Democracy Fund mourns the loss of Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn. Her role as a staunch democracy defender over the past four decades and…
Ideas
Explore insights, lessons, and resources from our work
Democracy Fund staff — alongside grantees, researchers, and other field experts — regularly develops resources and shares lessons on strengthening democracy. Here you will find guides, reports, and insights from our team and network.
We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. - Freedom’s Journal, 1827 In April 2022, Democracy Fund announced our…
To inform Democracy Fund’s Public Square team strategy planning in 2022, we commissioned an evaluation of our program from 2016-2021. Our evaluation and learning partner,…
Democracy Fund’s Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) and its grantees have been radically reimagining platform accountability and media policy through strategies at the intersection of advocacy,…
In a nation of over 258.3 million eligible voters, election officials’ myriad duties differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction—small to large, rural to urban—and from voter…
In April 2022, Democracy Fund announced a new organizational strategy with a commitment to investing in the power and leadership of communities of color to…
In April 2022, Democracy Fund announced our new organizational strategy with a commitment to investing in the power and leadership of communities of color to…
At Democracy Fund, we see every day how local news strengthens democracy. People rely on local news to figure out who to vote for, how…
Featured
What We Learned from Evaluating the Impact of Our Election Security and Confidence Investments
In the fall of 2021, Democracy Fund commissioned an evaluation of our Election Security and Confidence portfolio – the major focus of the Elections &…
From its inception, Democracy Fund has invested in organizations supporting election administration. We believe that well-functioning election operations are a core component of a healthy…
Today’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization lays bare the fragile state of our democracy — one that fails to represent…
As Democracy Fund and Democracy Fund Voice prepare for the next five years, our teams have been asking hard questions about how we can best…
Report
Toward Ethical Technology
The health of our American democracy depends upon equitable and safe digital spaces. Toward Ethical Technology: Framing Human Rights in the Future of Digital Innovation…
Democracy Fund’s Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) and its grantees are radically reimagining what it looks like to make platforms accountable to the American public and…
In 2020, two dozen Atlanta journalists gathered to take a hard look at the state of local media in Atlanta. A lack of diversity and…
First the good news: Philanthropy is starting to respond to the demise of local journalism with the urgency it deserves. In the past few years,…
Blog
Envisioning a Just and Open Digital Democracy: Expanding Our Commitment to Platform Accountability
Last month, after Facebook attempted to undermine the efforts of independent researchers — and Democracy Fund grantees — who were studying the effects of the…
Democracy Fund is joining funders in a pledge to raise $50 million over the next five years to support Black, African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim,…
Journalists of color make up less than 17 percent of newsroom staff, and account for just 13 percent of newsroom leadership. Why are these numbers…
For several years, Democracy Fund has been pushing for greater platform transparency and working to protect against the harms of digital voter suppression, surveillance advertising,…
Take a Deeper Dive
Local News Lab, electionline, and Voter Study Group are Democracy Fund initiatives that provide original, curated information on sustainable local journalism, election administration, and the changing views of the American electorate.
Examining and delivering insights on the evolving views of American voters.
Voter Study Group
Creating new kinds of collaboration between journalists, newsrooms, and communities.
Local News Lab
America’s only source for politics-free news about our nation’s elections.
electionline