Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
Democracy Fund Inc
Democracy Fund Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $65,558,000 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($64,750,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 99% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $64M
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $66M
- Net assets
- $-15863122
What Democracy Fund Inc does
Programs
Free and Fair ElectionsVoting is one of the most significant ways for Americans in the United States to participate in democracy. To develop a free, fair, and accessible election system, our Elections and Voting program supports groups who are empowering communities and strengthening our election infrastructure.
$1,992,808 spentVibrant and Diverse Public SquareReliable information is getting harder to find, leading to less informed voters and greater threats to democracy. To increase civic participation, the Public Square program invests in organizations and leaders who believe in the power of accurate and accessible information as a force for justice and democracy, and work to ensure communities have access to the information they need, online and offline.
$2,730,191 spentRepresentative and Accountable GovernanceGoverning institutions should provide equal voice and power to all Americans, leaders should be accountable and responsive, and abuses of power should be rare. Achieving this vision requires reforming our institutions so that voters see themselves and their opinions represented in government and its policy decisions. The Governance program seeks to defend against threats that undermine our democracy and works to advance long-term, structural change that shifts power to the people and away from a select few.
$1,581,278 spentJust and Inclusive SocietyTo strengthen our democracy in an increasingly diverse country, the Just and Inclusive Society program elevates intersectional movements supporting refugees, migrants, and communities of color.
$1,230,295 spent
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990-PF.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $96M to $26M (−73%).
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Joseph Goldman
President & CEO
Board chair
Patricia Christen
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990-PF.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $75k → $25k.
1 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 99% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of Democracy Fund Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
Democracy Fund Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 99% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
100% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Democracy Fund Inc.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
99% of Democracy Fund Inc's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $808k that is directly attributable, 88% of it comes from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 5 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $65M arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
Democracy Fund Inc is better cushioned than half of the 3,288 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,288 human services nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like Democracy Fund Inc
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Democracy Fund Inc: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Democracy Fund Inc?
- Democracy Fund Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $65,558,000 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($64,750,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 99% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Democracy Fund Inc have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $65,558,000 in grants to Democracy Fund Inc.
- Who is the largest funder of Democracy Fund Inc?
- VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM is the largest funder on record, with $64,750,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Democracy Fund Inc find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 6 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing