Non-profit

Democracy Fund

Website:

www.democracyfund.org

Location:

WASHINGTON, DC

Tax ID:

38-3926408

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)-PF

Budget (2020):

Assets: $83,492,609

Type:

Private Foundation (since 2014)

Formation:

2011 (Organized)

2014 (Incorporated)

Founder:

Pierre Omidyar

President:

Joseph Goldman

Latest Filings:

2021 Form 990

2020 Form 990

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $70,685,900
Expenses: $62,022,102
Assets: $95,991,918

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Also see Democracy Fund Voice (Non-profit)

The Democracy Fund is a left-of-center public policy-oriented foundation chaired and soely funded by eBay founder and former chairman Pierre Omidyar.1 The organization contributes to center-left and left-wing media organizations, groups seeking to infringe on campaign speech rights, left-of-center voter registration organizations, and nominally non-aligned public policy organizations. The group is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has stated that it has funded over $275 million in grants to organizations. It has also funded the left-of-center Voter Registration Project, as well as projects in journalism, artificial intelligence policy, and election law, often working in concert with coalitions of other left-of-center grantmakers. 2 3 4

Democracy Fund has stated that it attempts to be scrupulously bipartisan,5 though its giving suggests the group holds broad left-of-center views on campaign speech regulation and which prospective voters should be registered. Omidyar’s personal political giving is principally in support of Democrats and against Republicans.6 Democracy Fund president Joe Goldman was an aide to former District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams (D).7

Democracy Fund grant recipients include think tanks and advocacy organizations on both the left and center-right, though the left-of-center organizations tend to be more ideologically extreme. Recipients from the center-right include the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the libertarian Cato Institute; left-wing beneficiaries of Democracy Fund contributions include Common Cause Education Fund, Rock the Vote, and the Campaign Legal Center.8

Omidyar’s efforts go beyond Democracy Fund. Democracy Fund itself is associated with a 501(c)(4) organization, Democracy Fund Voice, which is permitted to intervene in elections. Omidyar also funds philanthropic activities through the Omidyar Network and has funded the left-wing media venture First Look Media, publisher of the online news website The Intercept which was co-founded by journalists who collaborated in the mass disclosure of a trove of classified national security documents by a former U.S. government contractor now residing in Russia.9 In 2017, First Look Media and Democracy Fund jointly announced $12 million in grants to left-of-center media outlets and activists.10

Since early 2016, Omidyar and groups associated with the Democracy Fund have been funders of opponents of the campaign and administration of President Donald Trump. Omidyar contributed $450,000 to Super PACs advocating against Trump’s election in 2016; Democracy Fund Voice contributed $250,000 to Stand Up Republic, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization advocating against the Trump administration and run by former Independent Presidential candidate Evan McMullin.1112

Background

Pierre Omidyar, then-chairman of the online retailer eBay, founded Democracy Fund in 2014 as a spin-off from his existing philanthropy, the Omidyar Network.13 Prior to the foundation of Democracy Fund, Omidyar’s public policy philanthropy had supported a mixture of property-rights-based libertarian-leaning organizations at home and abroad alongside partnerships with conventionally left-wing philanthropy, including George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation.14 Early material indicated that Democracy Fund sought to support “social entrepreneurs working to ensure that our political system is responsive to the public and able to meet the greatest challenges facing our nation.”15

In a blog post published on June 16, 2020, Democracy Fund president Joe Goldman announced that Democracy Fund would no longer describe itself as “bipartisan,” but rather as “an independent, nonpartisan foundation that advocates for an open and just democracy.” 16 Explaining this decision, he stated in the post,

“As more political leaders have abandoned their commitment to core democratic principles, we have increasingly found it impossible to describe our work as “bipartisan” without compromising on who we are and what we believe. Simply put, a commitment to “bipartisanship” above all else is untenable when our political leaders openly embrace authoritarian politics and reject values like pluralism and the rule of law.” 17

Goldman further stated that the foundation would be adding “We believe a just and equitable political system must eliminate structural barriers to ensure historically excluded communities have meaningful influence in our democracy” to its list of “core beliefs.” 18

Funding

Financial Overview

The following is an overview of the Democracy Fund’s finances: 19

Democracy Fund Financial Overview
YearTotal RevenuesTotal ExpendituresGrants PaidNet Assets
2020 $65,793,183 $72,150,532 $51,779,106 $78,891,991
2019 $63,141,642 $56,331,961 $37,636,989 $71,833,424
2018 $73,959,277 $55,621,199 $37,498,303 $53,495,346
2017 $53,135,469 $47,424,736 $33,944,350 $47,784,613
2016 $38,655,163 $20,383,089 $13,244,125 $29,512,539
2015 $22,308,429 $15,818,008 $11,568,791 $22,842,268
2014 $30,472,552 $7,630,284 $5,956,175 $22,842,268
$347,465,715 $275,359,809 $191,627,839

Democracy Fund makes grants to a number of classes of organizations. They include liberal-leaning journalism outfits, most notably the publisher of controversial “fact-checking” website Politifact; election-related groups like Issue One which seek to institute tighter limits on political advocacy, like Democracy Works which seek to change how votes are cast, and like Rock the Vote which register left-leaning voters; and nominally centrist policy organizations like the No Labels Foundation.

Democracy Fund Grant Recipients

The following is a list of grant recipients from Democracy Fund between 2015 and 2020: 20

