Stronger Democracy Award
Funding Amount
$22,000,000 total ($10,000,000 + $10,000,000 + $2,000,000)
Deadline
Deadline not published
Grant Type
Foundation
Deadline history & next window
- Cycle
- One-time opportunity
- Tracked since
- April 2026
Source: the cycle recorded on this listing. Confirm dates with the funder.
Overview
Geographic Scope: United States
Focus Areas:
- Voting and elections
- Policymaking
- Civic engagement
- Structural reforms to improve political representation and increase citizen participation
Overview:
A $22 million competition launched in March 2021 to drive structural reforms to help improve political representation and increase the participation of all citizens in the United States' democratic process. The competition aimed to address systemic barriers and advance structural reforms in voting and elections, policymaking, and civic engagement.
Award Structure:
- Two finalists each receive $10 million grant (one from Additional Ventures, one from anonymous ICONIQ Impact donor)
- One additional finalist receives $2 million grant from Cipora and Vlado Herman
Evaluation Criteria:
- Transformative potential
- Feasibility
- Innovation
- Scalability
Application Process:
Received 172 submissions from non-profit organizations. Applications evaluated during a four-month review process involving peer applicants and multi-disciplined experts from around the country.
Finalists:
Civic Revolution coalition (led by PushBlack, Pulso, ParentsTogether, Noticias Para Inmigrantes, and Accelerate Change) was announced as one of five finalists.
Sponsors & Partners:
- Managed by: Lever for Change
- Sponsored by: Additional Ventures
- Support from: Philanthropists Cipora and Vlado Herman and an anonymous donor in the ICONIQ Impact community
- Partners: ICONIQ Impact
What Accelerate Change Inc actually gave
Source: IRS Form 990, 2025
- Grants in 2025
- 5
- Total given
- $4.64M
- Median grant
- $330K
- Range
- $150K–$3.45M
- By dollars: District of Columbia 85%, New York 7%, Florida 5%. Top recipient cities: Washington, DC; New York, NY; Miami, FL.
- 60% of grants with a stated purpose were for general or operating support.
Example grants
Pushblack · Washington, DC
To provide general operating support
$3.45M
Gen-Z for Change Initiative Inc · Washington, DC
To provide general operating support
$482K
Nowthis Media Group LLC · New York, NY
To provide news and issue content reaching underrepresented communities, including…
$330K
Project Pulso Inc · Miami, FL
To provide general operating support
$230K
Her Campus Media LLC · Beverly, MA
To provide voter registration campaign services
$150K
Focus Areas & Funding Uses
Fields of Work
- Social justice
- Human rights
Categories
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