Dēmos at 25: More than a Milestone. A Call to Action

Letter from Dēmos President Taifa Smith Butler

Dear Dēmos supporters, 

What a time to be alive! What a time to be alive! 

Nearly five years ago, I became president of Dēmos, believing in the importance of our intersectional work. Amid a global pandemic that laid bare our country’s inequities, Dēmos’ vision of a just, inclusive multiracial democracy and economy became more than an intangible aspiration—it became an imperative. Five years later, as we celebrate Dēmos’ 25th anniversary, manifesting that vision feels essential to our collective future, critical to our collective thriving, and necessary to make real the promise of this country.  

Read the Annual Report

Over the past year, our national terrain has become uneven, disjointed, and dangerous. Our government no longer serves the people but instead protects those already in power. It would be easy to feel discouraged and defeated. But this is a time for bold action and bravery.  

I believe we have an opportunity to lay a new foundation, to break up the fallow ground of neoliberal policy failures, and to build again.

In moments of upheaval and discontent, there is space for new narratives to settle in as new truths and for those truths to take hold as new norms. I believe we have an opportunity to lay a new foundation, to break up the fallow ground of neoliberal policy failures, and to build again. To create together a new set of norms about who America is for and who belongs, to build new forms of power so everyday people can practice direct democracy and ensure our systems enable a representative and accountable government, and to build new institutions that will ensure we provide for the general welfare and facilitate the public good.   

This is the work ahead of us, and Dēmos stands ready to courageously say no to the authoritarian consolidation of power and boldly say yes to an affirmative vision for our future, one that is much more inclusive, expansive, and liberatory.  

You can read more about this vision in my Third Reconstruction essay, which was published in November 2025 as part of a series we co-created with Nonprofit Quarterly and which we have reproduced in this report. As I think about Dēmos’ future, I am proud of what we have accomplished and energized by what we are gearing up to do: continuing to hold the powerful to account, launching policy solutions that will build durable people power, and, ultimately, ushering in a multiracial democracy and an inclusive economy. 

This is, and always has been, our path. In challenging times, we are so glad you’re on it with us. 

In solidarity,

Taifa Smith Butler 
President, Dēmos