Committee of Seventy

What Committee of Seventy does

Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan civic nonprofit founded in 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a mission to strengthen representative, ethical, and effective government across the city and state. The organization does not endorse candidates or represent special interests and traces its institutional legacy to the adoption of the 1919 and 1951 Philadelphia Home Rule Charters and subsequent civil service, ethics, and campaign-finance reforms. Its core programmatic portfolio includes the Interactive Voter Guide (a web application covering all 67 Pennsylvania counties that generates personalized, downloadable ballots with candidate and ballot-measure information), the WeVote corporate and nonprofit partnership campaign and its WeVote Next youth extension, the Draw the Lines PA citizen redistricting competition, the How Philly Works civic guide (available in multiple languages), Youth Civics Programs (Kindergarten through college, including Election Ambassador Corps), the Five Habits of Active Citizenship framework, Poll Worker Information Sessions co-hosted with the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, the Buchholz Fellowship for emerging civic leaders, and the Ballot PA open-primaries coalition.

The organization runs a hybrid community-led go-to-market: it builds and convenes coalitions (PA Civics with 25+ members; a 185-group voter-ID education coalition), delivers programs through schools and community partners, recruits and trains poll workers, and hosts signature events such as anniversary luncheons, Women in Public Leadership, and the 2026 Promise of Democracy Summit. Distribution is multi-channel, including the seventy.org website, Constant Contact email newsletters, active social media accounts on Facebook/Instagram/X/LinkedIn/YouTube, earned media, and in-person convenings, supplemented by a community/developer-relations style partner network for WeVote.

Revenue is funded through a diversified nonprofit model: individual donations (one-time and planned giving/bequests), a $70/year C70 Membership, a $2,500/year Changemakers Circle philanthropic giving program, event sponsorships, corporate and foundation grants (notably William Penn Foundation — $800,000 in April 2024 and $850,000 in May 2022 — plus Henry L. Hillman Foundations, Agua Fund, and CivXNow), and the Pennsylvania EITC tax-credit program for youth civics. Headcount is small (1–10 employees), leadership is led by President & CEO Lauren Cristella (first female president in the organization's history), and the Board is chaired by Bret S. Perkins (VP of External & Government Affairs at Comcast). The organization operates only in the United States (Pennsylvania) and does not offer a public API, mobile app of its own (WeVote runs on the MilkCrate platform), or AI/ML products.

Name

Committee of Seventy

Legal name

Committee of Seventy

Website

https://seventy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan civic nonprofit founded in 1904 that promotes voter education, election integrity, and government reform across Philadelphia and Pennsylvania through digital voter guides, statewide coalitions, youth civics programming, and signature civic events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Engagement and Voter Education

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Civic engagement
• Voter education
• Election administration
• Government reform
• Redistricting advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time donations from individuals supporting the organization's mission to strengthen democracy. Donors can give any amount through the website or by mail.
2. Membership Program: $70 annual membership providing exclusive event access, policy briefings, volunteer opportunities, recognition, and discounts on merch and tickets.
3. Changemakers Circle: $2,500 annual gift philanthropic giving circle with two tickets to signature fall event, bi-annual briefings with C70 leadership, and recognition in Impact Report and on website.
4. Event Sponsorships: Signature events (anniversary luncheons, Women in Public Leadership events, Promise of Democracy Summit) offer sponsorship opportunities with logo placement, recognition, and exclusive invitations.
5. Corporate and Foundation Grants: Grant funding from foundations including William Penn Foundation ($800,000), Henry L. Hillman Foundations, Agua Fund ($80,000), and CivXNow ($20,000) to support civic education and voter participation programs.
6. Planned Giving and Bequests: Legacy giving through wills, trusts, life insurance beneficiary designations, and IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions for donors 70.5 or older.
7. EITC Program: Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit program allowing businesses to redirect state tax dollars to youth civics programming with 75% credit for one-year or 90% for two-year gifts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan civic nonprofit that delivers voter education, election administration support, and government reform advocacy in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Its core offerings include the Interactive Voter Guide digital tool, the WeVote corporate and civic-partner campaign, the Draw the Lines PA redistricting initiative, youth civics programs, the How Philly Works government guide, the Five Habits of Active Citizenship framework, the Buchholz Fellowship, and the C70 Membership program.

