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
  • Shoulder to Shoulder
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2023

Shoulder to Shoulder, a fiscally sponsored project of The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, connects, equips, and mobilizes faith communities in the U.S. as strategic partners in countering, addressing, and preventing anti-Muslim hatred, discrimination, and violence. Part of this grant will build Shoulder to Shoulder’s fundraising and communications capacity.

Project:

Shoulder to Shoulder

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation

Grant Length:

Sep 2023 to Aug 2024

Strategy:

Power Building in Marginalized Communities
  • Library of Congress
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

The Congressional Research Service, a division of the Library of Congress, will conduct their signature New Member Seminar (NMS) in January 2021 for newly elected members of the 117th Congress.

Project:

Support for Congressional Programming

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Mar 2025

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2020

The University of Virginia’s Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is a nonpartisan organization that uses quantitative and qualitative analyses to promote legislative effectiveness among lawmakers across the United States.

Project:

Center for Effective Lawmaking

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Oct 2020 to Sep 2023

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • El-Hibri Foundation
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2024

The El-Hibri Foundation (EHF) is a philanthropic organization that empowers and equips Muslim leaders and their allies to build thriving, inclusive communities. EHF has provided capacity building trainings and programs through their Collective Action Leadership Incubator (CALI) for over six years to leaders from American Muslim and ally communities.

Project:

EHF Capacity Building Efforts

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Jan 2024 to Dec 2024

Strategy:

Power Building in Marginalized Communities
  • Petty Propolis Inc.
  • $200,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2023

Petty Propolis brings humanity and community to the forefront through literacy efforts, social justice initiatives, data justice organizing and water rights advocacy.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Sep 2023 to Sep 2025

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Emergent Fund
  • $210,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2020

Emergent Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, is supporting grassroots organizing and power building in communities of color who are facing injustice.

Project:

Emergent Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Sep 2020 to Dec 2021

Strategy:

General
  • Center for New Democratic Processes
  • $210,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Jefferson Center’s Your Voice Ohio program, which brings together local media and community members to generate creative solutions on shifting media narratives in the state and better engaging audiences. 

Project:

Your Voice Ohio

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation, Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Oct 2021

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Center for Internet Security Inc.
  • $213,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

The purpose of the grant is to provide support for a companion guide to A Handbook for Elections Infrastructure Security that state and local elections officials can utilize to ensure cyber security is adequately addressed during IT procurement activities. Additionally, a training program will be developed to help election officials with conducting security self assessments and develop risk mitigation plans. 

Project:

IT Procurement Guide and Training for Elections Infrastructure

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Jun 2018 to Jul 2019

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • New America Foundation
  • $215,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

To support Ranking Digital Rights, a project of New America Foundation, in their effort to categorize, catalog, and assess the human rights impact of the practices of social media giants in the United States through the Ranking Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index. 

Project:

Ranking Digital Rights: Platforms & Civil Rights

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Apr 2020 to Jun 2023

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • PEN American Center, Inc.
  • $215,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2022

PEN American combats online harassment of journalists through trainings for newsrooms and journalism membership associations on how to prepare and react to online attacks, as well as through their publicly available Online Manual Field Guide, which crowdsources resources and tools in the field to counter online abuse.

Project:

Combatting Online Harassment

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Aug 2022 to Jan 2024

Strategy:

Journalism & Power Building
  • Kairos Fellowship Inc.
  • $215,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2022

Kairos Fellowship, a fiscally sponsored project of Allied Media Projects Inc., trains fellows in digital-first campaigning who are placed at state and national power-building organizations.

Project:

Kairos Fellowship

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Oct 2022 to Sep 2023

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Community Foundation of New Jersey
  • $215,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

The New Jersey Local News Lab Fund is a collaborative fund that supports people and organizations building a more connected, collaborative, and sustainable local news and information ecosystem in New Jersey.

Project:

New Jersey Local News Lab Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Nov 2020 to Mar 2023

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Outlier Media
  • $215,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2022

Outlier Media is a Detroit-based nonprofit news organization. They identify, report, and deliver valuable information to empower residents to hold landlords, municipal government, and elected officials accountable for long-standing problems.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Oct 2022 to Sep 2023

Strategy:

News & Information Ecosystems
  • Free Press
  • $215,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2022

Free Press is a watchdog for media and technology policy. They conduct research and policy analysis, educate policymakers, the press and the public, pressure corporations, organize campaigns with grasstops and grassroots constituencies to hold decision-makers accountable, and lead winning coalitions.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Sep 2022 to Jun 2023

Strategy:

Journalism & Power Building
  • URL Media Holdings Inc
  • $215,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2022

URL Media, a fiscally sponsored project of the Journalism Funding Partners, builds and supports a network of Black and Brown led newsrooms to harness their collective power and content for distribution, sustainability, and audience growth.

Project:

URL Media

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Aug 2022 to Jul 2023

Strategy:

Journalism & Power Building
  • MOAA Military Family Initiative
  • $218,300.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2016

MOAA Military Family Initiative (MOAA) will use new marketing efforts and current publications to inform and remind members of the military and their families of their federal rights as a UOCAVA (Uniformed Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act) voter.

Project:

Military Voter Education Project (MVEP)

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting

Grant Length:

Jun 2016 to Jun 2017

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • MOAA Military Family Initiative
  • $220,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2017

The grant will provide support for the Military Officers Association of America Military Family Initiative (“MOAA-MFI”) to continue establishing a baseline, evidence-based understanding of the state of military family absentee voting. The second phase of the Military Voting Education Project (MVEP) will significantly increase MOAA-MFI’s brand presence in the military family voting market to increase organic referrals in a future third phase.

Project:

Military Voter Education Project II (MVEP/II)

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Nov 2017 to Oct 2018

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • 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 3

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to Sep 2021

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action LTD
  • $222,465.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2013

Demos will conduct research on the level of state compliance with the motor voter provision of the National Voter Registration Act.

Project:

Research on Motor Voter Enforcement

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Jan 2014 to Dec 2014

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • OpenSecrets
  • $225,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support the Center for Responsive Politics’ Foreign Lobby Watch Database. The Center will extract and analyze data from reports filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to reveal the relationships and lobbying activity of foreign governments, companies, and individuals. 

Project:

Foreign Lobby Watch Database

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2022

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
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