Ideas

Grants Database

Democracy Fund champions the leaders and organizations who defend democracy and challenge it to be more open and just. We are proud to have supported more than 200 organizations doing this work.

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  • Democracy Works Inc.
  • $50,000.00
  • Network Grant
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2013

TurboVote, Sunlight, and ELECTricity will work together to develop a template of easy-to use election websites and pilot those sites in 5 states.  

Project:

TurboVote Mini-Grant

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

January 2014 to January 2015

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Democracy Works Inc.
  • $125,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2021

Founded by the CAA Foundation and Democracy Works, the Civic Alliance is a nonpartisan business coalition that encourages civic participation, supports safe, accessible and trusted elections, and works to inspire every American to participate in shaping our country’s future.  

Project:

Civic Alliance Expansion Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation

Grant Length:

September 2021 to August 2022

Strategy:

General
  • Democracy Works Inc.
  • $950,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

Democracy Works and their subdivision of TurboVote explores low-cost ways to increase civic engagement and voting through new civic technology and improving processes and data. Their aim is to make voting easier through use of technology and support for elections administrators and voters.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

December 2019 to January 2023

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Democracy Works Inc.
  • $300,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2023

Democracy Works is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that collaborates with election officials, leading tech platforms, and world-class partners to drive voter access and participation. They create tools, technology, and data to protect and power our democracy.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation

Grant Length:

July 2023 to June 2024

Strategy:

Resilient Elections
  • Democratizing Philanthropy Project
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2022

The #PowerProgress campaign is a unique collaboration between philanthropy, nonprofits, and the Democratizing Philanthropy Project that is part program, part capacity building, and part public awareness. The campaign will support dozens of historically excluded frontline organizations working in their communities on critical issues.  

Project:

Support for #PowerProgress

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation

Grant Length:

November 2022 to October 2023

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action LTD
  • $222,465.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2013

Demos will conduct research on the level of state compliance with the motor voter provision of the National Voter Registration Act.  

Project:

Research on Motor Voter Enforcement

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

January 2014 to December 2014

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action LTD
  • $750,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

This grant will provide $750,000 over three years to DEMOS, to contribute to their work in enforcing the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act-that state motor vehicle agencies comply with the requirement to provide information and assistance to register to vote at all state facilities.  

Project:

Motor-voter compliance.

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

December 2014 to November 2017

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action LTD
  • $125,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2020

Through cutting-edge policy research, inspiring litigation and deep relationships with grassroots organizations, Demos champions solutions that will create a democracy and economy rooted in racial equity  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access

Grant Length:

December 2020 to November 2021

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action LTD
  • $925,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2017

This grant will provide funding to Demos to continue its work in enforcing the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) that state motor vehicle agencies provide information and assistance to register to vote at all state facilities. This grant will also provide limited assistance to engage in Section 8 compliance efforts in states and […]

Project:

Freedom to Vote

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout

Grant Length:

December 2017 to November 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Do Something Inc.
  • $125,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support Do Something to build out additional capacity for further expansion into the civic engagement space and to utilize their capacity of young volunteers, tech reminders, and media campaigns in order to test different elements of the voter turnout moonshot. These activities will include using their parallel media campaign, which promotes earned and paid […]

Project:

Moonshot Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout

Grant Length:

November 2019 to November 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Election Center
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2022

In late 2022, electionline.org became a project of The Election Center, and this grant provides support for the transition of the website. The Election Center’s purpose is to promote, preserve, and improve democracy. The Center is also known as the National Association of Election Officials.  

Project:

Electionline

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

December 2022 to December 2024

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Election Reformers Network Inc
  • $300,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support a research project examining the conflicts that occur when the individual responsible for administering a state’s elections (in most states, the secretary of state) competes for elected office or publicly supports a competing candidate or party. Election Reformers Network will disseminate its research and findings through speaking engagements and a range of publications, […]

Project:

Chief Election Officer Conflict of Interest Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout

Grant Length:

November 2019 to December 2023

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • Fair Elections Center
  • $75,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

This grant will provide support for growth and visibility of the website workelections.com, which is a site designed to collect and centralize poll worker information and applications from several jurisdictions, making it easier for local election officials and potential poll workers to connect and fill Election Day positions.  

Project:

Poll Worker Recruitment

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

August 2018 to December 2018

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Fair Elections Center
  • $125,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To provide support for growth and visibility of the website workelections.com, which is a site designed to collect and centralize poll worker information and applications from several jurisdictions, making it easier for local election officials and potential poll workers to connect and fill Election Day positions.  

Project:

Pollworker Recruitment Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting

Grant Length:

August 2019 to December 2020

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Fair Elections Center
  • $50,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2021

Fair Elections Center delivers nonpartisan, creative solutions to make the processes of voter registration, voting, and election administration as accessible as possible for every American, with a special focus on student and underrepresented voters.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access

Grant Length:

October 2021 to September 2022

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • FairVote
  • $50,000.00
  • Network Grant
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2015

The project will create greater understanding and transparency on how political giving affects the universe of viable candidates, in hopes of developing messaging strategies that draw attention to the key role major campaign funders have in citizen ability to shape electoral bodies and therefore eventual policy.  

Project:

Shedding Light on PACs & Major Donors on Women in Politics

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

December 2015 to December 2016

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • FairVote
  • $50,000.00
  • Network Grant
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2013

Fair Vote and BPC will examine state houses who had to adapt to unusual power-sharing structures to understand how agreement can be reached in such cases.  

Project:

Mini-Grant

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

January 2014 to January 2015

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Fordham University
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2013

Researchers from Fordham University and other academic partners will conduct field experiments on the role of money in our political system.  

Project:

Field Experiments on Money in Politics

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

March 2013 to July 2017

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Foreign Policy Research Institute
  • $125,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) will analyze and distribute research on election mis/disinformation as promulgated by foreign actors. FPRI will provide a standardized review of state-sponsored media outlets, the themes and messages they advance in the U.S., and offer indicators of nefarious influence in social media.  

Project:

Foreign Interference in Elections Research

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

November 2019 to February 2021

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • Free Election Fund
  • $500,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2024

Free Election Fund is a 501(c)(3) fiscally sponsored project of Hopewell Fund that uses litigation to protect the right of all citizens to participate fully in our democratic process and safeguard our free and fair elections.  

Project:

Free Election Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access

Grant Length:

April 2024 to March 2025

Strategy:

Roadmap for American Democracy
Democracy Fund
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