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.
- The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania
- $1,069,382.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2011
FlackCheck.org will use satire and deconstructions of political ads to assist reporters and the public in identifying and rejecting fear-mongering and fact-mangling in the 2012 elections.
Project:
FlackCheck.orgFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign FinanceGrant Length:
Nov 2011 to Nov 2013Strategy:
Previous Strategy- The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania
- $396,500.00
- Project
- President's Office
- 2017
The purpose of this grant is to support The Center for High Impact Philanthropy (“CHIP”) to develop a toolkit for donors that will help philanthropists understand the various aspects of strengthening our democracy and ways they can support efforts around the United States. CHIP will conduct a field scan, develop specific resources on what is working well, and disseminate the toolkit to various donor networks.
Project:
Educating Donors About DemocracyFoundation Center Topic:
Other, Media/Journalism, Campaigns, Elections, and VotingGrant Length:
Dec 2017 to Mar 2020Strategy:
General- The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania
- $93,122.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2020
To support the Media, Inequality and Change Center’s (MIC) Compass Fellowship Program in continuing to strengthen the ties between academia and practice on tech and telecom issues.
Project:
Compass FellowshipFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Apr 2020 to Sep 2023Strategy:
Digital Democracy- The University of Texas at Austin
- $100,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2024
The Solidarity Journalism Initiative is a research-based effort that helps journalists, educators, and students improve coverage of marginalized communities. Solidarity in journalism means that journalists stand for basic human dignity and against suffering, and is a practice of newsworthiness judgments, sourcing, and framing that centers the lived experiences of people.
Project:
Solidarity Journalism InitiativeFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism, Media/Journalism Education and TrainingGrant Length:
Jul 2024 to Jun 2026Strategy:
Journalism & Power Building- The University of Texas at Austin
- $125,000.00
- Project
- Just and Inclusive Society
- 2021
The Solidarity Journalism project, housed at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, conducts research and provides trainings to reporters on Solidarity Journalism, which centers communities that have been historically excluded or harmed by journalism’s portrayal of them.
Project:
RAD Support of Solidarity JournalismFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism Education and TrainingGrant Length:
Dec 2021 to Jan 2024Strategy:
General- The University of Texas at Austin
- $31,736.00
- Network Grant
- Elections and Voting
- 2015
The purpose of this grant is to understand how newsrooms can better optimize their engagement metrics, particularly with election‐related coverage.
Project:
Understanding Engagement with Election‐Related NewsFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism Education and TrainingGrant Length:
Dec 2015 to Mar 2017Strategy:
Voter-Centric Election Administration- The University of Texas at Austin
- $99,985.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2018
To provide support for message testing research to combat destructive narratives about trust in elections.
Project:
Texas Media Society SurveyFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting AccessGrant Length:
Jul 2018 to Sep 2019Strategy:
Trust in Elections- The University of Texas at Austin
- $400,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2013
The Engaging News Project has a single aim: to provide research-based techniques for engaging online audiences in commercially-viable and democratically-beneficial ways. The project tests web-based strategies for informing audiences, promoting substantive discourse, and helping citizens to understand diverse views.
Project:
Engaging News ProjectFoundation Center Topic:
Civic Participation/Public Participation, Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Aug 2013 to Aug 2015Strategy:
Previous Strategy- The University of Texas at Austin
- $12,400.00
- Network Grant
- Elections and Voting
- 2013
To support collaboration between NICD and the Engaging News Project to share knowledge and identify promising strategies that will determine features and tools to promote a more civil dialogue online.
Project:
Mini-GrantFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Feb 2014 to May 2015Strategy:
Voter-Centric Election Administration- The University of Texas at Austin
- $400,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2020
The Center for Media Engagement will produce peer-reviewed research and practical recommendations that inform journalists and newsrooms on engagement practices, building and restoring trust, and serving diverse audiences.
Project:
Center for Media EngagementFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism Education and TrainingGrant Length:
Jan 2021 to Aug 2023Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- The University of Texas at Austin
- $400,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2015
This grant supports the work and experimentation of the Engaging News Project and in so doing will raise the knowledge across industry of news engagement practices that are COMMERCIALLY-VIABLE and DEMOCRATICALLY-BENEFICIAL.
Project:
Journalism for DemocracyFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Oct 2015 to Nov 2017Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- The University of Texas at Austin
- $934,958.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2017
The Engaging News Project (ENP) will test web-based strategies for informing audiences, promoting substantive discourse, and helping citizens to understand diverse views. They will also analyze business outcomes, such as clicks and time on page, which provides valuable information about what works, and what doesn’t.
Project:
Center for Media Engagement RenewalFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Sep 2017 to Jan 2021Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- ThinkTennessee
- $350,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Elections and Voting
- 2019
To provide general support for ThinkTennessee’s work to build support for democracy reform in Tennessee. ThinkTN will provide unbiased research and analysis, informing key stakeholders about evidence-based ideas that will create civic and economic opportunity in Tennessee.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Civic Participation/Civic Education and LeadershipGrant Length:
May 2019 to Apr 2022Strategy:
Pro-Voter Reform- ThinkTennessee
- $250,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Elections and Voting
- 2022
ThinkTennessee is a nonpartisan, results-oriented think tank that uses research and advocacy to build a state where all Tennesseans are civically engaged and economically secure.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Civic Participation, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting AccessGrant Length:
Jun 2022 to Dec 2024Strategy:
Pro-Voter Reform- ThinkTennessee
- $90,739.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2018
This grant will provide support to ThinkTennessee’s efforts to build awareness around registration modernization in Tennessee.
Project:
Registration Modernization in TennesseeFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election AdministrationGrant Length:
May 2018 to Apr 2019Strategy:
Pro-Voter Reform- Thought Partnerships
- $546,807.00
- Project
- Just and Inclusive Society
- 2019
To support Thought Partnerships, a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropies, as it seeks to build effective cross sector communities of practice to advance non-violent and just societies through research, sharing and learning.
Project:
RAD Support for Thought PartnershipsFoundation Center Topic:
OtherGrant Length:
Dec 2019 to May 2024Strategy:
General- Times Publishing Company
- $500,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2015
The purpose of this grant is to expand the practice of fact-checking by helping PolitiFact expand their network throughout the states.
Project:
PolitiFact State PartnershipsFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Nov 2015 to Oct 2017Strategy:
Digital Democracy- TPF Special Assets Fund, DBA The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
- $100,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2019
The Community Listening and Engagement Fund (CLEF) is a philanthropic collaborative to subsidize the costs of engagement tools like Hearken, Groundsource, Coral Project, and Listening Post in newsrooms across the country to help them better connect with their communities.
Project:
Community Listening and Engagement FundFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Jul 2019 to Jun 2020Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- TPF Special Assets Fund, DBA The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
- $200,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2017
This grant will help establish The Community Listening and Engagement Fund at the The Lenfest Institute. The Fund will subsidize the costs of adopting new community engagement tools for newsrooms who want to deepen their connections to their audience. By making engagement tools more accessible to a broader array of newsrooms the Fund will help accelerate the adoption of journalism practices and models that make newsrooms more responsive to their communities.
Project:
The Community Listening and Engagement FundFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Dec 2017 to Jun 2019Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- Translash Media Inc
- $300,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2023
Translash Media Inc., is a U.S-based and globally recognized Black, trans-led nonprofit news organization and digital community dedicated to telling trans stories to save trans lives. Using the power of journalism and personal narrative, TransLash creates, curates, and presents trans-affirming content, resources, and events in collaboration with their partners.