NGP VAN is a Democratic Party-aligned get-out-the-vote (GOTV) software company that has been described as “nearly every Democratic campaign’s primary tool for voter engagement.” [1] [2] As the “largest provider of political technology on the left,” [3] NGP has maintained the Democratic Party’s voter file since 2004 and builds many of the party’s voter outreach tools designed to enhance voter engagement with Democratic and left-progressive campaigns. [4] [5]
NGP VAN’s MiniVAN voter canvassing app [6] [7] [8] was used by more than 218,000 volunteers to contact voters in the 2020 election. [9]
NGP VAN is a subsidiary of EveryAction, [10] [11] supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement, [12] and has partnerships with the pro-abortion organization EMILY’s List, [13] the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), [14] Democratic Municipal Officials, [15] Run for Something PAC, and other left-of-center organizations. [16]
History
NGP VAN was founded in Washington, D.C., in 2010 through the merger of Voter Action Network (VAN) and NGP Software (NGP), two Democratic-affiliated get-out-the-vote firms. [17] NGP Software was originally founded in 1997 by Nathaniel Pearlman, who was chief technology officer for Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, [18] and has maintained the Democratic Party’s voter file since 2004. [19]
In 2015, NGP VAN had a software error that allowed staff of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) 2016 Presidential Campaign to access data about voters targeted by the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. The Democratic National Committee triggered controversy by suspending the Sanders campaign’s access to the voter file. [20] [21] [22]
In August 2021, NGP Van’s parent company EveryAction was acquired by British equity firm Apax. The two companies, along with several similar digital technology firms, were then merged in March 2022 into digital firm Bonterra, however NPV Van was allowed to retain itself as a standalone firm. [23] In March 2022, NGP VAN announced that its divisions Mobilize America and ActionKit would become a part of NGP VAN. [24]
Starting on January 12, 2023, Bonterra interim-CEO Mark Layden announced that 10% of the company staff would be laid off due to the, “pursuit of “long-term, efficient growth.” [25] Many employees were seemingly notified without warning, with at least 140 Bonterra employees being let go in January. NGP Van reportedly laid off 40 employees during this period of time. One anonymous NGP Van employee commented for The Intercept,” NGP VAN having a reduced staff will make it harder for us to do our jobs,” [26] and Democratic strategist Gabe Tobias reacted by stating, “There are no nefarious purposes necessarily, like that they don’t want Democrats to win…I don’t think they care. But what happens if they just start degrading service? No one can do anything about it.” [27]
Leadership
Amanda Coulombe is the president of NGP VAN and the general manager of EveryAction. [28] Previously Coulombe worked as statewide get-out-the-vote (GOTV) director for Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA), on the campaign of Michael Capuano (D-MA) for U.S. Senate, a field organizer for Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, and in other roles. [29] [30]
Activities and Funding
NGP VAN is a Democratic Party-aligned get-out-the-vote (GOTV) software company that has been described as “nearly every Democratic campaign’s primary tool for voter engagement. [31] [32] As the “largest provider of political technology on the left,” [33] NGP has maintained the Democratic Party voter file since 2004 and builds many of the party’s voter outreach tools to enhance voter engagement with Democratic and left-progressive campaigns. [34] [35]
NGP VAN operates the MiniVAN voter canvassing app. [36] [37] The app allows non-binary gender pronoun assignments to donors, supporters, and volunteers [38] and was used by more than 218,000 volunteers to contact voters in the 2020 election. [39] In 2016, NGP VAN entered a partnership with DSPolitical’s DemocraticAds.com to enhance voter outreach. [40]
NGP VAN’s fundraisers and strategists worked with President Barack Obama (D) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and work to use technology to support left-progressive positions on issues including equality, abortion, and global warming. [41]
Institutional Relationships
NGP VAN is a subsidiary of EveryAction, a “Salesforce-like platform for liberal campaigns and causes” that tracks voter contact, phone calls, e-mails, and online donations that go through EveryAction. [42] [43] In March 2022, NGP VAN’s parent company, EveryAction, was acquired by Bonterra. [44] [45]
As a result, NGP VAN will remain a stand-alone brand and the Democratic-aligned divisions of NGP VAN Mobilize America and ActionKit will become a part of NGP VAN. [46] [47] [48]
NGP VAN supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement [49] and has partnerships with the pro-abortion organization EMILY’s List, [50] the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), [51] Democratic Municipal Officials, [52] Run for Something PAC, and others. [53]
The Canadian liberal caucus has also paid NGP VAN $1 million to do voter contact work in Canada. [54] [55]