Chicago Votes

What Chicago Votes does

Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit civic engagement organization founded in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, that builds a more inclusive democracy by targeting young Chicagoans aged 17-35, currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, and residents of disenfranchised neighborhoods. The organization operates through two legal entities: the 501(c)(4) Chicago Votes Action Fund, which funds political organizing, voter registration drives, and advocacy, and the 501(c)(3) Chicago Votes Education Fund, which supports non-partisan civic education programming; the Brian Sleet Memorial Fellowship for Leadership and Advocacy is also housed within the organization.

The organization runs four flagship initiatives. Unlock Civics delivers voter registration and civic education inside Cook County Jail (the first jail-based polling place in the United States, established via SB2090 in 2019) and the Civics in Prison peer-educator program, which now spans 30 Illinois prisons and has trained 270+ incarcerated peer educators and reached 5,000+ participants. Give A Sh*t Chicago is a creative engagement program featuring the Give A Sh*t Collective, Sh*t Talks video series, and Sh*t Talkin' Central blog that fuses arts, culture, and civic action. Reimagining Democracy encompasses the trademarked Parade to the Polls™ program (active in 20+ high schools with 5,000+ first-time voters escorted since 2014), legislative tracking curriculum for Chicago Public Schools, Election Judge Recruitment, GOTV campaigns, and a nonpartisan Voter Guide distributed in print inside the jail and via mail. The RACE Act (SB2983/HB5414) represents the organization's active legislative advocacy to restore voting rights to approximately 35,000 people serving sentences in Illinois prisons.

Chicago Votes is funded entirely through donations, with no products or services sold; all programming is free to participants. The organization operates with approximately 19 employees and relies on anchor institutional partnerships with Cook County Jail, DePaul University, the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, and the Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice, alongside coalition partners such as the #VoteTogether Coalition and Women's March Chicago. Its core technology consists of digital voter registration systems, election coordination tools, the Thinkific-hosted volunteer training platform, and owned media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email newsletter), rather than proprietary software products.

Name

Chicago Votes

Legal name

Chicago Votes

Website

https://chicagovotes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit civic engagement organization in Chicago that runs voter registration, civic education, and get-out-the-vote programs for young Chicagoans (17-35), incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, creatives, and CPS students through its Unlock Civics, Give A Sh*t Chicago, and Reimagining Democracy initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Engagement and Voter Mobilization Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Educational Services (611), Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civic, Citizenship & Community Engagement Education (EDAAAEAI), Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA), Juvenile Justice Education Programs (Detention & Correctional Education) (EDAJAEAB), Court/Community School Programs (Diversion, Probation-Linked, Community Day Schools) (EDAJAEAI)

Keywords

• Civic engagement
• Voter registration
• Civic education
• Get out the vote
• Community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations to 501(c)(4) Action Fund: Contributions to the 501(c)(4) Chicago Votes Action Fund support political organizing, voter registration drives, advocacy campaigns, and general operations. These contributions are not tax-deductible but fund the organization's full-spectrum political organizing work.
2. Tax-Deductible Donations to 501(c)(3) Education Fund: Tax-deductible contributions to the Chicago Votes Education Fund (chicagovotesedfund.com) support educational programming, curriculum development, and non-partisan civic education activities.
3. Brian Sleet Memorial Fellowship: Scholarship funding for young African American civic leaders, providing financial support for leadership development in honor of the founding board member's legacy.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit civic engagement organization that runs voter registration drives, civic education curricula, and get-out-the-vote campaigns targeted at young Chicagoans (ages 17–35) and currently/formerly incarcerated individuals. Its core deliverables include the Parade to the Polls™ program, the first jail-based polling place in the United States (Cook County Jail, 2019), peer-taught Civics in Prison courses across 30 Illinois prisons, and nonpartisan voter guides. All programs are free to participants and funded by donations to its 501(c)(4) Action Fund and 501(c)(3) Education Fund.

