Draw the Lines
Draw the Lines PA was a Committee of Seventy–sponsored nonprofit civic education initiative (2018–2022) that gave Pennsylvanians free digital tools and curriculum to draw their own congressional district maps and participate in redistricting competitions across 40 counties.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Draw the Lines does
Draw the Lines PA was a nonpartisan civic education initiative operated as a project of the Committee of Seventy, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit good government organization, from 2018 to 2022. Its mission was to help Pennsylvanians understand and combat gerrymandering by providing teaching resources, digital mapping tools, and data so citizens could draw their own congressional district maps and submit them to public competitions. The initiative served Pennsylvania students (high school and college), teachers, and general adult citizens across 40 counties, reaching 12,300+ people through 340 events and class visits and engaging 155 schools and colleges. The core product suite centered on the DistrictBuilder web-based mapping tool (developed by partner Azavea Inc.), which allowed participants to draw and analyze Pennsylvania congressional district maps using real-time metrics including Polsby-Popper and Schwartzberg compactness scores, along with a structured curriculum covering nine redistricting values.
The business model was that of a sponsored nonprofit civic program rather than a commercial enterprise: all tools, curriculum, and learning resources were provided free of charge, with cumulative competition prize money of $135k funded through the parent Committee of Seventy rather than product revenue. Go-to-market was community-led, relying on direct school and college partnerships, grassroots events and mapathons, organic social media, and earned media coverage (including NowThis News). The platform's operating outcome included 7,200+ registered mappers, 10,000+ maps worked on, and 1,500+ competition entries, which were synthesized into the PA Citizens' Map — a public repository of citizen-drawn redistricting proposals. An independent program evaluation conducted by ImpactED at the University of Pennsylvania reported 97% of surveyed participants took at least one civic action after participating and a civic advocacy likelihood score increase from 3.65 to 4.01 on a 1-5 scale.
The active project concluded in 2022 following the finalization of Pennsylvania's legislative maps, and the website indicates operating status as closed; learning resources remain free to use under the Committee of Seventy's stewardship but no new competitions or product development are signaled.
Draw the Lines firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Draw the Lines
- Legal name
- Committee of Seventy
- Website
- https://drawthelinespa.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Draw the Lines PA was a Committee of Seventy–sponsored nonprofit civic education initiative (2018–2022) that gave Pennsylvanians free digital tools and curriculum to draw their own congressional district maps and participate in redistricting competitions across 40 counties.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Draw the Lines industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civic Education Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)
Keywords
Where Draw the Lines is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Draw the Lines business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Non-profit civic education funding: Draw the Lines PA is a citizen-led project sponsored by the Committee of Seventy, a nonprofit good government group. Funding comes from the parent organization rather than product revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free civic education resources for all Pennsylvania citizens |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Draw the Lines product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Draw the Lines PA provides free civic education tools and resources enabling Pennsylvanians to draw their own congressional district maps through the DistrictBuilder mapping platform, a learning curriculum on redistricting values, and statewide map-drawing competitions. The initiative is sponsored by the Committee of Seventy and is designed to combat gerrymandering by empowering citizens to produce and submit fair election maps.
Product overview
Draw the Lines PA is a civic education and engagement initiative sponsored by the Committee of Seventy that operates a suite of digital tools centered around its DistrictBuilder mapping tool. The platform allows Pennsylvanians to draw their own congressional district maps while learning about redistricting principles. The main products include the DistrictBuilder mapping tool, Draw a Map tool, and Learning Resources curriculum, all designed to combat gerrymandering through citizen participation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DistrictBuilder Mapping Tool A web-based digital mapping tool, developed by Azavea Inc., that allows Pennsylvania citizens to draw their own congressional district maps and analyze them against criteria such as compactness (Polsby-Popper and Schwartzberg metrics), contiguity, equal population, competitive elections, and minority representation. It is for Pennsylvanians participating in civic engagement and in the statewide mapping competitions.
- Learning Resources Free curriculum and educational materials for teaching gerrymandering and redistricting concepts, including guides on the nine values that matter in redistricting, video content, and interactive learning modules. Targeted at Pennsylvania students, teachers, and adult citizens.
- Mapping Competition Platform Citizen-led mapping competitions where participants submit their own redistricting maps for judging, with prize money awarded across youth, higher-education, and adult divisions. The Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 cycles collectively generated 1,500+ competition entries.
- Draw a Map Tool Web-based tool enabling citizens to draw and submit their own Pennsylvania election maps as part of the civic engagement initiative.
