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.
- Open News
- $150,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2018
OpenNews, a fiscally sponsored project of Community Partners, creates and supports a diverse community of peers working, learning, and solving problems in technology for local newsrooms to create the stronger, more representative ecosystem that journalism needs to thrive.
Project:
OpenNews Local Coder CohortFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism Education and Training, MediaGrant Length:
Nov 2018 to Oct 2019Strategy:
Ecosystem News- The Miami Foundation Inc.
- $800,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2018
The purpose of this grant is to create a joint Legal Clinic Fund administered by the Miami Foundation to support and expand legal clinics that are housed at law schools and focus on the first amendment, media access, and transparency. This grant will help strengthen legal clinics as a backbone of legal support for local newsrooms.
Project:
Press Freedom Clinic FundFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Dec 2018 to Nov 2020Strategy:
Press Freedom- University of Oregon Foundation
- $150,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2018
Gather supports community-minded journalists and other engagement professionals through an online platform that acts as a hub for critical tools, resources, and conversations for journalists.
Project:
Gather - Year TwoFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Sep 2018 to Nov 2020Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- ReThink Media, Inc.
- $650,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Elections and Voting
- 2018
The Democracy Collaborative (previously known as the Collaborative Communications Initiative) will continue to improve the communications capacity of the campaign finance reform community and allow groups to build collective messaging success in the field.
Project:
Democracy Collaborative- Money in PoliticsFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign FinanceGrant Length:
Apr 2018 to Dec 2020Strategy:
Previous Strategy- Media Democracy Fund
- $300,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2018
To provide support to Media Democracy Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund, to further the NetGain Partnership and to support engagement of organizations led by and serving communities of color in debates around platforms, power, and the public interest.
Project:
Netgain Partnership & Platform AccountabilityFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Dec 2018 to Nov 2019Strategy:
Digital Democracy- Convergence Center for Policy Resolution
- $100,000.00
- Project
- President's Office
- 2018
To support Convergence’s work to help Congress function more effectively through its work with the House Bipartisan Working Group (BPWG), which seeks to encourage members to engage in meaningful and consensus-driven dialogue on complex policy challenges with colleagues.
Project:
Convergence Planning GrantFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Legislative Branch PerformanceGrant Length:
Nov 2018 to Nov 2019Strategy:
Empowering Congress- 2020 Census Project
- $750,000.00
- Project
- President's Office
- 2018
To support the 2020 Census Project, a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund. The 2020 Census Project’s Democracy Funders Collaborative Joint aims to ensure that the 2020 Census is implemented effectively, and produces a robust count of the population of the U.S.
Project:
2020 CENSUS PROJECTFoundation Center Topic:
OtherGrant Length:
Jun 2018 to Nov 2019Strategy:
General- Free Press
- $500,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2018
To support the continued work and expansion of the NewsVoices project which organizes communities around local newsrooms to highlight underreported issues and build trust between journalists and the communities they serve. Ultimately, the project aims to improve journalistic practices, and coverage in the regions where they work, leaving behind a more active and engaged community which can continue to push for a healthier news ecosystem.
Project:
Free Press News Voices RenewalFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism Education and TrainingGrant Length:
Dec 2018 to Nov 2020Strategy:
Ecosystem News- 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 ElectionsFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election AdministrationGrant Length:
Nov 2018 to Oct 2019Strategy:
Pro-Voter Reform- The Aspen Institute Inc
- $525,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2018
To provide continued support for the Aspen Institute’s Socrates Program, which provides a forum for emerging leaders from Capitol Hill and around the country to convene and explore contemporary issues through expert-moderated Socratic dialogue.
Project:
Support for the Aspen Institute Socrates Program and Emerging Governance LeadersFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Government, Civic Participation/Civic Education and LeadershipGrant Length:
Dec 2018 to May 2023Strategy:
Constructive Politics- The Pluribus Project
- $100,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2018
This grant will support “The Citizens Circle” project to develop a collaborative, scalable model to elevate constructive voices in local forums.
