Media Democracy Fund is a nonprofit grant making initiative that works with

foundations Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good caus ...

and individual donors to support

digital rights Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is partic ...

internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

, online

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

internet privacy Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storing, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. P ...

internet security Internet security is a branch of computer security. It encompasses the Internet, browser security, web site security, and network security as it applies to other applications or operating systems as a whole. Its objective is to establish rules ...

, and

equality Equality may refer to: Society * Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing ** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...

. Media Democracy Fund is hosted by the

New Venture Fund Arabella Advisors is a Washington, D.C.-based for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a politically liberal "dark money" network. It was founded by former C ...

History

Media Democracy Fund was founded by Helen Brunner, and awarded its inaugural round of grants in 2006.

Activities

Media Democracy Fund is known for creating, managing and funding campaigns to support the open internet, including the successful defeat of SOPA/PIPA in 2012, and the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet rulemaking in 2015. Media Democracy Fund has provided

seed funding Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor invests capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' ...

for organizations that now serve as leaders in the field of

, including

Fight for the Future Fight for the Future (often abbreviated fightfortheftr or FFTF) is a nonprofit advocacy group in the area of digital rights founded in 2011. The group aims to promote causes related to copyright legislation, as well as online privacy and cen ...

, Media Action Grassroots Network and

Open Technology Institute New America, formerly the New America Foundation, is a think tank in the United States founded in 1999. It focuses on a range of public policy issues, including national security studies, technology, asset building, health, gender, energy, educa ...

Structure

Media Democracy Fund is hosted by the New Venture Fund, and has an affiliated

501c4 A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...

project called Media Democracy Action Fund. Media Democracy Fund maintains sub-funds that focus on specific issue areas, which include an Open Internet Defense Fund, Copyright Initiative, Surveillance Fund, Global Initiatives and Rapid Response Fund.

References

External links

*{{Official website, mediademocracyfund.org Digital rights organizations Organizations established in 2006 Charities based in Washington, D.C.