Transparency and Integrity

The Transparency and Integrity Fund (TIF or the Fund) promotes unfettered access to information – the lifeblood of democracy – as well as the integrity of American institutions through which we hold our government accountable and seek justice.  The Fund envisions an engaged public with equal access to information and institutions, and active participation in democracy and public life.

To these ends, the Transparency and Integrity Fund advances the following overarching goals:

• Ensure a transparent democracy and an engaged public through support for media and government ‘watchdog’ groups and support for the development and use of emerging technology tools and practices that increase public access to information;

• Address the crisis in journalism in part through supporting the development of solutions that ensure high quality, sustainable journalism on state and local governance and beat issues remains, or emerges on the Internet, radio, television or in newspapers;

• Promoting government accountability principally, though not solely, through supporting broad and equal access to the ballot and advocacy on the independence and diversity of the judiciary; and

• Explore the impact of the increasing privatization of government functions, especially in relation to other U.S. Program's priorities; e.g., privatization of prisons and immigration detention facilities.