Ideas

Grants Database

Democracy Fund champions the leaders and organizations who defend democracy and challenge it to be more open and just. We are proud to have supported more than 200 organizations doing this work.

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  • Action Center on Race and the Economy Institute
  • $800,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2023

The Action Center on Race and the Economy supports racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations with strategic planning and advocacy coordination on political campaigns. The Action Center also leads campaigns to spotlight the political influence that corporate and financial profiteers wield as they erode the basic racial and economic rights of communities of color.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

October 2023 to September 2025

Strategy:

Equitable Civic Infrastructure
  • Action Center on Race and the Economy Institute
  • $200,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2022

ACRE Institute was founded in 2017, when policies were implemented that disproportionately benefited financial institutions, while harming Black and Brown communities. ACRE Institute’s leadership brings deep experience researching, organizing, and campaigning around Wall Street accountability issues following the 2008 financial crisis.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

July 2022 to June 2023

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • Algorithmic Justice League
  • $175,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2021

Algorithmic Justice League, a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund, conducts and publicizes research investigating algorithmic bias in high visibility commercial and public sector AI systems.  

Project:

Algorithmic Justice League

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Media Access and Policy

Grant Length:

October 2021 to March 2023

Strategy:

Digital Democracy
  • American Journalism Project
  • $2,000,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2019

This general operating grant to The American Journalism Project will support the organization’s mission to make transformative investments in Civic News Organizations, building a new public service media that is governed by, sustained by and looks like the public it serves.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

November 2019 to October 2021

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • American Journalism Project
  • $2,000,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2021

The American Journalism Project makes transformative investments in civic news organizations, building a new public service media that is governed by, sustained by, and looks like the public it serves.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

October 2021 to November 2023

Strategy:

General
  • American Library Association
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2017

Media Literacy @ Your Library is a one-year adult media literacy program in five public libraries serving diverse communities. With the American Library Association (ALA), they will create online learning sessions, resources, and a workshop to train public librarians on developing programs to teach patrons to be informed media consumers.  

Project:

Prototype Fund: Media Literacy at Your Library

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

July 2017 to June 2018

Strategy:

Press Freedom
  • American Press Institute
  • $500,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2015

The purpose of this general support grant is to continue to develop the research led innovation approach API has used in its work on fact checking and extend this support for other API projects that help support local media ecosystems.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

December 2015 to December 2017

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • American Press Institute
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

The Trusting News project works with journalists across the country to develop, test, and implement strategies in reporting and publishing that builds trust with audiences.  

Project:

Trusting News

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

June 2020 to May 2021

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • American Press Institute
  • $150,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

The Trusting News project works with newsrooms to develop, test, and implement new practices and behaviors that make reporting more transparent and trustworthy. The Trusting News project will build a network of transparency coaches and trainers who will dramatically increase the project’s ability to make change across the industry.  

Project:

Trusting News

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

December 2018 to May 2020

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • American Press Institute
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2018

To support the costs of a pilot survey to test questions to measure political information efficacy, plan for future data collection, and share the results and framework publicly through publications and presentations as a method of measuring the health of the public square and providing evidence of the effectiveness of funding journalism and media.  

Project:

Scoping for Political Information Efficacy measurement

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

November 2018 to October 2019

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • American Press Institute
  • $400,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2013

The American Press Institute will improve the practice of fact checking and significantly increase the adoption of fact checking practices through research and the convening of media leaders.  

Project:

Research and Education Activities related to Fact Checking Practices

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

January 2014 to December 2015

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • American Press Institute
  • $600,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2018

The American Press Institute ias a catalyst for meaningful change in journalism using a research-driven approach to fostering more sustainable, audience-centered journalism.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

June 2018 to May 2021

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • American Society of News Editors Foundation, Inc.
  • $300,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2017

The purpose of this grant is to provide support for ASNE to work with Google and a university research team to create a more comprehensive and data driven survey that catalogues the diversity numbers for print and online publications in the United States.  

Project:

ASNE Diversity Survey

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

August 2017 to December 2018

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • American University
  • $500,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2017

This grant is to support investigative reporting. It is part of a larger package of grants around investigative journalism that is meant to expand the critical capacity of nonprofit investigative journalism as a robust fourth estate. The grant will empower those newsrooms to pursue rigorous journalism that keeps the government accountable to the American people.  

Project:

Investigative Reporting Workshop

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism

Grant Length:

April 2017 to March 2019

Strategy:

Investigative Journalism
  • AmericaSpeaks
  • $92,500.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2011

AmericaSpeaks will develop a plan through which a critical mass of citizens in 1-2 Congressional districts will take part in a pilot project for scaling up public deliberation.  

Project:

Planning Grant to Scale Up Public Deliberation

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

September 2011 to January 2012

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • AmericaSpeaks
  • $650,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2012

Face the Facts USA will deliver provocative facts about big issues to help Americans debunk myths, hold better conversations, get involved, and make choices as smarter citizens around the 2012 election.  

Project:

Face the Facts USA

Foundation Center Topic:

Civic Participation/Public Participation

Grant Length:

February 2012 to May 2013

Strategy:

Previous Strategy
  • And She Could Be Next LLC
  • $140,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2020

This grant supports impact campaign activities for And She Could Be Next, a documentary series celebrating women of color in leadership. The campaign aims to inspire and encourage the participation of young, more diverse, and politically skeptical American audiences in civic and democratic life.  

Project:

And She Could Be Next

Foundation Center Topic:

Media

Grant Length:

August 2020 to July 2021

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University
  • $100,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2017

This grant supports the establishment of the News Literacy Lab at Arizona State University. The project’s focus is on developing newsrooms as leaders in news literacy through education, research, and engagement.  

Project:

Co/Lab News Literacy Project

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

November 2017 to May 2019

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University
  • $50,000.00
  • Project
  • Public Square
  • 2015

The purpose of this grant is to support the Morrison Institute’s research into the practice of Citizen’s Initiative Review.  

Project:

Morrison Institute - CIR

Foundation Center Topic:

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

Grant Length:

March 2015 to January 2016

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
  • Asian Americans Journalists Association
  • $100,000.00
  • General Operating Support
  • Public Square
  • 2019

To build organizational capacity to continue Asian Americans Journalists Association’s support of members through trainings, networking, and scholarship opportunities, while partnering with media to ensure responsible and diverse coverage of AAPI communities.  

Project:

General Operating Support

Foundation Center Topic:

Media/Journalism, Media/Journalism Education and Training

Grant Length:

December 2019 to November 2020

Strategy:

Engaged Journalism
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