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
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Empowering Congress
Engaged Journalism
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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
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State and Local Accountability
Trust in Elections
Voter-Centric Election Administration
Voting Power
Organization Name (A-Z) Grant Amount Type Program Area Year
  • Center for Election Innovation & Research
  • $280,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2017

The purpose of this grant is to provide support for the Center for Election Innovation & Research, a new organization created by David Becker and Amy Cohen formerly with the Pew Charitable Trusts. CEIR will work to continue improving election administration by studying new trends in elections, working with election officials to ensure confidence in elections, help improve communication with voters, and streamline the administration of elections with technological advances. 

Project:

Support for Center for Election Innovation & Research

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Apr 2017 to Mar 2018

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Center for Empowered Politics Education Fund
  • $300,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2023

The Center for Empowered Politics Education Fund (CEPEF) is a movement capacity building organization that trains and develops new leaders of color and people of color led organizations, and grow the movement infrastructure, particularly around racial justice, organizing, and power building strategies.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance, Other

Grant Length:

Dec 2023 to Nov 2026

Strategy:

General
  • Center for Internet Security Inc.
  • $213,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

The purpose of the grant is to provide support for a companion guide to A Handbook for Elections Infrastructure Security that state and local elections officials can utilize to ensure cyber security is adequately addressed during IT procurement activities. Additionally, a training program will be developed to help election officials with conducting security self assessments and develop risk mitigation plans. 

Project:

IT Procurement Guide and Training for Elections Infrastructure

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Jun 2018 to Jul 2019

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • Center for Internet Security Inc.
  • $330,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

The Center for Internet Security’s (CIS) Election Security Best Practices team will develop security-focused tools and guidance for election officials and election technology providers.

Project:

Election Security Tools and Training

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Jan 2021

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • Center for Internet Security Inc.
  • $315,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2021

This grant supports the Center for Internet Security’s (CIS) Election Security Best Practices team’s development of security-focused tools and guidance for election officials and election technology providers.

Project:

Election Security Tools

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Jun 2021 to May 2023

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • Center for Media Justice
  • $775,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2020

General operating support for MediaJustice.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Jul 2020 to Jul 2023

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Center for Media Justice
  • $10,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2022

MediaJustice (formerly Center for Media Justice) is building a powerful grassroots movement for a more just and participatory media — fighting for racial, economic, and gender justice in a digital age.

Project:

Investing in Staff Wellbeing

Foundation Center Topic:

Grant Length:

Oct 2022 to Sep 2023

Strategy:

General
  • Center for Media Justice
  • $1,050,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2023

MediaJustice (formerly Center for Media Justice) is building a powerful grassroots movement for a more just and participatory media — fighting for racial, economic, and gender justice in a digital age.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Oct 2023 to Sep 2026

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Center for Media Justice
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Center for Media Justice (CMJ) in their work to create a new deal for the digital age with a focus on racial and gender equity. This grant will support CMJ’s involvement in the Change the Terms coalition, with a focus on using educational events, corporate accountability actions, and cultural strategies to shift corporate practices and policies to eliminate white supremacist hate speech from platforms and strengthen civil rights protections for people of color. 

Project:

Change the Terms: Reducing Hate Online

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2020

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Center for New Democratic Processes
  • $210,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Jefferson Center’s Your Voice Ohio program, which brings together local media and community members to generate creative solutions on shifting media narratives in the state and better engaging audiences. 

Project:

Your Voice Ohio

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation, Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Oct 2021

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Center for New Democratic Processes
  • $250,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2017

The Your Voice Ohio Project will test, evaluate, and refine sustainable methods for engaging and serving communities through better, more participatory journalism. The Jefferson Center for a New Democratic Process will explore the complementary roles of public deliberation, community organizing, digital engagement, media collaboration, and new approaches in helping communities, and journalism, thrive.

Project:

Your Voice Ohio / Ohio Media Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Aug 2017 to Jul 2019

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Center for Public Integrity
  • $600,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2015

The Center for Public (CPI) Integrity will combine its historic strength in follow-the-money reporting with a rejuvenated approach to data analysis, digital presentation and high-impact distribution to make the influence of special interests on the 2016 presidential election impossible to ignore and relevant to a wider audience.

Project:

Consider the Source

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Jul 2015 to Jun 2017

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • Center for Public Integrity
  • $950,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2013

The Consider the Source project seeks to ‘out’ shadowy political organizations that have flourished in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling.

Project:

Consider the Source Renewal

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

May 2013 to May 2015

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • Center for Public Integrity
  • $3,000,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2017

This grant is to support investigative reporting. It is part of a larger package of grants around investigative journalism that is meant to expand the critical capacity of nonprofit investigative journalism as a robust fourth estate. The grant will empower those newsrooms to pursue rigorous journalism that keeps the government accountable to the American people.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Apr 2017 to Mar 2019

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • Center for Public Integrity
  • $450,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2012

The Center for Public Integrity will launch an anti-deception initiative, called Consider the Source, that aims to uncover how campaigns and consultants manipulate the public using a flood of secret money.

Project:

Consider the Source

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Feb 2012 to Feb 2013

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • Center for Public Integrity
  • $1,140,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2019

This grant is to support The Center for Public Integrity’s investigative journalism as a critical check and balance on power. The grant will provide the Center for Public Integrity with critical general operating support to help them fulfill their role as a core part of America’s fourth estate. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Jul 2021

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • Center for Public Justice
  • $10,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2021

The Center for Public Justice’s provides training for federal employees who are tasked with managing faith-based initiatives, teaching them the fundamentals of the job and how to effectively promote religious freedom and pluralism.

Project:

Support for Religious Pluralism Training for Federal Employees

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Executive Branch Performance, Government

Grant Length:

May 2021 to Apr 2022

Strategy:

General
  • Center for Secure and Modern Elections
  • $500,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2022

Center for Secure and Modern Elections (CSME), a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund, advocates for a more efficient, accurate and secure election process. They support bipartisan proposals such as Automatic Voter Registration that saves valuable time for election officials, saves money for state governments, and ensures voters can participate in our democracy.

Project:

Center for Secure and Modern Elections

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation

Grant Length:

Sep 2022 to Aug 2023

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Center for Secure and Modern Elections
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

To support the Center for Secure and Modern Elections (CSME), a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund. CSME works across the country to increase the ease of registering to vote through pro-voter education and policy reform activities, including work on automatic voter registration. 

Project:

Center for Secure and Modern Elections

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Center for Secure and Modern Elections
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2023

The Institute for Responsive Government at the Center for Secure and Modern Elections, a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund, is a public policy hub of policy experts, fellows, and advisory board members to drive research, policy recommendations, press engagement, and more.

Project:

Institute for Responsive Government

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2023 to Nov 2024

Strategy:

Resilient Elections
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