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.

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Elections and Voting
General and Field Building
Governance
Just and Inclusive Society
President's Office
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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
  • Pro Publica Inc.
  • $700,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support ProPublica’s investigative journalism as a critical check and balance on power. The grant will provide ProPublica with general operating support to help them fulfill their role as a core part of America’s fourth estate. 

Project:

Investigative Journalism Special Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Jun 2021

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • Wesleyan University
  • $25,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Wesleyan Media Project in their work to organize data to hold platforms accountable to the American public and to advance America’s democratic promise. This grant will fund research and scholarship into how best to collect and publish data regarding political advertising on platforms, with a focus on ads that involve race and gender.

Project:

Platforms & Political Ads

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Feb 2020

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Sojourners
  • $325,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

Sojourners is an independent, award-winning print and online magazine of faith, culture, and politics.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Jul 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Center for Internet Security Inc.
  • $330,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

The Center for Internet Security’s (CIS) Election Security Best Practices team will develop security-focused tools and guidance for election officials and election technology providers.

Project:

Election Security Tools and Training

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Jan 2021

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • New York University
  • $800,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support New York University in their work to organize data to hold platforms accountable to the American public and to advance America’s democratic promise. This grant will fund research and scholarship into how best to collect and publish data regarding political advertising on platforms, with a focus to ads that involve race and gender.

Project:

Platforms & Political Ads

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Apr 2023

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • 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
  • College to Congress
  • $165,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

This grant will provide general support for College to Congress. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jan 2019 to Dec 2019

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Win | Win Network
  • $25,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support the Win/Win coalition’s efforts around automatic voter registration implementation in Washington state.

Project:

Implementing Automatic Voter Registration & Voting Rights in Washington

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to Nov 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Common Cause Education Fund
  • $20,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support Common Cause Massachusetts’ work on automatic voter registration implementation.

Project:

AVR Implementation in Massachusetts

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to Nov 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Center for Technology and Civic Life
  • $700,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To provide general operating support to the Center for Technology and Civic Life. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to Jun 2021

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Millennial Action Project
  • $175,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

General support for Millennial Action Project

Project:

Support for Millennial Action Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jan 2019 to Dec 2019

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • The Project on Government Oversight, Inc.
  • $2,500,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

General operating support for the Project On Government Oversight. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Government/Executive Branch Performance, Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to May 2022

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College
  • $450,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support the Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P) at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs to help election administrators and other government officials better protect election systems through a variety of trainings and tools.

Project:

Defending Digital Democracy Project

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Feb 2021

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • 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
  • The Center for Investigative Reporting, Inc.
  • $1,500,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Center for Investigative Reporting’s investigative journalism as a critical check and balance on power. The grant will provide the Center for Investigative Reporting with critical support for their local news collaborations through the Reveal Local Labs to help them fulfill their role as a core part of America’s fourth estate. This project will help expand investigative capacity around the country and at the national level. 

Project:

Investigative Journalism Special Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2022

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • The Niskanen Center Inc.
  • $400,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

General operating support to the Niskanen Center. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Oct 2019 to Oct 2022

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Trusted Elections Fund
  • $700,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2019

To support the Trusted Elections Fund (formerly known as the Joint Fund for a Healthy Democracy), a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund. The Trusted Elections Fund will undertake efforts to ensure a free and fair election in November 2020. 

Project:

Joint Fund for a Healthy Democracy

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Jun 2021

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • The Brookings Institution
  • $350,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support the Brookings Institution’s work to track and analyze the actions being taken by members of the House of Representatives and its committees to conduct oversight of executive branch actions and policies in the 116th Congress through its House Oversight Tracker webpage. 

Project:

Brookings House Oversight Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Executive Branch Performance, Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2023

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies
  • $400,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

This grant will provide general operating support for the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies . 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Oct 2019 to Jul 2023

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Common Cause Education Fund
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2019

To be able to review, process and legally share with other partners the volume of documents connected to Thomas Hofeller, now in the possession of Common Cause Education Fund.

Project:

Redestricting | Document Review

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Nov 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
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