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
  • Protect Democracy Project
  • $1,900,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

General operating support to the Protect Democracy Project. 

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Grant Length:

Dec 2019 to Dec 2022

Strategy:

Oversight and Accountability
  • Chicago Reader
  • $30,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

The purpose of this grant is to support the planning for the creation of a collaborative for independent media organizations in Chicago. The Chicago Reader, fiscally sponsored by Public Narrative, will lead this effort and use this support to provide the administration needed to get this effort off the ground.

Project:

Chicago Independent Media Alliance

Foundation Center Topic:

Media, Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2020

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • National Network for Youth
  • $20,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2019

The purpose of this grant is to support wellness and healing for frontline staff at National Network for Youth, and to learn about strategies, resources, and needs in the field.  

Project:

RAD Healing and Wellness for National Network for Youth

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Apr 2020

Strategy:

General
  • Montclair State University Foundation, Inc.
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University Foundation, Inc.’s New Jersey News Commons project. As part of this grant, Center for Cooperative Media will support the local news ecosystem in New Jersey by providing various resources and support, such as training, collaboration support, and research.

Project:

Center for Cooperative Media

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2020

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Interfaith Youth Core
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2019

To support Interfaith Youth Core’s Alumni Fellowship Program. The organization will provide fellowships to at least five individuals from their alumni network to create innovative new interfaith civic engagement projects focused on promoting pluralism in their communities. 

Project:

Interfaith Innovation Fellowship Program

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Federation of American Scientists
  • $103,500.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

The Federation of American Scientists’ Congressional Science Policy Initiative strengthens connections between the scientific community and congressional policymakers. They will develop an open source, web-based application that allows scientists, engineers, and technologists to engage with congressional committees.

Project:

Congressional Science Policy Initiative

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2020

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Free Press
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support Free Press in their work to create a new deal for the digital age with a focus on racial and gender equity. This grant will advance the work of Change the Terms, a coalition co-founded and co-led by Free Press, in organizing stakeholders from civil society, government, and technology to hold platforms accountable through a public-facing campaign aimed at pressuring companies to make changes on a range of issues, including content moderation and advertising policies.  

Project:

Change the Terms

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2020

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • The Governance Lab
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

GovLab, a fiscally-sponsored project of the Fund for the City of New York, is developing pilot projects with congressional committees to utilize open-source software and online resources to solicit expert and constituent opinion at key moments of the legislative process.

Project:

GovLab Congressional CrowdLaw Pilot Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Jul 2020

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund, Inc. dba The Vance Center
  • $30,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support a strategic planning process for The Vance Center for International Justice Initiatives to develop Lawyers for Reporters, a nonprofit law firm providing pro bono legal services to nonprofit and local news reporting organizations throughout the United States. The goal of Lawyers for Reporters is ensuring that no journalists needing legal support will be turned down because of financial constraints.

Project:

Planning Grant: Lawyers for Reporters

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2020

Strategy:

Press Freedom
  • Freedom Network USA
  • $20,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2019

The purpose of this grant is to support wellness and healing for frontline staff at Freedom Network USA, and to learn about strategies, resources, and needs in the field.  

Project:

RAD Healing and Wellness for Freedom Network USA

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation/Naturalization and Immigrant Civic Integration, Civic Participation/Public Participation, Other

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Apr 2020

Strategy:

General
  • Center for Media Justice
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Center for Media Justice (CMJ) in their work to create a new deal for the digital age with a focus on racial and gender equity. This grant will support CMJ’s involvement in the Change the Terms coalition, with a focus on using educational events, corporate accountability actions, and cultural strategies to shift corporate practices and policies to eliminate white supremacist hate speech from platforms and strengthen civil rights protections for people of color. 

Project:

Change the Terms: Reducing Hate Online

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2020

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • University of Southern California
  • $975,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

The California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP) at the University of Southern California will design, release, and host the Vote Center Siting Tool in three states: Colorado, Arizona, and Texas. The development of the tool in these three states will help election officials make informed decisions about where to locate polling places and how to better target other services to the voters and potential voters they serve.

Project:

Election Siting Tool

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Sep 2019 to Nov 2021

Strategy:

Voter-Centric Election Administration
  • Trinity Forum, Inc
  • $200,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Governance
  • 2019

To disseminate Trinity Forum’s research on the contributions Christianity can make in a pluralistic society through writing and other outreach, events, and convenings.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation, Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Oct 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • The Aspen Institute Inc
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

This grant will support the Inclusive America Project’s landscape analysis of the religious pluralism funding field and dissemination of the findings to inform field and the public.

Project:

Support for Religious Pluralism Landscape Analysis

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to Jul 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Common Cause Education Fund
  • $75,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support Common Cause Education Fund’s efforts in Hawaii to increase nonpartisan voter turnout and engagement. Common Cause will use core strategies such as creating a narrative around the importance of voting rooted in Hawaiian values and culture; leveraging local leaders and technology platforms to spread this narrative; and promoting good election reform practices to help make voting more accessible and increase civic engagement throughout the state.

Project:

CCEF Hawaii Engagement Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Nov 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • OpenSecrets
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To obtain and analyze digital ad data from digital platforms and to translate it into a more accurate, useful dataset for partners. Ultimately, this work would lead to a more comprehensive and accessible data source for the press and public.

Project:

Political Ad Transparency

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Mar 2021

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Millions of Conversations, Inc.
  • $600,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2019

The purpose of this grant is to provide general operating support for Millions of Conversations (MoC).  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation, Government, Government/Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Media

Grant Length:

Aug 2019 to Jul 2021

Strategy:

General
  • Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) in their efforts to promote engagement at the intersection of faith and democracy through a pilot pooled funding program — the “Faith In/ And Democracy” fund — to engage faith leaders and communities, bridge across lines of difference, and support faith-based civic engagement efforts to overcome polarization.

Project:

Support for Joint Fund on Faith-Based Civic Engagement

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership, Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Jun 2019 to May 2020

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Bipartisan Policy Center, Inc.
  • $200,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Elections Project will convene three task forces focused on different aspects of the elections process to develop updated recommendations to address challenges in election administration, as well as identify ongoing gaps where states have yet to adopt PCEA recommendations.

Project:

Elections Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration

Grant Length:

Jul 2019 to Jun 2020

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
  • Cato Institute
  • $75,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2019

To support the Cato Institute’s study on the American people’s feelings toward pluralism and immigration. Cato Institute will conduct a large-scale polling project and will publish a report on their findings. 

Project:

Poll: Why Americans Believe What They Do About Immigration

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

Oct 2019 to Mar 2021

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
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