Programs

Proteus Fund is best known in the philanthropic community for grantmaking collaboratives comprised of foundations and individual donors that gather to identify grantmaking strategies and make joint funding decisions. All of Proteus' programs prioritize a learning function for donors - through research and analysis, strategic discussions, docket preparation, donor meetings and briefings, and site visits with key organizations and leaders - enabling funders to support the most effective work in the field.

Current Proteus Fund programs include:

THE PIPER FUNDPIPER FUND is a collaborative grantmaking program designed to support comprehensive public financing of elections at the state level. Over its 10 year history, Piper has provided critical support for some of the most innovative efforts to secure comprehensive reform including the Connecticut Clean Elections victory in 2005, flagship state-wide programs in Arizona and Maine and successful efforts to secure Clean Elections programs for discrete sets of offices in states around the country.

THE STATE STRATEGIES FUND (SSF)STATE STRATEGIES FUND (SSF) was originally established in 1999 to support innovative state-based strategies to build power among progressive constituencies with the goals of increasing citizen participation in public life and promoting democratic reform and awarded over $5 million to state organizations. SSF's re-launch in 2007 builds on this grantmaking, along with the knowledge gained through the work of the Blueprint Project in Wisconsin and Maine, and observation of state infrastructure development projects in other states. Seeking to support the development of progressive state infrastructure, SSF has three principle objectives tied to funder interest: convening a donor learning table; establishing a collaborative funding vehicle; and documenting innovations and successes in infrastructure development.

THE SECURITY POLICY WORKING GROUP (SPWG)SECURITY POLICY WORKING GROUP (SPWG)
supports individuals and non-governmental organizations representing decades of leadership in independent security policy research and analysis on a broad range of issues, including budget and economic considerations, military strategy, counter-terrorism, homeland security, institutional reform, international relations and diplomacy. By sustaining a dependable and routine presence in national security debates across a breadth of complex issues, SPWG grantees are committed to aggressively and effectively communicating alternative policy options to the policy community and general public. 

CIVIL MARRIAGE COLLABORATIVECIVIL MARRIAGE COLLABORATIVE (CMC) represents a unique collaboration among LGBT and other progressive funders to strengthen a broad and diverse grassroots constituency to achieve marriage equality for same-sex couples. Recognizing that much of this important civil rights debate is unfolding on a state-by-state basis, CMC supports strategic efforts in states where the possibility of advancing the marriage agenda nationwide is significant. The CMC's leadership serves the additional important function of helping to educate the broader progressive philanthropic community.

THE MEDIA DEMOCRACY FUND (MDF)MEDIA DEMOCRACY FUND (MDF) is a newly-formed grantmaking collaborative in support of a just media environment and democratic media policy. The fund grew out of research conducted by the Ford Foundation, the Phoebe Haas Charitable Trust, and the Albert A. List Foundation on how to increase philanthropic investment in media policy, and is rooted in the belief that freedom of expression and access to information are necessary elements to civil society and basic human rights. MDF was initiated with donations totaling $1,240,000; its first grantmaking cycle awarded $545,000 to 12 groups in December 2006. With its rapid response fund, MDF has awarded an additional $100,000 in 2007 to help groups with applications for the Federal Communications Commission's Non-Commercial Educational Radio License, which presents an historic opportunity for media ownership and representation by underserved constituencies.

DEMOCRACY PROJECT is a research project designed to explore whether a comprehensive approach to democracy issues would be more effective than single-issue or sectoral approaches, and how such umbrella strategies might be funded. We are examining the linkages and gaps among areas in the field such as structural reform to elections, lowering barriers to participation, deliberative approaches to democracy and campaign finance reform.

Proteus Fund works in tandem with the PROTEUS ACTION LEAGUE, an affiliated §501(c)(4) grantmaking organization whose strategy is designed to build progressive power in the states.