RecipientAmountYearGrant Description
Hopewell Fund$1,500,000 2020
American Journalism Project$1,000,000 2020
Democracy Works$1,000,000 2020
New Venture Fund$1,000,000 2020
Borealis Philanthropy$900,000 2020
University of Southern California$875,000 2020
Project on Government Oversight$850,000 2020
American Press Institute$771,000 2020
Partnership For Public Service$750,000 2020
Pro Publica$700,000 2020
Protect Democracy Project$650,000 2020
R Street Institute$625,000 2020
Center for Investigative Reporting$600,000 2020
Miami Foundation$600,000 2020
URI Foundation and Alumni Engagement$550,000 2020
Georgetown University$535,000 2020
State Voices$525,000 2020
Proteus Fund$510,000 2020
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus$500,000 2020
North Carolina Community Foundation$500,000 2020
Center For Public Integrity$490,000 2020
Santa Fe Community Foundation$450,000 2020
Issue One$445,000 2020
Center For Technology and Civic Life$425,000 2020
Miami Foundation$400,000 2020
More In Common$400,000 2020
NEO Philanthropy$400,000 2020
New Venture Fund$400,000 2020
Bipartisan Policy Center$350,000 2020
Common Cause Education Fund$350,000 2020
NEO Philanthropy$350,000 2020
President and Fellows of Harvard College$350,000 2020
Rose Community Foundation$350,000 2020
Take Back Our Republic$325,000 2020
Texas Civil Rights Projects$325,000 2020
The Campaign Legal Center$325,000 2020
City Bureau NFP$300,000 2020
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Cuny Foundation$300,000 2020
Democracy Works$300,000 2020
Institute For Nonprofit News$300,000 2020
Millions of Conversations$300,000 2020
Montclair State University$300,000 2020
Muckrock Foundation$300,000 2020
National Immigration Law Center$300,000 2020
New America Foundation$300,000 2020
New Venture Fund$300,000 2020
New Venture Fund$300,000 2020
New York University$300,000 2020
President and Fellows of Harvard College$300,000 2020
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press$300,000 2020
Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education$300,000 2020
Tides Foundation$300,000 2020
Welcoming America$300,000 2020
Ohio State University$295,000 2020
Center For Civic Design$264,000 2020
Chalkbeat$250,000 2020
Emma Bowen Found Minority Intrsts M$250,000 2020
Free Press$250,000 2020
NALEO Educational Fund$250,000 2020
Participatory Budgeting Project$250,000 2020
ReflectUs$250,000 2020
Georgetown University$225,000 2020
Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law$225,000 2020
The American Constitution Societey for Law and Policy$220,000 2020
Field Foundation of Illinois$200,190 2020
American Oversight$200,000 2020
American Press Institute$200,000 2020
Data for Black Lives$200,000 2020
International Refugee Assistance Project$200,000 2020
League of Women Voters Education Fund$200,000 2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$200,000 2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$200,000 2020
Naacp Legal Defence Fund$200,000 2020
National Governors Association Center For Best Practices$200,000 2020
National Immigration Law Center$200,000 2020
New America Foundation$200,000 2020
New School$200,000 2020
News Revenue Hub$200,000 2020
Faith In Public Life$183,000 2020
Brennan Center for Justice$175,000 2020
Constitutional Accountability Center$175,000 2020
German Marshall Fund of the United States$175,000 2020
Government Accountability Project$175,000 2020
Millennial Action Project$175,000 2020
NALEO Educational Fund$175,000 2020
National Association of Black Journalists$175,000 2020
Sojourners$175,000 2020
Center for Economic and Policy Research$165,000 2020
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$162,924 2020
E-1 Hibri Foundation$160,000 2020
Mediajustice$160,000 2020
American Press Institute$150,000 2020
Aspen Institute$150,000 2020
Aspen Institute$150,000 2020
Bold Impact$150,000 2020
Business Forward Foundation$150,000 2020
Center For Democracy and Technology$150,000 2020
Common Cause Education Fund$150,000 2020
Community Partners$150,000 2020
Fund For Constitutional Government$150,000 2020
Good Jobs First$150,000 2020
Human Rights First$150,000 2020
International Women's Media Foundation$150,000 2020
Local Independent Online News Publishers$150,000 2020
New Venture Fund$150,000 2020
Niskanen Center$150,000 2020
Philanthropy For Active Civic Engagement$150,000 2020
Pillars Fund$150,000 2020
President and Fellows of Harvard College$150,000 2020
Student Press Law Center$150,000 2020
Trustees of Princeton University$150,000 2020
Values United Whistleblower Aid$150,000 2020
Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Trans$150,000 2020
Women's Congressional Policy Institute$150,000 2020
Congressional Progressive Caucus Center$145,000 2020
NEO Philanthropy$143,500 2020
Faith and Politics Institute$140,000 2020
Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law$140,000 2020
National Conference of State Legislatures$140,000 2020
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace$130,000 2020
Center For Internet Security$130,000 2020
Center For Election Innovation & Research$125,000 2020
Demos A Network For Ideas and Action$125,000 2020
Demos A Network For Ideas and Action$125,000 2020
E Pluribus Unum Foundation$125,000 2020
Equity Alliance$125,000 2020
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies$125,000 2020
League of Women Voters Education Fund$125,000 2020
Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation$125,000 2020
Muckrock Foundation$125,000 2020
New York University$125,000 2020
Pen American Center$125,000 2020
ProGeorgia State Table$125,000 2020
ThinkTennessee$125,000 2020
Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology$120,000 2020
National Conference on Citizenship$102,630 2020
American Enterprise Institute$100,000 2020
Arab American Institute Foundation$100,000 2020
Asian Pacific American Institute For Congressional Studies$100,000 2020
Aspen Institute$100,000 2020
Aspen Institute$100,000 2020
Bold Impact$100,000 2020
Borealis Philanthropy$100,000 2020
Brookings Institution$100,000 2020
Center for a New American Security$100,000 2020
Community Foundation of New Jersey$100,000 2020
Democracy North Carolina$100,000 2020
Entertainment Industry Foundation$100,000 2020
Free Press$100,000 2020
George Washington University$100,000 2020
Hopewell Fund$100,000 2020
Institute For Social Policy and Understanding$100,000 2020
International Documentary Associaton$100,000 2020
Islamic Society of North America$100,000 2020
Issue One$100,000 2020
Jefferson Centre Fr New Democratic Pr$100,000 2020
League of Women Voters Texas$100,000 2020
Mississippi Votes$100,000 2020
National Association of Hispanic Journalists$100,000 2020
National Conference of State Legislatures$100,000 2020
National League of Cities Institute$100,000 2020
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association$100,000 2020
Native American Rights Fund$100,000 2020
New Georgia Project$100,000 2020
New Venture Fund$100,000 2020
Pillars Fund$100,000 2020
Proteus Fund$100,000 2020
Public Knowledge$100,000 2020
Social Good Fund$100,000 2020
Solutions Journalism Network$100,000 2020
South Asian Americans Leading Together$100,000 2020
The Andrew Goodman Foundation$100,000 2020
The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia$100,000 2020
Trinity Forum$100,000 2020
University of Oregon Foundation$100,000 2020
West Virginia University Foundation$100,000 2020
Regents of the University of California, Riverside$94,600 2020
Repair the World$85,000 2020
New Venture Fund$84,000 2020
Center For Responsive Politics$75,000 2020
College To Congress$75,000 2020
Community Partners$75,000 2020
Documentary Educational Resources$75,000 2020
Documentary Educational Resources$75,000 2020
Fair Elections Center$75,000 2020
National Security Archive Fund$75,000 2020
Native American Journalists Association$75,000 2020
New America Foundation$75,000 2020
New Venture Fund$75,000 2020
New Venture Fund$75,000 2020
Nonprofit Vote$75,000 2020
Obsidian Collective Archives$75,000 2020
Pew Charitable Trusts$75,000 2020
Poynter Institute For Media Studies$75,000 2020
Take the Lead$75,000 2020
The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia$75,000 2020
The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia$75,000 2020
Wayne State University$75,000 2020
Women's Public Leadership Network$75,000 2020
LSU Foundation$74,966 2020
Institute For Nonprofit News$72,503 2020
City University of New York$60,000 2020
Muckrock Foundation$60,000 2020
Regents of the University of California, Riverside$50,015 2020
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System$50,000 2020
Center For Responsive Politics$50,000 2020
Civic TN$50,000 2020
Community Foundation of New Jersey$50,000 2020
Duke University$50,000 2020
Institute For Social Policy and Understanding$50,000 2020
Journalism and Women Symposium$50,000 2020
Library of Congress$50,000 2020
Massachusetts Media Fund$50,000 2020
Morgan State University Foundation$50,000 2020
New America Foundation$50,000 2020
North Carolina Community Foundation$50,000 2020
Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation$50,000 2020
Paul J. Aicher Foundation$50,000 2020
Social Science Research Council$50,000 2020
Social Science Research Council$50,000 2020
Yale University$50,000 2020
Georgetown University$35,000 2020
University of Maryland$34,000 2020
Menlo College$30,000 2020
Center For American Progress$25,000 2020
Congressional Management Foundation$25,000 2020
Election Reformers Network$25,000 2020
Foreign Policy Research Institute$25,000 2020
Internews$25,000 2020
Local Media Foundation$25,000 2020
New America Foundation$25,000 2020
The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania$25,000 2020
Wesleyan University$25,000 2020
Yale University$25,000 2020
Community Partners$20,000 2020
Yale University$20,000 2020
Louisiana State University and A&M College$16,000 2020
American Political Science Association$15,000 2020
Asian American Journalists Association$10,000 2020
Bold Impact$10,000 2020
Brookings Institution$10,000 2020
Business Forward Foundation$10,000 2020
Center For Civic Design$10,000 2020
Center For Election Innovation & Research$10,000 2020
Center For Technology and Civic Life$10,000 2020
City Bureau NFP$10,000 2020
College To Congress$10,000 2020
Community Partners$10,000 2020
Congressional Management Foundation$10,000 2020
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Cuny Foundation$10,000 2020
E Pluribus Unum Foundation$10,000 2020
Election Reformers Network$10,000 2020
Entertainment Industry Foundation$10,000 2020
Equity Alliance$10,000 2020
Federation of American Scientists$10,000 2020
Freedom Network Usa$10,000 2020
Fund For Constitutional Government$10,000 2020
Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda$10,000 2020
Hopewell Fund$10,000 2020
Institute For Social Policy and Understanding$10,000 2020
Islamic Society of North America$10,000 2020
Jefferson Centre Fr New Democratic Pr$10,000 2020
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies$10,000 2020
Journalism and Women Symposium$10,000 2020
Kanu Hawaii$10,000 2020
Millennial Action Project$10,000 2020
Moaa Military Family Initiative$10,000 2020
Morgan State University Foundation$10,000 2020
Muckrock Foundation$10,000 2020
National Association of Hispanic Journalists$10,000 2020
National Network For Youth$10,000 2020
Native American Journalists Association$10,000 2020
NEO Philanthropy$10,000 2020
NEO Philanthropy$10,000 2020
NEO Philanthropy$10,000 2020
New Venture Fund$10,000 2020
New Venture Fund$10,000 2020
News Revenue Hub$10,000 2020
Nonprofit Vote$10,000 2020
Obsidian Collective Archives$10,000 2020
Participatory Budgeting Project$10,000 2020
Philanthropy For Active Civic Engagement$10,000 2020
ReflectUs$10,000 2020
Social Good Fund$10,000 2020
Sojourners$10,000 2020
Student Press Law Center$10,000 2020
Take Back Our Republic$10,000 2020
Take the Lead$10,000 2020
ThinkTennessee$10,000 2020
Tides Foundation$10,000 2020
Trinity Forum$10,000 2020
University of Arizona Foundation$10,000 2020
Upturn$10,000 2020
Women's Congressional Policy Institute$10,000 2020
Women's Public Leadership Network$10,000 2020
Congressional Sports For Charity$2,500 2020
Congressional Women's Softball Game$2,500 2020
American Journalism Project$1,000,000 2019General support
Center For Investigative Reporting$900,000 2019Program support for Reveal Labs
Project On Government Oversight$850,000 2019General support
Miami Foundation$700,000 2019Program support for NewsMatch Fund
North Carolina Community Foundation$700,000 2019Program support for the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund
Pro Publica$700,000 2019General support
Center For Public Integrity$650,000 2019General support
Protect Democracy Project$650,000 2019General support
Wild Philanthropy$650,000 2019Program support for the State Infrastructure Fund
Partnership For Public Service$600,000 2019General support
New Venture Fund$550,000 2019Program support for 2020 Census Project
R Street Institute$525,000 2019Program support for the Governance Project and American Institutions Network
Lenfest Institute For Journalism$500,000 2019Program support for First Draft News
New Venture Fund$500,000 2019Program support for 2020 Census Project
Santa Fe Community Foundation$475,000 2019Program support for the New Mexico Local News Lab Fund
Bipartisan Policy Center$450,000 2019Program support for the Congress Project
Issue One$435,000 2019General support
Borealis Philanthropy$400,000 2019Program support for Race Equity in Journalism Fund
German Marshall Fund of the United States$400,000 2019Program support for the Alliance for Securing Democracy project
Miami Foundation$400,000 2019Program support for Legal Clinic Fund
New Venture Fund$400,000 2019Program support for the Trusted Elections Fund
Rethink Media$400,000 2019Program support for the democracy collaborative's communications efforts
Common Cause Education Fund$350,000 2019General support
Democracy Works$350,000 2019General support
President and Fellows of Harvard College$350,000 2019Program support for Technology and Social Change Project
Take Back Our Republic$350,000 2019General support
Votingworks$350,000 2019Program support for development of risk limiting audit tool
Campaign Legal Center$325,000 2019General support
Center For Strategic and International Studies$300,000 2019Program support for the Defending Democratic Institutions project
Congressional Management Foundation$300,000 2019General support
Democracy Works$300,000 2019General support
