Civic Hall Labs
Civic Hall Labs is a New York-based nonprofit civic technology organization that supports the US nonprofit ecosystem with educational resources and hosts open-data initiatives including Justice Lab, the Open Referral Project, and the Healthy Public Challenge.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Civic Hall Labs does
Civic Hall Labs is a 501(c)-style nonprofit civic technology organization founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York, operating with a 1-10 person team. Its core mission centers on two intersecting themes: (1) providing educational content, tools, and guidance to help individuals run and fund nonprofit organizations in the US nonprofit ecosystem of over 1.5 million entities, and (2) developing open data infrastructure for health, human, and social services. The organization delivers against this mission through several programs: the Open Referral Project, which Civic Hall Labs hosts on behalf of founder Greg Bloom and which promotes open, interoperable data standards for sharing information about social services; the Justice Lab initiative, which convenes criminal justice and community development stakeholders around open data standards, open infrastructure, machine learning, and mobile technology; the Healthy Public Challenge, an annual civic-solutions competition soliciting technology-enabled proposals from entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, academics, technologists, and the public; and a long-running educational blog covering nonprofit FAQs, fundraising, networking, and nonprofit job resources.
The underlying technology stack emphasizes open data standards and interoperability rather than proprietary platforms. The Open Referral platform underpins a network of pilot projects across the US and internationally where diverse stakeholders collaborate to develop sustainable open data business models for sharing health, human, and social services information. Justice Lab extends this open-infrastructure posture into the criminal justice domain, while the Healthy Public Challenge functions as an open innovation vehicle. Distribution is content-led, centered on the organization's website, blog, and presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS, targeting a long-tail audience of nonprofit operators, help-hotline call centers, social-service providers, and web startups building on open referral data.
Civic Hall Labs operates a nonprofit revenue model funded through three streams: donations from individuals, businesses, and other organizations; government grants and contracts; and program and service revenue from activities such as classes or events. The only disclosed external capital event is a $2,000,000 funding round in December 2016 led by Omidyar Network. The organization is led by co-founders Andrew Rasiej and Micah L. Sifry, with limited additional management team surface in the available record. There are no commercial products, pricing tiers, or paid subscriptions; the organization's deliverables are educational content, open-data infrastructure, and challenge-driven programming rather than packaged goods or services.
Civic Hall Labs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Civic Hall Labs
- Legal name
- Civic Hall Labs
- Website
- https://civichalllabs.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Civic Hall Labs is a New York-based nonprofit civic technology organization that supports the US nonprofit ecosystem with educational resources and hosts open-data initiatives including Justice Lab, the Open Referral Project, and the Healthy Public Challenge.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Civic Hall Labs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civic Technology and Nonprofit Support Services
- NAICS
- Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good) (BPAGALAK)
Keywords
Where Civic Hall Labs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Civic Hall Labs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations: Revenue generated through donations from individuals, businesses, and other organizations.
- Government Grants and Contracts: Funding from government sources such as grants or contracts for services.
- Program and Service Revenue: Revenue generated through programs and services offered, such as classes or events.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Civic Hall Labs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Civic Hall Labs is a nonprofit organization that runs civic technology initiatives and provides educational content for the nonprofit sector. Its named offerings include the Justice Lab (collaborative use of open data, ML, and mobile tech for justice and community development ecosystems), the Open Referral Project (open data standards for sharing health, human, and social services information), and the Healthy Public Challenge (annual civic solutions competition). It also publishes nonprofit management educational blog content covering fundraising, networking, and operations.
Product overview
Civic Hall Labs is a nonprofit organization that serves as a platform for civic technology and nonprofit support. Its core offerings include the Justice Lab, which explores how open data, open infrastructure, machine learning, and mobile technology can support health and human service providers; the Open Referral Project focused on interoperable social services information sharing; and the Healthy Public Challenge, an annual initiative calling for civic technology solutions. The organization also provides educational resources and blog content about nonprofit operations including fundraising, networking, and best practices for running nonprofit organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Justice Lab: Initiative bringing together key players in the criminal justice and community development ecosystems to explore how open data standards, open infrastructure, machine learning, and mobile technology can support health and human service providers
- Healthy Public Challenge
- Open Referral Project
Products and services
- Justice Lab Collaborative initiative bringing together criminal justice and community development stakeholders to explore how open data standards, open infrastructure, machine learning, and mobile technology can support health and human service providers on the front lines of serving those in need.
