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.
- Accelerate Change, Inc.
- $250,000.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2022
Civic Revolution aims to transform democracy to be more responsive and representative of all communities through a coalition of digital media organizations dedicated to catalyzing civic engagement for diverse audiences.
Project:
Civic RevolutionFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism, Civic ParticipationGrant Length:
Sep 2022 to Aug 2023Strategy:
General- Issue One
- $250,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2020
The Rebuild Congress Initiative (RCI), a project of Issue One, seeks to better understand congressional dysfunction and aims to build bipartisan coalitions in support of congressional reform measures — especially efforts to increase congressional capacity.
Project:
The Rebuild Congress InitiativeFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Legislative Branch PerformanceGrant Length:
Jul 2020 to Jul 2023Strategy:
Empowering Congress- New Venture Fund
- $250,000.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2016
To strengthen the field of elections and voting research through participation in the Civic Engagement and Elections Research Collaborative Fund (“the Collaborative Fund”), which is a joint effort with other democracy funders. The Collaborative Fund seeks to provide funding for academic and policy research that supports the work of the philanthropic sector, public and nonprofit leaders and institutions, advocates, academics, and other stakeholders.
Project:
The Civic Engagement and Elections Research Collaborative FundFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election AdministrationGrant Length:
Oct 2016 to Sep 2017Strategy:
Voter-Centric Election Administration- Union of Concerned Scientists Inc.
- $250,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2023
The Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) works to strengthen the role of science within the federal civil service sector. They will develop recommendations for better hiring practices, science program leadership, and performance accountability within the federal government to help it better serve the public interest.
Project:
Center for Science and DemocracyFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Executive Branch Performance, Government/Open Government and TransparencyGrant Length:
Dec 2023 to Nov 2024Strategy:
Preventing Authoritarian Abuse of Power- National Association of Black Journalists
- $250,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2019
This is a general operating grant to the National Association of Black Journalists that will build organizational capacity to continue their support of members through trainings, networking, and scholarship opportunities, while holding the media accountable for recruitment and retention of black journalists as well as their portrayals of the black community through media narratives.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism Education and TrainingGrant Length:
Nov 2019 to Oct 2021Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- Wayne State University
- $250,000.00
- Project
- Governance
- 2023
The Levin Center at Wayne State University works to build capacity in legislative bodies at all levels — federal, state, and abroad — to expose public and private sector abuses, ensure effective governance, and bring critical facts to light for the benefit of all.
Project:
Levin Center at Wayne LawFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Open Government and TransparencyGrant Length:
Nov 2023 to Oct 2025Strategy:
State and Local Accountability- PEN American Center, Inc.
- $250,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2020
PEN America defends press freedom and fosters local journalism. Their work includes events, organizing, and outreach with local communities, organizers and journalists to expand grassroots support for the role of the press in American democracy and the rights of all people under the First Amendment.
Project:
Press Freedom Incentive FundFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Nov 2020 to Oct 2022Strategy:
Press Freedom- National Disability Rights Network, Inc.
- $248,613.00
- General Operating Support
- Elections and Voting
- 2019
To provide the National Disability Rights Network the capacity to educate election officials, advocates, and the public on the need to provide access to voting functions for voters with disabilities and to build tools to improve polling place accessibility.
Project:
Disability Access and Rights AwarenessFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting AccessGrant Length:
Nov 2019 to Oct 2022Strategy:
Voter-Centric Election Administration- The Independence Public Media Foundation
- $247,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2023
Independence Public Media Foundation’s Internet for All program makes grants to organizations working to expand community internet that is collectively owned and managed by local communities and strengthening community organizing for digital equity.
Project:
Independence Public Media FoundationFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Dec 2023 to Dec 2025Strategy:
Equitable Civic Infrastructure- President and Fellows of Harvard College
- $240,000.00
- Project
- President's Office
- 2019
To support the Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Project:
Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center support for the Senior Practice Fellowship in American DemocracyFoundation Center Topic:
Government, OtherGrant Length:
Nov 2019 to Dec 2021Strategy:
General- Committee for Economic Development
- $235,000.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2012
The Committee for Economic Development will conduct research on the attitudes of business leaders about campaign finance reform.
