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NGP VAN

Website:

www.ngpvan.com/
Location:

Washington, DC
Status:

For-Profit
Formation:

2010
Type:

Democratic Party-affiliated Online Voter Service
President:

Amanda Coulombe

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

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

References

  1. “Voter Targeted Digital Ads Now at Fingertips of Thousands of Democratic Campaigns.” DSPolitical. September 15, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.dspolitical.com/press-releases/voter-targeted-digital-ads-now-fingertips-thousands-democratic-campaigns/.
  2. Coulombe, Amanda. “3 Ways NGP VAN is Investing, Innovating, and Evolving for 2022 and Beyond.” NGP VAN. March 16, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/3-ways-ngp-van-investing-innovating-evolving/?utm_campaign=blog&utm_source=facebook,twitter&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_content=1647445109.
  3. [1] Campaigner. “Lessons learned from building political tech.” Interview with Amanda Coulombe. March 16, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://campaigner.substack.com/p/lessons-learned-from-building-political?s=w.
  4. Lapowsky, Issie. “Democrats are Busting Their 2016 Mobile Canvassing Records.” Wired. September 24, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. v https://www.wired.com/story/2018-midterms-democrats-mobile-canvassing-records/.
  5. “Voter Targeted Digital Ads Now at Fingertips of Thousands of Democratic Campaigns.” DSPolitical. September 15, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.dspolitical.com/press-releases/voter-targeted-digital-ads-now-fingertips-thousands-democratic-campaigns/.
  6. “Tweet.” Twitter. March 21, 2022. Accessed. March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/NGPVAN/status/1505960432611307521?cxt=HHwWgsC5-ZrCn-YpAAAA.
  7. Hakala, Graham. “MiniVAN App Computes On The Campaign Trail.” Fox 21 Local News. March 2, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.fox21online.com/2016/03/02/minivan-app-computes-on-the-campaign-trail/.
  8. Miller, Sean J. “NGP VAN Unveils New Iteration Of Software Ahead of Midterm Cycle.” Campaigns & Elections. August 24, 2017. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://campaignsandelections.com/campaigntech/ngp-van-unveils-new-iteration-of-software-ahead-of-midterm-cycle/.
  9. Lapowsky, Issie. “Democrats are Busting Their 2016 Mobile Canvassing Records.” Wired. September 24, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. v https://www.wired.com/story/2018-midterms-democrats-mobile-canvassing-records/.
  10. Baker, Liana. “Apax Merges Software Firms for Non-Profits in $2 Billion Deal.” Bloomberg. August 3, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-03/apax-merges-software-firms-for-non-profits-in-2-billion-deal. March 24, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-03/apax-merges-software-firms-for-non-profits-in-2-billion-deal.
  11. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted March 23, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/NGPVAN/status/1506686941953150981?cxt=HHwWisCyrc_y6egpAAAA.
  12. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 22, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/ngpvan/status/1275100826659414043?s=21.
  13. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted September 13, 2021. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/ngpvan/status/1437470128728420355?s=21.
  14. “DLCC Go.” NGP VAN. Accessed March 27, 2022. https://act.ngpvan.com/dlcc-go.
  15. “DMO Go.” NGPVAN. Accessed March 27, 2022. https://act.ngpvan.com/dmo-go/.
  16. “Run for Something.” NGP VAN. Accessed March 27, 2022. https://go.ngpvan.com/ngp-run-for-something.html.
  17. “NGP VAN.” Inc. Company Profile. Accessed via Web Archive April 18, 2012. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20120418195842/https://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/ngp-van.
  18. “Nathaniel Pearlman.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielpearlman/details/experience/.
  19. Lapowsky, Issie. “Democrats are Busting Their 2016 Mobile Canvassing Records.” Wired. September 24, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. v https://www.wired.com/story/2018-midterms-democrats-mobile-canvassing-records/.
  20. Dacey, Amy K. “Here’s what happened with NGP VAN, the Sanders Campaign, and the Clinton Campaign.” Medium. December 19, 2015. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://medium.com/@AmyKDacey/here-s-what-happened-with-ngp-van-the-sanders-campaign-and-the-clinton-campaign-d75dd1d2edbf#.vyswby7ib.
  21. Taylor, Jessica. “DCN Restores Sanders Campaign’s Access To Voter Files After Data Breach.” NPR. December 19, 2015. Accessed march 24, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/460361192/dnc-restores-sanders-campaigns-access-to-voter-files-after-data-breach.
  22. John Wagner, Abby Phillip and Rosalind S. Helderman. “Accord reached after Sanders sues the DNC over suspended access to critical voter list.” Washington Post. December 19, 2015. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sanders-threatens-to-sue-dnc-if-access-to-voter-list-isnt-restored/2015/12/18/fa8d6df8-a5a2-11e5-ad3f-991ce3374e23_story.html.
  23. Lacy, Akela. “INSIDE THE SLOW IMPLOSION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S VAUNTED CAMPAIGN TECH FIRM.” The Intercept, January 24, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/01/24/layoffs-democratic-party-ngp-van/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
  24. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted March 23, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/NGPVAN/status/1506686941953150981?cxt=HHwWisCyrc_y6egpAAAA.
  25. Lacy, Akela. “INSIDE THE SLOW IMPLOSION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S VAUNTED CAMPAIGN TECH FIRM.” The Intercept, January 24, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/01/24/layoffs-democratic-party-ngp-van/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
  26. Lacy, Akela. “INSIDE THE SLOW IMPLOSION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S VAUNTED CAMPAIGN TECH FIRM.” The Intercept, January 24, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/01/24/layoffs-democratic-party-ngp-van/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
