Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Free Press Action Fund
Amount: $975,000 in 2023 over three years

What is Free Press Action Fund?

Free Press Action is a nonpartisan 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that works to create an equitable, just and reparative media system that protects the rights of everyone to connect and communicate. They believe that social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what’s actually happening in their communities.

Free Press Action works to stop hate and disinformation online, creating sustainable, publicly supported models that provide news and information to underserved communities and redress historical inequities; and ensure affordable, reliable internet access for all, free from discrimination and surveillance.

Why do we think this organization is important?

Free Press Action seeks to change the media to transform democracy to realize a just society. It pushes companies to institute protective mechanisms to tamp down on anti-democratic lies and propaganda during election cycles, remove false content, and reduce the spread of bigotry and racialized disinformation. It proposes and advocates for federal and state policy solutions and new models that would sustain, reform and reimagine journalism and the U.S. public media system, and is working to ensure that the government’s broadband infrastructure investments are structured in federal programs so that the money reaches the members of the public who need it most. 

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Free Press Action Fund?

In 2023, Democracy Fund Voice approved a three-year grant of $975,000 to Free Press Action Fund.

In 2022, Democracy Fund approved a one-year general operating support grant of $400,000 to Free Press Action Fund.

In 2020, Democracy Fund Voice approved a general operating support grant of $200,000 to Free Press Action Fund. In 2021, an amendment was approved to increase the amount of the grant by $400,000, for a total of $600,000. 

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Common Cause
Amount: Updated to $275,000 in 2021 — originally approved as $125,000 in 2020

What is Common Cause?

Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. They work to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.

Why do we think this project is important?

Driven by the conviction that nothing is more important to a functioning democracy than an informed and engaged public, Common Cause raised awareness about the decline in resources for news and media organizations, and developed long-term solutions to the crisis in local news. The decline of independent, local newspapers and news stations has resulted in communities lacking adequate sources of local news and information, which has a significant negative impact on the quality of our civic dialogue and democracy.

To address this, Common Cause advocated for increased government funding of local media to ensure journalists could continue to provide critical news and information, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding  supported public and community media of all kinds, newsrooms and reporting jobs at local commercial and nonprofit news outlets, and  investments to address the civic-information needs of communities.

Common Cause also worked to prevent ongoing media consolidation by opposing media mergers and advocating against pro-consolidation policies at the federal level. To further strengthen local media, Common Cause advanced policies and built coalitions at the state level.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Common Cause?

In 2020, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $125,000 to Common Cause. In 2021 an amendment was approved to increase the amount of the grant by $150,000, for a total of $275,000.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: The GroundTruth Project
Amount: $50,000 in 2020

What is The GroundTruth Project?

GroundTruth’s mission is to restore journalism from the ground up by supporting the next generation of journalists through field reporting that serves under-covered corners of the United States and the world. They work to build a pipeline of talent for emerging journalists, restore faith in the industry by supporting in-depth public service reporting, and to serve as watchdogs where no one seems to be watching.

They provide educational opportunities in the form of training seminars, forums, conferences, and workshops, in addition to publishing critical information and storytelling on a variety of urgent issues.

Why do we think this project is important?

Even before COVID-19, local news organizations were struggling. The number of reporters had declined 60 percent since 2000, the same scale of collapse as local industry. Some 1,800 communities have no local news source at all.

With a primary goal of creating a national public strategy for public policies that will rebuild local news, The GroundTruth Project created a powerful new coalition — Rebuild Local News — that  brought together a broad collection of stakeholders, developed ambitious policy proposals, advocated for public policies, initiated grassroots campaigns, and lobbied Congressional staff. Once their plan was developed, published, and shared publicly, The GroundTruth Project focused on raising awareness of the plan among legislative staff, legislators, and the media. If a public policy framework were adopted and implemented, it has the potential to lead to a substantial increase in income for nonprofit local media and locally-owned for-profit media. This would result in a local media system that better represents its residents, including communities of color, which have been historically underserved.

