building resiliency networks in places with risks for violence that provide the much-needed relational infrastructure for violence prevention and response. These networks form connective tissue between communities so they can coordinate efforts and support each other in speaking out and changing the conversation when the moment demands. They model the bonds and norms we need to share a collective future. Network members don’t always agree, but they do share a commitment to protecting their neighbors from harm.
We believe everyone has a role to play. The key is connecting people across communities who play important and varied roles. In challenging times, media professionals in the network provide verified information, leaders from targeted communities share what they need, faith leaders rally their congregations to support, business leaders help negotiate with people in power, and civil society presses for meaningful change — all while staying in touch with one another. Whether we are in a formal resiliency network or not, we can all learn from the way they influence a broader ecosystem by doing the slow but sure work of relationship-building.
What Philanthropy Can Do
Beyond funding violence prevention infrastructure and response, the philanthropic sector plays a key role in modeling democratic and nonviolent norms. By unequivocally condemning violence when it occurs, funders can signal expectations for others to do the same, spurring those who might have remained silent to act. Importantly, this also conveys that funders will not support those who incite or promote violence.
In moments when political violence or intimidation can create a chilling effect across civil society, funders can leverage their social capital to make vital connections, influence local leaders, and amplify stories of resilience. They can also support grantees and staff working to address risks of violence, facing threats directly, or simply processing what recent events mean for their work.
At Over Zero’s Building Together 2026 workshop, we deepened our shared commitment to strengthening our social fabric and counteracting political violence. We resolved to show — not just say — that we have more in common than we might think; not by pulling disparate groups toward a mellow middle, but by moving all of us toward a new direction — toward freedom, justice, and dignity for all.
