Healthy Democracy Fund
The Healthy Democracy Fund (HDF) is a Tides Foundation grantmaking initiative committed to fostering a more inclusive democracy and shifting power to historically underrepresented communities.
With rampant voter suppression, racially tinged gerrymandering, rising authoritarian extremists, coordinated disinformation campaigns, and other threats continuing to undermine the vibrancy and health of our democracy, the Healthy Democracy Fund is supporting movement groups and proximate grassroots leaders to organize a powerful and aligned response.
Funding Priorities for 2022
Voter Engagement, Registration, and Turnout
The HDF team at Tides continues to support building resilience and the enduring strength of community-informed, multi-issue organizing and advocacy so community groups can build long-term power that lasts beyond any election cycle.
Healthy Democracy Fund grantees are engaging with their communities through voter education, nonpartisan voter registration, increasing voter turnout through door-to-door, relational organizing, and closing the digital divide through multi-language texting, neighbor-to-neighbor phone banks, culturally relevant social media messaging, and other digital platforms.
Advancing and Protecting Voting Rights
There’s a long and ugly history of voter suppression in communities of color. The undeniable surge to the polls of the past couple of cycles, especially in Georgia and Arizona in 2020, inspired a wave of anti-democratic proposals that could significantly impact the voting rights of historically underrepresented communities. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 19 states enacted 34 laws restricting access to voting in 2021.
The Healthy Democracy Fund is supporting grantees to fight the ongoing wave of voter suppression measures, sometimes through protracted legal battles, and to mobilize underrepresented communities to exercise their voting rights in the midterm elections and beyond.
HDF GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT
Ohio Organizing Collaborative is an anchor partner in the fight for fair political maps and for Black people’s full participation in democracy in the state. The collaborative organizes everyday Ohioans to work for social, racial, and economic justice, while building political power through the engagement and mobilization of low-propensity voters, especially young voters and voters of color. Learn more about HDF Grantees»
Assuring Fair Redistricting
Racial gerrymandering, or the drawing of political district lines to dilute the voting power of people of color, has been around for decades. In the wake of the 2020 census, however, politicians at the state and local levels have supercharged their efforts to use the post-census redistricting process to undermine the political power of Black and brown communities.
The Healthy Democracy Fund is supporting community-based, people of color–led groups to lead the fight for fair political maps and equal representation through litigation, organizing and advocacy, and continuous community education.
Fighting Disinformation
In 2021, the United States experienced an insurrection driven by disinformation, a falsehood-fueled rebellion against basic public health measures, and spurious attacks on fundamental voting rights. The lies and distortions continue to pollute social media and the national political conversation in 2022.
The Healthy Democracy Fund is supporting community-based organizations and national support groups that are providing communities of color and young people with creative, accurate content and messaging on key issues while holding elected officials and media companies more accountable for the information they spread.
Emerging Threats
HDF program managers will respond rapidly to emerging threats as warranted. Since the murder of George Floyd, lawmakers across the country have sought to limit the rights to protest and speak out against oppression and police violence.
The Healthy Democracy Fund will stay attuned to emerging threats to our democracy and make targeted grants as appropriate that will aid in efforts to close the voter turnout gap and protect the voting rights of people of color and young voters.
Read our 2022 Priorities Report →
Tides has granted over $112M to democracy and civic engagement. Learn more about our work»
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Our Grantees
Healthy Democracy Fund grantees are part of an inspiring and growing ecosystem of groups across the country that are mobilizing communities of color to vote and exercise their other democratic rights.
→ Click here for a complete list of Health Democracy Fund grantees.
Priority States
HDF’s grantmaking priorities are straightforward. We are focusing on states where there’s opportunities for BIPOC-led, local groups to:
- Protect election integrity and help dismantle voter suppression
- Create momentum and breakdown polarization and disinformation for stronger pro-voter policies
- Build and sustain local leadership and community capacity for the long haul
