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Democracy North Carolina at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Democracy North Carolina

Democracy North Carolina's mission is to strengthen democratic structures, build power among disenfranchised communities, and inspire confidence in a transformed political process that works for all.

$358k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Public Benefit$2.0MAnimals$300kCivil Rights$57kEducation$56kCrime & Legal$30kReligion$6kArts & Culture$6k
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 6 grants below total $327,943, the rows itemized in this filing. The $357,942 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $29,999 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $103k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $225k
$75,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$5.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NC PIRG Educational Fund$75,000
Southern Vision Alliance$75,000
Common Cause Education Fnd-North Carolina$75,000
NC Black Alliance$39,585
Southern Coalition for Social Jutice$38,977
You Can Vote$24,381
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 56% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%NC PIRG Educational Fund: $75k → 16%Common Cause Education Fnd-NC: $78k → 14%Common Cause Education Fnd-North Carolina: $81k → 8%Southern Vision Alliance: $83k → 11%Spirit and Truth UM Church: $6k → 13%Vote No Fayetteville: $15k → 16%Enfield-Roanoke Rapids DST: $6k → 20%Seeds of HOPE: $6k → 20%NC PIRG Educational Fund: $75k → 16%Common Cause Education Fnd-NC: $75k → 14%Common Cause Education Fnd-North Carolina: $81k → 8%Southern Vision Alliance: $81k → 11%Common Cause Education Fund NC: $81k → 8%Southern Vision Alliance: $81k → 11%Common Cause Education Fnd-North Carolina: $75k → 8%Southern Vision Alliance: $81k → 11%Common Cause Education Fund: $75k → 8%Southern Vision Alliance: $75k → 11%Common Cause EducationFund NC: $38k → 8%Southern Vision Alliance: $75k → 11%NC Voters for Clean Elections: $20k → 8%Peoples Alliance Fund: $50k → 11%NC Voters for Clean Elections: $10k → 8%Wildegeest Foundation: $300k → 11%Bayard Rustin LGBTQ of NCAPRI: $8k → 8%Voting Matters Inc: $37k → 11%Common Cause HBCU Student AA: $8k → 8%You Can Vote: $24k → 11%NC PIRG Educational Fund: $81k → 8%Voting Matters Inc: $7k → 11%NC PIRG Educational Fund: $81k → 8%NC PIRG Educational Fund: $81k → 8%NCPIRG Education Fund: $75k → 8%NC PIRG Educational Fund: $46k → 8%NC Black Alliance: $40k → 8%NC PIRG Educational Fund: $75k → 8%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.9M · 10 repeat orgs$592k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +103% since the first grant, against -55% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
11

Total granted

$1.9M
$529k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+103%
-55%

Still filing today

80%
27%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $63k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Public BenefitCrime & LegalCivil RightsEducationOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • SOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE
    8× · 2017–2024 · $641k · revenue ×25
  • CC
    COMMON CAUSE
    3× · 2022–2024 · $237k · revenue +94%
  • CC
    COMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND
    3× · 2017–2019 · $228k · revenue +266%

Funded once

  • WF
    Wildegeest Foundation
    one grant, 2020 · $300k
  • NC
    NORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUC FUND INC
    one grant, 2017 · $75k · revenue -44%
  • TP
    The Peoples Alliance Fund
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue -73%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Democracy North Carolina

Democracy North Carolina's mission is to strengthen democratic structures, build power among disenfranchised communities, and inspire confidence in a transformed political process that works for all.

Civil Rights
2
North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform

North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform (NC4RR) is a bipartisan nonprofit working to improve North Carolina's representative democracy through redistricting reform. NC4RR's objective is to help pass a state constitutional amendment in…

—
3
North Carolina Information Innovation Fund Inc

The North Carolina Information Innovation Fund NCIIF will educate the residents of North Carolina on civic duty and election related matters, including the importance of voting in elections, national policies impacting North Carolina, how…

Public Benefit
4
North Carolina for the People

To educate the public on how to build a democracy where everyone participates, every vote is counted, voting rights are fully enforced, and everyone's voice is heard; to work toward a system where everyone has a say in decisions that…

Civil Rights
5
North Carolina Voter Project

Amplify unrepresented voices in north carolina elections through voter education and registration.

