Announcing Voices for Democracy, NMV’s New Open Call!

For over a decade, NMV has invested in more than 120 progressive startups wrestling with the biggest challenges facing our democracy. One of the most urgent challenges we’re seeing today is a robust media infrastructure intent on misinforming Americans – especially in overlooked communities in Southern and battleground states. Investing in organizing is crucial, but to build back trust in bottom-up democracy, we also need to ensure our communities are met by authentic local messengers where they are and with culturally-resonant messages.

Voices for Democracy

Our new open call, Voices for Democracy, is a pooled fund designed to find, finance, and support community-centric media in key states on the front lines of the battle for American democracy. Through Voices for Democracy, we’ll be investing in and scaling an ecosystem of diverse, grassroots voices and media outlets. We will be accepting applications from March 22 through May 22. 

What We're Looking For

We’re looking to fund a variety of early-stage nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies, including:

• emerging media properties & platforms with a culture-first approach;

• community-based reporting reaching underserved or overlooked audiences;

• innovative, idea-stage proposals and experiments leveraging media and tech;

• organizing and advocacy groups developing impactful narratives and communication strategies; and

• tech tools and platforms driving participation and/or measuring impact.

For this first funding round, we’re targeting entities working in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. You can review the full Voices for Democracy criteria here.

Opportunities to Get Involved

For funders: At NMV, we believe that funders are most effective when we work together. Mission-aligned individuals and organizations are invited to join us in supporting the Voices for Democracy pooled fund. You can learn more about this opportunity through our Voices for Democracy funder deck. If you have additional questions or would like to discuss supporting this project, please contact NMV’s Director of Development Brittany Grimm.

For startups: We are currently accepting applications for our Voices for Democracy open call. You can review the open call criteria, read through our FAQs, and find the application here. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at invest@newmediaventures.org! 

Please Note: Applications made through the above link will only be considered for Voices for Democracy. Startups interested in applying for funding through our continuous investment cycle should communicate their interest here.