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
  • 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 Revolution

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Civic Participation

Grant Length:

Sep 2022 to Aug 2023

Strategy:

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 Initiative

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Jul 2020 to Jul 2023

Strategy:

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 Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Oct 2016 to Sep 2017

Strategy:

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 Democracy

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Executive Branch Performance, Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Dec 2023 to Nov 2024

Strategy:

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 Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2021

Strategy:

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 Law

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Nov 2023 to Oct 2025

Strategy:

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 Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Nov 2020 to Oct 2022

Strategy:

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 Awareness

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voting Access

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2022

Strategy:

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 Foundation

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Dec 2023 to Dec 2025

Strategy:

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 Democracy

Foundation Center Topic:

Government, Other

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Dec 2021

Strategy:

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 Politics

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Oct 2012 to Oct 2013

Strategy:

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 Group

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Dec 2020 to Mar 2023

Strategy:

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 2

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Nov 2016 to Jul 2018

Strategy:

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 Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Apr 2024 to Jun 2025

Strategy:

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 Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Sep 2023 to Sep 2026

Strategy:

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 Database

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2022

Strategy:

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 Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Media

Grant Length:

Nov 2022 to Oct 2023

Strategy:

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 Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Sep 2023 to Aug 2025

Strategy:

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 Debates

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Jul 2015 to Dec 2016

Strategy:

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. 

Project:

Expanding Community Engagement Through the Coral Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Aug 2017 to Jul 2018

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
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