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Non-profit

Civic Ventures

Website:

civic-ventures.com/
Location:

Seattle, WA
Tax ID:

94-3274339
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $7,281,374
Expenses: $4,857,448
Assets: $9,304,007
Status:

Group of left-of-center political bloggers
Type:

Left-of-center political advocacy group and blog
Executive Director:

Nick Hanauer

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Civic Ventures is a Seattle-based 1 left-of-center policy advocacy group of “political troublemakers” that attempts to “build social change” 2 with “disruptive ideas” in Seattle, Washington; Washington state; and the broader United States. 3

Founded in 2015 as the policy incubator of left-progressive political donor, venture capital investor, and political donor Nick Hanauer, Civic Ventures supports higher minimum wage in Washington state, higher payments for overtime work, expanded background checks for firearms, and restrictive gun control measures. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Civic Ventures shares the same address as Hanauer’s Nick and Leslie Hanauer Foundation, 11 12 13 co-founded the left-of-center Civic Alliance for a Prosperous Economy (CAPE) with labor-union-aligned Working Washington and OneAmerica Votes, 14 and is the parent organization of Civic Action, 15  a left-progressive activist group that focuses on political organizing and raises funds on the left-of-center platform Act Blue Civics. 16 17 18

History and Leadership

Civic Ventures was founded in 2015 by left-progressive political donor, venture capital investor, and political commentator capitalist Nick Hanauer. 19 20 21

Hanauer and his wife, liberal political activist Leslie Hanauer, also run the Nick and Leslie Hanauer Foundation, 22 which shares the same address as Civic Ventures. 23 24 25 Nick Hanauer is the president and co-founder of the left-of-center League of Education Voters (LEV). 26 He was a major advocate for the national labor union-backed “fight for $15” campaign to raise the minimum wage and was a director of the left-of-center Democracy Alliance. 27

Stephanie Ervin is the vice president of advocacy and campaigns for Civic Ventures, responsible for Civic Ventures’ political operations Ervin is also the PAC director for the left-of-center, anti-gun Alliance for Gun Responsibility. 28 Previously she worked for Governor Christine Gregorie (D-WA) and U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA). Civic Ventures president Zach Silk helped run Washington state’s same-sex marriage ballot initiative in 2012. 29

Activities and Funding

Civic Ventures is a left-progressive advocacy group of “political troublemakers” that promotes “many progressive concepts,” 30 influences policymakers, 31 32 and attempts to “build social change” 33 with what it identifies as “disruptive ideas” in Seattle, Washington; Washington state; and the broader United States. 34

Civic Ventures supports expanded overtime payments at a threshold of three times the minimum wage, 35 a higher minimum wage in Washington state, expansion of background check requirements to acquire firearms, 36 and other restrictive gun control measures. 37

Civic Ventures is the parent organization of Civic Action, 38 a left-progressive activist group that focuses on political organizing and raises funds on the left-of-center platform Act Blue Civics. 39 40 41 Civic Action was formed in 2016 as an organizing tool after the election of President Donald Trump. 42 43

Civic Ventures is also the co-founder of the left-of-center Civic Alliance for a Prosperous Economy (CAPE) with labor-union-aligned Working Washington and OneAmerica Votes. 44

Civic Ventures runs the left-progressive podcast Pitchfork Economics 45 46  and an economics newsletter, The Pitch. 47 Civic Ventures is associated with the blog Civic Skunk Works 48 and posts its own content on the site. 49 Other articles hosted on Civic Skunk Works claim the U.S. tax code is “racist,” 50 urge the Democratic Party to side with labor unions to win future elections, 51 claim that abortion is an “economic issue,” and share links to the pro-abortion National Organization for Women (NOW). 52

References

  1. “Civic Ventures.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/civicventures/about/.
  2. “Civic Ventures. LinkedIn Profile. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/civicventures/.
  3. “Who We Are.” Civic Ventures. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/.
  4. O’Sullivan, Joseph. “Former Washington state lawmaker Jessyn Farrell takes another shot at Seattle mayor’s race.” The Seattle Times. July 7, 2021. Accessed June 12, 2022. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/former-washington-state-lawmaker-jessyn-farrell-takes-another-shot-at-seattle-mayors-race/.
  5. TED Radio Hour. “Nick Hanauer: How Do We Begin To Reinvent Capitalism?” National Public Radio. May 29, 2020. Accessed June 12, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2020/05/29/864515955/nick-hanauer-how-do-we-begin-to-reinvent-capitalism#:~:text=Nick%20Hanauer%20is%20a%20serial,non%2Dfamily%20investor%20in%20Amazon..
  6. “2018 Ideas Summit Speakers.” The New Deal Leaders. May 29, 2018. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://newdealleaders.org/2018-summit-speakers/.
  7. Constant, Paul. “It’s Time for (Civic) Action.” Civic Ventures. February 1, 2017. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/its-time-for-civic-action/.
  8. Goldyn, Kate. “Naick Hanauer, BA ’81, Takes on Social Change.” University of Washington Department of Philosophy. December 16, 2015. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://phil.washington.edu/news/2015/12/16/nick-hanauer-ba-81-takes-social-change.
  9. Brodeur, Nicole. “Nick Hanauer wants to stop the nation from ‘going to hell in a handbasket’.” Seattle Times. January 17, 2019. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.seattletimes.com/life/nick-hanauer-wants-to-stop-the-nation-from-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket/.
  10. “Letter Re: EAP Exemption Rules – Stakeholder Feedback on Draft Rule Concepts.” Civic Ventures. October 26, 2018. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://ehq-production-us-california.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/797fc17226caf40b2fb436f8fde747a0fc81998e/documents/attachments/000/002/493/original/Jasmin_Weaver_-_Civic_Ventures.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBJCUKKD4ZO4WUUA%2F20220613%2Fus-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220613T030855Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=73ce0b083678e09b95c4a22e8cf57513a91e3a6c1d1a00356807c32e7e51bce3.
  11. “2021-Civic Ventures L3 Report.” State of Washington Online Records L3 Report. February 28, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://accesshub.pdc.wa.gov/node/89403.
  12. “The Nick and Leslie Hanauer Foundation.” Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF). 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/261593306/202023219349104987/full.
  13. “Civic Ventures.” Idealist. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.idealist.org/en/business/a159686c6ad44b2fbb4b428567a5450c-civic-ventures-seattle.
  14. “About CAPE.” Civic Alliance for a Prosperous Economy. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.capecampaigns.com/.
  15. “Civic Ventures is our parent organization.” Civic Action. Accessed June 12, 2022. http://www.civicaction.com/.
  16. “Donate to Civic Action.” ActBlue. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/civic-action-1.
  17. “Donate to Civic Action.” Civic Action ActBlue. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/civic-action-1.
  18. “Home.” Civic Action. Accessed June 11, 2022. http://www.civicaction.com/.
  19.  “2018 Ideas Summit Speakers.” The New Deal Leaders. May 29, 2018. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://newdealleaders.org/2018-summit-speakers/.
  20. Constant, Paul. “It’s Time for (Civic) Action.” Civic Ventures. February 1, 2017. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/its-time-for-civic-action/.
  21. “Nick Hanauer.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-hanauer-092ab82/.
  22. “Nick Hanauer.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-hanauer-092ab82/.
  23. “2021-Civic Ventures L3 Report.” State of Washington Online Records L3 Report. February 28, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://accesshub.pdc.wa.gov/node/89403.
  24. “The Nick and Leslie Hanauer Foundation.” