Democracy Fund Inc
Invitation OnlyWashington, District of Columbia · EIN 38-3926408 · Private foundation · Website
Grants paid (2024)$49.2M
Organizations funded237
Typical grant$165,000
Total assets$15.8M
Half of its grants to organizations were between $100,000 and $220,000.
From the return
How to apply
On its return for tax year 2024 the foundation checked the box saying it only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
What it funds
Share of grant lines on the latest return, classified from the purpose each grant states.
Where it gives
67% of grants went outside District of Columbia.
Grants paid in tax year 2024
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | Program support for Trusted Elections Fund | $1,500,000 |
| Solutions Project Inc | Oakland, CA | Program support to advance climate and migrant justice | $1,500,000 |
| Borealis Philanthropy | Minneapolis, MN | Program support for the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund | $1,020,000 |
| JustFundUs | Oakland, CA | Program support for Building Power Fund | $934,000 |
| Hopewell Fund | Washington, DC | Program Support for Free Election Fund | $750,000 |
| The Project on Government Oversight Inc | Washington, DC | General support | $750,000 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | Program support for Future Currents | $720,000 |
| Democracy Forward Foundation | Washington, DC | General support | $700,000 |
| Free Press | Washington, DC | General support | $700,000 |
| Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law | Washington, DC | General support | $600,000 |
| People's Action Institute | Chicago, IL | General support | $560,000 |
| Proteus Fund Inc | Waltham, MA | Program support for Rise Together Fund | $550,000 |
| Partnership for Public Service Inc | Washington, DC | General support | $525,000 |
| American Journalism Project | Washington, DC | General support | $500,000 |
| Center for Media Justice | Oakland, CA | General support | $500,000 |
| Global Impact | Washington, DC | Program support for GovAct | $500,000 |
| Global Impact | Washington, DC | Program support for Legal Accountability Center | $500,000 |
| State Leadership Project | Raleigh, NC | Program support to bring new funding to nonpartisan civic engagement | $500,000 |
| The Miami Foundation Inc | Miami, FL | Program Support for Press Forward | $500,000 |
| Way to Rise | Washington, DC | Program support for Valiente Fund | $500,000 |
| Voter Registration Project | Washington, DC | General support | $473,000 |
| Allied Media Projects Inc | Detroit, MI | Program support for Detroit Community Tech Project | $450,000 |
| AccountableUS | Washington, DC | General support | $415,000 |
| University of Maryland | College Park, MD | Program support for the Election Talent Study Group | $411,800 |
| Rural Digital Youth Resiliency Project Inc | Morgantown, WV | General support | $400,000 |
| NEO Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | Program support for North Carolina Local News Lab Fund | $375,000 |
| Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association | Washington, DC | General support | $360,000 |
| Free Press | Washington, DC | Program support for Media 2070 | $350,000 |
| Kairos Fellowship Inc | New York, NY | General support | $350,000 |
| Santa Fe Community Foundation | Santa Fe, NM | Program support for New Mexico Local News Fund | $350,000 |
| Tides Center | Los Angeles, CA | Program support for 22nd Century Initiative | $350,000 |
| Policy Impact | Berkeley, CA | Program support for Hearken's Election SOS project | $340,000 |
| Action Center on Race and the Economy Institute | Chicago, IL | General support | $300,000 |
| Aspiration | San Francisco, CA | Program support for The Revival Lab | $300,000 |
| Fund for Constitutional Government | Washington, DC | Program support for Keseb | $300,000 |
| Montclair State University Foundation Inc | Montclair, NJ | Program support for Center for Cooperative Media | $300,000 |
| Protect Democracy Project | Washington, DC | General support | $300,000 |
| The Miami Foundation Inc | Miami, FL | Program support for NewsMatch | $300,000 |
| American Oversight Inc | Washington, DC | General support | $275,000 |
| Ayni Institute Inc | East Boston, MA | General support | $250,000 |
| Center for American Progress | Washington, DC | Program support for the Democracy and Elections Program | $250,000 |
| Check My Ads Institute | Washington, DC | General support | $250,000 |
| Children's Defense Fund | Washington, DC | General support | $250,000 |
| City Bureau NFP | Chicago, IL | Program support for News Futures | $250,000 |
| Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism CUNY Foundation Inc | New York, NY | Program support for Center for Community Media | $250,000 |
| Faith in Action Network | Washington, DC | General support | $250,000 |
| George Washington University | Washington, DC | Program support for the Multiracial Democracy Project | $250,000 |
| Grassroots Power Project | Berkeley, CA | General support | $250,000 |
| Hope CommUnity Center Inc | Apopka, FL | General support | $250,000 |
| Institute for Local Self Reliance Inc | Minneapolis, MN | General support | $250,000 |
| Mississippi Center for Justice | Jackson, MS | General support | $250,000 |
| NEO Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | Program support for State Infrastructure Fund | $250,000 |
| Public Rights Project | Oakland, CA | Program support to provide legal support to local elections officals | $250,000 |
| Rose Community Foundation | Denver, CO | Program support for Colorado Media Project | $250,000 |
| The Miami Foundation Inc | Miami, FL | Program Support for the Legal Clinic Fund | $250,000 |
| Common Cause Education Fund | Washington, DC | General support | $225,000 |
| Global Impact | Washington, DC | Program support for The 65 Project | $225,000 |
| Community Partners | Los Angeles, CA | Program support for Open News | $220,000 |
| Journalism Funding Partners | Sacramento, CA | Program support for URL Media | $220,000 |
| Online News Association | Washington, DC | General support | $220,000 |
Showing the 60 largest of 237 grants to organizations.