Project:
Support for The Pluribus ProjectFoundation Center Topic:
Civic ParticipationGrant Length:
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019Strategy:
Constructive Politics- Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
- $1,200,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2018
This grant will provide three years of general operating support for the Maynard Institute as they execute their strategic plan. This funding will support Maynard in their mission to drive diversity, equity and inclusion in news media and academia through training, engagement and convenings with journalists, news leaders, storytellers, and entrepreneurs.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism Education and TrainingGrant Length:
Jun 2018 to May 2022Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- The Pew Charitable Trusts
- $225,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2018
The Pew Charitable Trusts’s Bipartisan House Chiefs of Staff Initiative (“Safe Spaces Project”), run by Pew’s Government Relations Department, offers programming for chiefs of staff in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at fostering relationships, sharing best practices, and strengthening the capacity of Congress.
Project:
Pew Safe Spaces ProjectFoundation Center Topic:
GovernmentGrant Length:
May 2018 to Dec 2021Strategy:
Empowering Congress- League of Women Voters Education Fund
- $885,000.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2018
The purpose of this grant is to help the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) implement the Transformation Roadmap, with a focus on increasing LWVEF capacity at the state and national levels to help build a more engaged, diverse, and sophisticated network of 501(c)(3) members, volunteers, and activists.
A portion of this grant will also support LWVEF’s consultations with legal counsel to ensure that its legal structure positions it well for its next phase of operations.
Project:
Increasing State CapacityFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election AdministrationGrant Length:
Nov 2018 to Apr 2022Strategy:
Pro-Voter Reform- University of Chicago
- $280,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2018
To support the Center for Effective Government at the University of Chicago, which will bring together a diverse array of political practitioners, scholars, journalists and others and will facilitate relationship building among these actors through engagement with political reforms that strengthen American democracy.
Project:
Support for The Harris School of Public Policy's Project on Political ReformFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Civic Participation/Civic Education and LeadershipGrant Length:
Oct 2018 to Jul 2021Strategy:
Constructive Politics- Duke University
- $220,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2018
The News Measures Research Project (NMRP)’s local news performance assessment is a valuable tool to journalism researchers, funders, advocates, and practitioners for understanding how local news outlets are meeting the information needs of the communities they serve.
Project:
News Measures Research Project Phase 3Foundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Dec 2018 to Sep 2021Strategy:
Ecosystem News- Vanderbilt University
- $300,000.00
- Project
- President's Office
- 2018
To support George Washington University’s The Monkey Cage in its efforts to make the political conversation more informed by timely, accessible, and sound research from a publicly oriented political science discipline and less dominated by evidence-free arguments. This is achieved by increasing the public engagement of political scientists and other academics and connecting academics with key audiences among journalists, policy analysts, and lay readers.
Project:
The Monkey CageFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Dec 2018 to Nov 2021Strategy:
General- Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
- $330,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2018
The purpose of this grant is to fund Project DATA at the University of Wisconsin, which involves research and analysis of online political advertisements. Through this research and analysis, the project will explore the extent of “dark money” online advertising campaigns. The project will seek to analyze online advertising data collected in 2016 to assess who is behind online political advertising, the information that is disseminated online, who is targeted, and the effects produced by the targeted campaigns. Potential outcomes are publication of the findings in peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as a white paper, and the project lead – Professor Young Mie Kim – engaging in public service activities to disseminate the findings.
Project:
Project DATA: Digital Ad Tracking & AnalysisFoundation Center Topic:
Government, Civic Participation, Campaigns, Elections, and VotingGrant Length:
Jan 2018 to Jun 2021Strategy:
Oversight and Accountability- News Revenue Hub Inc.
- $970,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2018
This general operating grant will support the growth and expansion of the News Revenue Hub, which helps nonprofit newsrooms develop reader support models and build sustainable membership programs. Through this grant the News Revenue Hub will be able to build on its successful pilot year and further institutionalize the model they have developed, setting up a learning lab, brining on new clients and developing resources that serve the entire nonprofit journalism community.
Project:
News Revenue Hub RenewalFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Nov 2018 to Oct 2022Strategy:
Ecosystem News- Yale University
- $250,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2018
This grant is to provide flexible funding support to the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale University Law School at Yale University, including support for the Media Freedom Information Access Clinic’s annual conference titled Access and Accountability 2018: A Conference for Transparency Advocates.