German Marshall Fund of the United States$300,000 2019Program support for Digital Democracy Project
Institute For Nonprofit News$300,000 2019General support
Millions of Conversations$300,000 2019General support
New Venture Fund$300,000 2019Program support for the Trust Project
New Venture Fund$300,000 2019Program support for the Trust Project
New York University$300,000 2019Program support for research on social media platforms and political advertisements
Proteus Fund$300,000 2019Program support for the RISE Together Fund
Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press$300,000 2019General support
Robert C Maynard Institute For Journalism Education$300,000 2019General support
University of Texas Foundation$300,000 2019Program support for the Engaging News Project
Center For Technology and Civic Life$275,000 2019General support
Center For Election Innovation & Research$250,000 2019General support
Demos A Network For Ideas and Action$250,000 2019Program support for Motor Voter compliance project
Emma L Bowen Foundation For Minority Interests In Media$250,000 2019General support
Reflectus$250,000 2019General support
Reflectus$250,000 2019General support
University of Arizona Foundation$250,000 2019Program support for the National Institute for Civil Discourse
Government Accountability Project$225,000 2019General support
Asian Americans Advancing Justice$220,000 2019Program support for education and legal services for MASA communities (ASIAN LAW CAUCUS)
Gild Foundation$200,190 2019Program support for Chicago Media and Storytelling project
American Press Institute$200,000 2019General support
Andrew Goodman Foundation$200,000 2019General support
Bipartisan Policy Center$200,000 2019Program support for Elections Project
Brookings Institution$200,000 2019Program support for Lawfare
Center For Internet Security$200,000 2019Program support for Elections Security Best Practices project
Common Cause Education Fund$200,000 2019Program support for analysis of documents related to redistricting
Community Foundation of New Jersey$200,000 2019Program support for Local News Lab Fund
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Cuny Foundation$200,000 2019Program support for the Center for Community and Ethnic Media project
Free Press$200,000 2019Program support for the News Voices project
Fund For Constitutional Government$200,000 2019Program support for Openthegovernment.org
Fund For the City of New York$200,000 2019Program support for the Governance Lab
Georgetown University$200,000 2019Program support for the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$200,000 2019Program support for Election Data and Science Lab
Montclair State University Foundation$200,000 2019Program support for New Jersey News Commons
National Association of Hispanic Journalists$200,000 2019General support
National Immigration Law Center$200,000 2019Program support for litigation and legal services
New America Foundation$200,000 2019Program support for TechCongress
New America Foundation$200,000 2019Program support for Political Reform Project
News Revenue Hub$200,000 2019General support
Obsidian Collection Archives$200,000 2019General support
Participatory Budgeting Project$200,000 2019General support
Pen American Center$200,000 2019Program support for combating online harassment
Southern Coalition For Socialjustice$200,000 2019General support
Tides Foundation$200,000 2019Program support for POPVOX LegiDash Fund
Welcoming America$200,000 2019General support
Ohio State University$180,000 2019Program support for Connecting to Congress project
Former Members of Congress$175,000 2019General support
Georgetown University$175,000 2019Program support for the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation
Millennial Action Project$175,000 2019General support
New Venture Fund$175,000 2019Program support for the Civic Engagement and Elections Research Fund
William J Brennan Jr Center For Justice$175,000 2019Program support for research on executive branch powers
College To Congress$165,000 2019General support
President and Fellows of Harvard College$160,000 2019Program support for the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Aspen Institute$150,000 2019Program support for Congressional Program
Business Forward Foundation$150,000 2019Program support for diversity and inclusion programming
Center For Democracy and Technology$150,000 2019Program support for election cybersecurity research and best practices
Community Partners$150,000 2019Program support for Open News
Congressional Institute$150,000 2019Program support for the Congressional Reform Project
Constitutional Accountability Center$150,000 2019Program support for congressional oversight
El Hibri Foundation$150,000 2019Program support for field leadership training and capacity building
Faith In Public Life$150,000 2019Program support for building networks among faith leaders and MASA communities
Former Members of Congress$150,000 2019General support
Joint Center For Political and Economic Studies$150,000 2019General support
Latino Educational Fund$150,000 2019Program support for Staff Up Congress
Library of Congress$150,000 2019Program support for Congressional Research Service seminars and trainings
Local Independent Online News Publishers$150,000 2019General support
National League of Cities Institute$150,000 2019Program support for nonpartisan citizen engagment efforts
New School$150,000 2019Program support for Journalism + Design program
Niskanen Center$150,000 2019General support
Pepperdine University$150,000 2019Program support for the American Project
Pillars Fund$150,000 2019Program support for the Pillars Fund and Pop Culture Collaborative project
President and Fellows of Harvard College$150,000 2019Program support for the Belfer Center's Defending Digital Democracy Project
Sojourners$150,000 2019General support
Student Press Law Center$150,000 2019General support
National Conference of State Legislatures$140,000 2019Program support for research on election administration
University of Chicago$140,000 2019Program support for the Project on Political Reform
Institute For Nonprofit News$131,230 2019Program support for nonprofit news insrance project
Aspen Institute$125,000 2019Program support for the Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership
Center For American Progress$125,000 2019Program support for research on generational change and democracy
Democracy North Carolina$125,000 2019General support
Do Something$125,000 2019Program support for nonpartisan voter education efforts
East Pluribus Unum Foundation$125,000 2019General support
Faith and Politics Institute$125,000 2019General support
Firerock Foundation$125,000 2019General support
League of Women Voters Education Fund$125,000 2019Program support to conduct non-partisan outreach and communication
Morgan State University Foundation$125,000 2019Program support for the Morgan Initiative
Pen American Center$125,000 2019Program support for the Press Freedom Initiative Fund
Think Tennessee$125,000 2019General support
Duke University$120,000 2019Program support for the News Measures Research Project
Public Knowledge$120,000 2019Program support for Communications Justice fellows
Wild Philanthropy$120,000 2019Program support for Movement Law Lab
Women'S Public Leadership Network$120,000 2019General support
American Press Institute$104,230 2019Program support for the Election SOS project
Federation of American Scientists$103,500 2019Program support for Congressional Science Policy Initiative
Asian Americans Journalist Association$100,000 2019General support
Asian Pacific American Institute For Congressional Studies$100,000 2019General support
Aspen Institute$100,000 2019Program support for the Socrates project
Bold Impact$100,000 2019Program support for Rights x Tech convenings
Borealis Philanthropy$100,000 2019Program support for Race Equity in Journalism Fund
Brookings Institution$100,000 2019Program support for House Oversight Tracker
Center For Civic Design$100,000 2019General support
Center For Responsive Politics$100,000 2019Program support for political advertisement transparency
Colorado Seminary$100,000 2019Program support for the Colorado Media Project
Entertainment Industry Foundation$100,000 2019Program support for the I Am A Voter campaign
Foreign Policy Research Institute$100,000 2019Program suppport for Foreign Influence Election 2020 project
Free Press$100,000 2019Program support for Change the Terms coalition
George Washington University$100,000 2019Program support for the Monkey Cage
Hopewell Fund$100,000 2019Program support for Over Zero
Institute For Social Policy and Understanding$100,000 2019General support
International Refugee Assistance Project$100,000 2019Program support for family reunification community lawyering and impact litigation work
Internews$100,000 2019Program support for the Listening Post Collective
Jefferson Center For New Democratic Processes$100,000 2019Program support for the Your Voice Ohio project
Kennesaw State Unversity Research and Service Foundation$100,000 2019Program support for the Georgia News Lab
Leadership Conference Education Fund$100,000 2019Program suppport for voting rights communications project
Lenfest Institute For Journalism$100,000 2019Program support for the Community Listening and Engagement Fund
Mediajustice$100,000 2019Program support for Change the Terms coalition
National Association of Black Journalists$100,000 2019Capacity support for operations management
National Disability Rights Network$100,000 2019Program support for voter disability access and rights awareness
Native American Rights Fund$100,000 2019Program support for collaboration with US Postal Service on voter access
New Georgia Project$100,000 2019General support
New Venture Fund$100,000 2019Program support for the Demand Progress Legislative Capacity Project
New Venture Fund$100,000 2019Program support for the Demand Progress Legislative Capacity Project
New Venture Fund$100,000 2019Program support for Media Democracy Fund's Unicorn Fund
New York University$100,000 2019Program support for research on social media platforms and political advertisements
One Voice$100,000 2019Program support for education about voter registration modernization in Mississippi
Philanthropy For Active Civic Engagement$100,000 2019Program support for Faith In/And Democracy project
President and Fellows of Harvard College$100,000 2019Program support for the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting
President and Fellows of Harvard College$100,000 2019Program support for the Defending Digital Democracy project
President and Fellows of Harvard College$100,000 2019Program support for the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Proteus Fund$100,000 2019Program support for the Security and Rights Collaborative
Social Good Fund$100,000 2019Program support for Spaceship Media
Solutions Journalism Network$100,000 2019General support
Trinity Forum$100,000 2019Program support for religious pluralism research and outreach
Trustees of Tufts College$100,000 2019Program support for Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement
University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill$100,000 2019Program support for the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting
University of Southern California$100,000 2019Program support for voting location siting tool
Upturn$100,000 2019Program support for research on ad platforms and discrimination
West Virginia University Foundation$100,000 2019Program support for research on recruitment techniques of racial extremist groups
Wild Philanthropy$100,000 2019Program support for Thought Partnerships
Womens Congressional Policy Institute$100,000 2019General support
Yale Univeristy$100,000 2019Program support for the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic
University of Rhode Island Foundation & Alumni Engagement$98,095 2019Program support for the URI VOTES project
University of Chicago$90,000 2019Program support for Bright Line Watch
Kanu Hawaii$85,000 2019Program support to increase voter participation in Hawai'i
Cato Institute$75,000 2019Program support for research on American attitudes on pluralism and immigration
Center For Responsive Politics$75,000 2019Program support for Foreign Lobby Watch Database
Common Cause Education Fund$75,000 2019Program support for nonpartisan civic engagement efforts in Hawaii
Community Partners$75,000 2019Program support for the Future of California Elections project
Election Reformers Network$75,000 2019Program support for research around election officer conflict of interest policies
Equity Alliance$75,000 2019General support
Hopewell Fund$75,000 2019Program support for Over Zero
Islamic Society of North America$75,000 2019Program support for Shoulder to Shoulder Islamophobia trainings
Lincoln Network$75,000 2019Program support for technology resources for Congress
National Association of Black Journalists$75,000 2019General support
National Security Archive Fund$75,000 2019General support
Native American Journalists Association$75,000 2019Program support for Red Press Initiative
New Venture Fund$75,000 2019Program support for Demand Progress Legislative Capacity Project
Pew Charitable Trusts$75,000 2019Program support for House Chiefs of Staff initiative
Poynter Institute For Media Studies$75,000 2019Program support for independent fact checking
Rector and Visitors of the University$75,000 2019Program support for Center for Effective Lawmaking
Wayne State University$75,000 2019Program support for the Levin Center
Trustees of the University$71,500 2019Program support for the Center for High Impact Philanthropy
Morgan State University Foundation$70,000 2019Program support for Institute for Urban Journalism
Ethics and Public Policy Center$62,500 2019Program support for the Faith Angle Forum
American Political Science Association$60,000 2019Program support for APSA Public Service Fellowship
Rutgers University$59,208 2019Program support for platform accountability research
Allied Media Projects$50,000 2019Program support for Southern media community needs assessment
Aspen Institute$50,000 2019Program support for Inclusive America Project
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System$50,000 2019Program support for Project DATA
Business Forward Foundation$50,000 2019Program support for engagement of business leaders on rule of law issues
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist$50,000 2019Program support for MLK50 Conference
Fair Elections Center$50,000 2019Program support for pollworker recruitment project
