What ACRONYM does

ACRONYM is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) social welfare nonprofit founded in 2017 by Tara McGowan to build progressive political power through digital advertising and organizing programs. The organization runs large-scale digital persuasion campaigns — primarily through its affiliated political action committee PACRONYM, including the 'Four Is Enough' effort targeting Donald Trump in 2020 — focused on registering and mobilizing young voters of color and persuading swing audiences. It has worked with over 30 progressive partners across dozens of targeted digital media programs.

Its core technology is Barometer, a proprietary measurement framework that uses randomized controlled trials to evaluate the causal effect of political advertising on voter attitudes, isolating treatment groups and comparing them against random-control audiences. Barometer was built by former product, engineering, and data science staff from Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Pinterest, and Pew Research Center, and operates in two-week experimental sprints. ACRONYM also publishes white papers, case studies, and an Influencer Toolkit to share program learnings with the progressive ecosystem.

The business model is donation-driven rather than commercial: funding flows through the ActBlue donation platform and is governed by FEC disclosure rules. The organization supplements donations with operational entities — a majority investment in Courier Newsroom (progressive local digital media) and a spun-out in-house agency, Lockwood Strategy — to extend reach and execution capacity. In April 2021 ACRONYM announced leadership changes and a 'new chapter' following the 2020 cycle.

Name

ACRONYM

Legal name

Acronym

Website

https://anotheracronym.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACRONYM is a 501(c)(4) progressive political nonprofit that runs large-scale digital persuasion and voter mobilization campaigns, using its proprietary Barometer RCT measurement framework, with services for Democratic campaigns, progressive partners, and voters of color.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Digital Advertising and Organizing

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Political & Advocacy Advertising (MPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Programmatic Display & Retargeting (DSP) (MPAAACAE), PR, Reputation Management & Earned Media Platforms (BPAMALAO)

Keywords

• Political digital advertising
• Voter persuasion campaigns
• Progressive campaign infrastructure
• Digital organizing programs
• Political action committee services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Political Donations: As a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, ACRONYM is funded primarily through donations. The FEC requires disclosure of name, mailing address, occupation, and employer of all individuals whose contributions exceed $200 per calendar year.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ACRONYM runs targeted digital advertising and political organizing programs designed to persuade and mobilize voters, particularly young voters of color and persuadable audiences. Its work centers on large-scale digital persuasion campaigns for Democratic candidates and progressive causes, including voter registration initiatives and counter-media infrastructure. The organization develops and applies proprietary technology, most notably the Barometer measurement framework, to optimize advertising effectiveness through randomized controlled trials.

Product overview

ACRONYM is a political organization that builds progressive power through digital advertising and organizing programs, developing modern technological tools and infrastructure. The organization operates primarily through its core digital advertising programs, supplemented by its affiliated PAC (PACRONYM). Their technology offering includes Barometer, a measurement framework using randomized controlled trials to evaluate voter persuasion. The organization has also made a majority investment in Courier Newsroom, a progressive digital media company, and offers resources including an Influencer Toolkit and white papers documenting their program learnings on voter registration and mobilization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PACRONYM: Affiliated political action committee that ran large-scale digital persuasion campaigns including the 'Four Is Enough' campaign against Trump in 2020.
• Barometer

Products and services

• Digital Advertising Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.6% lower approval of Donald Trump among ad viewers vs control group
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• ActBluecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2020ActBlue is the donation processing platform used by ACRONYM to accept political contributions. Donors can make tax-deductible donations to support ACRONYM's progressive political programs through the ActBlue platform.
• Courier NewsroommajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Courier Newsroom is a progressive digital media company in which ACRONYM has a majority investment. The partnership provides original reporting and locally focused content, with Courier's portfolio of eight sites seeing 79% growth in March 2020 readership.
• The Voter Formation ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerACRONYM produced a white paper on Online Voter Registration and Mobilization in 2020 alongside colleagues from The Voter Formation Project. The project focuses on voter registration and mobilization efforts.
• Lockwood StrategycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLockwood Strategy served as ACRONYM's in-house agency and ran programs for both ACRONYM and PACRONYM. The agency later expanded and announced new leadership as it expanded beyond 2021.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Blue State: Digital strategy and creative agency for nonprofits, advocacy, and progressive political organizations. Comparable in serving the same client base (progressive campaigns and causes) with similar digital advertising and persuasion offerings.
• Catalist: Progressive data and analytics platform providing voter file, targeting, and modeling services to Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations. Comparable on the data/measurement side that complements ACRONYM's advertising work.
• NGP VAN: Leading technology provider for Democratic and progressive campaigns, including voter contact, fundraising, and organizing tools. Comparable as digital infrastructure backbone serving the same progressive ecosystem.
• Higher Ground Labs: Progressive political technology accelerator and investor. Builds and funds tools for the Democratic ecosystem, directly comparable to ACRONYM's role as a digital infrastructure builder for progressive causes.
• Blueprint Interactive: Progressive digital agency specializing in political and advocacy campaigns, with strengths in paid media, content, and digital strategy. Directly comparable as a digital persuasion shop for Democratic candidates and causes.
• BRTR (Blue Rose Research): Conducts rapid ad-testing and creative research for Democratic campaigns and progressive groups. Closely comparable to ACRONYM's Barometer on the measurement/optimization side of political digital advertising.
• Resolute (Resolute Strategic Services): Political digital firm providing online fundraising, advertising, and mobilization services to Democratic campaigns. Comparable in the political digital services stack, with a similar focus on persuasion and donor engagement.

Emerging players

• Mothership Strategies: Digital fundraising and advertising agency for Democratic campaigns and progressive causes. Comparable in delivering paid digital persuasion and donor acquisition services to the same target market.
• Arena (formerly ACRONYM-owned): Progressive campaign collaboration and digital tools platform, surfaced in ACRONYM's own digital-tools menu. Adjacent to ACRONYM as another technology layer in the progressive campaign ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• ActBlue: Dominant online fundraising platform for Democratic and progressive causes. Both an ACRONYM channel partner and a broader incumbent in the progressive digital infrastructure stack that processes political donations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/anotheracronym
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/anotheracronym

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 ACRONYM