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…
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.
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…
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,…
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…
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…
We tried something different. As a foundation, we are only as effective as our understanding of and alignment to what is occurring in the fields…
This week’s tragedy could have been avoided. For months, AAPI women in journalism have been sounding the alarm on the dramatic rise in racist and xenophobic attacks. Unfortunately,…
Social media companies have harmed our economy, government, social fabric, and public square. The January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol, which was…
The new report "Healthy Local News & Information Ecosystems: A Diagnostic Framework,” presents a framework to help local news funders assess whether a community’s information…
Independent journalism is an essential instrument of accountability and critical to the health of our republic. Without it, the public’s ability to check the power…
After a heroic effort to maintain the integrity of our election system over the past year, Wednesday’s inauguration marks a key turning point, one that…
As representatives of nonpartisan philanthropic institutions, serving rural, urban, and suburban communities across the nation, we condemn the violence that broke out at the U.S.…
2020 was a marathon for journalists preparing for an election that seemed very likely to go off the rails. They did it while also facing unprecedented…
When you look back at how local news fared in 2020, you might be surprised by how hopeful I am for the future. Things have…
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