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.
- Check My Ads Institute
- $800,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2023
Check My Ads Institute is an independent watchdog reshaping the digital adtech industry from within its ranks — and building a new sustainable standard in digital advertising.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Sep 2023 to Sep 2026Strategy:
Civil & Human Rights Online- Free Press
- $2,100,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2023
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 SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Oct 2023 to Sep 2026Strategy:
Equitable Civic Infrastructure- Faith in Public Life, Inc.
- $275,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Just and Inclusive Society
- 2023
Faith in Public Life is a national movement of clergy and faith leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice, equality and the common good. Together, they are leading the fight to advance just policies at the local, state and federal levels.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Civic Participation/Public ParticipationGrant Length:
Aug 2023 to Jul 2025Strategy:
General- Accountable.US
- $350,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Governance
- 2023
Accountable.US (A.US) is a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 organization that shines a light on special interests that too often wield unchecked power and influence in Washington and beyond. They conduct in-depth investigations to expose conflicts of interest and then share their findings with the media, public, policymakers, and allies in real-time.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of LawGrant Length:
Nov 2023 to Oct 2025Strategy:
Preventing Authoritarian Abuse of Power- Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions Inc.
- $300,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Elections and Voting
- 2023
The Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions (PLEJ) is an organization dedicated to providing peer-to-peer best practices, convening spaces, and information-sharing opportunities between local election officials.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election AdministrationGrant Length:
Dec 2023 to Nov 2025Strategy:
Resilient Elections- Democracy Forward Foundation
- $1,125,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Governance
- 2023
Democracy Forward Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that uses the law to build collective power and advance a bold, vibrant democracy for all people.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Government/Judicial Selection and PerformanceGrant Length:
Nov 2023 to Oct 2026Strategy:
State and Local Accountability- Upturn, Inc.
- $600,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2023
Upturn advances equity and justice in the design, governance, and use of technology. They combine research with advocacy, and their approach is informed by a broad range of perspectives and experiences, including computer science, social science, law, and policy. They partner with local and national advocates and others to ensure their work is collaborative and actionable.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Sep 2023 to Sep 2026Strategy:
Civil & Human Rights Online- Common Cause Education Fund
- $75,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2023
The Common Cause Education Fund’s (CCEF) Media and Democracy Program is committed to working to ensure that our communications ecosystem achieves its potential as a key engine of democracy.
Project:
Common Cause Education Fund Media and Democracy ProgramFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Strategy:
Equitable Civic Infrastructure- The Miami Foundation Inc.
- $1,000,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2023
The purpose of this grant is to grow and continue The Fund for Nonprofit News, hosted at The Miami Foundation, in support of NewsMatch, a fundraising campaign for nonprofit news.
Project:
Fund for Nonprofit News - NewsMatchFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Nov 2023 to Nov 2026Strategy:
News & Information Ecosystems- Campaign For Accountability Inc.
- $200,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2023
Campaign for Accountability (CfA) is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Oct 2023 to Sep 2025Strategy:
Civil & Human Rights Online- NEO Philanthropy Inc.
- $500,000.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2023
The State Infrastructure Fund (SIF), a collaborative fund of NEO Philanthropy, works to protect and advance the voting rights of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and other historically underrepresented communities.
Project:
State Infrastructure Fund Voting Rights CollaborativeFoundation Center Topic:
Civic Participation, Civic Participation/Public Participation, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting AccessGrant Length:
Oct 2023 to Sep 2025Strategy:
Voting Power- North Carolina Local News Lab Fund
- $975,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2023
The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy, Inc., is a pooled fund working to repair and transform the state’s news and information ecosystem. They envision a North Carolina where everyone can find, trust, and use the news and information they need to thrive.
Project:
North Carolina Local News Lab FundFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Nov 2023 to Nov 2026Strategy:
News & Information Ecosystems- BRIDGE Infrastructure Fund
- $300,000.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2023
A fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy, Inc., BRIDGE Infrastructure Fund’s Spark Accelerator program provides funding, training, and other resources to organizers, founders, startup nonprofit organizations, and existing grassroots organizing and social justice advocacy groups working in under-resourced communities.
Project:
BRIDGE Infrastructure FundFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting AccessGrant Length:
Aug 2023 to Jul 2025Strategy:
Voting Power- Keep Our Republic Charitable Fund
- $300,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Elections and Voting
- 2023
Keep Our Republic is a non-partisan civic education organization dedicated to protecting a republic of laws and strengthening the checks and balances of our democratic electoral system. We aim to discover, highlight, and help prevent an array of extraordinary threats to American democracy, strengthen democratic guardrails, and educate the public before it is too late.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Civic Participation/Civic Education and LeadershipGrant Length:
Oct 2023 to Mar 2025Strategy:
Resilient Elections- Action Center on Race and the Economy Institute
- $800,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2023
The Action Center on Race and the Economy supports racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations with strategic planning and advocacy coordination on political campaigns. The Action Center also leads campaigns to spotlight the political influence that corporate and financial profiteers wield as they erode the basic racial and economic rights of communities of color.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Oct 2023 to Sep 2025Strategy:
Equitable Civic Infrastructure- Women's Democracy Lab
- $115,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2023
Women’s Democracy Lab, a fiscally sponsored project of Panorama Global, radically reimagines what democracy looks like when Indigenous women and women of color are supported and can thrive in elected office. Their work illuminates challenges and experiments with solutions, aiming to rebuild political institutions in an inclusive and equitable model, and ensuring that they protect, support, and nurture Indigenous women and women of color in elected office.
Project:
Women's Democracy LabFoundation Center Topic:
Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation, GovernmentGrant Length:
Dec 2023 to Nov 2024Strategy:
Representative Leadership- William J. Brennan, Jr. Center for Justice, Inc.
- $350,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2023
The Brennan Center’s Emergency Powers Project works to fix the legal framework for emergency powers by bolstering checks on the use of emergency powers through legal research, developing reforms that limit emergency powers, and educating the public about specific emergency powers, such as the Insurrection Act, which delegates a dangerous amount of discretion to the president.
Project:
Emergency Powers ProjectFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Executive Branch Performance, Government/Open Government and TransparencyGrant Length:
Nov 2023 to Oct 2025Strategy:
Preventing Authoritarian Abuse of Power- University of Chicago
- $150,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2023
The Democracy Reform Primers series, a project of the Center for Effective Government at the University of Chicago, provides unbiased remarks by trusted voices on problems and possible solutions to democratic issues. Each Primer focuses on a particular reform, clarifies its intended purposes, and then critically evaluates what the most compelling research has to say about it.
Project:
The Center for Effective GovernmentFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Government, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Redistricting, Government/Judicial Selection and Performance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access, Government/Open Government and TransparencyGrant Length:
Dec 2023 to Nov 2024Strategy:
Representative Institutions- William J. Brennan, Jr. Center for Justice, Inc.
- $200,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2023
The Governance and Judiciary project is part of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. This project focuses on the erosion of confidence in democratic institutions; specifically, long-established guardrails that have protected the rule of law and the integrity of federal and state policy making, and the increasing hostility of federal courts to protecting civil and democratic rights.
Project:
Governance and Judiciary projectFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Executive Branch Performance, Government, Government/Judicial Selection and PerformanceGrant Length:
Nov 2023 to Oct 2024Strategy:
State and Local Accountability- Values United d/b/a Whistleblower Aid
- $200,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Governance
- 2023
Whistleblower Aid’s mission is to report and fix government and corporate lawbreaking — without breaking the law. Their lawyers help clients to stay safe while making impactful disclosures that change policies, because should have to risk their career or their freedom to follow their conscience.