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
  • Borealis Philanthropy
  • $700,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2022

The Racial Equity in Journalism Fund (REJ) seeks to strengthen a future where communities of color are powerful. They do this by nourishing and building up the capacity and sustainability of both news organizations and journalism ecosystem partners led by people of color.

Project:

Racial Equity in Journalism Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Aug 2022 to Oct 2023

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • 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
  • 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
  • Take Back Our Republic Inc
  • $700,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2016

Take Back Our Republic (TBOR) gives concerned citizens a voice on money in politics. Their activities include research and education to return political power to individuals.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Dec 2016 to Nov 2018

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Take Back Our Republic Inc
  • $700,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

Take Back Our Republic (TBOR) gives concerned citizens a voice on money in politics. Their activities include research and education to return political power to individuals.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to Nov 2020

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Democracy Works Inc.
  • $700,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2017

Democracy Works and their subdivision of TurboVote explores low-cost ways to increase civic engagement and voting through new civic technology and improving processes and data. Their aim is to make voting easier through use of technology and support for elections administrators and voters.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2017 to Nov 2019

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Protect Democracy Project
  • $700,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2017

 The Protect Democracy Project is investigating government actions, engaging in public outreach and education, encouraging oversight by existing government mechanisms, and, when appropriate, bringing litigation against government actions that threaten our democracy.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Nov 2017 to Oct 2019

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
  • New America Foundation
  • $700,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support TechCongress, a project of New America Foundation, in placing an additional mid-career fellow with deep technological knowledge in a congressional office to support and strengthen the ability of lawmakers and staff to generate informed public policy on a variety of technology-related issues currently facing the nation.

Project:

TechCongress

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

May 2019 to Apr 2022

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism CUNY Foundation, Inc.
  • $700,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s Center for Community and Ethnic Media (CCEM) will focus on expanding its role from a resource center and advocate for New York City-based community and ethnic media to a national hub for outlets serving ethnic, minority, and immigrant communities.

Project:

Center for Community and Ethnic Media

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2022

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • $700,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2020

The MIT Election Data and Science Lab (MEDSL) facilitates election data collection and sharing through web-based tools and datasets. Their system to share data with the public and the academic field supports the development of a network of scholars and members of the Election Science field.

Project:

MIT Election Data and Science Lab

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2020 to Dec 2024

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • William J. Brennan, Jr. Center for Justice, Inc.
  • $700,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

The Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program’s Emergency Powers Project seeks to bolster checks on the use of emergency powers through legal research, developing reforms that limit emergency powers, preparing for potential invocations of emergency powers in the context of the 2020 election, and educating the public about these issues.

Project:

Liberty & National Security Program -Emergency Powers Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2023

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • The Trust Project
  • $700,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

To support The Trust Project, fiscally sponsored by the New Venture Fund, in their efforts to research, develop, and deploy tools and technologies that make it easy for both the public and news distribution platforms to identify quality news out of the chaos online. 

Project:

The Trust Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Dec 2018 to May 2022

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • NALEO Educational Fund
  • $725,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

NALEO Educational Fund’s Staff Up Congress is an initiative spearheaded by the NALEO Educational Fund and the Joint Center working to increase the number of diverse voices on Capitol Hill by identifying and recruiting staff for positions in congressional offices

Project:

Promoting Civility and Ensuring Diversity in Congressional Staff

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2024

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • R Street Institute
  • $730,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2017

General Operating Support

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2017 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Future Currents
  • $733,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2023

The Social and Economic Justice Leaders Planning Group, a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund, provides research, scenario-planning methodologies, and strategy-design processes to grassroots organizations and movement leaders to help them achieve their goals for a vibrant, reparative democracy.

Project:

Social and Economic Justice Leaders

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Nov 2023 to Oct 2024

Strategy:

General
  • POPVOX LegiDash Fund
  • $735,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2020

POPVOX LegiDash Fund will develop a communications and legislative resources dashboard for congressional staff. The free product provides an improved constituent communications portal to view, batch, and respond to messages delivered to Congress by POPVOX.

Project:

POPVOX LegiDash Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation, Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

May 2020 to Apr 2023

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Free Election Fund
  • $750,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2024

Free Election Fund is a 501(c)(3) fiscally sponsored project of Hopewell Fund that uses litigation to protect the right of all citizens to participate fully in our democratic process and safeguard our free and fair elections.

Project:

Free Election Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Apr 2024 to Mar 2025

Strategy:

Roadmap for American Democracy
  • Foundation for Minority Interests In Media Inc.
  • $750,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To provide general operating support to the Emma Bowen Foundation as they continue their work placing undergraduates of color in a variety of media outlets across the U.S., diversifying newsrooms overall, and track the retention of their fellows in the industry over time. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2022

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • North Carolina Community Foundation, Inc.
  • $750,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support North Carolina’s local news and information ecosystem through the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund at the North Carolina Community Foundation. The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund will support building a networked news ecosystem that is audience-centered, trusted, collaborative, and resilient.

Project:

North Carolina Local News Lab Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Media, Media/Journalism, Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Nov 2020

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
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