- Open Referral Project Initiative focused on making it easier to share, find, and use information about health, human, and social services available to people in need through open data standards and interoperable technologies.
- Healthy Public Challenge Annual challenge calling on entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, academics, technologists, designers, and the public to propose civic solutions that leverage technology to promote community cohesion, civic agency, and access to public assets.
- Nonprofit Education Resources Educational content providing tips for running and funding nonprofits, including blog posts on nonprofit importance, fundraising, networking, and frequently asked questions about nonprofit operations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Supporting pilot projects across the country and around the world in which diverse stakeholders collaborate to develop sustainable open data business models
Companies that use Civic Hall Labs
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Civic Hall Labs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Civic Hall Labs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Open ReferralcoreOpen Referral is an initiative founded by Greg Bloom promoting open data standards and interoperable technologies for health, human, and social services information. Civic Hall Labs hosts Open Referral and supports pilot projects across the country and around the world where diverse stakeholders collaborate to develop sustainable open data business models.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Civic Hall Labs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Open Data Institute: A nonprofit focused on building an open, trustworthy data ecosystem — directly comparable to Civic Hall Labs' Open Referral work on open data standards and interoperability.
- Code for America: A leading civic technology nonprofit that builds digital services for government and runs brigades to support civic-tech innovation — directly comparable to Civic Hall Labs' civic-tech mission and nonprofit base.
- Civic Hall: The broader civic-tech community and learning organization co-founded by Andrew Rasiej; Civic Hall Labs sits within this ecosystem and shares the same civic-participation and digital-inclusion orientation.
- NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network): A membership organization that helps nonprofits use technology effectively — highly comparable to Civic Hall Labs' nonprofit-focused educational content and capacity-building work.
- TechSoup: A nonprofit that provides technology resources, tools, and education to other nonprofits globally — overlapping with Civic Hall Labs' audience of small and mid-sized nonprofit organizations.
- US Digital Response (USDR): Connects governments with pro-bono technologists to deliver digital public services — comparable in mission, though operationally larger and more government-facing than Civic Hall Labs.
- Idealware: Publishes research and guidance for nonprofits on selecting and using technology — closely comparable to Civic Hall Labs' educational content and nonprofit capacity-building offerings.
Broad incumbents
- New America: A large civic-policy think tank with programs covering open data, digital inclusion, and governance — comparable thematic focus but with a much broader policy and research portfolio than Civic Hall Labs.
- Knight Foundation: A major civic-tech and journalism funder that supports many of the same kinds of organizations Civic Hall Labs engages with — comparable in mission but operating as a foundation rather than an implementing nonprofit.
- Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation (Georgetown): A university-affiliated center that designs technology and data-driven solutions for social impact — comparable in civic-tech orientation though more research-and-policy oriented than Civic Hall Labs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Civic Hall Labs social profiles
Digital presenceCivic Hall Labs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Civic Hall Labs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Civic Hall Labs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Civic Hall Labs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Civic Hall Labs
What does Civic Hall Labs do?
Civic Hall Labs is a nonprofit organization that runs civic technology initiatives and provides educational content for the nonprofit sector. Its named offerings include the Justice Lab (collaborative use of open data, ML, and mobile tech for justice and community development ecosystems), the Open Referral Project (open data standards for sharing health, human, and social services information), and the Healthy Public Challenge (annual civic solutions competition). It also publishes nonprofit management educational blog content covering fundraising, networking, and operations.
Is Civic Hall Labs a public or private company?
Civic Hall Labs is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Civic Hall Labs founded?
Civic Hall Labs was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Civic Hall Labs based?
Civic Hall Labs is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Civic Hall Labs make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations are the primary driver. The others are government Grants and Contracts and program and Service Revenue.
Who are Civic Hall Labs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Open Data Institute, Code for America, Civic Hall, NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network), TechSoup, US Digital Response (USDR) and Idealware. Broad incumbents are New America, Knight Foundation and Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation (Georgetown).
Does Civic Hall Labs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Civic Hall Labs.
What industry is Civic Hall Labs in?
Civic Hall Labs's product category is Civic Technology and Nonprofit Support Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAK, Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good). Its NAICS code is 81341 and its SIC code is 8600.