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…
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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.
Report
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,…
In the past year, during a pandemic and national uprising for racial justice, our grantees rose to the challenge of authoritarianism, attacks on journalism, rampant…
Last summer, solidarity became a national buzzword. Thousands of people declared and demanded solidarity against racism in the wake of police murdering George Floyd and…
As the United States continues to reckon with the crack in its foundation, the legacy of slavery, our institutions are making small steps to finally…
Part of “Stewards of Democracy,” a series on findings from the 2020 Democracy Fund/Reed College Survey of Local Election Officials In the wake of a…
Last year, we published “Dear Funders: What Does it Mean to Care About Equity in Journalism?” where we outlined three priorities for foundations seeking to…
We call on the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees to reverse its decision to deny Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure. We have funded Hannah-Jones’s work…
Part of “Stewards of Democracy,” a series on findings from the 2020 Democracy Fund/Reed College Survey of Local Election Officials With growing recognition of the…
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