Product overview

Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit organization running a portfolio of civic engagement programs rather than a unified software product. Its core initiatives include Unlock Civics (civic education for incarcerated individuals), Give A Sh*t Chicago (creative voter engagement), Reimagining Democracy (Parade to the Polls, voter guides, legislative tracking), and RACE Act advocacy. These programs operate through educational curricula, community organizing, voter registration drives, jail-based voting programs, creative content series, and youth leadership development, targeting young Chicagoans aged 17-35, currently/formerly incarcerated individuals, and residents of disenfranchised neighborhoods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Unlock Civics: Long-standing initiative to expand civic education and democratic participation for people impacted by incarceration, including jail-based voting programs, Civics in Prison, and Voting in Prison legislative efforts.
• Give A Sh*t Chicago
• Reimagining Democracy
• Parade to the Polls

Quantifiable outcome

• First jail-based polling place in the United States established at Cook County Jail
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

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.

• #VoteTogether CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Chicago Votes partnered with the #VoteTogether coalition during 2018 midterm elections to execute hyper-local events that worked to increase voter turnout in targeted communities, including Party at the Polls events.
• Women's March ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for citywide Parade to the Polls events. Women's March Chicago co-hosted the second citywide event which attracted thousands of Chicagoans and encouraged early voting through coordinated marches.
• The Illinois Alliance for ReEntry and JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Court Watching program and judicial accountability initiatives, including creation of a zine comparing all criminal court judges to highlight disparities in sentencing and taxpayer costs.
• The Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting Civics in Prison peer educator training and court watching programs. The committee provides legal expertise and support for voting rights advocacy and judicial accountability work.
• DePaul UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership supporting Civics in Prison program with trained incarcerated peer educators, contributing to curriculum development and educational programming in Illinois prisons.
• Cook County JailcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial sponsor of election activities in Cook County Jail since Fall 2017. Chicago Votes coordinates voter registration drives, in-person election coordination, civic education, and local administrative advocacy at the jail.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HeadCount: Non-profit that registers voters at concerts and cultural events, closely mirroring Chicago Votes' Parade to the Polls model of pairing cultural touchpoints with voter turnout.
• When We All Vote: Nonpartisan voter registration and civic participation non-profit targeting young and underserved communities, with a comparable mission and grassroots organizing approach.
• Rock the Vote: Long-standing nonpartisan non-profit focused on youth voter registration and civic engagement, with a national reach that overlaps directly with Chicago Votes' young-person GOTV mission.
• Restore the Vote: Non-profit specifically focused on restoring voting rights to people with past convictions, directly aligned with Chicago Votes' RACE Act advocacy and Cook County Jail voter registration work.
• Students Learn Students Vote Coalition: Nonpartisan coalition supporting student voter registration and civic engagement on college campuses, directly analogous to Chicago Votes' College Parade to the Polls and CPS legislative curriculum.

Broad incumbents

• Brennan Center for Justice: National voting rights and democracy policy organization that produces research and advocates on the same issues (jail/prison voting, voter access) that drive Chicago Votes' Unlock Civics and RACE Act work.
• League of Women Voters: Established civic engagement and voter education non-profit producing widely-used voter guides, a direct analog to Chicago Votes' Voter Guide program, but operating nationally for nearly a century.
• Common Cause: Nonpartisan government accountability and voting rights advocacy organization; comparable to Chicago Votes on the legislative advocacy and court watching dimensions but with a national scope.

Emerging players

• Voto Latino: Civic engagement non-profit focused on Latino youth voter registration and turnout; comparable target audience and GOTV approach but with a different demographic focus than Chicago Votes.

Others

• Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights: Direct partner organization providing legal support for voting rights and reentry work; comparable as an ecosystem participant in the same Chicagoland civil rights infrastructure that Chicago Votes operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chicagovotes
• Facebookfacebook.com/chicagovotes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chicago-votes
• Instagraminstagram.com/chicagovotes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Chicago Votes