General Operating Support

OpenTheGovernment (a project of the Fund for Constitutional Government) will map civil society sectors to identify groups to collaborate with. They will identify organizations who do not traditionally advocate for open government and transparency, but whose own causes could be helped by focusing on this issue.

The Liberated Capital Initiative by Decolonizing Wealth Project, a fiscally sponsored project of Allied Media Projects, aims to collectively move us all from disparities to equity. They train funders on the structural inequalities that shape philanthropy, to support more equitable philanthropic efforts.

To support the 2020 Census Project, a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund. This grant will support the efforts of the 2020 Census Project’s Democracy Funders Collaborative joint fund on the Census, which aims to ensure that the 2020 Census is implemented effectively, produces a robust, accurate count of the population of the United States, and supports efforts to ensure all Americans – especially those most likely to be undercounted – are accounted for in the Census.

Voter Registration Project’s (VRP) works to create a more representative democracy by narrowing the registration gap between Black, Indigenous, LatinX, Hispanic, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander voters and white voters. VRP funds and coordinates non-partisan voter registration efforts and works with in-state, community-based organizations and 501(c)(3) civic engagement tables.

Center for Secure and Modern Elections (CSME), a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund, advocates for a more efficient, accurate and secure election process. They support bipartisan proposals such as Automatic Voter Registration that saves valuable time for election officials, saves money for state governments, and ensures voters can participate in our democracy.

This is a general operating, renewal grant to the Obsidian Collection for their work in helping black legacy press preserve and digitize their archives as a new revenue stream for most and a jumping off point to bring them into the digital age.

City Bureau works to address inequality in Chicago media. Their innovative programs engage Chicagoans directly in the process of producing civic media.

To support the Center for City Solutions at the National League of Cities to develop and socialize a suite of tools and best practices for mayors of U.S. cities to develop nonpartisan programs within their own cities to improve citizen engagement in civic life. They will look to enlist 100 cities to participate in a way that works well for the city’s own culture. 

This grant provides general operating support for Texas Civil Rights Project. Texas Civil Rights Project protects the civil rights of Texans through their work on economic justice, voting rights, and criminal justice.

To support the continued work and expansion of the NewsVoices project which organizes communities around local newsrooms to highlight underreported issues and build trust between journalists and the communities they serve. Ultimately, the project aims to improve journalistic practices, and coverage in the regions where they work, leaving behind a more active and engaged community which can continue to push for a healthier news ecosystem. 

To provide project support to the International Refugee Assistance Project’s (IRAP) family reunification, community lawyering, and impact litigation work.  

This grant will provide support for the field of elections and voting research through participation in the Civic Engagement and Elections Research Collaborative Fund.

The Press Forward pooled fund, a collaborative vehicle housed at The Miami Foundation, will support local news around the country. Press Forward seeks to reverse the dramatic decline in local news that has coincided with an increasingly divided America and weakening trust in institutions.

The Social and Economic Justice Leaders Planning Group, a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund, provides research, scenario-planning methodologies, and strategy-design processes to grassroots organizations and movement leaders to help them achieve their goals for a vibrant, reparative democracy.

Outlier Media, a fiscally sponsored project of MuckRock Foundation, Inc., is a trailblazing newsroom in Detroit whose strategy of identifying and serving community needs is a model for engaged journalism practice. Outlier also serves as an Ecosystem Builder by sharing resources, strategy, learning, and systems with peers in other cities.

Emergent Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, funds rapid response and emergent organizing led by frontline Black, Indigenous, and organizers of color with trust-based, no-string-attached grants. This grant is made by Democracy Fund in collaboration with the Rights and Dignity Working Group, a cross-Omidyar Group initiative.

To support the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA) at The Ohio State University in deploying and promoting Connecting to Congress, its online deliberative town hall meeting module for use by congressional offices. This grant will help the project expand its pilots with congressional offices and inform potential broader adoption by Congress through analysis of data gathered during the pilots.

The purpose of this grant is to provide general operating support for the Women’s Public Leadership Network (WPLN) to expand their programming to engage with other organizations in the female candidate development space; continue their non-partisan educational workshops, mentorship programs, and post-election educational seminars; and maintain the WPLN website and digital portal. All of these resources will inform and educate women about the process of running for elected office. 

To support Faith in Public Life (FPL) as they build on their previous interfaith clergy trainings in Florida, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina, with a focus on strengthening existing networks of protection for MASA communities with developed curricula and further training.