Grants Database

Democracy Fund collaborates with our grantees, donors, and other partners to strengthen and expand the movement for an inclusive, multiracial democracy. We are proud to have supported more than 400 organizations doing this work.

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Elections and Voting
General and Field Building
Governance
Just and Inclusive Society
President's Office
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Civil & Human Rights Online
Constructive Politics
Digital Democracy
Ecosystem News
Empowering Congress
Engaged Journalism
Equitable Civic Infrastructure
General
Investigative Journalism
Journalism & Power Building
News & Information Ecosystems
Oversight and Accountability
Power Building in Marginalized Communities
Press Freedom
Preventing Authoritarian Abuse of Power
Previous Strategy
Pro-Voter Reform
Representative Institutions
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Resilient Elections
Rights and Dignity
Roadmap for American Democracy
State and Local Accountability
Trust in Elections
Voter-Centric Election Administration
Voting Power
Organization Name (A-Z) Grant Amount Type Program Area Year
  • PEN American Center, Inc.
  • $400,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2024

PEN American’s Online Abuse Defense Program trains journalists and newsrooms to prepare for, and react to, online attacks via trainings, tools, and resources. They also partner with a broad variety of field actors to build better, safer online spaces.

Project:

Online Abuse Defense Program

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Media/Journalism Education and Training, Media

Grant Length:

Mar 2024 to Feb 2026

Strategy:

Journalism & Power Building
  • PEN American Center, Inc.
  • $350,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support PEN American’s programming to combat online harassment of journalists, which will include providing trainings for newsrooms and journalism membership associations to better equip both journalists and management on how to prepare and react to online attacks, as well as continued efforts to develop their publicly available Online Manual Field Guide, a crowdsource of resources and tools in the field to counter online abuse. 

Project:

Combatting Online Harassment

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Oct 2019 to Jun 2022

Strategy:

Press Freedom
  • PEN American Center, Inc.
  • $250,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

PEN America defends press freedom and fosters local journalism. Their work includes events, organizing, and outreach with local communities, organizers and journalists to expand grassroots support for the role of the press in American democracy and the rights of all people under the First Amendment.

Project:

Press Freedom Incentive Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Nov 2020 to Oct 2022

Strategy:

Press Freedom
  • PEN American Center, Inc.
  • $75,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2017

The purpose of this project grant is to empower PEN America to leverage their robust cohort of writers to galvanize their local communities around issues of press freedom. The PEN America leadership will establish a fund that allows deeply engaged members to execute activities and hold events that educate their local communities about the importance of press freedom with the support of the greater PEN team.

Project:

Protecting Press Freedom

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Aug 2017 to Jul 2018

Strategy:

Press Freedom
  • People's Action Institute
  • $1,810,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2023

People’s Action Institute is a national network of 40 member-based, power-building organizations in 29 states with more than a million members and tens of thousands of national volunteers. They work to advance a long-term agenda for racial, economic and gender justice by investing in powerful state and local organizations and campaigns that win real change in people’s lives.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Dec 2023 to Oct 2026

Strategy:

General
  • People's Action Institute
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2022

People’s Action Institute will hold a convening of leaders from national network organizations building power in impacted communities of color. This gathering will be the first step to coordinate work across the country, build trust, share information, connect member organizations in states to facilitate cross-learning.

Project:

People's Action organizing network convening

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Other

Grant Length:

Oct 2022 to Dec 2022

Strategy:

Power Building in Marginalized Communities
  • People's Parity Project
  • $100,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2022

The People’s Parity Project is a nationwide network of law students and new attorneys organizing to unrig the legal system and build a justice system that values people over profits.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Judicial Selection and Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2022 to Oct 2023

Strategy:

Preventing Authoritarian Abuse of Power
  • People's Parity Project
  • $150,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2023

The People’s Parity Project is a nationwide network of law students and new attorneys organizing to unrig the legal system and build a justice system that values people over profits.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Judicial Selection and Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2023 to Oct 2024

Strategy:

State and Local Accountability
  • People's Parity Project
  • $150,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2024

The People’s Parity Project is a nationwide network of law students and new attorneys organizing to unrig the legal system and build a justice system that values people over profits.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Judicial Selection and Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2024 to Oct 2025

Strategy:

State and Local Accountability
  • People's Tech Project
  • $600,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2023

People’s Tech Project, a fiscally sponsored project of Movement Alliance Project, supports community groups fighting for social and tech justice to win a future where technology helps build dignity, justice, and liberation, rather than exacerbating oppression and harm in the hands of big corporations and the state.

Project:

People's Tech Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Sep 2023 to Sep 2026

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Pepperdine University
  • $450,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2016

The School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University will host a colloquium and public event on renewing American conservatism that will feature top academics, activists, and political scientists from around the country. Participants will discuss the future of the conservative movement in the United States resulting in dozens of essays on “the way forward” for the conservative movement and a conference in year 2. 

Project:

Renewing American Conservatism

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership

Grant Length:

Dec 2016 to Nov 2018

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Pepperdine University
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To provide continued support to The American Project at Pepperdine University, which will work to promote the vision of a “conservatism of connection” to more audiences, including leaders at the state and local level through a series of events, panels, convenings, and trainings.

Project:

Support for The American Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Civic Participation/Public Participation, Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Feb 2019 to Jan 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Petty Propolis Inc.
  • $200,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2023

Petty Propolis brings humanity and community to the forefront through literacy efforts, social justice initiatives, data justice organizing and water rights advocacy.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Sep 2023 to Sep 2025

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2022

Faith In/And Democracy (FIAD) is a funding and learning initiative that explores the ways faith and faith communities support democracy and civic life. Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) leads and administers this initiative because they believe faith can ease divisions that plague our political processes and social fabric.

Project:

Support for Faith In/And Democracy Pooled Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Sep 2022 to Aug 2023

Strategy:

Power Building in Marginalized Communities
  • Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2024

The Democracy Futures Project is a collaborative effort to equip democracy funders with tools, resources, and skills to be more “future-ready.”

Project:

Democracy Futures Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation, Other

Grant Length:

Aug 2024 to Dec 2025

Strategy:

General
  • Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2020

To support the Faith In/And Democracy Pooled Fund on faith-based civic engagement. 

Project:

Support for Faith In/And Democracy Pooled Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation

Grant Length:

May 2020 to Apr 2022

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) in their efforts to promote engagement at the intersection of faith and democracy through a pilot pooled funding program — the “Faith In/ And Democracy” fund — to engage faith leaders and communities, bridge across lines of difference, and support faith-based civic engagement efforts to overcome polarization.

Project:

Support for Joint Fund on Faith-Based Civic Engagement

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to May 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2018

To provide planning support for Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) to consider and create the infrastructure, capacity, and resources necessary to support the strategic design and implementation of a pooled funding program to engage faith leaders and faith communities, bridge bridges across lines of difference, and support faith-based civic engagement efforts to overcome polarization. 

Project:

Faith and Civic Engagement Request for Proposals

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to Nov 2019

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Piece By Piece Strategies, LLC
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2023

Piece by Piece (PxP) supports the community of practice for Ecosystem Builders, a network of leaders in the local news space, including distributing funding to some participants to expand and sustain their work.

Project:

Ecosystem Builders Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Jun 2023 to May 2024

Strategy:

News & Information Ecosystems
  • Pillars Fund
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2018

To support Pillars Fund’s Culture Change Project, in partnership with the Pop Culture Collaborative, as they develop an American Muslim Pop Culture Cohort.  

Project:

Pillars Fund and Pop Culture Collaborative - countering islamophobia through narrative change

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation, Other

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to Nov 2019

Strategy:

General
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