Civil Rights
6
Upstate Action Alliance

Non-PartisanVoter Educ Advocacy

Civil Rights
7
North Carolina Voices

North Carolina Voices provides information to North Carolina voters to inform them on social issues affecting the State through digital ads.

—
8
Protect Colorados Vote

To oppose a colorado statewide ballot initiative to join the national popular vote compact

—
9
Action Institute Nc

Action institute nc is a community organization and citizens action group that organizes residents of low-wealth communities and constituencies most of whom are people of color- to represent their own interests on issues of social and…

—
10
South Carolina Public Interest Foundation
Crime & Legal
11
Forward Justice Action Network

Forward Justice Action Network is a nonprofit with the purpose to engage in educational and advocacy activities to promote political and grassroots support for public policies that advance racial social and economic justice in North…

Human Services
12
North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Foundation Inc

In collaboration with the legal community, NCEAJF empowers North Carolinians to navigate the civil justice system.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Nc for the People Action (formerly Nc Voters for Clean Elections); the most unlike its peers is People Alliance Fund. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

13 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 13 of the 23 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
6/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP CITIZEN LOBBY INC: $318,000 · OtherNORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP CITIZEN LOB…Wildegeest Foundation: $300,000 · OtherWildegeest FoundationCOMMON CAUSE: $237,000 · OtherCOMMON CAUSECommon Cause Education Fund NC: $118,500 · OtherCommon Cause Education Fund NCNORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUC FUND INC: $75,000 · OtherNORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUC FUND I…The Peoples Alliance Fund: $50,000 · OtherNC PIRG Educational Fund: $45,500 · OtherVOTING MATTERS INC: $43,000 · Other+6 more: $48,400 · OtherSOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE: $641,000 · Public BenefitSOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCECOMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND: $227,750 · Public BenefitCOMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUNDUNITED STATES PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUCATION FUND INC: $150,000 · Public BenefitUNITED STATES PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDU…+1 more: $30,000 · Public BenefitEmancipate NC Inc: $43,500 · Crime & LegalSOUTHERN COALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: $38,977 · Crime & LegalNORTH CAROLINA BLACK ALLIANCE INC: $49,585 · EducationYOU CAN VOTE: $24,381 · Civil RightsPODER NC ACTION: $10,000 · Civil Rights
Other$1,235,400Public Benefit$1,048,750Crime & Legal$82,477Education$49,585Civil Rights$34,381

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE: $641,000 over 8y, 6.6% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP CITIZEN LOBBY INC: $318,000 over 4y, 49% of budgetCOMMON CAUSE: $237,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetCOMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND: $227,750 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetUNITED STATES PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUCATION FUND INC: $150,000 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA BLACK ALLIANCE INC: $49,585 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetEmancipate NC Inc: $43,500 over 2y, 35% of budgetSOUTHERN COALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: $38,977 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetNC For the People Action (formerly NC Voters for Clean Elections): $30,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetYOU CAN VOTE: $24,381 over 1y, 1.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Blueprint North Carol…Tides FoundationZ Smith Reynolds Foun…Triangle Community Fo…Amalgamated Charitabl…NEO Philanthropy IncFoundation for the Ca…ImpactassetsincVanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Blueprint North CarolinaNC22× affinity8 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Blueprint North Carolina · Tides Foundation · Z Smith Reynolds Foundation Inc · Triangle Community Foundation Inc · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · NEO Philanthropy Inc · Foundation for the Carolinas · Impactassetsinc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Democracy North Carolina funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Democracy North Carolina. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 23 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home