What Zetkin Foundation does

Zetkin Foundation AB is a Swedish non-profit organization that develops and operates Zetkin, an open-source activism organizing platform. The project originated in 2013 within Vänsterpartiet Malmö (The Left Party in Malmö) and was formally incorporated as a foundation on March 30, 2015, following a January 2015 decision by the party's Malmö branch to distribute the platform to other radical movements. The foundation is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, has 11 employees, and is owned and democratically controlled by members of Vänsterpartiet Malmö.

The Zetkin platform is built as four integrated layers: a shared data and API layer called Zetkin Platform, the organizer-facing Zetkin Organize application (organize.zetk.in), the phone-banking application Zetkin Call (call.zetk.in), and the activist-facing portal Aktivistportalen (www.zetk.in). The technology stack uses React.js on the front-end and Node.js and Python on the back-end; all source code is open-source and published on GitHub (github.com/zetkin). A public REST API enables registered third-party applications to read and write Zetkin data. Functional capabilities include a member and activist database with tagging and smart searches, campaign planning with map-based playback, systematic phone banking with rulesets and automatic deselection, survey creation and response collection, and door-to-door canvassing with route planning and printable maps. The platform supports multiple languages through community-sourced translations managed via Google Spreadsheets and YAML files.

Revenue is generated through subscription fees paid by connecting organizations and through donations to a development fund, accepted one-time or recurring via Swish and BankGiro in Sweden. A full-day training course at the connecting organization's venue is included with each subscription. Pricing follows a collective model in which costs and prices decrease as more organizations join, and large portions of development work are performed by volunteers. The customer base consists of progressive and left-wing activist organizations aligned with socialist, feminist, antiracist, and sustainable values; the foundation vets applicants for mission alignment before onboarding.

Name

Zetkin Foundation

Legal name

Zetkin Foundation AB

Website

https://zetkin.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Zetkin Foundation is a Swedish non-profit that develops an open-source activism organizing platform for progressive and left-wing organizations. The platform combines member databases, campaign management, phone banking, canvassing, and surveys, funded by organization subscriptions and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Activism Organizing Software

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Political Organizations (813940), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Hosting & Membership Platforms (MPACAJAF)

Keywords

• Activism organizing software
• Political campaign tools
• Phone banking platform
• Volunteer management system
• Open source organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Malmö

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription fees from connected organizations: Organizations that connect to Zetkin pay an ongoing subscription fee. The development of Zetkin is funded by these subscription fees combined with donations. The pricing model is collective — as more organizations join, costs and prices decrease.
2. Donations to development fund: Zetkin Foundation accepts donations to a development fund, both one-time and recurring. Donations are accepted via Swish and BankGiro in Sweden. Large portions of Zetkin's development work are done by volunteers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zetkin Foundation develops and hosts an open-source SaaS platform for organizing activism, offered as a hosted subscription to progressive and left-wing political parties and activist organizations. The platform combines a central people database, campaign planning and action scheduling, systematic phone banking, surveys, and map-based canvassing route planning, all delivered through three web applications (Aktivistportalen, Zetkin Organize, Zetkin Call) backed by a shared data layer and REST API (Zetkin Platform). Development is largely volunteer-driven and the foundation is owned by Vänsterpartiet Malmö.

Product overview

Zetkin is a platform for organizing activism, developed by Zetkin Foundation. The platform consists of four distinct layers: (1) Zetkin Platform — the underlying data layer and API that all applications use; (2) Zetkin Organize — the organizer app for managing campaigns, people, surveys, phone banking, and canvassing; (3) Zetkin Call — the phone banking app for callers; and (4) Aktivistportalen (www.zetk.in) — the activist-facing portal for self-service sign-up and participation. All three front-end applications are open-source and built on the shared Zetkin Platform API. The platform is designed for left-wing radical organizations to run campaigns, mobilize supporters, and manage membership data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zetkin Organize: Organizer application for organizing and administering organization data
• Zetkin Call
• Aktivistportalen (www.zetk.in)
• Zetkin Platform

Products and services

• Zetkin Organize Web application for officials and organizers to manage an organization's activism — including the member/people database, campaign planning, call assignments, surveys, canvassing routes, and action scheduling. Used by paid staff and volunteer leads in connected progressive organizations.
• Zetkin Call Web application for phone banking — callers sign in, receive assigned targets from the platform, and log call outcomes, enabling systematic outbound calling campaigns to members, voters, or contacts.
• Aktivistportalen (www.zetk.in) Activist-facing web portal where activists sign up, register, browse and join campaigns/actions, and manage their personal participation — designed to lower the barrier to entry for new volunteers.
• Zetkin Platform The underlying data platform that all Zetkin front-end applications (Aktivistportalen, Zetkin Organize, Zetkin Call) are built on. Handles all data storage, user management, call queuing, smart searches, and email delivery, and exposes a REST API for custom application development.
• Zetkin Platform API A REST API providing programmatic access to all data in Zetkin, allowing registered third-party apps to read and write data, authenticate users, and build custom applications integrated with Zetkin.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased activist participation from double digits to 200+ in European election 2014 and 400+ in Swedish election 2014 in Vänsterpartiet Malmö
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NGP VAN: Dominant US Democratic Party-aligned campaign and organizing platform (Voter Activation Network, ActionKit, etc.). Directly comparable as an end-to-end activist/campaign organizing SaaS, but at vastly larger scale and centered on the US progressive ecosystem rather than European left movements.
• ActionKit (Upland): Online organizing and advocacy toolset used by progressive nonprofits and campaigns for email, petitions, fundraising, and activist coordination. Comparable to Zetkin's campaign and survey tools, but owned by Upland Software and oriented to US progressive organizations.
• Upland Software: Parent of ActionKit and other campaign/advocacy software products. Indirectly comparable as a broad incumbent in the same vertical software space where Zetkin competes, particularly via its advocacy and email marketing offerings.

Direct peers

• NationBuilder: Software-as-a-service platform for movement-building, campaigns, and community organizing, used by political parties, NGOs, and nonprofits worldwide. Closest direct competitor in functionality — member database, campaigns, donations, events — though commercially owned rather than non-profit.
• Action Network: Progressive open-platform organizing tool for nonprofits and grassroots groups, with email, petitions, fundraising, and activist data tools. Directly comparable to Zetkin Organize's campaign and survey features, with a much larger scale and US-rooted nonprofit ownership.

Emerging players

• New/Mode: Civic engagement and advocacy platform for campaigns, nonprofits, and trade associations, offering petitions, email, and targeting tools. Comparable as a campaign-tech alternative for progressive organizations, particularly in Canada and Europe.
• Impactive: Digital organizing platform for progressive campaigns and nonprofits, covering relational organizing, peer-to-peer texting, and voter outreach. Comparable technology category (activist outreach tooling) and similar target customer base, though newer and US-focused.
• GreenSpark: Campaign and donor-management software built for progressive Democratic campaigns and nonprofits. Comparable target customer segment and function (phone banking, canvassing, donor outreach), though smaller and US-centric.
• MobilizeAmerica: Volunteer event management and mobilization platform used by Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations. Compares to Zetkin's activist sign-up and action-coordination features, with broader US adoption but shallower campaign management tools.
• CiviCRM: Open-source constituent relationship management software widely used by nonprofits, NGOs, and civic organizations. Comparable open-source ethos and member-database functionality, but more general-purpose CRM rather than purpose-built for activist phone banking and canvassing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/zetkin
• Facebookfacebook.com/594884747369100
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zetkin-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Zetkin Foundation