Local news organizations are necessary for the health of a democracy, as they connect constituents with the legislators and officials who often have the most direct impact on their daily lives. By providing information about local government affairs they help communities increase their civic engagement, and by investigating problems or uncovering corruption, local news organizations serve as a watchdog for issues that might otherwise be overlooked. Local news is an important component of a national democracy, and should be treated as such through national public policies.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting The GroundTruth Project?

In 2020, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $50,000 to The GroundTruth Project.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Planetwork NGO
Amount: Updated to $535,000 in 2022

What is the Stop Online Violence Against Women Project?

Stop Online Violence Against Women Project (SOVAW), fiscally sponsored by Planetwork NGO, raises awareness and funding to stop online harassment. SOVAW addresses inadequate laws and policies that lack protections for women, particularly women of color. They focus on laws to prevent online violence against women and policy change at the local and federal level of government agencies, and they also work to hold technology and social media companies accountable.

SOVAW serves as a resource of services and options for women and women of color, based on their level of harassment or violence, and they work to include diverse stories of women who are willing to share their experiences. They highlight and include partnering organizations, legislators and companies who are working together to address this important issue.

Why do we think this project is important?

Stop Online Violence Against Women is exploring ways to reduce digital voter suppression and harassment on social media platforms, with an intersectional focus on women of color, through research, public education, and coordination with other groups working to solve this challenge. Advocacy and research are needed to pressure government and platforms to change the policies and functionality of platform algorithms, paid content, and content governance.

Digital and social media platforms are an undeniable and vital part of our public square, and serve as a major source of information for Americans throughout the country. For our democracy to function successfully, voices representing underserved or underrepresented communities must be able to contribute without the fear of harassment or threats against their safety. When women and people of color are silenced, our country loses out on important points of view that impact the discussion of common problems and potential solutions.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting the Stop Online Violence Against Women Project?

In 2022, an amendment was approved to increase the amount of the grant by $100,000 for a total of $535,000 with an extension to the grant period through June 2023.

In 2020, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $135,000 over two years to the Stop Online Violence Against Women Project. In 2021 an amendment was approved to increase the amount of the grant by $300,000, for a total of $435,000, with an extension of the grant period to April 2023.

Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: PEN American Center
Amount: $100,000 in 2020

What is PEN American Center?  

Founded in 1922, PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 centers worldwide that make up the PEN International network. PEN America works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others.

Why do we think this project is important?

A robust, dynamic, and inclusive free press is essential to genuinely empowered, informed, and vibrant communities — the very foundation of American civic life. And protecting a free press requires both grassroots support from the communities it seeks to cover and a commitment from lawmakers to legal, economic, and policy support.

PEN America expanded its local news and press freedom advocacy efforts throughout the country, with a focus on legislative efforts and policy solutions. Their teams led campaigns and community convenings that advocated for increased attention to these issues using a variety of methods that included resolutions, bills, and constituent campaigns. This built on their existing efforts to organize Congressional support for stimulus funding of local news organizations.

This work is needed now more than ever; in response to the recent increase in protests in cities and states across the country, PEN America drafted local sign-on letters to city officials urging them to protect the press and protestors who faced threats and violence from law enforcement.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting PEN American Center?

In 2020, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $100,000 to PEN American Center.

Type of Activity: Project Grant
Grantee: Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Amount: $50,000 in 2019

What is the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights?

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights was founded in 1950 by a coalition of civil rights activists. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Leadership Conference advocated for the passage of civil rights legislation in Congress. Their efforts resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Today, the Leadership Conference is a coalition of over 200 member organizations and continues to coordinate advocacy and lobbying efforts in support of  legislation that protects and expands civil and human rights. 

Why do we think this project is important?

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Media and Technology program works to ensure that new technologies enhance civil rights protections, expand media diversity,  and increase access to broadband. Their focus includes challenging media platforms to take responsibility for their role in public access to information, which will lead to increased transparency on how platforms conduct business and raise public pressure for better policies governing how platforms operate. 

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights?

In 2019, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $50,000 to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights for their Media and Technology program. 

Type of activity: Project Grant
Grantee: News Leaders Association
Amount: $50,000 in 2019

What is the News Leaders Association?

