What Demand Progress does

Demand Progress is a 501(c)(4) social welfare nonprofit founded in late 2010 by David Segal and Aaron Swartz and headquartered at 30 Ritchie Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland. The organization mobilizes roughly 1.5 million grassroots activists and has logged over 30 million cumulative member actions to contest concentrated corporate power, government surveillance overreach, threats to internet freedom, militarism, and financial-sector exploitation. Active issue verticals are Internet Freedom, Surveillance, Corporate Power, Anti-Militarism, Democracy Reform, and Financial Reform, with newer work streams in AI policy and prediction-market regulation.

The operating stack is a set of purpose-built public-advocacy platforms rather than commercial software. Core infrastructure includes Battle for the Net (a coalition net-neutrality action hub), Section215.org (government-surveillance research), Agency Spotlight (39-agency appointment tracker), EveryCRSReport (republished Congressional Research Service reports), the Fourth Amendment Advisory Committee platform, and the demandprogress.org online-activism system for petitions and email-to-Congress workflows. Distribution is community-led: email and petition capture via the website feed large-coalition action days; earned media is sustained through [email protected] and high-frequency policy publications (letters, reports, testimony, briefs, vote recommendations). Recent press coverage in 2026 (Politico, Boston Globe) confirms the organization is actively operating under Executive Director Sean Vitka, with policy leadership from Emily Peterson-Cassin (Policy), Ginger McCall (Legal), Maria Langholz (Communications), and senior policy advisors across AI, surveillance, Iran, and corporate-power portfolios.

Revenue is donation-based and not commercially priced. The 501(c)(4) arm (Demand Progress Action Inc.) accepts non-tax-deductible contributions via ActBlue, ActBlue-style online flows, and mail; the sister 501(c)(3), Demand Progress Education Fund, handles tax-deductible educational gifts. Documented revenue mixes grassroots individual donations (about $400K+ in 2022, down from $900K in 2020) with major progressive foundation grants — Omidyar Network, Democracy Fund Voice, Way to Win, Open Society Policy Center, and Voqal disclosed for 2022 — and a corporate-donation ceiling of 5% of income. Following the mid-2022 transition from being a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund to operating as an independent organization, the entity now sits structurally between donor financing and Congressional/policy outcomes, monetized entirely through its ability to convene coalitions and convert activism into legislative wins.

Name

Demand Progress

Legal name

Demand Progress Action Inc.

Website

https://demandprogress.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Demand Progress is a 501(c)(4) progressive advocacy organization, founded in 2010, that mobilizes 1.5 million grassroots activists through online campaigns, policy expertise, and coalition-building to contest concentrated corporate power, surveillance overreach, and threats to civil liberties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Progressive Advocacy Services

NAICS

Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Political Organizations (813940)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Progressive advocacy
• Grassroots organizing
• Digital activism
• Policy reform
• Civil liberties

Headquarters

HQ city

Silver Spring

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Grassroots contributions from individual supporters. The About page states 'tens of thousands of supporters' contributing significant amounts ($400,000+ in 2022, $650,000 in 2021, $900,000 in 2020). Contributions are not tax-deductible as Demand Progress is a 501(c)(4) organization.
2. Foundation Grants: Grants from progressive foundations including Omidyar Network ($445,000 in 2022), Democracy Fund Voice ($250,000 in 2022), Way to Win ($250,000 in 2022), Open Society Policy Center ($240,000 in 2022), and Voqal ($60,000 in 2022).
3. Corporate Donations (Limited): On occasion they accept contributions from corporations for work aligned with their mission, such as opposition to mass government surveillance or anti-monopoly efforts. Corporate donations generally represent no more than 5% of income.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Demand Progress is a 501(c)(4) progressive advocacy organization that mobilizes grassroots activists, conducts policy research, and runs digital campaigning to contest concentrated corporate power and drive progressive policy change. Its offerings include online activism infrastructure, advocacy coalitions, policy letters/reports/testimony, and special research platforms covering internet freedom, surveillance reform, corporate power, anti-militarism, democracy reform, and financial reform.

