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CalMatters’ Digital Democracy won The Trust in American Institutions Challenge, a national call for a bold solution to restore public trust in the core institutions of our society.
Reid Hoffman and Lever for Change are providing $1.8 million per year, for five years, to fuel the expansion of the innovative Digital Democracy platform across the United States.
“At a moment when trust in government is alarmingly low, access to credible, independent information about how the government is—and isn’t—working for the people is essential to restoring public confidence in our institutions,” Hoffman said. “CalMatters shows what it looks like to rebuild trust through rigorous journalism, transparency, and a deep commitment to public service.”
With this grant, the Digital Democracy platform’s ability to give people crucial information about government and help them engage will grow beyond California to multiple states.
“We’re honored and grateful to receive this support to expand Digital Democracy nationwide,” said CalMatters CEO Neil Chase. “People can’t trust what they can’t see, so we built Digital Democracy to make California’s government visible in a way that is clear, accessible, and actionable. We’re excited about the opportunity to share it nationwide, and humbled to win this award given the extraordinary quality of the other finalists.”
Giving people power over their government
As statehouse reporting has declined, oversight of government has weakened. As a result, voters receive less independent information about their elected officials and fewer opportunities to engage with them.
Digital Democracy closes that gap. Built by CalMatters, the platform gives the public and journalists direct access to comprehensive legislative data in one free, easy-to-use site: every vote cast, every dollar donated, every word spoken. Custom AI tools analyze the data to surface patterns and generate story leads, giving reporters a head start and strengthening accountability.
Digital Democracy is already transforming California’s legislative process. It has powered award–winning investigative journalism and real-world policy impact. Reporters throughout the state now use its AI-generated “Tip Sheets,” which find and describe real-time story ideas from hearings and votes, creating what one Emmy-winning journalist called “a reporter in every room.” This kind of transparency and accountability fuels citizen engagement, increasing understanding and trust.
So far, we’ve developed three products from the Digital Democracy platform:
- Public Websites: A trusted portal for a broad audience to easily learn about issues and players.
- Tip Sheets: Detailed summaries that send registered reporters AI-generated story ideas in real time, as hearings are held and votes are taken. It’s essentially a reporter in every public meeting, with enough data and background information for even the busiest reporter to get a running start on a quick story.
- Newsletters: “My Legislator,” a weekly newsletter, provides the latest data about each individual legislator. It includes votes they cast, things they said, how their bills progressed, money they received, and how they rank vs. colleagues on key metrics. It’s the best tool we have for rebuilding the connection between legislators and the people they are supposed to serve.
Digital Democracy has been proven in California and expanded to Hawai’i with our friends at the nonprofit newsroom Honolulu Civil Beat. With this grant, we are now poised to expand to more statehouses across the country with ready partners.
Gratitude for our partners
Digital Democracy wouldn’t have happened without David Lesher, CalMatters’ co-founder. He stepped down as CalMatters’ top editor in 2023 and stayed on to oversee the launch of Digital Democracy. Under his leadership, the CalMatters team expanded a platform originally built at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The platform’s architect is Foaad Khosmood, co-founder of Digital Democracy and a Cal Poly computer science professor.
We also offer congratulations to the other finalists for the The Trust in American Institutions Challenge, innovative organizations with powerful, impressive proposals: The American Journalism Project, Results for America, Recidiviz and Transcend Education.For information about Digital Democracy, please contact us at info@calmatters.org.