Grants approved for future payment
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Project on Government Oversight Inc | Washington, DC | General support | $1,200,000 |
| Protect Democracy Project | Washington, DC | General support | $700,000 |
| Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism CUNY Foundation Inc | New York, NY | Program support for Center for Community Media | $500,000 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | Program support for Future Currents | $500,000 |
| Tides Center | Los Angeles, CA | Program support for 22nd Century Initiative | $500,000 |
| Democracy Forward Foundation | Washington, DC | General support | $400,000 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | Program support for Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection | $400,000 |
| National Immigration Law Center | Los Angeles, CA | General support | $400,000 |
| Western States Center Inc | Portland, OR | General support | $400,000 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | Program support for The Horizons Project | $300,000 |
| Welcoming America Inc | Decatur, GA | General support | $300,000 |
| Bend the Arc A Jewish Partnership for Justice | New York, NY | Program support for Funders' Collaborative for Youth Organizing | $200,000 |
| Children's Defense Fund | Washington, DC | General support | $200,000 |
| Code for Science and Society Inc | Portland, OR | Program support for Center on Race and Digital Justice | $200,000 |
| FairVote | Silver Spring, MD | General support | $200,000 |
| Global Project Against Hate and Extremism Inc | Montgomery, AL | General support | $200,000 |
| Hopewell Fund | Washington, DC | Program support for Over Zero | $200,000 |
| Institute for Local Self Reliance Inc | Minneapolis, MN | General support | $200,000 |
| Internews Network | Washington, DC | Program support for Listening Post Collective | $200,000 |
| Mississippi Center for Justice | Jackson, MS | General support | $200,000 |
| NEO Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | Program support for Black Migrant Power Fund | $200,000 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | Program support for Local Solutions Support Center | $200,000 |
| PEN American Center Inc | New York, NY | Program support for the Digital Safety and Online Abuse Defense Program | $200,000 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | Program support for the Guinier Project | $200,000 |
| Press On South Inc | Atlanta, GA | General support | $200,000 |
| Rural Digital Youth Resiliency Project Inc | Morgantown, WV | General support | $200,000 |
| Southern Coalition for Social Justice | Durham, NC | General support | $200,000 |
| The Miami Foundation Inc | Miami, FL | Program support for NewsMatch | $200,000 |
| Union of Concerned Scientists Inc | Cambridge, MA | Program support for Center for Science and Democracy | $200,000 |
| NEO Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | Program support for Democracy Rising | $175,000 |
| We the Veterans Foundation | Alexandria, VA | General support | $175,000 |
| Borealis Philanthropy | Minneapolis, MN | Program support for the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund Fellows | $150,000 |
| City Bureau NFP | Chicago, IL | Program support for News Futures | $150,000 |
| George Washington University | Washington, DC | Program support for the Multiracial Democracy Project | $150,000 |
| Political Research Associates | Somerville, MA | General support | $150,000 |
| Refugees International | Washington, DC | Program support for the Refugee Advocacy Lab | $150,000 |
| Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press | Washington, DC | Program Support for the Local Legal Initiative | $150,000 |
| The Miami Foundation Inc | Miami, FL | Program Support for the Legal Clinic Fund | $150,000 |
| Undivided Inc | Cincinnati, OH | General support | $150,000 |
| University of Florida Board of Trustees | Gainesville, FL | Project support for freedom of information request research | $125,000 |
| Foundation for City College | New York, NY | Program support for the Leadership Center for Democracy and Social Justice | $100,000 |
| NEO Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | Program support for Democracy 2076 | $100,000 |
| Trustees of Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | Program support to build resources to track and mitigate political violence | $100,000 |
| University of Kentucky Research Foundation | Lexington, KY | Program support for the Leadership in Election Administration Project | $87,914 |
| Race Forward | Washington, DC | Program support for the Institutional and Sectoral Change program | $75,000 |
| Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund Inc dba The Vance Cent | New York, NY | Program support for Lawyers for Reporters | $50,000 |
| Fractured Atlas | New York, NY | Program support for Black River Life | $50,000 |
| Internews Network | Washington, DC | Program support for the Civic Information Opportunities mapping project | $50,000 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | Program support for Solidarity Journalism Initiative | $50,000 |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | Washington, DC | Program support to examine the impact of AI on democracy | $25,000 |
| The Commonwealth Foundation Inc | Berkeley, CA | Program support to research the history of community organizing | $25,000 |
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants paid | Grant lines |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $49,167,017 | 288 |
| 2023 | $48,355,600 | 334 |
Sources
- IRS Form 990-PF, tax year 2024, filed Nov 14, 2025 - IRS e-file batch, object ID 202503189349101720
- IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search for EIN 38-3926408
- Profile updated Nov 4, 2026
Facts on this page come from the foundation's own IRS Form 990-PF filings as published by the IRS. Grantvello does not know whether a foundation is accepting proposals right now: a past grant is not an open opportunity. Always confirm current guidelines with the funder before applying.