  27. Lacy, Akela. “INSIDE THE SLOW IMPLOSION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S VAUNTED CAMPAIGN TECH FIRM.” The Intercept, January 24, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/01/24/layoffs-democratic-party-ngp-van/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
  28.  “Amanda Coulombe.” Twitter. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/amandacoulombe.
  29. “Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-coulombe/details/experience/.
  30. “Amanda Coulombe.” NGP VAN. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.ngpvan.com/amanda-coulombe/.
  31. “Voter Targeted Digital Ads Now at Fingertips of Thousands of Democratic Campaigns.” DSPolitical. September 15, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.dspolitical.com/press-releases/voter-targeted-digital-ads-now-fingertips-thousands-democratic-campaigns/.
  32. Coulombe, Amanda. “3 Ways NGP VAN is Investing, Innovating, and Evolving for 2022 and Beyond.” NGP VAN. March 16, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/3-ways-ngp-van-investing-innovating-evolving/?utm_campaign=blog&utm_source=facebook,twitter&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_content=1647445109.
  33. Campaigner. “Lessons learned from building political tech.” Interview with Amanda Coulombe. March 16, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://campaigner.substack.com/p/lessons-learned-from-building-political?s=w.
  34. Lapowsky, Issie. “Democrats are Busting Their 2016 Mobile Canvassing Records.” Wired. September 24, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.wired.com/story/2018-midterms-democrats-mobile-canvassing-records/.
  35. “Voter Targeted Digital Ads Now at Fingertips of Thousands of Democratic Campaigns.” DSPolitical. September 15, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.dspolitical.com/press-releases/voter-targeted-digital-ads-now-fingertips-thousands-democratic-campaigns/.
  36. “Tweet.” Twitter. March 21, 2022. Accessed. March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/NGPVAN/status/1505960432611307521?cxt=HHwWgsC5-ZrCn-YpAAAA.
  37. Hakala, Graham. “MiniVAN App Computes On The Campaign Trail.” Fox 21 Local News. March 2, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.fox21online.com/2016/03/02/minivan-app-computes-on-the-campaign-trail/.
  38. Miller, Sean J. “NGP VAN Unveils New Iteration Of Software Ahead of Midterm Cycle.” Campaigns & Elections. August 24, 2017. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://campaignsandelections.com/campaigntech/ngp-van-unveils-new-iteration-of-software-ahead-of-midterm-cycle/.
  39. Lapowsky, Issie. “Democrats are Busting Their 2016 Mobile Canvassing Records.” Wired. September 24, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. v https://www.wired.com/story/2018-midterms-democrats-mobile-canvassing-records/.
  40.  “Voter Targeted Digital Ads Now at Fingertips of Thousands of Democratic Campaigns.” DSPolitical. September 15, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.dspolitical.com/press-releases/voter-targeted-digital-ads-now-fingertips-thousands-democratic-campaigns/.
  41. NGP VAN.” Democratic Municipal Officials. Accessed March 25, 2022. https://nationaldmo.org/about/advisoryboard/ngpvan/.
  42. Green, Joshua. “Democrats Just Got the Digital Machine They Need to Keep Winning.” Blomberg. November 30, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-30/everyaction-and-mobilize-give-democrats-the-app-they-need-to-keep-winning.
  43. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted 24, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/NGPVAN/status/1506686941953150981?cxt=HHwWisCyrc_y6egpAAAA.
  44. Baker, Liana. “Apax Merges Software Firms for Non-Profits in $2 Billion Deal.” Bloomberg. August 3, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-03/apax-merges-software-firms-for-non-profits-in-2-billion-deal. March 24, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-03/apax-merges-software-firms-for-non-profits-in-2-billion-deal.
  45. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted March 23, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/NGPVAN/status/1506686941953150981?cxt=HHwWisCyrc_y6egpAAAA.
  46. Coulombe, Amanda. “3 Ways NGP VAN is Investing, Innovating, and Evolving for 2022 and Beyond.” NGP VAN. March 16, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/3-ways-ngp-van-investing-innovating-evolving/?utm_campaign=blog&utm_source=facebook,twitter&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_content=1647445109.
  47. Campaigner. “Lessons learned from building political tech.” Interview with Amanda Coulombe. March 16, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://campaigner.substack.com/p/lessons-learned-from-building-political?s=w.
  48. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted March 23, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/NGPVAN/status/1506686941953150981?cxt=HHwWisCyrc_y6egpAAAA.
  49. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 22, 2020. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/ngpvan/status/1275100826659414043?s=21.
  50. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted September 13, 2021. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://twitter.com/ngpvan/status/1437470128728420355?s=21.
  51. “DLCC Go.” NGP VAN. Accessed March 27, 2022. https://act.ngpvan.com/dlcc-go.
  52. “DMO Go.” NGPVAN. Accessed March 27, 2022. https://act.ngpvan.com/dmo-go/.
  53. “Run for Something.” NGP VAN. Accessed March 27, 2022. https://go.ngpvan.com/ngp-run-for-something.html.
  54. Chase, Stephen and Fife, Robert. “Liberal caucus office hired firm that helps run party’s digital campaigns.” The Globe and Mail. June 23, 2021. Accessed March 25, 2022. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-liberal-caucus-office-hired-firm-that-helps-run-liberal-partys-digital/.
  55. Fife, Robert and Chase, Steven. “Liberal caucus office paid U.S. firm $1-million with taxpayer money.” The Globe and Mail. July 5, 2021. Accessed March 25, 2022.  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-liberal-caucus-office-hired-firm-that-helps-run-liberal-partys-digital/.
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NGP VAN

655 15th Street NW, Suite 650
Washington, DC