October 31, 2023
Reliable information fuels our lives. We need to know who is on the ballot, what’s happening in our schools, where to find rental assistance, and…
funding-tools
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.
September 8, 2023
A national coalition of 20 funders announced an exciting new initiative on September 7th. Press Forward plans to invest more than $500 million into local…
Press Release
Digital Equity & Opportunity Initiative (DEOI)
June 29, 2023
The Digital Equity and Opportunity Initiative’s mission is to jumpstart the building of a lasting civic infrastructure. DEOI will provide core funding support to state…
Report
What We Learned from Evaluating the Impact of Our Election Security and Confidence Investments
July 29, 2022
In the fall of 2021, Democracy Fund commissioned an evaluation of our Election Security and Confidence portfolio – the major focus of the Elections &…
July 28, 2022
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…
March 3, 2021
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…
Brief
The Journalism DEI Wheel
March 25, 2020
The Journalism DEI Wheel is an interactive tool designed to help funders in particular inform grantmaking by seeing the bigger picture on a higher level, with useful…
November 5, 2019
A step-by-step toolkit to help you gather the information you need to fund local news and information in your community.
October 24, 2019
As part of Democracy Fund’s efforts to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in journalism, Dot Connector Studio has developed two tools — the Journalism DEI…
Toolkit
The Journalism DEI Tracker
October 18, 2019
The Journalism DEI Tracker is a regularly-updated online database that identifies organizations, news outlets and projects, and educational institutions working to support DEI in journalism across the…
October 16, 2019
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to fostering robust American journalism that supports a healthy democracy. The failure of newsrooms to fully reflect their communities,…
November 1, 2018
Something remarkable starts today. Across the country 155 newsrooms are banding together for a year-end campaign to stand up for journalism that strengthens democracy. Today…
July 12, 2018
Even before the emergence of so-called “resistance tech,” investors, venture funds, and foundations were pumping money into tech tools that make it easier for citizens…
February 7, 2018
Josh Stearns co-authored this piece with Teresa Gorman. Local news is critical to a healthy democracy, and we believe that the future of local news…
January 23, 2018
Today four foundations are announcing a new joint fund designed to fuel a new era of journalism rooted in listening to communities. The Community Listening…
December 5, 2017
Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program defines a local news ecosystem as the network of institutions, collaborations, and people that local communities rely on for news,…
October 17, 2017
Democracy Fund believes that strong local news and a vibrant public square are critical to a healthy democracy. Today, local news is struggling in communities…
October 17, 2017
Democracy Fund believes that strong local news and a vibrant public square are critical to a healthy democracy. That is why our local news strategy…
October 2, 2017
Today three foundations are putting up $3 million in matching dollars and inviting the nation to stand up and support local news and investigative reporting.…
Report
Communities Of Practice
April 26, 2017
At a time when news and journalism are experiencing significant disruption, Democracy Fund is seeking to better understand and equip news outlets and reporters for…