Civic & Democracy Grants for Nonprofits
Learn about grants to strengthen democracy and civic life by browsing our curated list of top democracy funders below. Members can also research funding opportunities using the search tool for GrantFinder. Become a member.
Key Funders
- Crankstart Foundation
- Freedom Together Foundation
- Ford Foundation
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation
- New Venture Fund
- Neo Philanthropy
- Proteus Fund
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation
- Skoll Foundation
- Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
- Tides Foundation
- Wallace Global Fund
- Walmart Foundation
Funding trends for democracy and civic engagement grants
In January 2025, only 34% of Americans said they were satisfied with the way U.S. democracy was working, per a Gallup survey. A Pew Research study, conducted in April 2024, found that “just 19% of Americans say democracy in the United States is a good example for other countries to follow.” Since the start of the second Trump administration in 2025, the situation has swiftly deteriorated, with the expansion of executive power, dismantling of the federal government, attacks on the press, and diffuse threats to civil society. Political science experts assert that the United States is quickly moving away from democracy and toward a form of authoritarianism. Pro-democracy philanthropy has not yet met the moment.
Democracy and civic engagement has always been a niche area of philanthropy, and a hard one to precisely define. Inside Philanthropy defines democracy funding as encompassing grants for civic education and service learning initiatives; voter registration and mobilization efforts; election-linked policy work; movement-building, advocacy and protection; journalism and media access; and efforts to combat disinformation.
Philanthropy for democracy and civic engagement historically was concentrated in election years, but since 2016, the field has grown more multifaceted, funders traditionally focused on other issue areas have gotten involved, and funding has been more steady between election cycles.
By any definition, this area of philanthropy has been growing. Democracy Fund estimates institutional philanthropy for democracy experienced “somewhere between 42 and 61 percent growth from 2017–2018 to 2021–2022.” Yet even with this substantial growth, grants for democracy efforts still amounted to less than 1% of institutional American philanthropy in 2022.
“I would say, writ large, that democracy is very underfunded,” Geri Mannion, managing director of the Carnegie Corporation’s Strengthening U.S. Democracy program, told IP.
Now, amid rapid democratic backsliding, there is great need for resources to bolster efforts to protect and strengthen U.S. democracy, but it remains to be seen what pro-democracy funders can or will do.
Where are democracy and civic engagement grants going?
Traditional areas of focus for democracy grants include civic engagement, voter education, voting rights, and the administration of elections. These remain top funding priorities. At the same time, additional issue areas have been an increasing focus of democracy grants in recent years, including racial justice, journalism, and combating misinformation and disinformation. A survey by Democracy Fund found a noticeable recent shift from issues like campaign finance reform, a funder focus in the not-so-distant past, to funding for social justice and combating disinformation as essential to a functioning democracy.
While not all funding related to democracy is inherently political, funding in this space tends to be ideologically driven. Philanthropic dollars from conservative funders trend toward think tanks and advocacy organizations like the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute, which promote concepts and policies linked to “election integrity,” like voter identification requirements. Conversely, progressive funders are more likely to work toward expanding election access, which includes efforts to increase voter registration, fight voter suppression, and increase representation and engagement in democratic institutions.
Gaps in democracy and civic engagement funding
A 2024-25 Democracy Fund survey of philanthropic actors in this space found that the majority do not think philanthropy currently has the strategies needed to strengthen or improve U.S. democracy. They are also concerned about legal challenges facing pro-democracy organizations. While the Trump administration is moving fast to dismantle democracy, there is not yet a clear consensus among democracy funders about how to respond, IP’s Sarah Henry reported.
As things change very rapidly for U.S. democracy, funders who want to protect it are doing some soul searching about what to do now.
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