Our Programs
From RootsCamp in the United States to Intwari in Rwanda — building democracy infrastructure everywhere.
Erin Hofteig Fellowship
The Erin Hofteig Fellowship honors the memory and legacy of a democracy professional who embodied the commitment, skill, and heart this work requires. The fellowship provides financial support, training, and professional development to democracy professionals working in civic advocacy, C3 organizations, and the broader democracy pipeline. It is Global Gain's most direct investment in the economic sustainability of democracy careers — recognizing that you cannot build a representative democracy workforce if the people who do this work cannot afford to stay in it.
Democracy University
Democracy University is Global Gain's training program for people who work — or want to work — in C3 organizations, civic advocacy, voter education, and the full range of adjacent democracy careers. It is for the field director who wants to move into policy, the organizer who wants to become a trainer, the recent graduate who wants a career in democratic governance but doesn't have a DC network to get there. Democracy University is the infrastructure piece that RootsCamp points toward: not just a moment of community but an ongoing investment in democracy careers across the full pipeline.
RootsCamp
RootsCamp is the progressive movement's essential unconference — where activists, organizers, technologists, strategists, and leaders come together to debrief, recharge, rebuild, and reconnect. A fixture of the movement since 2006. In 2025, after a seven-year in-person hiatus, Global Gain and Gain Power brought it back. We provided 150 full scholarships covering registration, travel, and overnight accommodation — funding a majority of attendees, many of them unemployed after the 2024 election. Over 325 people attended from 43 states and 161 organizations. The Federal Workers Alliance for Democracy was founded at RootsCamp during a Big Ideas session. We created the conditions. They built something new.
