Grand Bargain Project

What Grand Bargain Project does

The Grand Bargain Project is a U.S. civic nonprofit initiative housed within the Center for Collaborative Democracy, a 501(c)(3) organization, and was founded by Sol Erdman following his participation in the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. Its core product is the Grand Bargain Launchpad, a web-based application that presents U.S. citizens with 39 policy reform proposals for evaluation and feedback. The platform is positioned for a national audience across all 50 states, with a deliberate strategic emphasis on self-identified Independent voters as an underserved civic segment.

The organization operates a donation-based revenue model rather than product sales, with contribution tiers extending to $5,000. Its go-to-market combines a digital product surface (the Launchpad), a grassroots coalition layer called Local Grand Bargain Hubs for distributed civic engagement, and mainstream media positioning (including a CEO appearance on Morning Joe on February 10, 2026). Research capacity is supported through partnerships with YouGov for citizen polling, with engagements recorded in August 2025 and December 2025–January 2026. The team is small, reported at approximately 10 staff, and recent leadership additions include the promotion of David Levy to Chief of Staff in March 2026 and the hiring of Liz Sheldon as Director of Philanthropic Strategy, indicating an organization transitioning from founder-led operations to a more structured operating model.

Name

Grand Bargain Project

Legal name

Center for Collaborative Democracy

Website

https://grandbargainproject.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Grand Bargain Project is a U.S. civic nonprofit that operates the Launchpad webapp, enabling citizens to evaluate 39 policy reform proposals, with a national coalition of Local Hubs targeting Independent voters across all 50 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Engagement Platform

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Legislative Bodies (92112)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative Dispute Resolution & Restorative Justice Programs (BPAIAFAL)

Keywords

• Civic engagement platform
• Policy advocacy software
• Bipartisan reform
• Congressional outreach
• Voter mobilization

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization is a 501(c)3 nonprofit sponsored by the Center for Collaborative Democracy. It accepts donations from individuals through its website with various giving levels ($25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, $2,000, $5,000). Donations can be made as one-time or monthly recurring gifts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Grand Bargain Project operates the Grand Bargain Launchpad, a self-serve web application that allows American citizens to evaluate 39 interconnected policy reforms across seven national policy areas, decide whether the total package meets their needs, and email their congressperson and senators to demand legislative action. The organization supplements the Launchpad with a tested policy framework, YouGov-validated polling results demonstrating bipartisan support, and grassroots coalition building across all 50 states.

Product overview

The Grand Bargain Project is a civic engagement platform operated by the Center for Collaborative Democracy (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) that offers an interactive web application called the Grand Bargain Launchpad, combined with a comprehensive policy framework of 39 reforms across seven policy areas. The platform allows Americans to evaluate policy proposals, express support for the total package, and contact elected representatives. The main website serves as a content hub featuring YouGov polling results and blog articles about the organization's reform proposals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grand Bargain Launchpad Interactive web application that allows American citizens to rate each of 39 policy reforms across 7 policy areas on a 5-point scale, decide whether the total package warrants asking Congress to make it a priority, and email their congressperson and senators directly to advocate for the package.
• Grand Bargain Framework (39 Reforms) A holistic policy framework containing 39 specific reform proposals across seven policy areas — Economic Mobility, K-12 Education, Healthcare, Energy Policy, Taxes, Federal Spending & Debt, and Congressional Reform — designed to work together rather than in policy silos.
• Grand Bargain Project Website The organization's main website serving as a content platform with information about the Grand Bargain framework, YouGov poll results, blog articles, team profiles, and tools for civic engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 83% of Americans want Congress to make the Grand Bargain 39 reforms a priority (January 2026 YouGov poll of 1,000 respondents)
• +5 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Center for Collaborative DemocracycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Center for Collaborative Democracy is the parent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that sponsors the Grand Bargain Project. CCD was founded to develop innovative tools for reaching constructive agreements on long-festering political controversies. It commissioned the YouGov polls and developed the Grand Bargain framework with input from hundreds of stakeholders and experts.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Common Cause: Common Cause is a long-standing nonpartisan advocacy organization focused on government accountability, congressional reform, and reducing the influence of money in politics. While much larger and more established, it shares the Grand Bargain's focus on congressional reform and bipartisan civic engagement.
• DoSomething.org: DoSomething.org is a large nonprofit focused on mobilizing young people around social causes via digital campaigns. While it targets a different demographic (youth) and uses different mechanisms, it shares the Grand Bargain's donor-funded nonprofit model and digital-first grassroots mobilization approach.
• RepresentUs: RepresentUs is a well-funded anti-corruption and electoral reform advocacy organization that builds bipartisan coalitions to pass pro-democracy reforms at state and federal levels. It is more established and electoral-reform focused but shares the Grand Bargain's mission of bipartisan civic coalition-building.
• No Labels: No Labels is a political organization that promotes bipartisan problem-solving and the formation of cross-party coalitions in Congress. It is the most ideologically direct competitor to the Grand Bargain Project's mission of eliminating partisan gridlock through bipartisan deal-making.

Direct peers

• POPVOX: POPVOX is a nonpartisan civic engagement platform that bridges the gap between the public and Congress by allowing individuals to comment on legislation and easily contact their representatives. Both POPVOX and Grand Bargain operate at the citizen-to-Congress interface with similar legislative advocacy workflows.
• New/Mode: New/Mode is a civic engagement and advocacy technology platform that helps nonprofits, unions, and campaigns mobilize supporters to contact legislators and drive campaigns. Both organizations provide digital tools connecting citizens to elected representatives, with comparable target customers (advocacy orgs, civic groups) and similar PLG-driven GTM models.
• IssueVoter: IssueVoter is a nonpartisan civic engagement platform that tracks upcoming votes in Congress and notifies users to contact their representatives. It overlaps with the Grand Bargain Launchpad's citizen-to-legislator email functionality and similar target audience of civically engaged Americans.
• Countable: Countable is a civic engagement app that helps users learn about legislation, contact their representatives, and track lawmaker positions. It is the closest direct functional competitor to the Grand Bargain Launchpad in terms of citizen-to-legislator workflow and self-serve policy education.

Emerging players

• Protect Democracy: Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan nonprofit advocating for democratic institutions and against authoritarianism. While narrower in focus (anti-authoritarianism vs. multi-issue policy reform), it operates a similar donor-funded advocacy model and convenes bipartisan coalitions.
• Civic Eagle: Civic Eagle is a SaaS platform that helps advocacy organizations track legislation, manage civic engagement campaigns, and surface bipartisan co-sponsors. It serves the same underlying advocacy ecosystem that the Grand Bargain Project's coalition partners operate in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/grandbargainusa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@grandbargainproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grandbargainproject
• Instagraminstagram.com/grandbargainproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Grand Bargain Project