Election Integrity Fund

Election Integrity Fund is sponsored by Democracy Funders Network. A 501(c)(3) nonpartisan rapid response fund focused on ensuring free and fair elections in the U. S.

, supporting organizations working to guarantee every eligible American can vote without fear of intimidation or suppression.

Democracy Funders Network SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY’S FUTURE A cross-ideological learning and action community for donors concerned about the health of American democracy. Our mission is to ensure that the United States is a robust liberal democracy a century from now.

American democracy faces unprecedented challenges, among them: rising authoritarianism, political violence, election denialism, toxic polarization, fractured civic culture, ineffective governing institutions, and a fragmented information environment. Despite these challenges, we believe U.S. democracy is resilient and capable of delivering on the promise of liberty and justice for all.

This requires not only defending against immediate threats but also addressing root causes, reforming outdated systems, and building an enduring democracy for future generations. We are a network for funders who want to learn together, build and strengthen relationships, and ultimately identify opportunities for coordination and collaboration.

As a learning community, we convene funders and leaders across disparate corners of the field, develop virtual and in-person learning opportunities, and leverage original research to develop tools and resources for the field. But we don't stop at learning. As an action community, we advise donors in our network and move to fill critical funding gaps in the space.

The following principles shape DFN’s work: Democracy is not about our preferred political or policy outcomes. Many funders conflate democracy with political victories or policy preferences being enacted. When funding aims solely at partisan victories, we're funding politics, not democracy.

Creating a truly democratic agenda requires building systems that all Americans can support, regardless of political, religious, racial, or ethnic backgrounds. Democracy is more than voting. While voting is fundamental, democracy relies on a broader ecosystem of norms and institutions: rule of law, separation of powers, independent judiciary, and free press.

These foundational elements deserve greater philanthropic attention. A comprehensive democracy agenda must address this full spectrum. There is no silver bullet to save democracy.

Democracy's challenges have multiple causes requiring diverse interventions: structural reform, voting rights expansion, social cohesion building, local journalism support, norm protection, and civic education advancement. Helping funders place their specific interests within this broader landscape enhances overall effectiveness.

Conducting Research and Generating Knowledge Regular online programs on key democracy topics U.S. Democracy Hub data platform in partnership with Impala Development of tools, resources, and reports for donors Civic Safety Working Group for funders Member Directory to promote connection and collaboration Annual Democracy Funders Strategy Summit Regional Democracy Over Dinner series Strengthening underinvested areas of democracy work Acting as venture capacity to incubate critical projects Supporting new funds and collaborative initiatives Leveraging Strategic Funding Philanthropic advising for members Development of donor strategy tools Field leadership through convenings and coordination In 2024, DFN, in partnership with Impala, developed the U.S. Democracy Hub —a comprehensive and user-friendly platform offering valuable insights into democracy funding.

Alongside our development of the Hub, we recognized a need for a structured framework to understand and categorize the various efforts in the democracy field. To address that need, DFN worked with dozens of field leaders to develop an intellectually rigorous, outcomes-based taxonomy that considers the democracy field holistically.

The Hub brings this framework to life by organizing organizational data through its nine core ecosystems, laid out below, and over seventy sub-ecosystems. Recognizing the dynamic nature of democracy work, this taxonomy is designed to evolve as the field does.

These organizations work to ensure that voting and electoral systems are transparent, fair, and accessible, and that every eligible voter — regardless of background — has the tools and knowledge to meaningfully participate in the electoral process. These organizations work to identify, recruit, and develop leaders deeply committed to democracy.

These organizations work to ensure that governments represent the governed and that institutions are effective, efficient, inclusive, and representative of the diverse communities they serve. These organizations work to counter the threat of authoritarianism in its many forms and to address authoritarian impulses at both the individual and institutional level throughout society.

These organizations produce knowledge or influence how the public engages with information. These organizations work to strengthen community bonds and foster a shared sense of belonging while holding space for creative tensions.

These organizations harness the power of arts, entertainment, and foresight to foster imagination, enabling people to explore new perspectives on democracy, discover joy in its promises, and actively engage in shaping a just and vibrant future. These organizations pursue a more just and equitable society through advocacy, movement building, and collective action.

These organizations focus on backbone efforts that support and sustain the democracy field. The Democracy Innovation Project: We live in complex, uncertain, and rapidly changing times. Democracy in the United States is being buffeted and challenged by this disruptive context.

Yet disruption poses opportunities as well as challenges, and American civil society has begun to understand the insufficiency of a mainly defensive strategy when it comes to democracy. How can we build momentum to develop an aspiring affirmative vision of what American democracy's next chapter could be, and then how can we coalesce a broad constituency to bring those better futures into being?

Effective Philanthropic Responses to a More Authoritarian Era: How democracy funders should evolve to meet the challenges of this moment This follow up to DFN’s November 2024 report, Democracy Funders Network Safe & Effective Project: Recommendations for Funders , written by Peter Teague , explores the posture philanthropists must take to make a difference for democracy, advising funders to be prepared, flexible and strategic in the face of the growing authoritarian threat to civil society.

To access this report, please email info@democracyfundersnetwork. org. Exploring An Innovative Approach to Democratic Governance: A Funder’s Guide to Citizens’ Assemblies For too many Americans, the prospect of engaging with lawmakers about the important issues in their lives is either logistically inaccessible, or unsatisfactory in result.

Exploring An Innovative Approach to Democratic Governance: A Funder’s Guide to Citizens’ Assemblies , produced by Democracy Funders Network and New America, explores the potential for citizens' assemblies to transform and strengthen democratic processes in the U.S. The guide offers philanthropists and in-depth look at the potential opportunities and challenges citizens' assemblies present for building civic power at the local level and fomenting authentic civic engagement within communities.

Citizens’ assemblies belong in the broader field of collaborative governance, an umbrella term for public engagement that shifts governing power and builds trust by bringing together government officials and community members to collaborate on policy outcomes through shared decision-making. Read the full funder guide here .

The Authoritarian Threat: Preparing for the Repression of U.S. Philanthropy & Civil Society The Authoritarian Threat: Preparing for the Repression of U.S. Philanthropy & Civil Society examines the existing and emerging risks to U.S. philanthropy and civil society following the recent election.

The report identifies threats from President-elect Trump, Congress, state actors, and other key stakeholders, highlighting the increasingly restricted operating environment that civil society organizations are likely to experience under the incoming administration. It also offers practical recommendations for funders and nonprofit organizations to mitigate these risks and protect their work in this uncertain environment.

To access this report, please email info@democracyfundersnetwork. org .