Quantifiable outcome
- 97% of surveyed participants reported taking at least one civic action after participating, with 45% taking 3+ actions to end gerrymandering
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Draw the Lines
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Draw the Lines technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Draw the Lines partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Committee of SeventycoreThe Committee of Seventy, a nonprofit good government group based in Pennsylvania, sponsors Draw the Lines PA as a citizen-led project from 2018-2022. The initiative operates under the Committee of Seventy's leadership and funding.
- Azavea Inc.coreAzavea Inc., creators of DistrictBuilder, provides the proprietary online mapping tool used by Draw the Lines PA participants to draw Pennsylvania congressional district maps. The tool incorporates Polsby-Popper and Schwartzberg compactness metrics.
- ImpactED (University of Pennsylvania)majorImpactED, a program at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in program evaluation, conducted an independent evaluation of Draw the Lines PA's impact on student civic engagement and teacher adoption of the curriculum.
- Fair Districts PAmajorFair Districts PA is a grassroots coalition working to end gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. Many DTL volunteers and coordinators are also Fair Districts PA members, with shared mission alignment around electoral reform.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Draw the Lines competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Common Cause: National nonpartisan good government organization with active state chapters including Pennsylvania. Addresses redistricting reform, voting rights, and ethics — overlapping strongly with DTL's civic reform mission.
- RepresentUs: National anti-gerrymandering and campaign finance reform advocacy organization. Operates at national scale on the same core issue DTL addresses at the state level, and competes for similar funder and civic-engagement mindshare.
- Brennan Center for Justice: National nonpartisan law and policy institute at NYU focused on voting rights, redistricting, and democracy reform. Comparable in producing research, public education, and reform advocacy around gerrymandering.
Direct peers
- iCivics: National nonprofit providing K-12 civic education curriculum and games. Directly comparable as a civic education provider that integrates into AP Government and social studies classrooms — the same adoption channel DTL relied on with its 155 schools.
- League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania state chapter of a national civic engagement organization focused on voter education, redistricting, and election reform. Direct peer on PA-specific civic education and redistricting advocacy.
- Princeton Gerrymandering Project: Princeton University initiative producing research, data, and tools to detect and address gerrymandering. Highly comparable in combining technical mapping/criteria analysis with civic engagement and reform advocacy, though operating at a national/research level.
- Fair Districts PA: Grassroots Pennsylvania coalition working to end gerrymandering. Many DTL volunteers and coordinators were also Fair Districts PA members, with explicit shared mission alignment around PA redistricting reform — making it the most directly comparable peer.
- All On The Line (Fair Maps): National redistricting advocacy organization (formerly part of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee) focused on ending partisan gerrymandering. Directly comparable mission on redistricting reform and civic participation.
Regional players
- National Conference on Citizenship: National civic engagement organization tracking civic participation and producing research on civic health. Comparable as a civic engagement measurement and advocacy peer, though operating at federal/national rather than state level.
Others
- Azavea: Developer of the DistrictBuilder mapping tool that powers DTL's citizen mapping experience. Comparable as a geospatial civic technology provider and ecosystem enabler, though it operates in a vendor/partner role rather than as a competing civic education initiative.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Draw the Lines social profiles
Digital presenceDraw the Lines financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Draw the Lines leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Draw the Lines funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Draw the Lines M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Draw the Lines
What does Draw the Lines do?
Draw the Lines PA provides free civic education tools and resources enabling Pennsylvanians to draw their own congressional district maps through the DistrictBuilder mapping platform, a learning curriculum on redistricting values, and statewide map-drawing competitions. The initiative is sponsored by the Committee of Seventy and is designed to combat gerrymandering by empowering citizens to produce and submit fair election maps.
Is Draw the Lines a public or private company?
Draw the Lines is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently closed.
When was Draw the Lines founded?
Draw the Lines was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Draw the Lines based?
Draw the Lines is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does Draw the Lines make money?
One revenue line is on record: non-profit civic education funding.
Who are Draw the Lines's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Common Cause, RepresentUs and Brennan Center for Justice. Direct peers are iCivics, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Princeton Gerrymandering Project, Fair Districts PA and All On The Line (Fair Maps). National Conference on Citizenship is listed as a regional player. Azavea is listed as an others.
Does Draw the Lines have an API?
No public API is recorded for Draw the Lines.
What industry is Draw the Lines in?
Draw the Lines's product category is Civic Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAAADAL, Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership).