Administrative History
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a bipartisan nonprofit foundation that promotes democracy and works to strengthen democratic institutions abroad through collaboration with individuals, institutions, democracy foundations, business groups, and other nongovernmental organizations. Initially funded as part of the State Department Authorization Act (H.R. 2915) in 1983, NED was the product of the Democracy Program, a study conducted by the American Political Foundation. NED's chief form of outreach is the distribution of grants to nongovernmental organizations. NED receives the majority of its funding through an annual appropriation from the State Department budget, and thus is subject to congressional oversight and the Freedom of Information Act. Carl Gershman served as president from 1984 to 2021 and was succeeded by Damon Wilson in July 2021.