Grants Database

Democracy Fund collaborates with our grantees, donors, and other partners to strengthen and expand the movement for an inclusive, multiracial democracy. We are proud to have supported more than 400 organizations doing this work.

Program Areas
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Elections and Voting
General and Field Building
Governance
Just and Inclusive Society
President's Office
Public Square
Strategies
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Civil & Human Rights Online
Constructive Politics
Digital Democracy
Ecosystem News
Empowering Congress
Engaged Journalism
Equitable Civic Infrastructure
General
Investigative Journalism
Journalism & Power Building
News & Information Ecosystems
Oversight and Accountability
Power Building in Marginalized Communities
Press Freedom
Preventing Authoritarian Abuse of Power
Previous Strategy
Pro-Voter Reform
Representative Institutions
Representative Leadership
Resilient Elections
Rights and Dignity
Roadmap for American Democracy
State and Local Accountability
Trust in Elections
Voter-Centric Election Administration
Voting Power
Organization Name (A-Z) Grant Amount Type Program Area Year
  • The Campaign Finance Institute
  • $200,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

The Campaign Finance Institute serves to provide balanced, thoughtful policy analysis related to solving some of the challenges associate with money in our political system.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Jul 2014 to Jul 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • $450,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

The Polling Place of the Future Project at MIT brings election officials, political scientists and tech experts together to refine and build free-access tech tools to allow election officials to run elections better.

Project:

Polling Place of the Future

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Jul 2014 to Sep 2017

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Public Citizen Foundation, Inc.
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

The Bright Lines Project provides communications support to a team of nonpartisan tax attorneys supporting a nuetral, consistent application of the IRS rules related to political activity.

Project:

Bright Lines Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

May 2014 to May 2015

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Cato Institute
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2014

Cato’s DeepBills Project will serve as a platform to decode the legal language of bills, allowing journalists and others to identify what parts of government is actually being amended.

Project:

Support the Deep Bills Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Government/Open Government and Transparency, Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Apr 2014 to Jan 2017

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Ethics and Public Policy Center, Inc.
  • $120,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2014

To reduce political fear mongering by bringing together prominent journalists and columnists of all political stripes to learn about and discuss issues related to religion that cut across partisan boundaries.

Project:

Support Faith Angle Forum

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Aug 2014 to Jun 2016

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Bipartisan Policy Center, Inc.
  • $2,000,000.00
  • Project
  • General and Field Building
  • 2014

Support the Democracy Program to raise awareness of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration and The Commission on Political Reform recommendations among key stakeholders and the general public and support key research and technical assistance to assist officials who are seeking to adopt best practices recommended by the commissions.

Project:

Support the Democracy Program

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Jun 2016

Strategy:

General
  • Issue One
  • $400,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

To provide general support to Issue One (formerly Fund for the Republic).

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Dec 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Committee for Economic Development
  • $250,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

Provide two year grant support to the Committee for Economic Development to run a project to get business leaders more engaged in the money in politics discussion.

Project:

Build State Business Leaders Concerned about Money in Politics

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Dec 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
  • $400,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2014

To improve local journalism by continuing the United States Project at CJR which has become an important reference point for reporting on the state of local journalism across the country.

Project:

Columbia Journalism Review's United States Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Mar 2014 to Feb 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • University of Arizona Foundation
  • $500,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2014

For general support to National Institute for Civic Discourse to encourage political and civic leaders to embrace vigorous debate in a way that allows for diverse perspectives to be shared, for complex issues to be discussed thoughtfully, and for challenging topics to be explored without resorting to invective and personal attacks.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance, Government

Grant Length:

Feb 2014 to Mar 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • George Washington University
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • General and Field Building
  • 2014

Transform the Monkey Cage from a stand-alone entity into a key component of a broader infrastructure that supports better communication between political science researchers, elected officials, the media and by virtue of that better informed public discussion on democracy reform. This will require building infrastructure to support that engagement, which in turn will help increase the audience for useful research and incentives for researchers to reach, and listen to, that audience.

Project:

The Monkey Cage

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Dec 2016

Strategy:

General
  • Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action LTD
  • $750,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

This grant will provide $750,000 over three years to DEMOS, to contribute to their work in enforcing the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act-that state motor vehicle agencies comply with the requirement to provide information and assistance to register to vote at all state facilities.

Project:

Motor-voter compliance.

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Nov 2017

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • No Labels Foundation
  • $300,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2014

A general operating grant to the No Labels Foundation will support the innovative work of the organization to reduce Congressional dysfunction and foster bipartisan problem solving.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Dec 2015

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • The Aspen Institute Inc
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2014

Support the Aspen Congressional Program efforts to improve trust, dialogue, and informed participation among Members of Congress.

Project:

Aspen Congressional Program

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jul 2014 to Mar 2016

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • The Campaign Legal Center, Inc.
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

To provide the Campaign Legal Center with a restricted grant for the purpose of organizational and programmatic strategic planning.For more on CLC’s history and current program areas, please refer to R-201407-01230.

Project:

Strategic Planning Grant

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Nov 2014 to Oct 2015

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • New Organizing Institute Education Fund
  • $60,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

For the purposes of assisting the election administration team at NOI plan and assess the best manner in which to complete a spinoff.  The planning grant can include: assistance on developing the business plan, evaluating a proper Board development strategy, understanding and developing stronger relationships with the EA community, and other purposes to benefit the new organization.

Project:

Planning Grant for Election Administration Spinoff

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Nov 2014 to Oct 2015

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Public Agenda, Inc.
  • $350,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2014

As a partner to the Participatory Budgeting Project, Public Agenda will play a lead role in the development of participatory budgeting  through surfacing local evaluation research, performing independent research and communicating research results to key constituencies.

Project:

Participatory Budgeting Research

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Budgeting, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Dec 2016

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2014

The Election Law Program (ELP), a joint project of William & Mary (W&M) Law School and the National Center on State Courts, provides reliable, updatable State Election Law Wikis for state and federal court judges to help them make election law decisions promptly and fairly.

Project:

Election Law State Courts Research

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Judicial Selection and Performance, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Dec 2016

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Participatory Budgeting Project Inc.
  • $350,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2014

Provide project support to the Participatory Budgeting Project to foster increased use of participatory budgeting in the US.

Project:

Advancing the Understanding of the Practice of Participatory Budgeting

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Budgeting, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

May 2014 to May 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2014

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is using this planning grant for a new initiative: “Fix the System.” CRFB is a trusted convener in the area of budget reform–they bring together important political forces to build coalitions and support for reasonable ways to encourage a functioning government system.

Project:

Fix the System

Foundation Center Topic:

Government

Grant Length:

Dec 2014 to Dec 2015

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
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