Public Wise, a Washington, D.C.-based organization focused on voting rights, has announced grants totaling $1.8 million in 2023 in support of grassroots organizations working to protect and expand democracy.

Unrestricted grants were awarded to 32 organizations, including those in key battleground states ahead of the 2024 general election, such as Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The organization also invested in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, with grants totaling $425,000 to the Wisconsin Working Families Party, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, America Votes, National Redistricting Action Fund, and the Fair Elections Center. Additional grants included $200,000 to Democracy Docket, a progressive platform that provides information, analysis, and opinion about voting rights, elections, and democracy; $75,000 to American Oversight, a nonpartisan nonprofit watchdog that promotes the public’s right to government records; and $50,000 to Rural Arizona Action, which aims to create more equitable and just systems through advocacy, accountability, and leadership training in rural Arizona communities.

“Our democracy and elections are the most vulnerable at the grassroots level, where races face less scrutiny and competition. After struggling at the national level, election deniers are taking the fight to our local communities,” said Public Wise executive director Christina Baal-Owens. “Public Wise is committed to investing our dollars in organizations on the frontline of our democracy crisis and delivering critical support to the communities [that] need it most.”

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