What we fund

We encourage applicants to read through all the information provided about our grant giving aims and priorities, the grant application process and to contact us before developing an application.

You should also read JRRT Democracy Priorities: Our Funding Guide 2025. This guide sets out our approach to grant funding. Please read it carefully and in full before enquiring about funding possibilities

JRRT welcomes applications for work on our democracy priorities:

1. Money in politics

The rich and powerful cannot buy undue influence

Funding areas may include:

• Campaigns seeking to change to the regulatory framework to tighten the rules
  around political giving and to improve transparency on how money is given and spent in politics.

• Exposure of abuses and bad practices.

• Effective measures to reduce cash for honours and peerages, scrutinise gifts, hospitality and trips for politicians, tackle second jobs, and challenge improper lobbying interests on ministers and MPs.

• Building the foundations for an alternative system of political finance that rebuilds public trust and influence and overcomes the formidable barriers posed by political party interests in the status quo.

2. Voter participation and elections system reform 

Voting is easy, elections inclusive and turnout high

Funding areas may include:

• Modernising the election system introducing Automatic Voter Registration and further long-term system reform to make electoral participation easier and more inclusive.

• Introducing Votes at 16 across the UK to enfranchise 1.5 million young people and further franchise extension eg to settled residents.

• Countering efforts to suppress voter participation.

• Increasing registration and turnout of low-voting demographics.

3. Political rights – Freedom of expression and protest rights 

Freedom of speech and the right to protest are protected

Funding areas may include:

• Protecting the rights to freedom of assembly and expression, eg by repealing recent legislation that restricts democratic rights, and/or building knowledge of protest rights and the capacity to defend them.

• Ensuring the policing of protests is limited, proportionate, consistent and
  accountable, including the way the police and security services use technology to police protest.

4. Disinformation

Democracy is protected from the weaponisation of information

Funding areas may include:

• Monitoring and regulating the tools of disinformation, including the use of bots, deepfakes, and paid fake commentators, during elections or key political moments, eg disinformation designed to stir up social unrest.

• Strengthening penalties for public officials, candidates and politicians who spread disinformation.

• Regulation of social media platforms with effective penalties, updating the Online Safety Act.

• Strengthening regulator powers including their ability to support the public to discern what is fake news.

• Supporting campaigns or tools that help citizens determine who is trying to influence them and whether or not information is true.

• Longer-term solutions to support information integrity.

5. Checks and balances

Democratic systems are safeguarded against abuse and concentration of power

Funding areas may include:

• Strengthening electoral integrity by ensuring that elections are free and fair and run to the highest standard, the voting system is reformed to provide a check on unfettered political power, and the Electoral Commission’s independence is restored, protected and strengthened.

• Strengthening parliament’s ability to hold the executive accountable and effectively scrutinise primary and secondary legislation, including the roles of – and relationships between – the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

• Ensuring independent processes for appointing public officials and members of the House of Lords.

• Ensuring tools such as inquiries function effectively to provide accountability for the exercise of government power.

• Protecting a functional freedom of information regime, enabling politicians and public bodies to be held accountable.

Bad actors

Joseph Rowntree was directly concerned about bad actors: namely the danger to our national life from the power of selfish and unscrupulous wealth which influences public opinion largely through the press.

Much of the damage to democracy today is the result of particular actors, often wealthy individuals and corporates. Some use undue influence to pursue their direct interests, others to support their long-term objectives. This can undermine democracy, often under the guise of offering populist solutions to the societal tensions they exploit.

We will fund work to monitor, expose and hold accountable bad actors where it is integrated as part of an application for funding one of the democracy priorities above.

Racial justice

JRRT particularly welcomes applications at the intersection between racial justice and democracy.

Multiyear and core funding

We recognise the evidence of the value of multiyear and core funding for organisations, particularly how it enables them to plan for longer campaigns. We intend to increase the number of multiyear grants we make, some of which will be core funding, but due to our size most of our grants will continue to be project funding.

Applications for multiyear and/or core funding will ordinarily be invited by JRRT, after discussion with potential applicants, in line with our strategic priorities and as resources allow. If you are considering an unsolicited application for core funding or multiyear funding, you should contact JRRT first.

Advice and support

JRRT is always open to discussing the needs of our grantees and may be able to help with the provision or signposting of advice and support. To explore if JRRT might be in a position to assist, please contact us.

Many of our grantees have enjoyed learning from each other. If you have areas of expertise you are prepared to share, please let us know.

UK Democracy Fund

The UK Democracy Fund (the Fund) is a pooled Fund set up by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (JRRT) in 2019 and supported by a group of committed funders. The Fund is independent and non-partisan, and works to build a healthy democracy – one in which everyone can participate and where political power is shared fairly.

The Fund gives grants to support its three core goals:

• Enabling everyone to vote: Building support for reforms to ensure a simple, seamless and accessible voting system fit for the 21st century.

• Extending the right to vote: Advocating in support of expanding the franchise for 16- and 17-year-olds and settled UK residents from overseas.

• Increasing participation of everyone in our elections: Making an effort to raise the turnout of low-propensity voters to improve fairness in our democracy.

Find out more about the aims and priorities of the UK Democracy Fund in our funding framework.

What we don’t fund

Information and guidance is also available on what we don’t fund.