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
  • Millennial Action Project
  • $175,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

General support for Millennial Action Project

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jan 2019 to Dec 2019

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Take The Lead Inc
  • $175,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support Take the Lead’s “50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism” program, providing training, cohort building, and networking opportunities for women leading in the media industry.

Project:

50 Women Can Change the World

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Feb 2022

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Advancement Project
  • $175,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2020

Advancement Project is a next generation, multi-racial, policy, communications, and legal action group committed to civil rights and racial justice . They use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements, achieve policy change and support local movements to ensure impacted communities are at the forefront of change.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Sep 2020 to Dec 2021

Strategy:

General
  • The OpenGov Foundation
  • $175,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2015

This grant is designed to help support planning by the OpenGov Foundation as they aim to create a Congressional Digital Service. The Congressional Digital Service would provide resources and infrastructure to help build out the digital needs of Congress.  A successful plan would likely include a fundraising plan, hiring of a director, and a strategic plan for the next 3-5 years.

Project:

Planning Grant to Help Establish a Congressional Digital Service

Foundation Center Topic:

Government, Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Dec 2015 to Nov 2016

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • The Civic Engagement and Elections Research Fund
  • $175,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To provide support for the field of elections and voting research through participation in the Civic Engagement and Elections Research Collaborative Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund.

Project:

The Civic Engagement and Elections Research Collaborative Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Constitutional Accountability Center
  • $175,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2022

Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) is a think tank, law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. They work in the courts, through government, and with legal scholars to preserve the rights and freedoms of all in America and to protect the judiciary from politics and special interests.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Government, Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Nov 2022 to Oct 2023

Strategy:

Preventing Authoritarian Abuse of Power
  • Algorithmic Justice League
  • $175,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2021

Algorithmic Justice League, a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund, conducts and publicizes research investigating algorithmic bias in high visibility commercial and public sector AI systems.

Project:

Algorithmic Justice League

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Oct 2021 to Mar 2023

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Free Press
  • $175,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2020

General operating support for Free Press. 

Project:

Free Press

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Jul 2020 to Jun 2022

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Center for Strategic and International Studies, Inc.
  • $175,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2021

The Defending Democratic Institutions (DDI) project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) assesses and counters technology-enabled threats to our judicial system. The project sends alerts about threats from malign interference, trains judiciary workers on how to respond to threats, and conducts research into this interference.

Project:

Defending Democratic Institutions

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Government/Judicial Selection and Performance

Grant Length:

Jun 2021 to Sep 2023

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • University of Chicago
  • $180,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2018

This grant will support Bright Line Watch, an effort to monitor the health of our democracy by regularly surveying the expert opinion of political scientists. The project also convenes academics and other thinkers to bring attention to key trends in our democracy, particularly through a comparative global lens. 

Project:

Bright Line Watch

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Oct 2018 to Mar 2021

Strategy:

General
  • Press On South Inc
  • $180,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

PressOn, a fiscally sponsored project of Allied Media Projects, is building a diverse set of resources, including trainings, fellowships and opportunities for network-building, to help journalists and storytellers produce reporting that’s driven by communities in the South.

Project:

PressOn / Center for Movement Journalism

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Dec 2020 to Nov 2021

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • The City University of New York School of Law Foundation, Inc.
  • $180,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2020

Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR), a project at CUNY Law Foundation, address the legal needs of Muslim and all other communities and movements in the New York City area and beyond.

Project:

CLEAR CUNY

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Civic Participation/Naturalization and Immigrant Civic Integration, Other, Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Nov 2020 to Oct 2023

Strategy:

General
  • States at the Core
  • $185,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2024

States at the Center, a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy, Inc., helps local organizations by providing adaptable, implementable resources and expertise to the states and communities working to increase Americans’ faith in democracy and strengthen democratic institutions.

Project:

States at the Core

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Jun 2024 to May 2025

Strategy:

General
  • The Obsidian Collection Archives
  • $185,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2018

General support grant to Obsidian Collection.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Jun 2018 to Dec 2019

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Voice of San Diego
  • $188,413.96
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2015

The purpose of this grant is to support Voice of San Diego’s Membership Academy.

Project:

Membership Academy Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Dec 2015 to Dec 2017

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • The National Trust for Local News
  • $190,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2021

The National Trust for Local News, a project of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, will create a network of sustainable, independent community news outlets in Georgia by purchasing at-risk community newspapers and developing ownership and governance structures that create sustainability efficiencies as well as ensure quality and editorial independence.

Project:

Local Community Paper Exploration

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Nov 2021 to Feb 2023

Strategy:

General
  • The Governance Lab
  • $190,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2021

GovLab, a fiscally-sponsored project of the Fund for the City of New York, will hire a Fellow to support the launch of Smarter Crowdsourcing, which combines rigorous problem definition with crowdsourcing to attract ideas from diverse experts and then develop policy recommendations.

Project:

GovLab Congressional CrowdLaw

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation, Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Sep 2021 to Dec 2022

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Latino Community Fund Inc
  • $195,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2023

Latino Community Fund Georgia (LCF Georgia) supports Latinx-serving and Latinx-led nonprofit organizations that are advancing democracy, protecting and building community, and facilitating economic opportunities for all.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation

Grant Length:

Nov 2023 to Apr 2025

Strategy:

Voting Power
  • State Innovation Exchange
  • $195,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2022

State Innovation Exchange (SiX) is a national resource and strategy center that collaborates with state legislators to improve people’s lives through transformative public policy. SiX works in close coordination with legislators, advocacy groups, think tanks, and activists to provide the tools and information legislators need to be successful.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation, Government, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Nov 2022 to Oct 2024

Strategy:

Representative Leadership
  • Law Forward Inc.
  • $200,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2024

Law Forward is a legal nonprofit working to defend ballot access, led the fight for fair districts, protected separation of powers, advocated for the judiciary’s constitutional role, and convened broad coalitions—including key Wisconsin nonprofits, government officials, and national allies to resist election subversion and ensure fair, free elections.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Jun 2024 to May 2025

Strategy:

Resilient Elections
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