Product overview

Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan civic nonprofit organization (not a technology product company) that offers civic education and democracy programs. Its core offerings include the Interactive Voter Guide (a digital ballot research tool at ballot.seventy.org), the WeVote and WeVote Next campaigns for civic participation, Draw the Lines PA for redistricting engagement, the How Philly Works guide, Youth Civics Programs, and the Five Habits of Active Citizenship framework. Supporting offerings include Voting 101 resources, Poll Worker Information Sessions, the Buchholz Fellowship, and C70 Membership. The organization does not offer a unified software platform but rather an integrated suite of educational programs, digital tools, and community engagement initiatives focused on strengthening democracy in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Interactive Voter Guide

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• League of Women Voters of PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership hosting virtual poll worker and poll watcher information sessions. Between March and November 2024, nearly 30 sessions were offered to prepare both new and experienced poll workers and poll watchers for elections.
• PA CivicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide network formed in 2019 to strengthen and expand civic education in Pennsylvania. Coalition grew to 25+ members including Association of Former Members of Congress, National Constitution Center, Heinz History Center, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce.
• OnePhillyConnectcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for voter engagement events at Philadelphia polling locations and Satellite Election Offices, including pop-up events with live music, food, and voter information hubs.
• Vote That JawncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth voter education organization partnership that unifies two of Pennsylvania's leaders in civic participation, expanding reach to youth and first-time voters.
• Morgan LewisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Philadelphia law firm to educate and empower team members to get involved and support democracy through civic engagement.
• Black Leadership PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Philadelphia ward system education, hosting sold-out launch event focused on the powerful role of committee person in neighborhood-level political participation.
• The Welcoming CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for expanding How Philly Works Guide to multiple languages (Spanish, Chinese, French), increasing accessibility of civic education resources.
• Pennsylvanians for Modern CourtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for jury reform advocacy and Juror Appreciation Day events, combining efforts to advance judicial transparency and jury system improvements.
• CeibaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for youth community engagement programming in Philadelphia, celebrating summer-long civic engagement activities for youth across the city.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• League of Women Voters: National nonpartisan civic organization that conducts voter education, voter registration, and poll-worker training. C70 partners with the Pennsylvania chapter on poll worker sessions, making them directly comparable in mission and programming.
• Common Cause: National nonpartisan government reform and voting rights advocacy organization. Shares C70's focus on ethics, transparency, redistricting reform, and election integrity, with overlapping coalitions and donor universe.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Nonpartisan law and policy institute focused on democracy, voting rights, and election administration. Comparable to C70 in advancing election administration reform and producing policy research and advocacy used by state-level civic organizations.
• iCivics: Nonpartisan civic education organization founded by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, providing K-12 civics curriculum. Comparable to C70's Youth Civics Programs and a current grant funder of C70 via CivXNow.
• HeadCount: Nonpartisan voter registration and civic engagement organization working at concerts and events. Comparable to C70's WeVote campaign in mobilizing voter participation through nontraditional community partnerships.
• CivicNation: Nonprofit that builds initiatives (including voter turnout and civic engagement programs) to close gaps in civic participation. Comparable to C70 in mission and multi-channel coalition approach.
• RepresentUs: Nonpartisan anti-corruption and democracy reform organization advocating for voting rights, redistricting, and ethics reform at state and federal levels. Overlaps heavily with C70's advocacy priorities (open primaries, redistricting, ethics).
• FairVote: Nonpartisan organization advocating for electoral reforms including ranked-choice voting and open primaries. Directly comparable to C70's Ballot PA coalition and open-primaries advocacy work.

Emerging players

• BallotReady: Nonpartisan digital voter information platform providing personalized ballots and candidate information. Directly comparable to C70's Interactive Voter Guide and listed as a former pilot partner of C70.

Broad incumbents

• The Carter Center: Nonpartisan nonprofit focused on democracy, peace, and health globally, including election observation and civic participation. A broader incumbent in the civic-education and election-integrity space relative to C70's regional scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/committeeof70
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCtTfhYkjLdBwdbIZSzxuhJg
• Facebookfacebook.com/Committeeof70
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/committee-of-seventy
• Instagraminstagram.com/committeeof70

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 Committee of Seventy