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.

Program Areas
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Elections and Voting
General and Field Building
Governance
Just and Inclusive Society
President's Office
Public Square
Strategies
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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
Representative Leadership
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
  • Partnership for Public Service Inc.
  • $1,450,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2018

General operating support to the Partnership for Public Service. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Government/Executive Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to May 2021

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • National Affairs, Inc.
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2018

This project grant to the online and quarterly publication National Affairs will support its work to develop voices who can stand up for democratic norms and the rule of law. The grant will allow National Affairs to host a series of public and private events that highlight the work of journalists, academics and writers and connect them with like-minded thinkers and the conservative public. 

Project:

Conservative Voices for the Rule of Law

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Sep 2018 to Dec 2019

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Nonprofit Vote
  • $75,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

The purpose of this grant is to support Nonprofit VOTE’s continued coordination of National Voter Registration Day. Nonprofit VOTE will work to recruit and empower local partners to register voters within their communities, while simultaneously launching a national media campaign to amplify those efforts.

Project:

National Voter Registration Day

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Sep 2018 to Aug 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Business Forward Foundation
  • $75,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2018

This project grant will allow Business Forward Foundation to activate its network of business leaders across the U.S. to focus on protecting the legitimacy and independence of the U.S. judicial system. This grant will support Business Forward Foundation’s efforts to identify, train, and support business leaders who will speak in favor of the rule of law and will prepare them to push back against attacks on the courts. 

Project:

Business Leaders Protecting the Courts

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Judicial Selection and Performance, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Social Science Research Council
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

The purpose of this grant is to support the Digital Disinformation Research and Mapping Project, which will track and aggregate ongoing research, facilitate the alignment of research with relevant policy efforts, and build a diverse and multidisciplinary scholarly network.

Project:

Digital Disinformation Research and Mapping Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Sep 2018 to Aug 2021

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Future of California Elections
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

This grant will support the Future of California Elections (FoCE), a fiscally sponsored project of Community Partners, in conducting network-building work around California Motor Voter and Voters Choice Act implementation. 

Project:

Grant for FoCE network-building

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to Dec 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2018

This grant will support the Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Project:

Senior Practice Fellowship in American Democracy

Foundation Center Topic:

Other, Government

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

General
  • New America Foundation
  • $125,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2018

This grant will support the work of New America’s Political Reform Project, which seeks to revitalize American democratic practice by introducing new ideas and new perspectives to the public debate, putting reform ideas to the test, and bringing together activists, academics, and political practitioners to test and refine promising concepts.

Project:

Support for the Political Reform Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Government

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

General
  • American Press Institute
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

To support the costs of a pilot survey to test questions to measure political information efficacy, plan for future data collection, and share the results and framework publicly through publications and presentations as a method of measuring the health of the public square and providing evidence of the effectiveness of funding journalism and media.

Project:

Scoping for Political Information Efficacy measurement

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Center for Strategic and International Studies, Inc.
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2018

This grant to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will support their project to assess and counter foreign technology-enabled threats to our judicial system. The project will engage stakeholders in off-the-record discussions of the threats presented, train individuals in the judicial system to counter these threats, and will culminate in a report with findings and recommendations for further action. 

Project:

Countering Active-Measure Threats to the U.S. Judiciary

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Judicial Selection and Performance, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

May 2018 to Apr 2019

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Institute for Nonprofit News
  • $300,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2018

This renewal grant will provide general operating support for the Institute for Nonprofit News. The Institute for Nonprofit News is a critical anchor organization, providing support, training and networking for America’s 200+ nonprofit journalism organizations. 

Project:

INN: Building the Civil Society News Network

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training, Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to Nov 2019

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Faith and Politics Institute
  • $125,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2018

General support for the Faith and Politics Institute.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Oct 2018 to Sep 2019

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Ethics and Public Policy Center, Inc.
  • $125,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2018

This will grant will support the Faith Angle Forum project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 

Project:

Support for Faith Angle Forum

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy, Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Aug 2018 to Jul 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Common Cause Education Fund
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

To support the work of Common Cause New York in conducting nonpartisan research and public education regarding establishing Automatic Voter Registration for New York State. This research and education is part of Common Cause’s broader efforts to make registration and voting secure, fair, and accessible for all eligible New Yorkers. 

Project:

Let NY Vote

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Aug 2018 to Apr 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • The Aspen Institute Inc
  • $250,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2018

The Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership identifies and brings together promising young political leaders to explore the underlying values and principles of western democracy, the relationship between individuals and their community, and the responsibilities of public leadership.

Project:

Strengthening the Rodel Fellowship Program’s Role in Bipartisan and Civil American Politics

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jul 2018 to Dec 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • City Bureau NFP
  • $200,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2018

The purpose of this grant is to support City Bureau, an innovative local news organization in Chicago, that is leading efforts in community engagement, ecosystem building, business models. This grant will enable City Bureau to continue and expand their core programs, including Documenters, Civic Reporting Fellowships, and Public Newsrooms.

Project:

City Bureau

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to May 2020

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Oficina Legal Del Pueblo Unido Inc., dba Texas Civil Rights Project
  • $390,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

To provide support to the Texas Civil Rights Project’s ongoing work to increase compliance with the state’s high school voter registration law, increase Section 5 compliance through litigation, and develop pro-voter policy blueprints in Texas’ largest counties.

Project:

High School Voter Registration and Section 5 Litigation

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to May 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Take The Lead Inc
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

The purpose of this project grant is to support the “50 Women Change the World Leadership Program” for 50 rising leaders in the media industry.  The program is based on Take the Lead’s core curriculum, the “9 Leadership Power Tools to Advance Your Career” training program that teaches women how to lead themselves, their careers and systems change in a mindful and holistic way.

Project:

50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • The Campaign Legal Center, Inc.
  • $650,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

Renewal Grant for Campaign Legal Center to do legal work and education related to money in politics and election law.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Oct 2018 to Jun 2020

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • The German Marshall Fund of the United States
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2018

To provide continued support to the Alliance for Securing Democracy at The German Marshall Fund of the United States to identify and support the best methods of pushing back on foreign threats to our U.S. political system, whether they be through elections, misinformation, or attempts to interfere with our democratic institutions. 

Project:

Project on Alliance for Securing Democracy (US)

Foundation Center Topic:

Media, Government, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to May 2021

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
Democracy Fund
1200 17th Street NW Suite 300,
Washington, DC 20036