Type of Activity: Project
Grantees: Pay Our Interns Action Fund and Vote Mama Action Fund
Amount: $10,000 per grantee in 2022

In 2022 Democracy Fund Voice approved grants to support wellness and capacity among staff at two of our grantee organizations within our Governance program. These grants were made in recognition of the increased demands on time and other resources among staff at these organizations during a year with a mid-term election and ongoing pandemic.

These grants were separate from other grants intended to provide project support or general operating support. More information about the work of these grantees can be found by visiting the grant descriptions for Pay Our Interns Action Fund and Vote Mama Action Fund.

Type of Activity: General Operating Support
Grantee: Demand Progress Action
Amount: $250,000 in 2022

What is Demand Progress Action?

Founded in 2010, Demand Progress Action works to secure progressive policy changes for everyday people. Demand Progress Action brings together large and diverse coalitions that transcend political lines and embrace shared values — and leverage that backing to work effectively in Washington, serving as an advocate for the public in key decisions.

Why do we think this organization is important? 

Demand Progress Action advocates for reforms that improve congressional capacity to legislate and conduct oversight. Working in partnership with a broad and diverse coalition of allies, Demand Progress Action has been very successful in improving the congressional workplace, enabling technological innovation, and democratizing rules and procedures in the House and Senate.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Demand Progress Action? 

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved an 18-month grant of $250,000 to Demand Progress Action.

Demand Progress Action was formerly named Demand Progress and was originally fiscally sponsored by the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: The League in Action
Amount: $150,000 in 2022

What is The League in Action? 

A fiscally sponsored project of Sixteen Thirty Fund, The League in Action works at the intersection of culture and democracy. They use storytelling to help people imagine an America rooted in justice, equity, and abundance, and then design and execute strategies to achieve it.

Why do we think this project is important? 

This project is focused on diversifying the federal judiciary, with a particular emphasis on elevating Black women’s political leadership. It also aims to increase accountability for the federal judiciary and improve public awareness about the key role that courts play in the broader movement toward racial equity and justice.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting The League in Action?  

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a one-year grant of $150,000 to The League in Action.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: National Women’s Law Center Action Fund
Amount: $150,000 in 2022

What is the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund?  

National Women’s Law Center Action Fund aims to drive progressive change in our policies and laws so that all women and girls can live, learn, and work with safety, dignity, and equality. NWLC Action Fund educates voters and advocates for policy change across issues that affect women the most, including child care, abortion access, and sexual harassment.

Why do we think this project is important? 

This project is focused on diversifying the federal judiciary, with a particular emphasis on elevating Black women’s political leadership. It also aims to increase accountability for the federal judiciary and improve public awareness about the key role that courts play in the broader movement toward racial equity and justice.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund? 

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a one-year grant of $150,000 to  the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Pipeline Fund
Amount: $75,000 in 2022

What is the Pipeline Fund? 

Pipeline Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, is a network of organizations, philanthropists, and strategists all dedicated to building a pipeline of diverse progressive leaders.

Pipeline Fund’s long-term strategy convenes and connects national and state pipeline organization, funds and supports organizations that recruit, train, and support leaders to run for office, and provides organizations with the data and tools they need to do their work more effectively.

Why do we think this project is important? 

The 2022 State & Local Candidate Research Project is a unique research project designed to understand the experience of state and local candidates from underrepresented communities in elected office. The Project is done each election cycle in partnership with organizations in the Pipeline Fund’s coalition to understand and learn from the experiences of these candidates to strengthen and improve the resources and support that are available to future “pipeline” candidates.

The results of this research project are used to inform and improve the overall pipeline ecosystem’s approach to supporting diverse leaders at the state and local level.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Pipeline Fund?  

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a one-year grant of $75,000 to Pipeline Fund to support their State & Local Candidate Research Project.

Type of Activity: General Operating Support
Grantee: National Popular Vote, Inc.
Amount: $225,000 in 2022

What is National Popular Vote?

Founded in 2006, National Popular Vote is a 501(c)4 organization that studies, analyzes and educates the public about the counter-majoritarian nature of the Electoral College.

Why do we think this organization is important?

The Electoral College is one of the most gravely undemocratic institutions in our system. Winner-take-all rules in most states allocate all state electoral votes to the winning candidate, even one who wins only a plurality of the state’s popular vote. The Electoral College has a dramatic and polarizing effect on how campaigns are run, and discrepancies between the popular vote and Electoral College further diminish trust in governing institutions. National Popular Vote promotes lasting, bipartisan solutions to restore the core principle of “one person, one vote” in national elections.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting National Popular Vote?

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a one-year grant of $225,000 to support National Popular Vote.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Mothering Justice Action Fund
Amount: $375,000 in 2022

What is Mothering Justice Action Fund?

Mothering Justice Action Fund is a Michigan-based grassroots policy advocacy organization that provides mothers of color in America with the resources and tools to use their power to make equitable changes in policy.

Why do we think this project is important?

Mothering Justice Action Fund works to diversify government leadership, expand the political power of communities of color, and transform governing institutions to fulfill the promise of “one person, one vote.”

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Mothering Justice Action Fund? 

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved an 18-month grant of $375,000 to Mothering Justice Action Fund.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: More Equitable Democracy Action
Amount: $620,000 in 2022

What is More Equitable Democracy Action? 

More Equitable Democracy Action, a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy Action Fund, works with communities of color to advance electoral system reforms that increase representation for underrepresented communities.

Why do we think this project is important? 

Through public education, research, community engagement, and advocacy, More Equitable Democracy Action works to advance electoral systems reforms through a racial equity framework, to challenge the current winner-take-all system that shuts out minority voices in general and people of color in particular.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting More Equitable Democracy Action? 

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a two-year grant of $620,000 to More Equitable Democracy Action.

Type of Activity: General Operating Support
Grantee: Equally American Campaign
Amount: $300,000 in 2022 over two years

What is the Equally American Campaign?

Equally American Campaign is a nonpartisan civil rights organization that fights to advance equality and civil rights for the 3.5 million citizens living in U.S. territories, 98% of whom are people of color.

Why do we think this organization is important? 

Equally American Campaign is leading efforts to address America’s colonies problem by advocating for systemic change both inside and outside the courtroom. Working across usual ideological and political lines, Equally American Campaign has developed a sophisticated legal, policy, and communications strategy that applies the lessons of past civil rights movements to challenge the racist colonial framework established by the Insular Cases and bring an end to the second-class treatment of millions of citizens who live in U.S. territories.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Equally American Campaign? 

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a two-year grant of $300,000 to the Equally American Campaign.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Demand Justice
Amount: $300,000 in 2022

What is Demand Justice? 

Founded in 2018, Demand Justice is a 501(c)4 organization that aims to restore ideological balance and legitimacy to our nation’s courts by advocating for reforms that improve the trust in and legitimacy of the courts.

Why do we think this project is important? 

Demand Justice aims to restore the integrity of our federal courts within our democracy’s system of checks and balances by advancing structural reforms to restore balance and legitimacy to all levels of the judiciary and systemic changes to better support professionally diverse federal judicial nominees.

This work includes advocating more judicial nominees that reflect gender, racial, and professional diversity, such as public defenders, civil rights lawyers, and union-side labor lawyers. Demand Justice also advocates for structural reforms to federal courts to ensure they are viewed as legitimate, ethical, and are able to handle the significant caseload that comes before them.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Demand Justice? 

In 2022, Democracy Fund Voice approved a one-year grant of $300,000 to Demand Justice.