What MapLight does

MapLight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2005 and headquartered in Berkeley, California, that develops and operates hosted software-as-a-service platforms for government ethics, campaign finance, lobbying, and political advertising disclosure. Its core product, the MapLight Disclosure System, is a unified electronic filing platform supporting campaign finance, lobbying registration and reporting, ethics filings (personal financial disclosures, conflict-of-interest forms), and e-signature workflows for voter endorsement petitions. The platform serves three user types: filers submitting disclosures, government agency staff administering filings, and the public accessing transparency portals.

MapLight serves state and local government agencies exclusively, with named clients including the California Secretary of State (via the next-generation CAL-ACCESS system serving 39 million residents, delivered in partnership with CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc.), the State of Maine Ethics Commission, the City and County of Denver, and the City of Minneapolis. In December 2024, MapLight extended its product surface with the launch of the MapLight Digital Ad Archive, developed in partnership with the Campaign Legal Center, which supports filing and public reporting of political advertising across digital, print, and video formats. The organization also licenses its Bill Positions data set (225,000+ corporate and organizational positions on 14,000+ congressional bills from 2007-2021) to academic and research users.

MapLight generates revenue through multi-year government SaaS contracts on a subscription basis and through modest data licensing fees, supplemented by donations typical of nonprofit operations. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The organization distributes its software exclusively through direct enterprise sales to government agencies, customizing each deployment to jurisdiction-specific statutes and operational requirements. As of the most recent reporting, MapLight has 11-50 employees, no disclosed external institutional investors, and has indicated intent to file for IPO under SEC contingency planning during a recent U.S. government shutdown — a signal of potential structural transition from nonprofit to public company.

Name

MapLight

Legal name

MapLight

Website

https://maplight.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MapLight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides hosted SaaS disclosure software for state and local government agencies, covering campaign finance, lobbying, ethics filings, and political advertising transparency. Its platform serves government filers, agency administrators, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Transparency Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Communications, Transparency & Open Government (BPAIAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

Keywords

• Government transparency software
• Campaign finance disclosure
• Ethics filing systems
• Lobbying disclosure software
• Political advertising transparency

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Software Contracts: MapLight provides customized disclosure systems to state and local government agencies on a software-as-a-service basis. Contracts include the California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS system (partnered with CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc.) and various other government agency implementations.
2. Data Licensing: The Bill Positions data set covering 2007-2021 with 225,000+ positions on 14,000+ bills is available for academic and research use for a modest licensing fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MapLight builds and operates the MapLight Disclosure System, a hosted software-as-a-service platform that enables state and local government agencies to run electronic filing and public reporting for campaign finance, lobbying registration and activity disclosures, ethics filings, and political advertising transparency. The platform is sold as customized SaaS contracts to government agencies and is configured to each jurisdiction's laws, regulations, and operational workflows. MapLight also licenses its historical Bill Positions data set to academic and research users.

Product overview

MapLight offers a unified product portfolio centered on the MapLight Disclosure System, a hosted SaaS platform for government transparency. The system combines three integrated modules: Campaign Finance, Lobbying Filings, and Ethics Filings, which can be purchased individually or together. Additional products include the MapLight Digital Ad Archive for political advertising transparency and E-Signatures for electronic voter endorsement of petitions. The Bill Positions Data Series provides historical data on corporate and organizational positions on Congressional legislation. MapLight primarily serves state and local government clients including the California Secretary of State, the City of Minneapolis, and the State of Maine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Voter's Edge: Nonpartisan voting guide that served two million voters in California each election season.
• MapLight Disclosure System
• MapLight Digital Ad Archive

