It’s an irony that becomes all the more cruel as the election nears. Over the past decade or so, a philanthropy movement has emerged, with billions in funding, to strengthen democracy. Yet the word “democracy” itself is a turnoff to a lot of people.

That’s one of the conclusions of a project by Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement to examine how Americans perceive seemingly wholesome and positive language that nonprofits use to describe their work — terms like “civic engagement,” “advocacy,” and, yes, “democracy.”

PACE recently published a language resource guide in advance of the elections, when tensions mean words could trigger firestorms or worse. “High-stakes and high-sensitivity moments — especially ones that involve politics — might be a time to prioritize what people need to hear over what you feel like you need to say,” the report says.

As part of five years of research, PACE analyzed a nationally representative survey that measures the reaction of more than 5,000 registered voters to 21 words. Its report includes an index, based on the survey, that ranks whether words are met with a favorable response and can bring people together. Conversely, it looks at whether a word is received negatively and pulls us apart.

Philanthropy has invested heavily in efforts to bridge divides and increase social cohesion but done little to consider how it talks about and frames that work, says Amy McIsaac, author of the report and head of the project. “Maybe we’ve overlooked the lowest-hanging fruit. There are some words that are just going to be more our friends in bridging than other words.”

Moreover, McIsaac says, the PACE research has found philanthropy and average Americans sometimes see language very differently. “Our data confirms that there is a pretty big disconnect. And one of the major areas is that philanthropy perceives words to be bringing people together that the American public does not.”

Which Words Bridge Divides?

“Democracy” is one example. It ranked 15th in PACE’s analysis of the power of the 21 words to bring people together. Anecdotally, McIsaac and her colleagues have heard from democracy advocates that the word is off-putting to conservatives who believe it is a Trojan horse for liberal agendas. It also doesn’t land positively for many young people.

Read the full article at The Chronicle of Philanthropy website.