Product overview

Demand Progress is a progressive advocacy organization (501(c)(4) social welfare organization) that operates primarily as an activism and policy advocacy group rather than a product company. Its offerings include online activism infrastructure, various advocacy coalitions, and research platforms. The main offerings include the Battle for the Net campaign hub for net neutrality activism, EveryCRSReport for making Congressional Research Service reports accessible, Section215.org for surveillance research, the Agency Spotlight for tracking agency appointments, and coalitions like Freedom From Facebook and Google and the Athena Coalition. These are advocacy tools and campaigns rather than commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Battle for the Net: Central hub for online net neutrality activism, home to some of the largest digital days of actions in the history of the internet.
• Section215.org
• Fourth Amendment Advisory Committee
• Freedom From Facebook and Google
• Athena Coalition
• EveryCRSReport
• Agency Spotlight

Products and services

• Online Activism Platform
• Battle for the Net
• EveryCRSReport
• Section215.org
• Fourth Amendment Advisory Committee
• Agency Spotlight
• Freedom From Facebook and Google
• Athena Coalition

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 million grassroots actions taken
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

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

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Athena CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBroad coalition formed to protect democracy, communities, and economy from Amazon's unaccountable power. Demand Progress is a co-founder. Works to push Congress and federal regulators to act against Amazon.
• Battle for the Net CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral hub for online net neutrality activism. Demand Progress co-leads this coalition with Fight for the Future. Home to some of the largest digital days of actions in internet history.
• Freedom From Facebook and GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition mobilized to get federal regulators and Congress to break up tech giants, regulate them, and hold them accountable. Demand Progress is a co-founder.
• Fight for the FuturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital rights organization that co-leads the Battle for the Net campaign with Demand Progress. Partner on net neutrality activism and other internet freedom issues.
• Fourth Amendment Advisory CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBipartisan coalition launched by Demand Progress to support Fourth Amendment Caucus work, bringing diverse experts to speak with Congressional decision makers about Fourth Amendment protections.
• Section215.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch and analysis hub on government surveillance operated by Demand Progress, covering PATRIOT Act, FISA, and other surveillance authorities.
• Demand Progress Education FundcoreOthersSister 501(c)(3) organization to Demand Progress Action (501(c)(4)). The Education Fund accepts tax-deductible donations and shares staff/expertise. Until mid-2022, Demand Progress operations took place as a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund.
• Transparency CaucusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCongressional transparency caucus that Demand Progress helps coordinate its advisory committee. The organization hosts panel discussions covering various issues.
• Project On Government Oversight (POGO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment accountability organization that co-convened the 133-organization coalition with Demand Progress opposing FISA reauthorization without AI/data broker loophole closure.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• MoveOn: Large progressive 501(c)(4) advocacy organization with millions of members and a similar digital petition/email mobilization model. Comparable as a much larger incumbent in progressive grassroots advocacy and political mobilization.
• ACLU: Nationwide civil liberties organization with a vastly larger staff and budget, litigating and lobbying on surveillance, free speech, and democratic reforms — directly overlapping with several Demand Progress verticals.

Emerging players

• Mozilla Foundation: Nonprofit arm of Mozilla focused on internet health, AI, and trustworthy AI advocacy. Comparable as a tech-rooted advocacy organization now expanding into AI policy and digital rights.
• Center for Digital Democracy: Smaller nonprofit focused on digital privacy, data protection, and consumer rights in the digital economy. Comparable as a niche advocacy peer in the digital rights space.

Direct peers

• Public Citizen: Progressive consumer advocacy organization that lobbies and litigates on corporate power, antitrust, and democratic reforms — overlapping directly with Demand Progress's corporate power and democracy reform verticals.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Leading digital civil liberties organization that litigates and advocates on internet freedom, surveillance, and CFAA reform — the same core issues Demand Progress organizes around. Highly comparable mission and overlapping campaigns.
• Free Press: Nonprofit advocating for universal and affordable internet access, media reform, and net neutrality. Directly comparable as a coalition partner and aligned advocacy organization in the internet freedom space.
• Fight for the Future: Digital rights nonprofit that co-leads the Battle for the Net coalition with Demand Progress. Directly comparable as a grassroots digital activism organization focused on internet freedom, net neutrality, and surveillance issues using petitions and online campaigns.
• Public Knowledge: Public interest advocacy group focused on telecom, media, and tech policy. Comparable as a policy and lobbying organization in the same issue verticals (net neutrality, Big Tech regulation, antitrust) Demand Progress works on.

Regional players

• New America Foundation: US-based think tank with substantial work on technology policy, antitrust, and democracy — adjacent peer with overlapping policy expertise on Big Tech regulation but operating more as a think tank than a mobilization outfit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/demandprogress
• Facebookfacebook.com/demandprogress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/demand-progress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Demand Progress