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
  • The German Marshall Fund of the United States
  • $800,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, a bipartisan, transatlantic project to expose, analyze, and develop strategies to address authoritarian interference in democracy.  

Project:

Alliance for Securing Democracy

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Government, Media

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to May 2023

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Bipartisan Policy Center, Inc.
  • $800,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2020

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Congress Project will spearhead a series of activities to foster institutional reforms, help Congress reclaim a constitutionally appropriate balance with the executive branch, and expand efforts that enable members and staff to collaborate on bipartisan action.

Project:

Support for the Congress Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jul 2020 to Jun 2023

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Tech Talent Project
  • $814,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2020

The Tech Talent Project, a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund, increases the federal government’s ability to recruit modern technical leaders to achieve critical human, economic, and policy outcomes.

Project:

Tech Talent Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Executive Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2020 to Oct 2024

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Bipartisan Policy Center, Inc.
  • $825,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2017

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Democracy Project will continue their efforts to promote the Presidential Commission on Election Administration’s recommendations. These recommendations are meant to improve the quality of our elections.

Project:

Democracy Project Elections

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Jul 2017 to Jun 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Tech Justice Fund
  • $850,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2021

Tech Justice Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, is launching a comprehensive public campaign that can inform and engage the public, change the narrative, help shift public opinion, and create an environment where Big Tech accountability is normalized and embedded in the mainstream policies and practices.

Project:

Tech Justice Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Dec 2021 to Apr 2025

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • The Brookings Institution
  • $850,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support Lawfare, a blog and project of the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program. The grant will support Lawfare’s research and robust analysis of national security and rule of law issues and its use of FOIA to uncover information that will help foster objective, public, and transparent discussions around government decision-making. 

Project:

Lawfare Project

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Dec 2023

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Participatory Budgeting Project Inc.
  • $850,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2018

This general operating grant will provide support Participatory Budgeting Project to grow and strengthen their ability to engage local communities at a moment when interest in democratic engagement is increasing. The grant will help spread the participatory budgeting processes across the United States.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Budgeting, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Jun 2018 to Aug 2022

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • League of Women Voters Education Fund
  • $885,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2018

The purpose of this grant is to help the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) implement the Transformation Roadmap, with a focus on increasing LWVEF capacity at the state and national levels to help build a more engaged, diverse, and sophisticated network of 501(c)(3) members, volunteers, and activists. 
A portion of this grant will also support LWVEF’s consultations with legal counsel to ensure that its legal structure positions it well for its next phase of operations.

Project:

Increasing State Capacity

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Apr 2022

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement
  • $898,095.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support Phase II of the RI VOTES project, building off Phase I of the project. Phase II will further develop a set of tools to assist elections officials during the three phases of an election cycle: election preparation, Election Day operations, and post-election analysis.

Project:

RI VOTES Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to Jun 2024

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Detroit Community Technology Project
  • $900,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2023

Detroit Community Tech Project (DCTP), a fiscally sponsored project of Allied Media Projects Inc., uses and creates technology rooted in community needs that strengthens neighbors’ connection to each other, and to the planet.

Project:

Detroit Community Tech Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Oct 2023 to Sep 2026

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  • $900,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2019

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides pro bono legal representation, amicus curiae support, and other legal resources to protect First Amendment freedoms and the newsgathering rights of journalists.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

May 2019 to Apr 2022

Strategy:

Press Freedom
  • Montclair State University Foundation, Inc.
  • $900,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2023

The Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, provides critical infrastructure to the local news and information ecosystem across New Jersey. Their signature program, NJ News Commons, along with their other efforts, works to create a more collaborative local news ecosystem in New Jersey and beyond.

Project:

Center for Cooperative Media

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Sep 2023 to Aug 2026

Strategy:

News & Information Ecosystems
  • Trusted Elections Fund
  • $900,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2021

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. By strengthening civic infrastructure and election administration resiliency, the Trusted Elections Fund works to ensure free and fair elections.

Project:

Trusted Elections Fund 2021-2 Renewal

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2021 to Dec 2022

Strategy:

General
  • Institute for Nonprofit News
  • $900,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2019

This renewal grant will provide general operating support for the Institute for Nonprofit News. The Institute for Nonprofit News is a critical anchor organization, providing support, training and networking for America’s almost 250 nonprofit journalism organizations.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Nov 2022

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Common Cause Education Fund
  • $925,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2017

Common Cause Education Fund (CCEF) is a national organization supporting civic reform in the U.S., working for improvements in both election administration and campaign finance. At the national level, they are a key player in shaping conversations around voting. Leverage their 35 state offices and national membership, they continue to build local coalitions around many of the reforms that the Democracy Fund believes can strengthen our democracy. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Redistricting, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2017 to Nov 2019

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action LTD
  • $925,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2017

This grant will provide funding to Demos to continue its work in enforcing the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) that state motor vehicle agencies provide information and assistance to register to vote at all state facilities. This grant will also provide limited assistance to engage in Section 8 compliance efforts in states and jurisdictions where opportunities exist to support modernization of list-maintenance programs.

Project:

Freedom to Vote

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Dec 2017 to Nov 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • $934,958.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2017

The Engaging News Project (ENP) will test web-based strategies for informing audiences, promoting substantive discourse, and helping citizens to understand diverse views. They will also analyze business outcomes, such as clicks and time on page, which provides valuable information about what works, and what doesn’t.

Project:

Center for Media Engagement Renewal

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Sep 2017 to Jan 2021

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Colorado Media Project
  • $950,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

The Colorado Media Project supports people and organizations working to build a more connected, collaborative and sustainable local news and information ecosystem in Colorado.

Project:

Colorado Media Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media, Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

May 2020 to Jun 2023

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Center for Public Integrity
  • $950,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2013

The Consider the Source project seeks to ‘out’ shadowy political organizations that have flourished in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling.

Project:

Consider the Source Renewal

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

May 2013 to May 2015

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • The Miami Foundation Inc.
  • $950,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

The purpose of this grant is to grow and continue The Fund for Nonprofit News, fiscally sponsored by The Miami Foundation, in support of NewsMatch 2018. The Fund supports a matching gifts program designed to encourage donations to nonprofit newsrooms and expand the capacity of nonprofit journalism to build their small donor base.

Project:

News Match 2018: The Fund for Nonprofit News

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
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