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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
Toolkit
The Journalism DEI Wheel
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…
A step-by-step toolkit to help you gather the information you need to fund local news and information in your community.
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
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…
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,…
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…
Blog
Congress Needs Modern Tech to Keep Up with Constituents’ Needs. Here’s How Philanthropy Can Help.
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Blog
News Match Launches With $3 Million in Matching Funds for Nonprofit Newsrooms Across the Country
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
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…