At the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), we are committed to advancing democracy around the world by ensuring that every dollar we invest delivers maximum impact. In response to a rapidly evolving global and funding environment, we are implementing an institution-wide transformation to improve how we operate, how we support partners, and how we sustain our mission.
NED made the difficult but necessary decision to reduce its workforce by 35 percent as part of this transformation driven by financial pressures—an action grounded in our commitment to sustainability, focus, and mission impact. These changes have enabled us to concentrate scarce resources where they matter most: on direct support to our grantees at the frontlines of democracy.
This transformation aligns our operations with our mission—ensuring resources flow faster, smarter, and more strategically to the individuals and organizations on the frontlines of freedom. Cost-effectiveness remains a cornerstone of this effort: NED continues to meet or exceed our benchmark of sending 83 cents of every dollar directly to grantees—delivering exceptional value to our partners and to U.S. taxpayers.
“At NED, we’re transforming to ensure we remain the most effective and efficient partner to those advancing democracy around the world,” said Damon Wilson, President and CEO. “This transformation allows us to better serve our partners, uphold our responsibility to American taxpayers to steward resources wisely, and strengthen NED’s role as a vital champion for democratic resilience in the years ahead. We are deeply grateful to those who have contributed to NED’s legacy and whose dedication helped build the strong foundation we now advance.”
Key Initiatives:
1. Accelerating Dollars to the Frontlines
NED is adopting a leaner tech-enabled operating model that accelerates the flow of resources to democracy defenders. By streamlining operations, focusing resources on grantmaking, and aligning internal structures with strategic goals, we are ensuring more dollars reach grantees with greater impact. This approach allows us to send at least 83 cents of every dollar directly to partners on the frontlines of democracy.
2. Moving at the Speed of Crisis
When democratic opportunities emerge or threats intensify, NED is built to respond with speed. We’ve embedded agility into every level of our operations. Our grantmaking model is flexible and direct. NED does not work through intermediaries, meaning our grantmaking is free from layers of bureaucratic pass-throughs. This approach empowers staff to tailor support to rapidly shifting realities on the ground. By applying lean management practices, we’ve shortened the time it takes to vet grantees, assess proposals, and disburse funds. We are leveraging AI to accelerate due diligence and administrative processes and to cut down internal approval timelines. The NED Board can tap rapid decision-making procedures to ensure we can deliver high-impact, time-sensitive aid—including support for safe houses, political prisoners, and digital security—in high-risk environments like Bangladesh, Burma, and Syria.
3. Delivering Resources Wherever and Whenever Needed
To meet the urgent demands of democracy support around the world, NED is enhancing its ability to deliver resources across geographies, time zones, and risk environments. We are investing in secure digital infrastructure, scalable payment mechanisms, and integrated workflows that enable faster, more reliable disbursements—even in hard-to-access or high-risk regions. This includes piloting digital currency to reduce transaction delays and fees and enhance grantee security, giving NED more tools to respond to the dynamic needs of democracy movements. These capabilities position NED to provide timely assistance with precision, speed, and global reach—from conflict zones to entrenched dictatorships.
4. Making Strategic Investments for Outsized Impact
NED is embracing a venture capital ethos to scout and support bold, innovative democracy leaders and movements in some of the world’s toughest environments. We invest early in big ideas—helping high-potential civic entrepreneurs scale, adapt, and connect. This approach yields outsized returns by turning high-potential ideas into catalytic, long-term impact.
5. Driving Smarter Democracy Support
NED is building an Impact Lab to drive data-informed democracy assistance—not just for NED, but for the field. The Lab tracks investments, draws out data-informed evidence to improve grantmaking, and leverages evaluation and research to better understand the impact of our work across regions and thematic areas.
6. Building a World-Class Democracy Workforce
We are strengthening our workforce through a merit-based approach to our talent strategy that prioritizes results, learning, integrity, and trust. With staff who speak over 40 languages and understand local contexts, NED is building the next generation of democracy assistance leaders. We are growing our investment in professional development, cross-functional collaboration, and specialized expertise—ensuring that our team is equipped to function at the highest level during a consequential time for freedom globally. Our approach is nonpartisan, ideologically pluralistic, and grounded in the belief that excellence, not checkboxes, drives impact.
7. Streamlining for Long-Term Success
NED has reorganized its internal operations to remain strong and effective in the face of shifting global and funding environments. By adopting a more integrated, matrixed structure, we’ve aligned our talent and resources to better support our mission. These changes help NED tap our team’s potential and preserve its high-impact model—ensuring we continue to serve more than 1,500 grantees in over 90 countries with the same level of responsiveness, flexibility, and reach that our partners depend on.
8. Powering Resilient, High-Impact Partners
NED provides more than funding. We deliver wraparound support that strengthens the resilience, capacity, and long-term viability of our partners—including digital security resources, compliance training, organizational development, and access to world-class research. As the first donor to many civic entrepreneurs, NED helps partners become leaders in the field, advancing innovation and shaping the future of democracy assistance. We equip them to manage resources effectively, demonstrate measurable impact, and ultimately attract broader support. By connecting grantees to peer networks, global coalitions, and strategic allies, we amplify each dollar’s value and enable shared learning across borders.
