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
  • Nonzero Foundation Inc
  • $110,400.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2012

The Non-Zero Foundation’s Bloggingheads.tv will launch its “The Good Fight” project, which will feature video-based dialogues on hot political topics between important voices from the Left and the Right.

Project:

The Good Fight

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout

Grant Length:

Apr 2012 to Apr 2013

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Faith Matters Network Collaborative
  • $110,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2023

Faith Matters Network catalyzes personal and social change by equipping community organizers, faith leaders, and activists with resources for connection, spiritual sustainability, and accompaniment.

Project:

General Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Oct 2023 to Sep 2024

Strategy:

General
  • The Horizons Project
  • $110,000.00
  • Project
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2022

The Horizons Project, a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund, will bring together anti-authoritarian organizers and allies to develop processes and structures for enhanced collaboration.

Project:

Anti-Authoritarian Strategery Convening

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Issue-based Participation, Other

Grant Length:

Aug 2022 to Aug 2023

Strategy:

General
  • Trinity Forum, Inc
  • $110,000.00
  • Project
  • President's Office
  • 2018

To conduct research on the role of Christian leaders within the United States in our political system, how their followers engage in politics, and how leaders can be a source of increasing pluralism and decreasing polarization. As part of this work, Trinity Forum will interview key Christian leaders, and publish and disseminate findings in a report.

Project:

Support for Research Project on Christian Engagement

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Nov 2018 to Oct 2019

Strategy:

Constructive Politics
  • Georgetown University
  • $110,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2022

The Georgetown Democracy, Education + Service (GeoDES) project at the McCourt School of Public Policy works on congressional modernization efforts. Their goal is a Congress that can effectively legislate on behalf of a diverse and multi-racial America and fulfill its First Branch constitutional duty to check and balance the Executive Branch.

Project:

GeoDES Project

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

Nov 2022 to Dec 2023

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • University of Maryland
  • $105,600.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2017

This grant supports a collaborative research initiative led by the University of Maryland (UMD) in partnership with the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC) and the Millennial Action Project (MAP). This research explores the behavioral and psychological aspects of political cooperation to counteract polarization in American government.

Project:

Interdisciplinary Study to Counteract Polarization in Congress

Foundation Center Topic:

Government/Legislative Branch Performance

Grant Length:

Oct 2017 to Dec 2021

Strategy:

Empowering Congress
  • Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative
  • $105,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Just and Inclusive Society
  • 2022

Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC) focused on building capacity within Muslim and allied communities for racial justice. MuslimARC creates anti-racism curriculum and education resources, connects multi-racial and multi-faith networks via storytelling and media, and cultivates racial justice through leadership and community development programs.

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Other

Grant Length:

Nov 2022 to Oct 2023

Strategy:

Power Building in Marginalized Communities
  • Hearken
  • $104,230.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To support the Hearken Engaged Elections project, a fiscally sponsored project of the American Press Institute, in promoting and spreading audience-centered innovation in elections coverage by newsrooms.

Project:

Engaged Elections

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Oct 2019 to Sep 2020

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • 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
  • National Conference on Citizenship
  • $102,630.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2020

Project Redesign at the National Conference on Citizenship supports EL-ISAC’s work to increase information security capabilities among local election officials through recommendations, tools, and metrics that can be used to evaluate their messaging’s success.

Project:

EI-ISAC Election Security Messaging Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Election Administration, Other

Grant Length:

Sep 2020 to May 2021

Strategy:

Trust in Elections
  • American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2024

The ABA Task Force for American Democracy works to safeguard the integrity and non-partisan administration of elections, provide support for election workers and officials, educate Americans on democracy and the rule of law — and their importance to our everyday lives — and suggest ideas to the American people for improving and strengthening our democracy and our elections.

Project:

ABA Task Force on American Democracy

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Civic Education and Leadership

Grant Length:

Jul 2024 to Jun 2025

Strategy:

Resilient Elections
  • Clean Futures Project
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Governance
  • 2024

Documented, a project of Clean Futures Project, fiscally sponsored by the Sustainable Markets Foundation, is an investigative project that conducts innovative, forward-looking research exposing the ways organized special interests are undermining our democracy.

Project:

Documented

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Government/Open Government and Transparency

Grant Length:

Oct 2024 to Sep 2025

Strategy:

State and Local Accountability
  • Colorado Seminary
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2019

TheColorado Media Project (CMP), within University of Denver’s Project X-ITE, is an ecosystem-level convener, facilitator, and coordinator. They bring capacity-building expertise and support to local news outlets as they work to address the local news and information needs of all Coloradans now and in the future.

Project:

Colorado Media Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

Feb 2019 to Jan 2020

Strategy:

Ecosystem News
  • Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2023

The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona connects donors to the causes they care about, serving as a vital link between philanthropy and the community’s needs. They are working to provide ongoing community leadership and recurring philanthropic support to the organizations helping to rebuild trusted, local news and information in their community.

Project:

Local Journalism Initiative of Southern Arizona

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

Nov 2023 to Dec 2024

Strategy:

News & Information Ecosystems
  • First Look Institute
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2021

Lawyers for Reporters, a joint project of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice and First Look Institute’s Press Freedom Defense Fund, provides pro bono legal assistance to local journalists and media organizations in the United States.

Project:

Lawyers for Reporters

Foundation Center Topic:

Media, Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Oct 2021 to Sep 2022

Strategy:

Press Freedom
  • KW Foundation
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2024

Influence Change, a program of KW Foundation, a fiscally sponsored project of Social Impact Fund, serves as a hub to convene, educate, and empower artists and influencers using their platforms to increase civic participation.

Project:

Influence Change

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation, Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout

Grant Length:

Sep 2024 to Aug 2025

Strategy:

General
  • New York University
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2015

Planning grant for comprehensive bipartisan research on the current state of money in politics.

Project:

Bipartisan Research on Money in Politics

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Campaign Finance

Grant Length:

Oct 2015 to Sep 2016

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • Rockefeller Family Fund Inc
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2021

The Democracy & Power Innovation Fund at the Rockefeller Family Fund creates research and learning partnerships with funders, researchers, and organizing groups to improve practices in the field.

Project:

Democracy & Power Innovation Fund

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting, Civic Participation

Grant Length:

Dec 2021 to Dec 2022

Strategy:

General
  • The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2022

The National Center on Race and Digital Justice works on informing legislation, building strong networks of coordinated work, collaborating with grassroots organizers, conducting academic and legal research, curating public lectures, and supporting new thinkers and leaders.

Project:

The National Center on Race and Digital Justice

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

Oct 2022 to Mar 2024

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Trustees of Tufts College
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Elections and Voting
  • 2019

To support the efforts of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University in researching the intersection of youth engagement and election administration.

Project:

Research on Youth Engagement in Election Administration

Foundation Center Topic:

Campaigns, Elections, and Voting/Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout

Grant Length:

Nov 2019 to Apr 2021

Strategy:

Pro-Voter Reform
Democracy Fund
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