Civitates supports organisations striving to tackle Europe’s deepening political polarisation, its shrinking civic space, the decline in independent media and the rise of online disinformation. Each of these developments poses a serious threat to democracy.

Civitates is a pooled philanthropic fund that was set up for the sole purpose of addressing democratic decline and narrowing civic space in Europe. The case for confronting these threats is growing increasingly urgent.  

To this end, we support broad coalitions of civil society groups that actively participate in public life, contribute to open debates and help shape diverse and resilient communities across Europe. In a sub-fund named ›Technology and Democracy‹, we tackle the impact of algorithm-driven technologies on democracy. In particular, we support organisations that advocate for effective EU legislation to curb the spread of online hate, conspiracies and disinformation. The third sub-fund supports independent media organisations that are creating innovative and resilient financial models, which will enable them to engage in fact-based public interest reporting and investigative journalism. 

Civitates also aims to encourage other funders to invest in the preservation of democracy in Europe. 

civitates-eu.org