The News Leaders Association is a merger of the American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Managing Editors. Founded in 1922 as a nonprofit professional organization, the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) promotes fair, principled journalism, defends and protects First Amendment rights, and fights for freedom of information and open government.  The Associated Press Media Editors is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of newsroom leaders and journalism educators that works closely with The Associated Press to promote journalism excellence.

Why do we think this project is important? 

The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Associated Press Managing Editors association saw significant overlap in their efforts — both in the members they were serving, and the shared challenges they have faced in adapting to the changing context and needs of the news industry.

This is a critical time of growth and change for the newly formed News Leaders Association, and it is important that it has a strong executive to guide the direction of the organization, ensure its adaptability in a rapidly changing industry, and explore how best to center issues like diversity and engagement with current and emerging leaders in this context.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting the News Leaders Association?

In 2019, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $50,000 to the News Leaders Association to support their search for an executive leader. 

Type of Activity: Updated to General Operating Support in 2021 — originally approved as a Project Grant
Grantee: Color of Change
Amount: Updated to $600,000 in 2021 — originally approved as $200,000 in 2019 over two years

What is Color of Change?

Color of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Through integrated strategies and activities, they mobilize 1.4 million members to act on a range of intersectional issues. Color of Change organizes its members to combat racism, injustice, and attacks on freedom wherever they occur — in democracy, media, the economy, or the criminal justice system. 

Why do we think this organization is important?

Change the Terms, a project by Color of Change, organizes stakeholders from civil society, government, and technology to hold social media platforms accountable to the American public in order to advance America’s democratic promise. This grant will fund activity to encourage content moderation and advertising policies on social media platforms. Change the Terms’ coalition, consisting of 40 civil rights, anti-hate, and open-internet organizations, has worked on a set of corporate policies to help tech companies reduce hateful activities on their platforms.

Digital and social media platforms have become a primary source of information for many Americans, and the major role these platforms play in shaping national conversations cannot be denied. But people of color and women in general are too often the victims of harassment and threats, actions that are not protected by the first amendment. Change the Terms’ campaign challenges social media and digital platforms to take more responsibility for their role as stewards of the digital public square. For a democracy to remain healthy, it is vital that voices are not silenced by fear of harassment and violence. 

In March 2021, any remaining funds were released to be used for general operating support rather than project-specific.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Color of Change?

In 2019, Democracy Fund Voice approved a two-year grant to Color of Change for their project Change the Terms in the amount of $200,000. In 2021 an amendment to increase the amount of the grant by $400,000 was approved, for a total of $600,000.

Type of Activity: Advocacy Grant
Grantee: Free Press Action Fund
Grants Total: Three grants of up to $560,000 in 2016-2018 

What is the Civic Information Bill?

In 2016, the Federal Communications Commission began its “incentive auction.” This brought about significant reorganization of the public airwaves, and some broadcasters sold their channels and received a portion of the proceeds from the national sale of spectrum to wireless companies. Across the country, state and local governments, along with public and private universities, held non-commercial television licenses that were included in the auction.

The FCC’s Broadcast spectrum incentive auction generated significant funds for the public broadcasting stations. In New Jersey those funds went to the state, which held the broadcast licenses. The Civic Information Bill argues that a portion of the proceeds from these public airwaves should support public interest media.

Why do we think the Civic Information Bill is a good idea?

Free Press Action Fund works to develop and realize creative policy solutions to ensure that all Americans can connect and communicate. This grant supports their work to advocate for the creation of a new civic information consortium in New Jersey which could expand access to news and information for the state’s residents.

We believe that if a portion of the the income generated from the spectrum auction is redistributed with a focus on journalism in the public interest, then it could create a powerful new source of revenue for local news and serve as a model for other places.

How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting the Civic Information Bill?

Democracy Fund Voice approved two grants totaling $510,000 during 2016 and 2017, and a grant of up to $50,000 in 2018 to the Free Press Action Fund to lead a campaign that will work to ensure some of the funds raised from the incentive auction go towards sustaining local journalism. In the summer of 2018 Free Press Action Fund was successful in getting the Civic Information Bill passed with broad bipartisan support, securing $5 million for civic information and local community news in New Jersey.