Georgia Coalition For the Peoples Agenda$50,000 2019General support
Interfaith Youth Core$50,000 2019Program support for interfaith innovation fellowship program
Menlo College$50,000 2019Program support for Women Also Know Stuff
Moaa Military Family Initiative$50,000 2019Program support for the Military Voter Education Project
New York University$50,000 2019Program support for racial targeting and digital marketing research
New York University$50,000 2019Program support for Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue Radical Hospitality convening
Nonprofit Vote$50,000 2019Program support for National Voter Registration Day
Project On Government Oversight$50,000 2019Program support for the Constitution Project
Social Science Research Council$50,000 2019Program support for the Digital Disinformation Research and Mapping Project
Take the Lead$50,000 2019Program support for 50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism
University of Oregon Foundation$50,000 2019Program support for the Gather project
Yale Univeristy$50,000 2019Program support for research on digital outage
President$45,000 2019Program support for Solidarity Journalism (BOARD of TRUSTEES SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY)
New York University$44,440 2019Program support for research on misinformation and social media platforms
California State University - Northridge Foundation$44,000 2019Program support to enhance ethnic media sustainability collaboration and engagement
Journalism and Women Symposium$40,000 2019General support
Northeastern University$40,000 2019Program support for research around the role of misinformation on social media platforms
Duke University$39,137 2019Program support for the News Measures Research Project
University of Texas Foundation$34,958 2019Program support for the Engaging News Project
Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund Inc Dba the Vance Center$30,000 2019Program support for Lawyers for Reporters
Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation$30,000 2019General support
Public Narrative$30,000 2019Program support for Chicago Independent Media Alliance
Bipartisan Policy Center$25,000 2019Program support for the Democracy Project's efforts in election administration
Equity Alliance$25,000 2019Capacity support to build out human resources systems and policies
Georgetown University$25,000 2019Program support for initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life
Georgetown University$25,000 2019Program support for Dialogue and Dine series
German Marshall Fund of the United States$25,000 2019Capacity building support for organizational infrastructure
Wesleyan University$25,000 2019Program support for the Wesleyan Media Project
Win Win Network$25,000 2019Program support for automatic voter registration implementation in Washington state
Common Cause Education Fund$20,000 2019Program support for automatic voter registration implementation in Massachusetts
Freedom Network Usa$20,000 2019Program support for organizational wellness and sustainability efforts
National Issues Forums Institute$20,000 2019Program support for Connecting to Congress project
National Network For Youth$20,000 2019Program support for organizational wellness and substainability efforts
United We Dream$20,000 2019Program support for organizational wellness and sustainability efforts
Wild Philanthropy$20,000 2019Program support for organizational wellness and sustainability efforts
George Washington University$15,000 2019Program support for project on Political Communication Ethics
Center For Investigative Reporting$1,500,000 2018General support
Center For Public Integrity$1,500,000 2018General support
Pro Publica$1,500,000 2018General support
Project On Government Oversight$1,000,000 2018General support
Miami Foundation$950,000 2018Program support for NewsMatch 2018
Bipartisan Policy Center$650,000 2018Program support for research and education to build Congressional capacity
Community Foundation of New Jersey$650,000 2018Program support for the New Jersey news ecosystem project
New Venture Fund$550,000 2018Program support for 2020 Census Project
Protect Democracy Project$500,000 2018General support
Common Cause Education Fund$450,000 2018General support
Bipartisan Policy Center$400,000 2018Program support for research and education around election administration
Miami Foundation$400,000 2018Program support for Legal Clinic Fund
Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press$400,000 2018General support
Santa Fe Community Foundation$400,000 2018Program support for the New Mexico Local News Lab Fund
Texas Civil Rights Project$390,000 2018Program support for Motor Voter and High School compliance project
News Revenue Hub$370,000 2018General support
R Street Institute$365,000 2018General support
Democracy Works$350,000 2018General support
Take Back Our Republic$350,000 2018General support
Womens Policy$330,000 2018General support
Campaign Legal Center$325,000 2018General support
Free Press$300,000 2018Program support for the News Voices project
German Marshall Fund of the United States$300,000 2018Program support for the Alliance for Securing Democracy project
German Marshall Fund of the United States$300,000 2018Program support for Digital Democracy Project
Institute For Nonprofit News$300,000 2018General support
New Venture Fund$300,000 2018Program support for the Trust Project
New Venture Fund$300,000 2018Program support for Media Democracy Fund
Proteus Fund$300,000 2018Program support for the Security and Rights Collaborative
Robert C Maynard Institute For Journalism Education$300,000 2018General support
University of Texas Foundation$300,000 2018Program support for the Engaging News Project
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System$280,000 2018Program support for Project DATA
League of Women Voters Education Fund$260,000 2018Program support for Transformation Roadmap implementation
American University$250,000 2018Program support for Investigative Reporting Workshop
Center For Election Innovation & Research$250,000 2018General support
Center For Technology and Civic Life$250,000 2018General support
Chalkbeat$250,000 2018General support
Congressional Management Foundation$250,000 2018General support
Demos A Network For Ideas and Action$250,000 2018Program support for Motor Voter compliance project
Emma L Bowen Foundation For Minority Interests In Media$250,000 2018Program support for diversity in media internship program
Fund For Constitutional Government$250,000 2018Program support for Open the Government coalition
Immigrant Legal Resource Center$250,000 2018Program support for the New Americans Campaign
Millions of Conversations$250,000 2018General support
Moaa Military Family Initiative$250,000 2018Program support for the Military Voter Registration Project
Montclair State University Foundation$250,000 2018Program support for Center for Cooperative Media
New York University$250,000 2018Program support for the Membership Puzzle Project
North Carolina Community Foundation$250,000 2018Program support for the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund
Online News Association$250,000 2018Program support for the Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism
Reflectus$250,000 2018Program support for ReflectUs
Rethink Media$250,000 2018Program support for the Democracy Collaborative's communication efforts
University of Arizona Foundation$250,000 2018Program support for the National Institute for Civil Discourse
Council of State Governments$225,000 2018Program support for election cybersecurity working group
Center For Internet Security$213,000 2018Program support for elections infrastructure security research and trainings
American Press Institute$200,000 2018General support
Asian Americans Advancing Justice$200,000 2018Program support for education and legal services for MASA communities (ASIAN LAW CAUCUS)
City Bureau NFP$200,000 2018General support
Georgetown University$200,000 2018Program support for the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection
Gild Foundation$200,000 2018Program support for Chicago Local News Field Fund
Government Accountability Project$200,000 2018Program support for whistleblower education
Institute For Nonprofit News$200,000 2018Program support for the American Journalism Project
Issue One$200,000 2018Program support for the Ethics and Accountability Project
Issue One$200,000 2018General support
Legal Momentum$200,000 2018Program support for the Policing Reform Campaign
Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation$200,000 2018Program support for Election Law Program
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$200,000 2018Program support for Election Data and Science Lab
Mozilla Foundation$200,000 2018Program support for the Coral Project
National Governors Association Center For Best Practices$200,000 2018Program support for election security governance project
National Immigration Law Center$200,000 2018Program support for litigation and legal services
New Venture Fund$200,000 2018Program support for 2020 Census Project
Participatory Budgeting Project$200,000 2018General support
Poynter Institute For Media Studies$200,000 2018Program support for independent fact checking
Georgetown University$190,000 2018Program support for the Resilient Democracy Coalition
Obsidian Collection Archives$185,000 2018General support
Silicon Valley Community Foundation$183,500 2018Program support for ReflectUS
Ohio State University$180,000 2018Program support for Connecting to Congress project
Former Members of Congress$175,000 2018General support
William J Brennan Jr Center For Justice$175,000 2018Program support for research on executive branch powers
Business Forward Foundation$170,000 2018Program support to engage business leaders in creating inclusive communities
New York University$151,800 2018Program support for GovLab's Congressional CrowdLaw project
American Press Institute$150,000 2018Program support for the Trusting News project
Aspen Institute$150,000 2018Program support for Aspen Congressional Program
Center For Civic Design$150,000 2018General support
Center For Strategic and International Studies$150,000 2018Program support for assessing threats to the U.S. judicial system
Community Partners$150,000 2018Program support for Open News' Local Coder Cohort
Congressional Institute$150,000 2018Program support for the Congressional Reform Project
Faith In Public Life$150,000 2018Program support for building networks among faith leaders and MASA communities
Human Rights First$150,000 2018Program support for Veterans for American Ideals project
Joint Center For Political and Economic Studies$150,000 2018Program support for the Black Talent Initiative
Library of Congress$150,000 2018Program support for Congressional Research Service seminars and trainings
National Disability Rights Network$150,000 2018Program support for voter disability access and rights awareness
Pew Research Center$150,000 2018Program support for elections survey
Pillars Fund$150,000 2018Program support for project to counter Islamophobia through narrative change
Social Science Research Council$150,000 2018Program support for the Social Data Initiative
Solutions Journalism Network$150,000 2018General support
National Conference of State Legislatures$140,000 2018Program support for research on election administration
University of Chicago$140,000 2018Program support for the Project on Political Reform
Poynter Institute For Media Studies$130,000 2018Program support for libel and defamation e-learning course
Yale Univeristy$130,000 2018Program support for the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic
Aspen Institute$125,000 2018Program support for the Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership
Center For American Progress$125,000 2018Program support for research on generational change and democracy
Faith and Politics Institute$125,000 2018General support
Morgan State University Foundation$125,000 2018Program support for the Morgan Initiative
New America Foundation$125,000 2018Program support for Political Reform Project
Opengov Foundation$125,000 2018General support
Pen American Center$125,000 2018Program support for the Press Freedom Initiative Fund
Project On Government Oversight$125,000 2018Program support for the Constitution Project
Duke University$120,000 2018Program support for the News Measures Research Project
Wild Philanthropy$120,000 2018Program support for Movement Law Lab
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Cuny Foundation$111,000 2018Program support for the Center for Community and Ethnic Media
Trinity Forum$110,000 2018Program support for research on role of Christian leaders in political life
Aspen Institute$100,000 2018Program support for the Socrates project
Brookings Institution$100,000 2018Program support for nonpartisan research on primary elections
Brookings Institution$100,000 2018Program support for Lawfare
Center For Democracy and Technology$100,000 2018Program support for election privacy and security project
Center For Responsive Politics$100,000 2018Program support for the Foreign Lobby Watch Project
Chicago Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law$100,000 2018Program support for evaluation of Illinois automatic voter registration
College To Congress$100,000 2018General support
Convergence Center For Policy Resolution$100,000 2018Program support to increase Congressional effectiveness
Firerock Foundation$100,000 2018General support
George Washington University$100,000 2018Program support for the Monkey Cage
Hopewell Fund$100,000 2018Program support for Over Zero
Institute For Social Policy and Understanding$100,000 2018General support
Internews$100,000 2018Program support for the Listening Post Collective
Jefferson Center For New Democratic Processes$100,000 2018Program support for the Your Voice Ohio project
Kennesaw State Unversity Research and Service Foundation$100,000 2018Program support for the Georgia News Lab
Latino Educational Fund$100,000 2018Program support for ensuring diversity in Congressional staff and promoting civility
Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law$100,000 2018General support
Lugar Center$100,000 2018General support
National Affairs$100,000 2018Program support for event series promoting democratic institutions and the rule of law
National Association of Black Journalists$100,000 2018Capacity support for operations management
National Security Archive Fund$100,000 2018General support
