Vermont Progressive Party

What Vermont Progressive Party does

The Vermont Progressive Party is a political party founded in 1981 in Vermont, recognized as the most successful third party in America and the third major party in the state. It fields, endorses, and supports candidates for the Vermont Legislature, Burlington City Council, municipal offices, and statewide positions including Lieutenant Governor and Mayor of Burlington. Its constituents are working-class Vermonters and progressive activists seeking alternatives to Democratic and Republican establishment politics on issues including affordable housing, healthcare access, education funding fairness, climate action, and immigration rights.

The party is governed by a member-elected Coordinating Committee (Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer) and operates through a distributed network of County Chairs, Town Chairs, and member-led committees covering Organizing, Elections, Fundraising, Communications, Data & Technology, Internal Policies, and Local Elected Progressive coordination. Its technology stack is minimal and primarily consumer-facing: a Squarespace-hosted website (progressiveparty.org) plus a NationBuilder platform used for email newsletters, volunteer sign-ups, donations, events, and membership management.

The organization's business model is non-commercial and donation-funded. Revenue consists of individual contributions (which roughly doubled from approximately $55,000 annually in 2016 to over $120,000 by 2024) and recurring membership dues. The party does not accept corporate donations and does not sell products or services. In 2025 it underwent significant leadership turnover, with Chair Anthony Pollina transitioning to Chair Emeritus, Bill Hunsinger elected Chair, and Executive Director Josh Wronski departing after nine years.

Name

Vermont Progressive Party

Legal name

Vermont Progressive Party

Website

https://progressiveparty.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Vermont Progressive Party is a Vermont political party, founded in 1981, that recruits, endorses, and supports progressive candidates for state, local, and municipal offices through a member-driven grassroots organization funded by individual donations and membership dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Party Services

NAICS

Political Organizations (813940), Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI), Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Political party organizing
• Progressive electoral campaigns
• Grassroots political mobilization
• Legislative advocacy services
• Community political engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Montpelier

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The party raises funds through individual donations, having doubled fundraising from $55k to over $120k annually between 2016 and 2024. Donations are solicited through the party's NationBuilder platform and website.
2. Membership Dues: Party membership involves annual dues and sustained support from members. The organization engages members through regular communication and committee participation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Vermont Progressive Party is a private political organization that runs progressive electoral campaigns, endorses and supports candidates for local and state offices, organizes grassroots community volunteer networks through County and Town Chairs, and advocates for working-family policies before the Vermont Legislature and Burlington City Council. The party is funded through individual donations and member dues, declining corporate contributions.

Product overview

The Vermont Progressive Party is a political party organization, not a technology company. Their offerings consist of political party membership, candidate endorsement and campaign support, legislative advocacy, community organizing, voter registration services, volunteer coordination, and campaign fundraising tools accessed through their website. They do not offer a software product, SaaS platform, or technology product as defined in this schema.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Progressive Party Membership
• Progressive Party Merchandise
• Candidate Endorsement and Campaign Support
• Political Donations Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Elected first Progressive Lt. Governor in Vermont history
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Winooski ProgressivesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 May 2025Joint organizing initiative to expand committee presence in Winooski and nurture new party leadership in the area. Partnership hosted a community event with tacos and tabling from Just Food Hub.
• Fletcher Free Library Preservation ProjectminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBurlington City Council voted to accept an $845,000 grant from Friends of the Fletcher Free Library for preservation of the 1904 building, supporting community educational resources.
• Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform (VCJR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVCJR selected as primary service provider for Burlington's Overdose Prevention Center, bringing extensive experience and longstanding relationships with the population the center will serve.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• MoveOn: Progressive advocacy and political mobilization organization with a national small-donor base. Comparable to VPP in grassroots fundraising tactics, member mobilization, and progressive policy advocacy.
• League of Women Voters of Vermont: Nonpartisan civic engagement organization operating in Vermont. Adjacent peer relevant to VPP's voter registration, civic education, and community organizing activities.
• Progressive Democrats of America: Progressive political organization working inside and outside the Democratic Party. Comparable to VPP in left-progressive policy positions and member-driven advocacy, though it operates through the major-party infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Libertarian Party: The other major U.S. third party by ballot access and candidate count. Useful comparison for VPP on multi-state ballot access mechanics, candidate recruitment, and small-budget campaign operations.
• Working Families Party: A progressive third party with a similar small-dollar, grassroots funding model and electoral strategy focused on state and local races. Operates as a multi-state fusion party, providing a relevant comparison for VPP's ballot-access and coalition-building approach.
• Green Party of the United States: National progressive third party competing in local, state, and federal races. Shares with VPP the small-party structural challenges, ideological positioning, and reliance on member dues/donations rather than corporate funding.

Broad incumbents

• Vermont Republican Party: Vermont's other major party. Comparable as a statewide party organization but with a contrasting donor base, ideological positioning, and electoral coalition.
• Vermont Democratic Party: One of Vermont's two major parties and VPP's principal electoral competitor. Provides the broad-incumbent comparison for funding scale, primary dynamics, and coalition overlap on progressive policy.

Emerging players

• Justice Democrats: Progressive political organization focused on recruiting and electing insurgent candidates. Relevant peer for VPP's candidate pipeline and progressive voter mobilization tactics.
• Democratic Socialists of America: Large progressive membership organization with active electoral endorsement work at state and local levels. Comparable to VPP in member-driven organizing, dues-based funding, and left-progressive policy positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/progparty
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/progressiveparty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Vermont Progressive Party