News & Press

Good governance groups urged the 2024 presidential contenders to disclose their top campaign fundraisers, a common bipartisan practice but not a legal requirement.

Becoming an effective player in local politics can go a long way toward promoting business-friendly regulations. Local politicians want to hear from businesses, just as they want to hear from other area stakeholders. “Many small business owners think that no one will listen to them,” says Nancy Bocskor, Development Director of Business For America. “But that’s not true. Studies show that small businesses are among the most highly trusted entities in the nation.”

Recently, I had the distinct honor of participating in a panel discussion hosted by Business for America. Our dialogue centered on the pivotal role that businesses, particularly small enterprises, can play in bridging the deepening chasms that threaten to divide our nation. As the CEO of the US Hispanic Business Council, I've borne witness to the palpable impact of divisive rhetoric on our communities and the urgent need for concerted action.

To help calm the tempers among coworkers, Business for America is starting the Disagree Better at Work campaign, an offshoot of the Disagree Better initiative launched in 2023 by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. The Disagree Better at Work project, according to BFA, is designed to provide businesses with information and tools to address the political toxicity that has crept into the workplace and made employees less collegial and less productive.

Fortunately, solutions to polarizations are learnable skills. That’s why Business for America fully supports the bipartisan Building Civic Bridges Act (BCBA). Congress must act. The ability to #DisagreeBetter is vital to our nation’s social cohesion and economic future.

A coalition of good governance groups is calling on 2024 presidential candidates to routinely disclose their biggest campaign fundraisers. Fourteen organizations across the political spectrum signed onto the letter, including Business for America.

With a fraught and turbulent election year, we can expect… the revival of questions on what corporations should and shouldn’t be doing to protect democracy.” Organizations such as Leadership Now Project and Business for America are actively engaging with private sector leaders to ensure the United States has both a strong democracy and economy. Each organization regularly shares insightful research and educational materials that business leaders can turn to throughout the year.

In the current, tumultuous U.S. political environment, business leaders are exploring ways to navigate heated debates and intensifying culture wars. Two of the foremost leaders on that front are Sarah Bonk and Richard Eidlin of Business for America, who joined me for a discussion about how companies can help address the root causes of dysfunctional politics and prepare internally to take effective action.

Along with taking care of customers and tending to the bottom line, businesses increasingly are expecting to be attacked over culture war issues, according to a new survey recently released by Business for America. “At the root of the issue is America’s dysfunctional hyper-partisan politics,” Bonk said.

More than a dozen campaign finance and government watchdog groups are calling for greater transparency from almost every major presidential candidate about their campaigns’ biggest fundraisers.

In The New York Times, Business for America founder and CEO Sarah Bonk recently said that “the way they’ve rolled out DEI has exacerbated divides even while addressing valuable issues. … It has created some hostility, resentment.”

Business for America is working with businesses in Indiana to bring them into collaboration with state efforts to advance civic education. It’s opened a branch in Indiana to lead the formation of an Indiana Business Alliance for Civics, building on commitments from Cummins, Elanco and Salesforce, among others.

The nonpartisan nonprofit Business for America recently interviewed more than two dozen executives at 18 companies and found this to be a common theme. “The way they’ve rolled out D.E.I. has exacerbated divides even while addressing valuable issues,” said Sarah Bonk, BFA’s founder and chief executive. “It has created some hostility, resentment.”

Businesses are concerned that too many young people lack a basic understanding of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the responsibilities of being a citizen. This limited education about our democratic system makes people more vulnerable to misinformation and sowing distrust in the electoral process, which are destructive to our country’s social cohesion and economic competitiveness.

The summit highlighted some of the work that needs to be done and how educators and non-educators alike can promote civics. The event included five panel discussions that examined civics education along with the role of the private business and the legal community in fostering civic engagement.

State Representatives Jesse Topper, R-Bedford, and Jared Solomon, D-Philadelphia, discussed their differences — and some common ground — on a host of topics related to elections reform on Friday. The event, “Lunch with Lawmakers” is part of what the group Business for America hopes will be an ongoing series. It was co-hosted by a spectrum of business-oriented organizations including the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce.

Last year, we saw a great example of putting country ahead of party, with the bipartisan congressional introduction of the Civics Secures Democracy Act (CSDA), co-sponsored by Senators Cornyn (R-TX) and Coons (D-DE). Streamline is proud to have joined Timberland, Allstate, Cummins, Patagonia, Business for America and many other companies in encouraging congressional leaders to pass the bipartisan legislation.

The nonpartisan advocacy group Business for America is on the Hill today and tomorrow to push for movement on the [bipartisan bill to overhaul the Electoral Count Act] before the House changes hands next year. Business leaders from Salesforce, Cummins, Hannon Armstrong, PepsiCo, Marriott, Bitwise Industries and the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce are set to meet with [members of Congress] about the bill.

There are real risks to developing deeper corporate civic responsibility; but, not supporting our representative democracy is even riskier. BFA Founder Sarah Bonk describes how companies can step up their efforts—and how the “fringe benefits” for culture and business climate make civic engagement an even more worthy investment.