Project:
Survey of Business Leaders' View on Money in PoliticsFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign FinanceGrant Length:
Oct 2012 to Oct 2013Strategy:
Previous Strategy- Gumshoe Group
- $233,500.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2020
The Gumshoe Group, a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy, Inc, builds structural, financial, and legal support for diverse freelance investigative journalists to pursue open records requests that hold institutions, power, and public officials accountable.
Project:
Gumshoe GroupFoundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Dec 2020 to Mar 2023Strategy:
Investigative Journalism- Duke University
- $225,325.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2016
The News Measures Research Project will provide a foundation for the Democracy Fund and the field in general to assess the state of national and local journalism content, audience needs at a local level and the state of the local news media infrastructure.
Project:
News Measures Research Project Phase 2Foundation Center Topic:
Media/JournalismGrant Length:
Nov 2016 to Jul 2018Strategy:
Ecosystem News- University of Florida Board of Trustees
- $225,000.00
- Project
- Elections and Voting
- 2024
The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida is coordinating a project to identify potential solutions for local government agencies, particularly elections offices, to mitigate the impact of unduly burdensome public records requests, often called “vexatious requests,” while protecting the flow of civic information to the public.
Project:
Vexatious FOI ProjectFoundation Center Topic:
OtherGrant Length:
Apr 2024 to Jun 2025Strategy:
Resilient Elections- Leadership Conference Education Fund, Inc.
- $225,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Public Square
- 2023
The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for laws and policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of every person in the United States. They work on issues including voting rights, educational equity, and justice reform.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Media Access and PolicyGrant Length:
Sep 2023 to Sep 2026Strategy:
Equitable Civic Infrastructure- OpenSecrets
- $225,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Governance
- 2019
To support the Center for Responsive Politics’ Foreign Lobby Watch Database. The Center will extract and analyze data from reports filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to reveal the relationships and lobbying activity of foreign governments, companies, and individuals.
Project:
Foreign Lobby Watch DatabaseFoundation Center Topic:
Government/Open Government and TransparencyGrant Length:
Nov 2019 to Oct 2022Strategy:
Oversight and Accountability- Field Foundation of Illinois Inc.
- $225,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2022
The Chicago Media and Storytelling Program at the Field Foundation supports pivotal investments to increase the production of news and innovative content that is by, for, and about African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) communities and helps create a more inclusive, accurate, and comprehensive narrative of Chicago.
Project:
Chicago Media and Storytelling ProjectFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism, MediaGrant Length:
Nov 2022 to Oct 2023Strategy:
News & Information Ecosystems- RepresentWomen Inc.
- $225,000.00
- General Operating Support
- Governance
- 2023
RepresentWomen, Inc. is committed to researching, understanding, and then championing the evidence-based solutions that break down structural barriers to women’s political leadership.
Project:
General Operating SupportFoundation Center Topic:
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation/Public ParticipationGrant Length:
Sep 2023 to Aug 2025Strategy:
Representative Leadership- Civic Hall LLC
- $225,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2015
The purpose of this grant is to scope opportunities to enable greater public participation in candidate debates by studying, modeling and encouraging the use of innovative approaches from around the country and also elsewhere that make debates more substantive, engaging, educative, and accountable to public concerns.
Project:
Rethinking DebatesFoundation Center Topic:
Media/Journalism, Civic Participation/Public ParticipationGrant Length:
Jul 2015 to Dec 2016Strategy:
Engaged Journalism- Mozilla Foundation
- $225,000.00
- Project
- Public Square
- 2017
The purpose of this grant is to support the Coral Project in the development and implementation of tools and platforms that encourage a culture of engagement in newsrooms. The grant will largely focus on expanding adoption of their tools in newsrooms, which will consist of training, outreach and work around shifting culture inside newsrooms to be more open to engagement.