New America Foundation$100,000 2018Program support for TechCongress initiative
New Venture Fund$100,000 2018Program support for the Demand Progress Legislative Capacity Project
New Venture Fund$100,000 2018Program support for the Civic Engagement and Elections Research Collaborative Fund
New Venture Fund$100,000 2018Program support for the Pluribus Project
New Venture Fund$100,000 2018Program support for the Center for Secure and Modern Elections
Niskanen Center$100,000 2018General support
One Voice$100,000 2018Program support for education about voter registration modernization in Mississippi
Outlier Media A Project of Investigative Reporters and Editors$100,000 2018Program support for Outlier Media's service journalism project
Partnership For Public Service$100,000 2018General support
Philanthropy For Active Civic Engagement$100,000 2018Program support for Faith In/And Democracy's engagement of faith leaders and communities
President and Fellows of Harvard College$100,000 2018Program support for the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
President and Fellows of Harvard College$100,000 2018Program support for the Belfer Center's Defending Digital Democracy Project
President and Fellows of Harvard College$100,000 2018Program support for the Ida B. Wells Society of Investigative Reporting
Proteus Fund$100,000 2018Program support for the Security and Rights Collaborative
Rethink Media$100,000 2018Program support for the Security and Rights Collaborative's communications work
Social Science Research Council$100,000 2018Program support for the Digital Disinformation Research and Mapping Project
Tides Foundation$100,000 2018Program support for POPVOX LegiDash Fund
Trustees of Tufts College$100,000 2018Program support for research on youth electoral participation
University of Oregon Foundation$100,000 2018Program support for the Agora Journalism Center to provide journalism engagement tools
University of Texas Foundation$99,985 2018Program support for research about trust in elections
University of Rhode Island Foundation & Alumni Engagement$99,961 2018Program support for analysis of polling place efficacy
Think Tennessee$90,739 2018Program support for education about voter registration modernization in Tennessee
Silicon Valley Community Foundation$90,000 2018Program support for the Women Influencers Network
University of Chicago$90,000 2018Program support for Bright Line Watch
Journalism and Women Symposium$80,000 2018General support
Business Forward Foundation$75,000 2018Program support for protecting the courts project
Community Partners$75,000 2018Program support for the Future of California Elections project
Edward M Kennedy Institute For the United States Senate$75,000 2018Program support for development of strategic plan for collaboration on civic education
Fair Elections Center$75,000 2018Program support for workelections.com
Icivics$75,000 2018Program support for development of strategic plan for collaboration on civic education
Lincoln Network$75,000 2018Program support for technology resources for Congress
Nonprofit Vote$75,000 2018Program support for National Voter Registration Day
Pew Charitable Trusts$75,000 2018Program support for House Chiefs of Staff initiative
Rector and Visitors of the University$75,000 2018Program support for Center for Effective Lawmaking
Sojourners$75,000 2018Program support for Matthew 25 Initiative
Wayne State University$75,000 2018Program support for the Levin Center's research on Congressional oversight
Trustees of the University$71,500 2018Program support for the Center for High Impact Philanthropy
California State University - Northridge Foundation$70,000 2018Program support for ethnic media work
Ethics and Public Policy Center$62,500 2018Program support for the Faith Angle Forum
Rutgers University$59,208 2018Program support for platform accountability research
Icivics$57,000 2018Program support for development of strategic plan for collaboration on civic education
American Press Institute$50,000 2018Program support for research on political information in a healthy democracy
Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget$50,000 2018Program support for government transparency and fact checking project
Common Cause Education Fund$50,000 2018Program support for nonpartisan research on automatic voter registration
Congressional Sports For Charity$50,000 2018Program support for Congressional baseball game
East Pluribus Unum Foundation$50,000 2018General support
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist$50,000 2018Program support for MLK50 Conference
Institute For Nonprofit News$50,000 2018Program support for the News Revenue Hub
Take the Lead$50,000 2018Program support for 50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism
University of Chicago$50,000 2018Program support for the Project on Political Reform
Yale Univeristy$50,000 2018Program support for research on digital outage
Rector and Visitors of the University$45,000 2018Program support for technical advising on ASNE Diversity Survey
New York University$44,440 2018Program support for research on misinformation and social media platforms
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library Foundation$43,000 2018Program support for development of strategic plan for collaboration on civic education
Islamic Society of North America$40,000 2018Program support for Shoulder to Shoulder Islamophobia trainings
Northeastern University$40,000 2018Program support for research around the role of misinformation on social media platforms
University System of New Hampshire$40,000 2018Program support to pilot digital hearings to better engage constituents
University of Texas Foundation$34,958 2018Program support for the Engaging News Project
Reed Institute$30,250 2018Program support for the Cooperative Congressional Election Study
Bipartisan Policy Center$25,000 2018Program support for research and education around election administration
Georgetown University$25,000 2018Program support for Institute of Politics and Public Service Dialogue and Dine series
Georgetown University$25,000 2018Program support for Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life
Lawfare Institute$25,000 2018Capacity support for video and podcast production
Lincoln Network$25,000 2018Program support for technology resources for Congress
Poynter Institute For Media Studies$25,000 2018Capacity support for strategic planning for the Local Independent Online News Publishers project
Kartemquin Educational Films$20,000 2018Program support for Represent an educational film
National Issues Forums Institute$20,000 2018Program support for Connecting to Congress project
Texas Civil Rights Project$20,000 2018Capacity support for executive coaching and management training
National Press Photographers Foundation$10,000 2018General support
Center For Investigative Reporting$1,500,000 2017General support
Center For Public Integrity$1,500,000 2017General support
Pro Publica$1,500,000 2017General support
Miami Foundation$1,020,000 2017Program support for the News Match Fund for Nonprofit News
North Carolina Community Foundation$700,000 2017Program support for the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund
Bipartisan Policy Center$650,000 2017Program support for the Democracy Project's efforts in Congress
Community Foundation of New Jersey$650,000 2017Program support for the New Jersey news ecosystem project
Democracy Works$650,000 2017General support
Immigrant Legal Resource Center$500,000 2017Program support for the New Americans Campaign
Project On Government Oversight$500,000 2017General support
Common Cause Education Fund$475,000 2017General support
Institute For Nonprofit News$417,000 2017Program support for the News Revenue Hub
Bipartisan Policy Center$400,000 2017Program support for the Democracy Project's efforts in elections
Georgetown University$400,000 2017Program support for Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection
Harvard Co$400,000 2017Program support for the Defending Digital Democracy project
New Venture Fund$400,000 2017Program support for the Civic Engagement and Elections Research Collaborative Fund
Proteus Fund$400,000 2017Program support for the Security and Rights Collaborative
Reporters Committee Freedom Of$400,000 2017General support
R Street Institute$365,000 2017General support
Civic Nation$350,000 2017Program support for campaign on diversity and tolerance
Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law$350,000 2017Program support for pro bono litigation for vulnerable communities
Take Back Our Republic$350,000 2017General support
University of Arizona Foundation$350,000 2017Program support for the National Institute for Civic Discourse
Campaign Legal Center$325,000 2017General Support
Center For Investigative Reporting$325,000 2017Program support for Reveal Labs
Participatory Budgeting Project$325,000 2017General support
Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania$325,000 2017Program support for the Center for High Impact Philanthropy
Free Press$310,000 2017Program support for the News Voices: New Jersey Project
Asian Americans Advancing Justice$300,000 2017Program support for education and legal services for Arab Middle Eastern Muslim and South Asian communities
Demos A Network For Ideas and Action$300,000 2017Program support for Motor Voter compliance project
German Marshall Fund of the Us$300,000 2017Program support for the Alliance for Securing Democracy
Institute For Nonprofit News$300,000 2017General support
National Immigration Law Center$300,000 2017Program support for litigation and legal services
News Leaders Association$300,000 2017Program support for annual newsroom diversity survey
University of Texas Foundation$300,000 2017Program support for the Engaging News Project
Hopewell Fund$280,000 2017Program support for Center for Election Innovation & Research
New York University$275,000 2017Program support for the Membership Puzzle Project
American Press Institute$250,000 2017General support
American University$250,000 2017Program support for Investigative Reporting Workshop
Center For Technology and Civic Life$250,000 2017General support
Congressional Management Foundation$250,000 2017General support
Emma Bowen Found Minority Intrsts M$250,000 2017Program support for diversity in media internship program
Faith and Politics Institute$250,000 2017General support
Fund For Constitutional Government$250,000 2017Program support for OpenTheGovernment
Poynter Institute For Media Studies$250,000 2017Program support for the Local Independent Online News Publishers project
Poynter Institute For Media Studies$250,000 2017Program support for independent fact checking
Rethink Media$250,000 2017Program support for Collaborative Communications Inititative on Money in Politics
Ethics and Public Policy Center$226,750 2017Program support for understanding the American electorate
Mozilla Foundation$225,000 2017Program support for the Coral Project
Moaa Military Family Initiative$220,000 2017Program support for the Military Voter Education Project
Asian American Journalists Association$200,000 2017General support
Center For Democracy and Technology$200,000 2017Program support for election privacy and security project
Harvard Co$200,000 2017Program support for the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting
Issue One$200,000 2017General support
Lenfest Institute For Journalism$200,000 2017Program support for the Community Listening and Engagement Fund
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$200,000 2017Program support for the Election Data and Science Lab
Naacp Legal Defence Fund$200,000 2017Program support for the Policing Reform Campaign
Protect Democracy Project$200,000 2017General support
Public Agenda$200,000 2017Program support for Participatory Budgeting Research
Us Committee For Refuges and Immigr$200,000 2017Program support for outreach to Muslim-American communities
Wild Philanthropy$200,000 2017Program support for Movement Law Lab
Former Members of Congress$175,000 2017General support
Millennial Action Project$175,000 2017General support
Texas Civil Rights Project$175,000 2017Program support for implementation of voter registration law
William J Brennan Jr Center For Justice$175,000 2017Program support for research on executive branch powers
Aspen Institute$150,000 2017Program support for Aspen Congressional Program
Brookings Institution$150,000 2017Program support for nonpartisan research on primary elections
Congressional Institute$150,000 2017Program support for the Congressional Reform Project
Demos A Network For Ideas and Action$150,000 2017Program support for motor voter compliance project
Faith In Public Life$150,000 2017Program support for building networks among faith leaders and MASA communities
Hopewell Fund$150,000 2017Program support for Over Zero
Human Rights First$150,000 2017Program support for Vets for American Ideals
Issue One$150,000 2017Program support for the Ethics and Accountability Project
Jefferson Centre Fr New Democratic Pr$150,000 2017Program support for the Your Voice Ohio project
Joint Center For Political Econ Stu$150,000 2017Program support for the Black Talent Initiative
Library of Congress$150,000 2017Program support for Congressional Research Service seminars and trainings
Lugar Center$150,000 2017General support
Online News Association$150,000 2017Program support for the Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism
Pepperdine University$150,000 2017Program support for the Project on the Renewal of American Conservatism
Student Press Law Center$150,000 2017General support
West Virginia University Foundation$150,000 2017Program support for the Media Innovation Center
Nat'L Conference of State Legislatu$140,000 2017Program support for research on election administration
Womens Policy$130,000 2017General support
Center For Responsive Politics$125,000 2017Program support for the Foreign Lobby Watch Project
Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation$125,000 2017Program support for the Election Law Program
Morgan State University Foundation$125,000 2017Program Support for the Morgan Initiative
Opengov Foundation$125,000 2017General support
Partnership For Public Service$125,000 2017Program support for research on congressional oversight
Partnership For Public Service$125,000 2017General support
Project On Government Oversight$125,000 2017Program support for the Constitution Project
Silicon Valley Community Foundation$125,000 2017Program support for ReflectUs
