What Resistbot does

Resistbot is a U.S. 501(c)(4) nonprofit civic engagement platform, operated by the Resistbot Action Fund, that helps individual citizens contact elected officials across federal, state, and local levels via text message. Founded in 2017 by creators responding to jammed Senate phone lines in California, the service is anchored on the 50409 SMS shortcode and a web chatbot that converts user text into formatted letters delivered by email, fax, or postal mail. The platform auto-identifies representatives from zip code, supports an AI Writer feature that drafts correspondence on the user's behalf (launched July 2023), and uniquely offers monthly voter registration monitoring to protect users from roll purges — a service launched in 2018 that no other organization provides at scale.

The product surface has expanded well beyond one-off letter-writing. Organizers can launch petitions with shareable text codes that automatically generate constituent letters to officials when signers engage; users earn and spend virtual "coins" to promote campaigns and trigger physical letter delivery; and the platform publishes member letters in local newspapers across 49 states and D.C. Distribution is multi-surface — SMS, web, iOS app, iMessage, Telegram, Messenger, Twitter DM, Discord, Bluesky, Threads, and an embeddable web widget — and adoption is documented at approximately 10 million registered Resisters, 40+ million cumulative letters delivered, 450+ million text messages handled, and 386,530+ voters protected. Independent academic studies (Christopher B. Mann Ph.D., Scott L. Minkoff Ph.D.) have measured turnout increases of 1.8–2 percentage points across studied elections.

The business model is donation-driven and freemium. Basic service is free; revenue comes from voluntary user donations, premium membership subscriptions (5,768 members at time of data collection, with a stated goal of 10,000), and one-time coin purchases that pay for fax/physical letter delivery and campaign promotion. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Customer segments are horizontally split between individual citizens seeking easy access to officials and political organizers/activists who use petitions to mobilize constituents at scale. Resistbot has no venture funding, no institutional investors, and operates without monetizing user data, distinguishing it from typical SaaS or ad-supported models.

Name

Resistbot

Legal name

Resistbot Action Fund

Website

https://resist.bot

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Resistbot is a U.S. nonprofit civic engagement platform that converts text messages into letters, faxes, or postal mail delivered to federal, state, and local elected officials, serving ~10 million individual citizens and political organizers with petitions, AI-assisted drafting, and voter registration monitoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Petersburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Premium Membership Subscriptions: Monthly subscription that provides members with coins for campaign promotion, 100% coin bonus per dollar, custom keyword for persistent organizing, physical delivery of letters via postal mail or fax, daily newspaper front pages, and other premium features
2. Coin Purchases: Users can purchase coins to pay for faxes, real mailed physical letters, or to promote campaigns. One-time purchases separate from premium membership
3. Donations: Voluntary donations from users supporting the service. The organization is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, and donations are not tax-deductible as charitable contributions since they lobby on users' behalf

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Resistbot is a free SMS-based civic engagement chatbot that lets any U.S. citizen text 50409 (or use a web bot, iOS app, or embeddable widget) to automatically identify their elected officials and deliver a personalized message by email, fax, or postal mail. It bundles a petitions/campaign platform, monthly voter registration monitoring, ballot tracking, vote drives, AI-assisted letter drafting, and Letters to the Editor publication, with a paid Premium Membership tier adding coins, custom keywords, and physical letter delivery.

Product overview

Resistbot is a civic engagement platform offering a unified suite of tools for citizens to contact elected officials. The core product is an SMS-based chatbot (text to 50409) that converts text messages into personalized letters, faxes, or postal mail delivered to representatives. Key products include Petitions for campaign-based organizing, Letters to Officials for direct correspondence, Voter Registration Check for monitoring registration status, and Ballot Tracking for monitoring mail-in ballots. Premium Membership adds AI Writer (generative AI for letter drafting), daily newspaper front pages, custom keywords, and physical delivery options. The iOS App provides mobile access, while Letters to the Editor publishes member correspondence in local newspapers nationwide. Vote Drives extend the platform to voter turnout operations. The architecture functions as a unified platform with premium add-ons rather than discrete standalone modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rosie the Resistbot: The mascot character of Resistbot, depicted in the style of Rosie the Riveter with 'We Can Do It' imagery.

Products and services

• Resistbot Messaging Service (Text to 50409)
• Petitions and Campaign Platform
• Voter Registration Check and Monitoring
• Ballot Tracking
• Vote Drives
• AI Writer
• Premium Membership
• iOS App
• Letters to the Editor
• Embeddable Bot
• Resistbot Coins

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased turnout by 1.8 percentage points in 2019 election (Christopher B. Mann, Ph.D.)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Swing LeftminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFirst integration with a resistance volunteer group announced in December 2017, enabling Swing Left volunteers to use Resistbot for constituent outreach.
• USPS (United States Postal Service)coreTechnology or IntegrationResistbot utilizes USPS for physical mail delivery of letters to elected officials. The service was initially created in part because phone lines in California were jammed, and founders wanted alternative outreach methods. USPS remains central to Resistbot's physical letter delivery capability.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 5 Calls: Nonpartisan civic engagement app that gives users scripts and phone numbers to contact their representatives. Directly comparable in its core mission of lowering friction for citizens to contact elected officials, though uses phone calls rather than SMS-to-letter.
• Swing Left: Progressive grassroots organization focused on flipping targeted districts through voter contact and turnout—also an existing Resistbot integration partner. Comparable in mobilizing constituents to contact representatives and GOTV organizing.
• Hustle: Peer-to-peer texting platform used by Democratic campaigns and advocacy organizations for constituent outreach. Comparable in SMS-driven political communication and organizing workflows, though serves campaigns/organizations rather than individual citizens.
• Vote.org: Nonpartisan voter engagement nonprofit offering online voter registration, registration checking, and ballot tracking tools. Directly comparable to Resistbot's voter registration check and ballot tracking features, serving the same civic engagement use cases at national scale.
• CallHub: Political outreach platform offering phone banking, text messaging, and broadcast tools for campaigns and advocacy groups. Comparable in SMS-to-officials functionality and political-organizer customer base.
• Action Network: Progressive organizing platform for petitions, fundraising, and constituent outreach—and an existing Resistbot integration partner. Directly comparable in petition-driven advocacy and grassroots campaign infrastructure.
• Impactive: Campaign texting and relational organizing platform built for progressive campaigns and nonprofits. Comparable in SMS-based advocacy, volunteer mobilization, and GOTV tools targeting the same political-organizer customer segment.
• HeadCount: Nonpartisan voter registration nonprofit that registers voters at concerts and events, with online tools. Comparable in voter registration infrastructure and civic engagement mission, with overlapping voter-roll-protection value proposition.
• Mobilize: Volunteer and event mobilization platform widely used by progressive campaigns and advocacy groups. Comparable in grassroots organizing infrastructure and the political-organizer persona segment that Resistbot's premium tier targets.
• Rock the Vote: Long-established voter registration and civic engagement nonprofit targeting young voters. Comparable in voter registration, election engagement, and outreach to underrepresented demographics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/direct/t/107534807309194
• Xx.com/follow
• Facebookfacebook.com/resistbot
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/resistbot

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Resistbot