Governing for Impact

What Governing for Impact does

Governing for Impact (GFI) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit regulatory policy organization founded in 2021 to counter what it describes as a resource imbalance between corporate interests and public-interest advocates in the federal rulemaking process. It develops rigorous policy proposals for executive action and produces legal analysis — issue briefs, regulatory comments, and rapid-response memos — focused on administrative law and federal agency practice. Its core work products include the Administrative Procedure Act Library (12+ detailed issue briefs on topics such as Final Agency Action, the Administrative Record, Issue Exhaustion, and the Committed-to-Agency Discretion exception), the jointly maintained Project 2025 Tracker (with the Center for Progressive Reform, monitoring 530+ executive action proposals across 20 federal agencies), and ad hoc briefs spanning education, environment, finance, health care, housing, and labor policy.

The organization serves three primary user segments that do not pay for its work: progressive advocacy organizations and public interest groups that lack in-house administrative-law capacity; federal government officials and agency staff seeking legal and policy analysis for executive action; and legal professionals and litigators using the APA Library for challenges to executive branch actions under the Administrative Procedure Act. GFI distributes all materials free of charge through governingforimpact.org, email subscriptions, academic journals (Yale Journal on Regulation, Harvard Journal on Legislation), and earned media. It is funded by foundation grants and individual donations; no revenue, donor, or grant figures are publicly disclosed. The organization is founder-led under Executive Director Rachael Klarman and operates with a team of approximately 7, expanded in February 2025 by senior hires Adam Grogg (Legal Director, ex-OMB Deputy General Counsel), John Lewis (Deputy Legal Director, ex-DOJ Trial Attorney), and Elisabeth Mabus (Director of Strategic Initiatives, ex-Colorado Governor's Office Deputy Legal Counsel). It maintains an active partnership ecosystem that includes the Center for Progressive Reform, Center for American Progress, Towards Justice, Student Borrower Protection Center, and American Economic Liberties Project.

Name

Governing for Impact

Legal name

Governing for Impact

Website

https://governingforimpact.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Governing for Impact is a Washington, D.C. nonprofit founded in 2021 that produces legal analysis, regulatory comments, and policy briefs on federal executive branch and administrative law for advocacy organizations, government officials, and litigators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Nonprofit Funding: Governing for Impact operates as a nonprofit regulatory policy organization funded through grants and donations from foundations and individual supporters aligned with progressive policy goals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Governing for Impact is a nonprofit regulatory policy organization that develops rigorous policy proposals for executive action, publishes legal analysis and issue briefs on administrative law topics, and submits regulatory comments on federal proposed rules. Its work is designed to equip progressive advocates, government officials, and litigators with the administrative law and rulemaking expertise needed to challenge executive branch actions.

Product overview

Governing for Impact operates as a regulatory policy organization rather than a software product company. Its core offerings consist of policy publications and legal resources: the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) Library provides issue briefs on administrative law topics for litigation purposes; the Project 2025 Tracker monitors administration actions; Issue Briefs cover policy areas including education, environment, finance, health care, housing, and labor; and the organization conducts regulatory comment practice and hosts symposia on topics like AI and administrative law. These are intellectual products and services focused on holding the executive branch accountable rather than technology products with features, integrations, or APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Administrative Procedure Act Library A comprehensive library of issue briefs covering administrative law topics including final agency action, the administrative record, notice-and-comment requirements, the committed-to-agency-discretion exception, nonstatutory review, arbitrary-and-capricious challenges, and remedies. Built for litigators and legal professionals challenging executive branch actions under the APA.
• Project 2025 Tracker A joint tracking tool maintained with the Center for Progressive Reform that monitors and documents the Trump administration's implementation of Project 2025 policy proposals across federal agencies. Covers 530+ policy proposals across 20 federal agencies.
• Issue Briefs Policy publications covering topics across education, environment, finance, health care, housing, and labor, providing legal analysis and recommendations for executive action. Rapid response analyses and primers are produced to support immediate advocacy needs.
• Regulatory Comment Practice Formal comments submitted to federal agencies on proposed rules and regulations, advocating for policies that protect consumers, workers, and the public interest.
• AI and Administrative Law Symposium A collaborative symposium exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and the Administrative Procedure Act, addressing legal guardrails for AI in federal rulemaking. Published in the Yale Journal on Regulation's Notice & Comment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Produces rapid response analyses and legal primers to support immediate advocacy needs
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Center for Progressive ReformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partnership to create and maintain the Project 2025 Tracker, monitoring the Trump administration's implementation of Project 2025's executive action proposals. The tracker covers 530+ policy proposals across 20 federal agencies and is updated by teams of regulatory lawyers from both organizations.
• Towards JusticeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on legal memo regarding stay-or-pay contracts urging the Department of Labor to protect workers from exploitative employment contracts.
• Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on legal memo regarding stay-or-pay contracts addressing exploitative employment practices affecting student borrowers and workers.
• American Economic Liberties Project (AELP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on legal memo regarding stay-or-pay contracts addressing anticompetitive labor practices.
• Center for American ProgressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on report regarding how government agencies can regulate AI using existing regulations and powers without requiring new legislative authority.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Earthjustice: Largest nonprofit environmental law organization, with deep engagement in federal regulatory comments and administrative-law litigation, particularly on environmental agency actions. Comparable on environmental regulatory work and APA litigation.
• Center for American Progress: Large progressive think tank producing policy reports and legal commentary across all major federal issue areas. GFI has collaborated with CAP on an AI and administrative-law report, indicating overlapping methodology and audiences.
• People For the American Way: Progressive advocacy organization engaged in litigation, regulatory advocacy, and public education on constitutional and administrative-law issues. Overlaps with GFI on executive-branch accountability work.

Direct peers

• Public Citizen: Long-standing consumer and regulatory advocacy organization that submits regulatory comments, litigates agency actions, and engages on administrative law issues across multiple federal agencies. Highly comparable mission and product set.
• Project on Government Oversight (POGO): Independent investigative organization focused on federal government accountability, with substantial work on executive-branch actions and regulatory integrity. Comparable in combining legal analysis with advocacy aimed at executive agency behavior.
• Revolving Door Project: Think tank tracking executive-branch personnel and agency decision-making, with a strong focus on administrative law and regulatory policy. Directly comparable in targeting the nitty-gritty of executive branch implementation.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Nonpartisan law and policy institute at NYU that produces legal analysis, regulatory commentary, and litigation support on democracy and government accountability. Overlaps with GFI on administrative law, regulatory process, and executive-branch oversight.
• Democracy Forward Foundation: Progressive legal organization that litigates against the executive branch and files regulatory comments on federal agency actions. Shares GFI's core mission of holding the current administration accountable under administrative law and frequently engages similar partner networks.
• Center for Progressive Reform: GFI's direct partner on the Project 2025 Tracker; focuses on regulatory policy analysis across federal agencies. Operates as a sister organization in the progressive regulatory-comment and administrative-law space.

Others

• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: Nonpartisan civil rights legal organization that engages in federal regulatory advocacy and administrative-law litigation. Comparable in submitting regulatory comments and litigating against unlawful agency actions, though broader than GFI's issue scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/governing-for-impact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Governing for Impact