Times Publishing Company$125,000 2017Program support for independent nonpartisan fact-checking to improve news coverage and civic discourse in the states
University of Maryland Foundation$125,000 2017Program support for research on election cybersecurity issues
University of Maryland Alumni Association$105,600 2017Program support for research on political cooperation
Andrew Goodman Foundation$100,000 2017Program support for Vote Everywhere
Aspen Institute$100,000 2017Program support for the Socrates Program
Az State U Foundation For A New American$100,000 2017Program support for News Literacy Lab
Brookings Institution$100,000 2017Program support for Lawfare
Business Forward Foundation$100,000 2017Program support for educational campaign on the importance of respecting and protecting vulnerable communities
Campaign Finance Institute$100,000 2017General support
Center For Civic Design$100,000 2017General support
Coast Alaska$100,000 2017Program support for journalism collaboration model project
Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget$100,000 2017Program support for Congressional Budget Office project
Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget$100,000 2017Program support for government transparency and fact checking project
Cultivate the Karass$100,000 2017General support
Curators of University$100,000 2017Program support for the Trusting News project
Fairvote$100,000 2017General support
Firerock Foundation$100,000 2017General support
George Washington University$100,000 2017Program support for the Monkey Cage
Georgetown University$100,000 2017Program support for the Constructive Voices for the Common Good dialogue series
Georgetown University$100,000 2017Program support for the Resilient Democracy Coalition
Government Accountability Project$100,000 2017Program support for whistleblower education
Harvard Co$100,000 2017Program support for the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Kennesaw St University Research Service Fo$100,000 2017Program support for the Georgia News Lab
Latino Educational Fund$100,000 2017Program support for ensuring diversity in Congressional staff and promoting civility
Lincoln Network$100,000 2017Program support for technology resources for Congress
Lincoln Network$100,000 2017Program support for the Reboot Congress conference
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$100,000 2017Program support for Polling Place of the Future
National Association of Black Journalists$100,000 2017Capacity support for operations management
National Security Archive Fund$100,000 2017General support
New Venture Fund$100,000 2017Program support for Next Century Cities' Democracy on a Gig Initiative
New Venture Fund$100,000 2017Program support for the Demand Progress Legislative Capacity Project
Niskanen Center$100,000 2017General support
Robert Maynard Institute For Journalism$100,000 2017General support
Solutions Journalism Network$100,000 2017General support
Trustees of Tufts College$100,000 2017Program support for research on youth electoral participation
University of Chicago$100,000 2017Program support for the Project on Political Reform
Voice$100,000 2017General support
Wayne State University$100,000 2017Program support for experimentation around the sustainability of local news
Yale Univeristy$90,000 2017Program support for Bright Lines Watch
President-Board of Trustees Santa C$85,000 2017Capacity support for strategic planning for the Trust Project
Council of State Governments$75,000 2017Program support for elections cybersecurity working group
Institute For Social Policy Underst$75,000 2017General support
Pen American Center$75,000 2017Program support for the Press Freedom Incentive Fund
Reporters Without Borders$75,000 2017General support
Social Science Research Council$75,000 2017Program support for the Media and Democracy project
University of North Carolina At Cha$75,000 2017Program support for research on online platforms
Wayne State University$75,000 2017Program support for research on congressional oversight
Campaign Legal Center$70,000 2017Program support for research on foreign involvement in U.S. elections
Cato Institute$70,000 2017Program support for democracy discussion series
Ethics and Public Policy Center$60,000 2017Program support for the Faith Angle Forum
American Library Association$50,000 2017Program support for Media Literacy @ Your Library
Experimental Station$50,000 2017Program support for the City Bureau Documenter Project
Eyebeam Atelier$50,000 2017Program support for Viz Lab
Indiana University$50,000 2017Program support for the Hoaxy Bot-o-Meter
Research Found of City University O$45,000 2017Program support for academic research on the Alt-Right movement
Center For Technology and Civic Life$40,000 2017Capacity support for leadership development
Montclair State University Foundation$25,000 2017Program support for collaborative reporting projects
Trustees of Tufts College$25,000 2017Program support for promoting collaboration on democracy issues
Association of Centers For Thestudy of Congress$20,000 2017Program support for the Robert H. Michel Retrospective
Bipartisan Policy Center Action$1,100,000 2016Program support for the democracy program
University of Texas Foundation$400,000 2016Program support for the engaging news project
Common Cause Education Fund$350,000 2016General support
Take Back Our Republic$350,000 2016General support
University of Arizona Foundation$350,000 2016Program support for the national institute for civic discourse
Campaign Legal Center$325,000 2016General support
Campaign Legal Center$325,000 2016General support
Center For Investigative Reporting$325,000 2016Program support for reveal labs
Ethics and Public Policy Center$317,250 2016Program support for understanding the American electorate
Free Press$310,000 2016Program support for the news voices new jersey project
Demos A Network For Ideas and Action$300,000 2016Program support for motor voter compliance project
Institute For Nonprofit News$300,000 2016General support
Participatory Budgeting Project$275,000 2016Program support to foster increased use of participatory budgeting in the united states
Bipartisan Policy Center Action$250,000 2016Program support for the democracy program
Center For Public Integrity$250,000 2016Program support for consider the source
Faith and Politics Institute$250,000 2016General support
League of Women Voters Education Fund$250,000 2016Capacity support for strategic planning
New Venture Fund$250,000 2016Program support for the civic engagement and elections research collaborative fund
Times Publishing Company$250,000 2016Program support for independent nonpartisan fact-checking to improve news coverage and civic discourse in the states
Voice$230,000 2016Program support for membership academy
Duke University$225,325 2016Program support for the news measures research project phase 2
Moaa Military Family Initiative$218,300 2016Program support for the military voter education project
Center For Technology and Civic Life$200,000 2016General support
Congressional Management Foundation$200,000 2016General support
Issue One$200,000 2016General support
Trustees of Columbia University In City$200,000 2016Program support for Columbia journalism review's united states project
Aspen Institute$175,000 2016Program support for aspen congressional program
Former Members of Congress$175,000 2016General support
Millennial Action Project$175,000 2016General support
National Conference of State Legislature$175,000 2016Program support for research on election administration
Aspen Institute$150,000 2016Program support for the rodel fellowship in public leadership
Cato Institute$150,000 2016Program support for the deep bills project
Healthy Democracy Fund$150,000 2016General support
New Venture Fund$150,000 2016Program support for next century cities' democracy on a gig initiative
Public Agenda$150,000 2016Program support for participatory budgeting research
Take Back Our Republic$150,000 2016General support
Project On Government Oversight$137,500 2016Program support for congressional oversight trainings
Committee For Economic Development$125,000 2016Program support for money in politics program
Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation$125,000 2016Program support for election law state courts research
Partnership For Public Service$125,000 2016General support
Campaign Finance Institute$100,000 2016General support
Center For Civic Design$100,000 2016General support
Fairvote$100,000 2016General support
George Washington University$100,000 2016Program support for the monkey cage
Georgetown University$100,000 2016Program support for policy innovation a people's democracy in the next administration project
Healthy Democracy Fund$100,000 2016General support
Internet Archive$100,000 2016Program support for political TV ad archive 2016
Pacific News Service$100,000 2016Capacity support for operations management
Pew Charitable Trusts$100,000 2016Program support for safe spaces project
Politico Llc$100,000 2016Program support for public education event
Trustees of Columbia University In City$100,000 2016Program support for Columbia journalism review's united states project
University of Oregon Foundation$100,000 2016Program support for building out the community of practice
Ignite$99,000 2016Capacity support for strategic planning
Campaign Legal Center$80,000 2016Program support for litigation strategy council
Democracy Works$75,000 2016Program support for election administration website
New America Foundation$75,000 2016Program support for participatory budgeting solutions and political reform
Rock the Vote$75,000 2016General support
Rutgers the State University$74,750 2016Program support for the news measures project
Ethics and Public Policy Center$60,000 2016Program support for the faith angle forum
Candid$50,000 2016Program support for the democracy map
Civic Hall Labs$50,000 2016Program support for nonpartisan research on how debates can increase engagement and become more responsive to voters' concerns
Democracy Works$50,000 2016Program support for election administration website
Voice of the People$50,000 2016Program support for the citizen cabinet pilot project
Pennsylvania State University$37,500 2016Program support for citizen initiative review research
University of North Texas Foundation$16,000 2016Program support for diversity in journalism research
Reed Institute$12,500 2016Program support for survey of an election administration
Bipartisan Policy Center Action$1,100,000 2015Program support for the democracy program
Pew Charitable Trusts$750,000 2015Program support for the pew election initiatives
University of Arizona Foundation$400,000 2015Program support for the national institute for civic discourse
Center For Public Integrity$350,000 2015Program support for consider the source
Proteus Fund$300,000 2015Program support for the collaborative communications initiative on money in politics
Take Back Our Republic$300,000 2015General support
Voice of the People$300,000 2015Program support for the citizen cabinet pilot project
Institute For Nonprofit News$280,000 2015General support
Democracy Works$250,000 2015General support
Faith and Politics Institute$250,000 2015General support
John S and James L Knight Foundation$250,000 2015Program support for knight news challenge on elections
Aspen Institute$200,000 2015Program support for the rodel fellowship in public leadership
Center For Technology and Civic Life$200,000 2015General support
Congressional Management Foundation$200,000 2015General support
Fordham University$200,000 2015Program support for field experiments on money in politics
North Labels Foundation$200,000 2015General support
Participatory Budgeting Project$200,000 2015Program support to foster increased use of participatory budgeting in the united states
Trustees of Columbia University In City$200,000 2015Program support for Columbia journalism review's united states project
Civic Hall Labs$175,000 2015Program support for nonpartisan research on how debates can increase engagement and become more responsive to voters' concerns
National Conference of State Legislature$175,000 2015Program support for research on election administration
Aspen Institute$150,000 2015Program support for aspen congressional program
Fairvote$150,000 2015General support
Free Press$150,000 2015Program support for the news voices New Jersey project
Public Citizen Foundation$150,000 2015Program support for bright lines project
Millennial Action Project$138,000 2015General support
Project On Government Oversight$137,500 2015Program support for congressional oversight trainings
Times Publishing Company$125,000 2015Program support for independent nonpartisan fact-checking to improve news coverage and civic discourse in the states
American Press Institute$100,000 2015Program support for research and education activities related to fact checking in journalism
Campaign Finance Institute$100,000 2015General support
Campaign Legal Center$100,000 2015Capacity support for strategic planning
Democracy Works$100,000 2015Program support for election administration website
George Washington University$100,000 2015Program support for the monkey cage
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$100,000 2015Program support for polling place of the future
New Venture Fund$100,000 2015Program support for next century cities' democracy on a gig initiative
New York University$100,000 2015Program support for bipartisan research on the current state of money in politics
Online News Association$100,000 2015Program support for the challenge fund for innovation in journalism
Opengov Foundation$100,000 2015Program support to plan for the development of a congressional digital service
Pew Charitable Trusts$100,000 2015Program support for safe spaces project
Rutgers the State University$100,000 2015Program support for the news measures project
Institute For Cultural Evolution$96,500 2015Program support for convening on the future of conservatism
University of Arizona Foundation$80,000 2015Program support for the national institute for civil discourse
Rock the Vote$75,000 2015General support
Ethics and Public Policy Center$60,000 2015Program support for the faith angle forum
Az State U Foundation For A New American$50,000 2015Program support for research and public education on the citizens' initiative review
North Labels Foundation$25,000 2015Capacity support for professional development for senior management
Issue One$21,250 2015Capacity building support for grant making program
Grand Total:$181,374,882