Products and services

• MapLight Disclosure System A modern, flexible hosted SaaS electronic filing platform that supports campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics disclosure for state and local governments. Provides compliance tools for filers, administrative dashboards for agency staff, and public transparency portals for citizens. Sold as customized SaaS contracts and configurable to each jurisdiction's laws and operational workflows.
• Campaign Finance Filings Electronic campaign finance filing and disclosure software for state and local government that supports electronic filings and eliminates paper forms, paired with a public transparency portal. Available standalone or as part of the MapLight Disclosure System.
• Lobbying Filings Lobbyist registration and disclosure software supporting the full lobbying lifecycle from account creation and registration to compensation reporting, activity filings, and payment tracking. Includes built-in support for multiple filer types, configurable fee schedules, and automated notifications. Available standalone or as part of the MapLight Disclosure System.
• Ethics Filings Electronic ethics disclosure software supporting personal financial disclosures, conflict of interest forms, gift and honoraria reports, and other transparency requirements. Includes automated reminders, validation checks, and built-in business rules for compliance. Available standalone or as part of the MapLight Disclosure System.
• MapLight Digital Ad Archive Software system for governments that supports the filing and public reporting of all political advertising including digital, print, video, and other formats. Provides filer uploads, regulator review/administration, and public search/filter by ad format, candidate, office, amount spent, and date. Integrates with social media providers and can be deployed standalone or alongside the MapLight Disclosure System.
• E-Signatures Software for electronic voter endorsement of candidate nominating petitions and ballot measure petitions. Automatically validates voter registration status and authenticates identity through multiple methods.
• Bill Positions Data Series A historical data set tracking which companies and organizations support and oppose bills in Congress, covering 15 years from 2007 to 2021 with over 225,000 positions on more than 14,000 bills. Available for academic and research use under licensing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67% of campaign contributions to San Diego City Council candidates came from fewer than 800 individual donors out of 1.4 million residents
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Campaign Legal CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024MapLight developed the MapLight Digital Ad Archive solution in collaboration with Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan legal organization advancing democracy through law. Campaign Legal Center has been working with federal, state, and local government partners on modernizing disclosure and transparency rules to effectively cover political ads on digital platforms.
• CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 June 2024MapLight partnered with CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc. to provide the next-generation CAL-ACCESS disclosure system for California Secretary of State. MapLight provides its proven MapLight Disclosure System software as the center of a customized disclosure solution for California's 39 million residents. This is a major government contract awarded to serve the largest U.S. state.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NetFile: NetFile provides campaign finance and lobbying disclosure SaaS to state and local governments - directly overlapping with MapLight's core Disclosure System offerings and target buyer (government ethics agencies).
• DocketManager: DocketManager offers agenda, meeting, and public records management software for local governments, intersecting with MapLight's government ethics and disclosure workflows.
• FilePoint: FilePoint provides electronic filing solutions for government ethics and disclosure requirements, directly comparable to MapLight's ethics and lobbying filings modules.
• Campaign Finance Solutions: Campaign Finance Solutions offers campaign finance disclosure SaaS for state and local jurisdictions, putting them in the same product category and target buyer as MapLight's Campaign Finance module.

Broad incumbents

• Granicus: Granicus is a large government experience platform whose portfolio (including legacy IQM2) covers agenda management, public records, and lobbying disclosure for municipalities and states - a broader incumbent with overlapping disclosure capabilities.
• OpenGov: OpenGov provides government transparency, budgeting, and procurement software to state and local agencies, addressing similar civic transparency themes with a broader portfolio than MapLight's disclosure focus.
• CivicPlus: CivicPlus offers an integrated civic engagement platform for local governments including content management and public-facing transparency tools that overlap with MapLight's public disclosure portal mission.
• Accela: Accela provides government regulation, permitting, and civic technology SaaS to state and local agencies, comparable in buyer profile (government technology procurement) and adjacent in transparency and compliance use cases.
• Diligent (Galvanize/ACL): Diligent provides governance, risk, and ethics/compliance software to public and private sector organizations; its ethics and disclosure modules address similar government compliance use cases as MapLight's Ethics Filings module.

Others

• BoardDocs (Diligent): BoardDocs provides board meeting management for public agencies including school boards and municipalities - adjacent to MapLight's e-signature and ethics petition workflows within the government transparency ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/maplight
• Facebookfacebook.com/maplight
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maplight

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MapLight