What Vote Run Lead does

Vote Run Lead (VRL) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in September 2014, headquartered in Hartsdale, NY with New York City-area operations, that trains women and gender-expansive people to run for and win political office. Its core program is Go Run, a national training curriculum covering campaign strategy, fundraising, and operational fundamentals, delivered through multi-city in-person events (20 cities in a single 2019 training day) and supplemented by the RUN/51 initiative launched in 2021 to achieve majority women representation in 9 targeted state legislatures. To date the organization has trained more than 7,000 alumni, with 381 currently holding elected office and 541 appearing on the November 2024 ballot across 42 states and D.C.

VRL's technology stack centers on two public-facing tools: State of My Democracy, an award-winning data visualization site that benchmarks women's representation across U.S. states, and Charting Paths To a Women's Majority, an interactive forecasting tool projecting time-to-parity at the state level. The organization also co-authored the Athena Core10 leadership competency framework. In 2023 VRL launched Vote Run Lead Action (VRLA), an independent 501(c)(4) affiliate that doubles combined staff and triples reach by handling endorsements and political action. Founder and CEO Erin Vilardi leads both entities; Co-Founder Rhonda Briggins and Head of Development Terry Selucky round out the leadership team.

Revenue is generated entirely through charitable giving mechanisms: one-time donations, monthly recurring gifts (Leadership Council at $84/month), donor-advised funds, stock gifts, planned giving, and community-hosted events and online fundraisers. Pricing for events is structured as tiered registration and donor asks (e.g., $5,000 secures space, $2,500 funds 10 travel stipends, $100 funds childcare). Distribution is direct-to-individual across all 50 states via voterunlead.org, vrlhq.org, and voterunleadaction.org, supported by earned media (Forbes, NYT, Time, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Oprah Magazine), organic social, and event-based outreach. The customer base is individual prospective and current candidates rather than institutional buyers, and the organization maintains a nonpartisan posture while explicitly working to grow women's representation across the political spectrum.

Name

Vote Run Lead

Legal name

Vote Run Lead

Website

https://voterunlead.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vote Run Lead is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that trains women and gender-expansive people to run for political office through its Go Run program, RUN/51 state initiative, and public data tools, serving 7,000+ alumni across all 50 states with a 68% candidate win rate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Leadership Training

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL), Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA)

Keywords

• Political candidate training
• Campaign strategy training
• Women leadership programs
• Gender parity advocacy
• Political data visualization

Headquarters

HQ city

Hartsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Vote Run Lead is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 46-4285577). All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. The organization raises funds through various mechanisms including one-time donations, monthly giving, donor-advised funds, gifts of stock, legacy/planned giving, and community fundraisers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Vote Run Lead is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit that trains women and gender-expansive people to run for and win elected office. It delivers national in-person training events (Go Run), the RUN/51 state-legislature transformation program, and award-winning digital tools — the State of My Democracy data visualization site and the Charting Paths To a Women's Majority forecasting tool — supported by a national alumni network of 7,000+ women across all 50 states.

Product overview

Vote Run Lead is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides results-driven training and award-winning tools to get women and gender-expansive people elected to public office. The organization offers a suite of products including the Go Run Training program for campaign fundamentals, the State of My Democracy data visualization platform, and the Charting Paths To a Women's Majority forecasting tool. In 2021, Vote Run Lead launched RUN/51 to transform 9 key state legislatures. The organization's affiliate Vote Run Lead Action (501(c)(4)) handles political endorsements and action-oriented initiatives. The organization has trained over 7,000 alumni to date, with a win-rate that outperforms the national average by 42%.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• State of My Democracy: Award-winning site that visualizes women's representation statistics by state.
• Charting Paths To a Women's Majority

Products and services

• Go Run Training National training program teaching women and gender-expansive people campaign strategy, fundraising, and the fundamentals needed to run for and win political office at the local, state, and federal level.
• RUN/51 Strategic state-targeted initiative aimed at transforming 9 key state legislatures to achieve 51%+ women and gender nonconforming representation through targeted training and candidate support.
• State of My Democracy

Quantifiable outcome

• 68% win rate for program participants in 2024
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Future Forward WomencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Future Forward Women partnered with Vote Run Lead to conduct the first bipartisan national study on women in elected office. The study reveals that nearly half of women officials report experiencing harassment, intimidation, or threats while serving, with 100% experiencing it online. The organizations are releasing pilot findings as the study enters its national fielding phase, surveying more than 2,500 women elected officials nationwide ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
• Vote Run Lead ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVote Run Lead Action (VRLA) is the independent 501(c)(4) sister organization of Vote Run Lead. In 2023, Vote Run Lead launched its affiliate Vote Run Lead Action, doubling staff size and tripling reach. VRLA focuses on political action and endorsements while VRL focuses on training. The organizations work together under the leadership of Founder and CEO Erin Vilardi.
• Brennan Center for JusticeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErin Vilardi serves on the advisory board of the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit law and public policy institute that works to reform, revitalize, and defend our system of democracy and justice.
• RepresentWomenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErin Vilardi serves on the advisory board of RepresentWomen, an organization working to advance women's representation and leadership in politics.
• Future Forward WomenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErin Vilardi serves on the advisory board of Future Forward Women, partnering on research initiatives including the bipartisan national study on women in elected office.
• Keseb GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErin Vilardi is a Keseb Global Democracy Fellow, participating in a fellowship program focused on global democracy initiatives.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• She Should Run: Nonpartisan nonprofit encouraging women to run for office through incubation programs and community support. Directly comparable mission and target audience to Vote Run Lead, with overlapping training curricula.
• Running Start: Nonpartisan organization training young women to run for office and preparing the next generation of female political leaders. Comparable training-and-recruitment model to VRL, with similar alumna-as-proof-of-impact framing.
• IGNITE: Nonpartisan organization training young women and gender-expansive college-age individuals to run for office. Overlaps with VRL on training young women candidates, with a narrower age-segment focus.
• EMILY's List: The largest U.S. organization dedicated to recruiting, training, and electing pro-choice Democratic women. Like Vote Run Lead, it provides campaign training to women candidates, but operates as a partisan PAC with substantially larger resources.
• National Women's Political Caucus: Multipartisan organization dedicated to increasing women's participation in politics, including candidate recruitment and training. Directly comparable candidate-recruitment mission and nonpartisan positioning.

Emerging players

• Higher Heights for America: Organization building Black women's political power through leadership development, candidate support, and civic engagement. Comparable candidate-training mission but narrower demographic focus.
• New Politics Leadership Academy: Recruits and supports veterans and national-service alumni to run for office with nonpartisan training. Comparable candidate-recruitment and training model but with a different demographic focus.
• RepresentWomen: Research and advocacy organization working to advance women's representation through structural reforms (ranked-choice voting, etc.). Vilardi sits on its advisory board; comparable mission to expand women's representation with research-driven approach.

Regional players

• Eleanor's Legacy: New York-focused nonprofit recruiting, training, and electing pro-choice Democratic women. Comparable training mission but confined to New York, where VRL has a notable alumni presence.

Others

• Brennan Center for Justice: Nonpartisan law and policy institute working to reform and defend the democratic system. Vilardi serves on its advisory board; aligned on democracy-related research and reform initiatives but not a direct candidate-training competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VoteRunLead
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjQ0Ny28p0E_WpO2AGSiJyA
• Facebookfacebook.com/VoteRunLead
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/voterunlead
• Instagraminstagram.com/voterunlead

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Vote Run Lead