Left-of-Center Media Outlets

In alignment with fellow Omidyar project First Look Media, Democracy Fund has made numerous contributions to media outlets generally considered on the center-left. Media outlets receiving Democracy Fund grants in 2016 included the Center for Public Integrity, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Times Publishing Company, which sponsors the controversial Politifact fact-checking service.21

The Democracy Fund participates in one of the most notable efforts to fund left-of-center newsgathering. The Knight Foundation began funding the Institute for Nonprofit News (a membership group of left-of-center media outlets including the Center for Responsive Politics, Mother Jones, the Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund, Grist, and ProPublica, among others22) in 2016 through the “NewsMatch” program. In 2017, Democracy Fund and the MacArthur Foundation each pledged up to $1 million to support NewsMatch.23 Nonprofit Quarterly reported that Democracy Fund had “coordinated” the expansion of NewsMatch in 2017.24

In 2016, Politifact announced that Democracy Fund had pledged $500,000 over a two-year period to expand Politifact’s operations.25 In October 2016, during the height of the 2016 Presidential election, Politifact apparently wrongly classified reporting by a conservative-leaning news website on a partly Omidyar Network-funded Clinton Foundation program as inaccurate. Politifact initially denied receiving funding from Omidyar groups (which include Democracy Fund) when questioned about its report.26

Press Forward Journalism Initiative

In 2023, the Democracy Fund launched an initiative called Press Forward with a consortium of other left-of-center grantmaking foundations with the intention of providing $500 million in grants funding to ostensibly non-partisan local news organizations to “reverse the dramatic decline” in local news. 27

Press Forward’s stated plans to “strengthen communities and democracy” and provide an “active pushback” against disinformation “in the media ecosystem.” The right-of-center Washington Free Beacon stated the group hoped “to fill a vacuum of local news coverage after the closure of 2,200 local newspapers over the past two decades.” It also noted that Press Forward’s “roster of nearly two dozen donors includes some of the country’s biggest liberal philanthropies, raising questions about the group’s pledge to remain ‘independent of ideology.’” 28

Other funders of Press Forward include the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. 29

Election-Related Grantmaking

The Democracy Fund makes grants in a number of areas related to elections. The organization also engages in direct charitable activities to increase regulation of campaign activity and advance changes to election procedures and administration; the organization reported engaging in $1.4 million in such direct charitable expenditures in this area in 2016.30

Democracy Fund is a major funder of organizations seeking to increase regulation on political speech and campaign activity. Issue One, the Proteus Fund, the Campaign Finance Institute, and the Campaign Legal Center have all received six-figure contributions from the Democracy Fund.31 The Democracy Fund has also given substantial support to Take Back Our Republic,32 a group backed by dissident Republican political consultant Mark McKinnon as a vehicle to promote restrictions on electoral activity.33

Democracy Fund has also contributed to efforts to change the American electoral system, making contributions to FairVote,34 which advocates a system known as ranked-choice voting (notably used in Australia) which allocates votes by preference-order rather than aggregate first-preference totals.35

Despite Democracy Fund’s pretensions to scrupulous bipartisanship, the organization has made substantial contributions to left-leaning voter registration and activation groups. Rock the Vote, a left-of-center voter registration group focused on young people, received $75,000 from Democracy Fund in 2015 and 2016.36 Democracy Fund has also funded Democracy Works,37 an online voter registration support group which partnered with the left-wing media website Mic during the 2016 election.38 Democracy Fund also provided $300,000 to the far-left think tank Demos to support its work regarding voter registration issues.39

Election Law

The Democracy Fund has also funded left-of-center election law initiatives. In 2023, the group provided a $300,000 grant to the William and Mary Law School to fund the school’s Election Law Program, a joint effort between the law school and the National Center for State Courts to provide “resources for judges deciding election cases” the grant also supported the Alliance of Students at the Polls (ASAP), a law student initiative that began at William and Mary in 2020 to “mobilize law students nationwide to support state and local election officials.” 40

According to the Washington Examiner, in July 2021 the Biden White House hosted a Zoom call with representatives of the Democracy Fund along with several other left-of-center voter advocacy groups to discuss increasing voter registration within the United States. Topics discussed on the call included “registering illegal immigrants and integrating voter registration into public housing as a requirement under federal law.” 41 Notes on the meeting were provided by the Washington Examiner through the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) and the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. Other groups involved in the call included the Open Society Policy Center, End Citizens United, Demos, League of Women Voters, and the Sentencing Project. 42

In April 2024, the Democracy Fund coordinated with a coalition of up to 174 left-of-center organizations and individuals to pledge and expedite grants for voter registration and get out the vote (GOTV) efforts by the end of the month leading up to the 2024 elections. Called All by April, the coalition’s spending was meant to fund efforts to “help recruit poll workers, organize nonpartisan voter registration drives, support local election officials, and work to ensure that the diversity of our electorate is represented in our election process.” Organizations and individuals involved with the coalition include Open Society Foundations, Arabella Advisors, Tides, and Susan Pritzker. 43

Voter Registration Project

The Democracy Fund has been among the many left-of-center foundations that funded the Voter Registration Project, which funded and organized the Everybody Votes campaign, a large voter registration effort during the 2020 election designed to promote Democratic candidates and Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. 44

Between 2016 and 2020, the Voter Registration Project and its sister organizations, the Voter Registration Project Education Fund and Register America, distributed over $116 million in grants to state level left-leaning activism organizations, mostly in political battleground states, to fund nominally “nonpartisan” voter registration activities. 45

Much of the Voter Registration Project’s funding has derived from grants from private foundations affiliated with well-known left-of-center billionaires including Warren Buffett’s Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and George Soros’s Foundation to Promote Open Society. The Democracy Fund provided $500,000 to the Voter Registration Project in 2022. 46

Policy Groups

Democracy Fund is also a substantial funder of nominally centrist or non-aligned policy organizations. The group funds the No Labels Foundation and the Bipartisan Policy Center.47 The grant to Bipartisan Policy Center supported the organization’s work in electoral reform;48 the grant to No Labels Foundation supported its convening of lawmakers across party lines.49

Voter Study Group

Since the 2016 elections, Democracy Fund has convened a cross-party review of public opinion research, known as the Voter Study Group.50 The project is directed by Henry Olsen of the right-leaning Ethics and Public Policy Center, which has received funding from Democracy Fund.51

In 2017, the Voter Study Group released reports studying the sectors of the electorate which supported the candidacy of Donald Trump, identifying growing cleavages in the Republican coalition over national identity and economic policy.52

Artificial Intelligence Policy

In 2023, the Democracy Fund joined a coalition of other left-of-center foundations to launch a new initiative to “ensure AI advances the public interest” the initiative was centered around addressing areas of need regarding AI identified by Vice President Kamala Harris, who urged the creation of such an initiative. The initiative was led by the Ford Foundation and participating foundations pledged to contribute over $200 million to the effort. 53

Areas of funding focus include using AI to address disinformation, to facilitate media and social media censorship, and to promote labor union priorities by working to “pioneer new economic thinking on competition, trade, and industrial policies to strengthen worker autonomy and power and integrate labor priorities into broader technology policy agendas.” 54

The initiative also stated it has a funding focus on “supporting efforts to hold AI companies accountable for racial, social, and economic bias, as well as funding projects to advocate for and develop strategies to increase transparency and accountability for AI companies and deployers.” 55

Participating foundations of the effort in addition to the Ford Foundation and the Democracy Fund are the David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Heising-Simons Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Kapor Foundation; Mozilla Foundation; Omidyar Network; Open Society Foundations; and the Wallace Global Fund. 56

Democracy Fund Voice

Also see Democracy Fund Voice (Non-profit)

Democracy Fund is associated with a 501(c)(4) advocacy group which is permitted to intervene in elections, known as Democracy Fund Voice. According to the organization’s 2016 tax return, Pierre Omidyar was Democracy Fund Voice’s sole contributor, providing the group a contribution of $5.51 million.57

In 2017, Democracy Fund Voice announced that it had made contributions of up to $550,000 to Stand Up Republic, a 501(c)(4) advocacy group associated with former Independent Presidential candidate Evan McMullin.58

Relation to Other Omidyar Philanthropies

In addition to Democracy Fund, Pierre Omidyar has also created a philanthropic network, the Omidyar Network, and a left-wing media company, First Look Media. Democracy Fund was spun out of the Omidyar Network, having been organized in 2011 and spun off in 2014.59

