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
Select...
Elections and Voting
General and Field Building
Governance
Just and Inclusive Society
President's Office
Public Square
Strategies
Select...
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
  • Charlottesville Tomorrow
  • $150,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2023

Charlottesville Tomorrow is a community-driven, socially conscious news organization. They serve their neighbors by connecting them to each other and to the issues that affect them most.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Oct 2023 to Sep 2024

Strategy:

News & Information Ecosystems
  • University of Oregon Foundation
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

Gather is a project that supports community-minded journalists and other engagement professionals through an online platform that’s a hub for critical tools, resources, and conversations for journalists.

Project:

Gather

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Dec 2020 to Mar 2025

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • University of Chicago
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2023

The Democracy Reform Primers series, a project of the Center for Effective Government at the University of Chicago, provides unbiased remarks by trusted voices on problems and possible solutions to democratic issues. Each Primer focuses on a particular reform, clarifies its intended purposes, and then critically evaluates what the most compelling research has to say about it.

Project:

The Center for Effective Government

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Government, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Redistricting, Government/Judicial Selection and Performance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access, Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Dec 2023 to Nov 2024

Strategy:

Representative Institutions
  • BRIDGE Infrastructure Fund
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2021

A fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy, Inc., BRIDGE Infrastructure Fund’s Spark Accelerator program provides funding, training, and other resources to organizers, founders, startup nonprofit organizations, and existing grassroots organizing and social justice advocacy groups working in under-resourced communities.

Project:

BRIDGE Infrastructure Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Nov 2021 to Apr 2023

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Over Zero
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2017

To provide support to Over Zero in it’s aim to bring about the reduction and prevention of violence and to create societal resilience to violence in the United States.  

Project:

Support for Over Zero

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Nov 2017 to Oct 2018

Strategy:

General
  • Human Rights First
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2017

This grant will support Vets for American Ideals (“VFAI”). VFAI will continue to organize support amongst its chapters of veterans to speak out against anti-Muslim rhetoric. VFAI do so by with expanded capacity in the form of a field coordinator and a junior communications associate. 

Project:

Vets countering islamophobia

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Nov 2017 to Oct 2018

Strategy:

General
  • University of Chicago
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2017

University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy will host a conference and a series of supporting meetings and events featuring a bipartisan cohort of political consultants and academic leaders. These gatherings will focus on discussing and finding potential solutions to the political polarization that negatively impacts the ability of Congress to function. The Grantee will also conduct research to support these convenings.

Project:

The Harris School of Public Policy's Project on Political Reform

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Executive Branch Performance, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership

Grant Length:

Oct 2017 to Sep 2018

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Healthy Democracy Fund
  • $150,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2016

The purpose of this grant is to continue our support of Healthy Democracy Fund as they enter a new phase, and seek to build out an online infrastructure for the replication and adoption of CIR in new areas with more ease. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Dec 2016 to Nov 2018

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • OpenSecrets
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To obtain and analyze digital ad data from digital platforms and to translate it into a more accurate, useful dataset for partners. Ultimately, this work would lead to a more comprehensive and accessible data source for the press and public.

Project:

Political Ad Transparency

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Mar 2021

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • American Press Institute
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

The Trusting News project works with journalists across the country to develop, test, and implement strategies in reporting and publishing that builds trust with audiences.

Project:

Trusting News

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Jun 2020 to May 2021

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2017

This grant will expand CRFB’s fact-checking capabilities to monitor and analyze (in real time) the various statements and positions put forth by the president, his staff, and administration representatives.

Project:

Encouraging Transparency & Accountability in the New Administration

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Open Government and Transparency, Government/Budgeting, Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation

Grant Length:

Apr 2017 to Apr 2019

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Faith in Public Life, Inc.
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2017

This is a project grant to support Faith in Public Life as they undergo a process of building out their networks in 2-3 states with an explicit focus on building relationships with MASA community members and religious leaders. The goal being the establishment of secure networks that are prepared to offer practical measure of protection to members of the greater MASA community in the chosen locations should the need arise.

Project:

Building Clergy Protection Network

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Jun 2017 to May 2018

Strategy:

General
  • Faith in Public Life, Inc.
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2018

This is a project grant to support Faith in Public Life (FPL), as they build on their previous interfaith clergy trainings in FL, OH, and GA, and add NC, to focus on developing curricula for trained clergy to share with congregants, and strengthen the networks of protection for MASA communities. 

Project:

Building interfaith protection network

Foundation Center Topic:

Other, Media, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership

Grant Length:

Sep 2018 to Aug 2019

Strategy:

General
  • 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
  • Public Citizen Foundation, Inc.
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2015

To provide a renewal grant to Public Citizen Foundation for its work on the Bright Lines Project, which is a bipartisan group of tax attorneys who have developed a set proposed rules which are designed to clarify the IRS regulations governing nonprofit organizations’ political activities.

Project:

Bright Lines Project Renewal

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Jul 2015 to Sep 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • The Pew Charitable Trusts
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

The purpose of the grant is to conduct pre- and post-election survey research about the public’s attitudes toward the American electoral process. The Grantee will do this using the American Trends Panel at the Pew Research Center and will publish a report about the survey results.

Project:

Trust in Elections Research Grant

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting

Grant Length:

Aug 2018 to Jul 2019

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • Democracy Works Inc.
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2015

To provide support for the ongoing development and maintenance of a website that provides the election administration community with unfiltered news and information, communicates innovation, and fosters information sharing across jurisdictions.

Project:

Support for election administration website

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Mar 2015 to Jul 2016

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • The New School
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the New School’s Journalism + Design program in their efforts to train local newsrooms on systems and design thinking through workshops, convenings, and a digital toolkit to help journalists develop new ways to understand and serve their local communities’ needs.

Project:

Systems Thinking Training

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Jan 2019 to Feb 2020

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • American Press Institute
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

The Trusting News project works with newsrooms to develop, test, and implement new practices and behaviors that make reporting more transparent and trustworthy. The Trusting News project will build a network of transparency coaches and trainers who will dramatically increase the project’s ability to make change across the industry.

Project:

Trusting News

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to May 2020

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • National Disability Rights Network, Inc.
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

To allow NDRN the capacity to educate election officials, advocates, and the public on the need to provide access to voting functions for voters with disabilities and to build tools to improve polling place accessibility.

Project:

Disability Access and Rights Awareness

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
Democracy Fund
1200 17th Street NW Suite 300,
Washington, DC 20036