In addition to supporting left-of-center media through Democracy Fund, Omidyar personally pledged over $250 million to First Look Media. The nonprofit publishes The Intercept, a reporting website launched by the left-wing reporters who obtained and published leaked American national security information from government contractor Edward Snowden before his flight from the United States and arrival in Russia.60 As of 2015, Omidyar served as Board President of First Look Media Works, the group’s corporate parent.61

In 2017, Democracy Fund jointly announced $12 million in contributions to left-of-center media organizations in concert with First Look Media. Recipients of the joint grants included the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Center for Public Integrity, ProPublica, and New York University professor Jay Rosen.62

References

  1. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2015, Part VIII Line 1 and Schedule B
  2. Thayer, Parker. “How Charities Secretly Help Win Elections.” Capital Research Center. August 15, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/CRC-Voter-Registration-Report.pdf.
  3. “Philanthropies launch new initiative to ensure AI advances the public interest.” Ford Foundation. November 1, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/philanthropies-launch-new-initiative-to-ensure-ai-advances-the-public-interest/
  4. Morrill, David. “W&M’s Election Law Program receives grant to contextualize election statutes.” William & Mary Law School. October 31, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://news.wm.edu/2023/10/31/wms-election-law-program-receives-grant-to-contextualize-election-statutes/
  5. “About Us.” Democracy Fund. Accessed March 23, 2018. https://www.democracyfund.org/about-us.
  6. “Donor Lookup – Pierre Omidyar.” OpenSecrets. Accessed March 23, 2018. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?order=desc&q=pierre+omidyar&sort=D&type=donors.
  7. “Joe Goldman.” Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. June 06, 2017. Accessed March 23, 2018. https://www.voterstudygroup.org/participants/joe-goldman.
  8. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  9. Hempel, Jessi. “First Look Media Turns to Old Media for a Reboot.” Wired. August 7, 2015. Accessed March 23, 2018. https://www.wired.com/2015/08/second-take-first-look-media/.
  10. Grinapol, Corinne. “Democracy Fund and First Look Media Announce Over $12 Million Worth of Grants to News Organizations.” Adweek. March 27, 2017. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.adweek.com/digital/democracy-fund-and-first-look-media-announce-over-12-million-worth-of-grants-to-news-organizations/.
  11. “Stand Up Republic.” Democracy Fund Voice. May 9, 2017. Accessed March 23, 2018. http://democracyfundvoice.org/stand-up-republic/.
  12. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part VIII Line 1
  13. Gentilucci, Michael. “Can’t Get a Grip on Omidyar Philanthropy? You’re Not Alone, So Take This Guided Tour.” Inside Philanthropy. March 27, 2014. Accessed March 23, 2018. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/tech-philanthropy/2014/3/27/cant-get-a-grip-on-omidyar-philanthropy-youre-not-alone-so-t.html.
  14. Maghami, Neil. “The Philanthropy of Pierre Omidyar, the EBay Billionaire.” Capital Research Center. June 2, 2014. Accessed March 23, 2018. https://capitalresearch.org/article/omidyar_ebay/.
  15. Quoted in Maghami, Neil. “The Philanthropy of Pierre Omidyar, the EBay Billionaire.” Capital Research Center. June 2, 2014. Accessed March 23, 2018. https://capitalresearch.org/article/omidyar_ebay/.
  16. Goldman, Joe. “Why Democracy Fund is Declaring Independence From Bipartisanship.” Democracy Fund. June 16, 2020. https://democracyfund.org/idea/why-democracy-fund-is-declaring-independence-from-bipartisanship/
  17. Goldman, Joe. “Why Democracy Fund is Declaring Independence From Bipartisanship.” Democracy Fund. June 16, 2020. https://democracyfund.org/idea/why-democracy-fund-is-declaring-independence-from-bipartisanship/
  18. Goldman, Joe. “Why Democracy Fund is Declaring Independence From Bipartisanship.” Democracy Fund. June 16, 2020. https://democracyfund.org/idea/why-democracy-fund-is-declaring-independence-from-bipartisanship/
  19. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Democracy Fund. 2014-2020. Part I.
  20. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Democracy Fund. 2015-2020. Schedule I.
  21. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  22. “Institute for Nonprofit News: Members.” Institute for Nonprofit News. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://inn.org/members/.
  23. Kaplan, Larry. “2017 Was a Banner Fundraising Year for Nonprofit News Websites.” Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. February 19, 2018. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/02/19/2017-banner-fundraising-year-nonprofit-news-websites/.
  24. Kaplan, Larry. “2017 Was a Banner Fundraising Year for Nonprofit News Websites.” Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. February 19, 2018. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/02/19/2017-banner-fundraising-year-nonprofit-news-websites/.
  25. Holan, Angie Drobnic. “New Grant Will Help PolitiFact Grow.” PolitiFact. January 14, 2016. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/jan/14/new-grant-will-help-politifact-grow/.
  26. “Fact Checking the ‘Fact Checkers’.” Weekly Standard. October 07, 2016. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.weeklystandard.com/fact-checking-the-fact-checkers/article/2004765.
  27. Ross, Chuck. “Liberal Philanthropies Fund The Latest ‘Non-Partisan’ Journalism Initiative.” Washington Free Beacon. September 7, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/media/liberal-philanthropies-funding-journalism/
  28. Ross, Chuck. “Liberal Philanthropies Fund The Latest ‘Non-Partisan’ Journalism Initiative.” Washington Free Beacon. September 7, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/media/liberal-philanthropies-funding-journalism/
  29. Ross, Chuck. “Liberal Philanthropies Fund The Latest ‘Non-Partisan’ Journalism Initiative.” Washington Free Beacon. September 7, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/media/liberal-philanthropies-funding-journalism/
  30. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part IX-A Line 1
  31. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  32. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  33. Gold, Matea. “New Conservative Group Aims to Build GOP Support for Reducing Influence of Big Donors.” The Washington Post. January 13, 2015. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-conservative-group-aims-to-build-gop-support-for-reducing-influence-of-big-donors/2015/01/13/3fc5e0b8-9b3f-11e4-a7ee-526210d665b4_story.html?utm_term=.ee1f2fdb6a90.
  34. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  35. “FairVote.” FairVote. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.fairvote.org/.
  36. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3 and Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2015, Part XV Line 3
  37. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2015, Part XV Line 3
  38. Walker, Lindsay. “Simplifying Democracy: Making Voting as Easy as American Pie.” Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. March 25, 2016. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/03/25/simplifying-democracy-making-voting-as-easy-as-american-pie/.
  39. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  40. Morrill, David. “W&M’s Election Law Program receives grant to contextualize election statutes.” William & Mary Law School. October 31, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://news.wm.edu/2023/10/31/wms-election-law-program-receives-grant-to-contextualize-election-statutes/
  41. Kaminsky, Gabe. “Biden voter registration meeting raises eyebrows on Capitol Hill: ‘Election interference.’” The Washington Examiner, May 7, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/2992655/biden-voter-registration-meeting-capitol-hill-election-interference/
  42. Kaminsky, Gabe. “Biden voter registration meeting raises eyebrows on Capitol Hill: ‘Election interference.’” The Washington Examiner, May 7, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/2992655/biden-voter-registration-meeting-capitol-hill-election-interference/
  43. Schmad, Robert. “Influential Liberal Donor Organizes Massive Coalition To Throw Cash Behind Voter Mobilization.” The Daily Caller, May 6, 2024. https://dailycaller.com/2024/05/06/influential-liberal-donor-organizes-massive-coalition-throw-cash-voter-mobilization/
  44. Thayer, Parker. “How Charities Secretly Help Win Elections.” Capital Research Center. August 15, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/CRC-Voter-Registration-Report.pdf
  45. Thayer, Parker. “How Charities Secretly Help Win Elections.” Capital Research Center. August 15, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/CRC-Voter-Registration-Report.pdf
  46. Thayer, Parker. “How Charities Secretly Help Win Elections.” Capital Research Center. August 15, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/CRC-Voter-Registration-Report.pdf
  47. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  48. “Bipartisan Policy Center.” Democracy Fund. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.democracyfund.org/portfolio/entry/bipartisan-policy-center.
  49. “No Labels Foundation.” Democracy Fund. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.democracyfund.org/portfolio/entry/no-labels-foundation.
  50. “About.” Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.voterstudygroup.org/about.
  51. Democracy Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
  52. Balz, Dan. “How Attitudes about Immigration, Race and Religion Contributed to Trump Victory.” The Washington Post. June 13, 2017. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-attitudes-about-immigration-race-and-religion-contributed-to-trump-victory/2017/06/13/6c2c1892-506f-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html?utm_term=.9c86b50b7273.
  53. “Philanthropies launch new initiative to ensure AI advances the public interest.” Ford Foundation. November 1, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/philanthropies-launch-new-initiative-to-ensure-ai-advances-the-public-interest/
  54. “Philanthropies launch new initiative to ensure AI advances the public interest.” Ford Foundation. November 1, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/philanthropies-launch-new-initiative-to-ensure-ai-advances-the-public-interest/
  55. “Philanthropies launch new initiative to ensure AI advances the public interest.” Ford Foundation. November 1, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/philanthropies-launch-new-initiative-to-ensure-ai-advances-the-public-interest/
  56. “Philanthropies launch new initiative to ensure AI advances the public interest.” Ford Foundation. November 1, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/philanthropies-launch-new-initiative-to-ensure-ai-advances-the-public-interest/
  57. Democracy Fund Voice, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2016, Part I line 8 and Schedule B Part I Number 1
  58. “Stand Up Republic.” Democracy Fund Voice. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://democracyfundvoice.org/stand-up-republic/.
  59. Goldman, Joe. “The Democracy Fund Relaunches as an Independent Foundation.” Democracy Fund. June 30, 2014. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.democracyfund.org/blog/entry/independence-day-for-the-democracy-fund.
  60. Rice, Andrew. “How the Snowden Leaks Gave Pierre Omidyar a Cause – and an Enemy.” Daily Intelligencer. November 03, 2014. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/pierre-omidyar-first-look-media.html.
  61. First Look Media Works, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2015, Part VI Section A Line 3
  62. Grinapol, Corinne. “Democracy Fund and First Look Media Announce Over $12 Million Worth of Grants to News Organizations.” Adweek. March 27, 2017. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.adweek.com/digital/democracy-fund-and-first-look-media-announce-over-12-million-worth-of-grants-to-news-organizations/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: December 1, 2014

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $83,492,609 $10,957,967 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $87,348,415 $8,456,424 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2015 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $33,172,688 $3,660,149 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $24,903,550 $2,061,282 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Democracy Fund

    1200 17TH ST NW
    WASHINGTON, DC 20036-3006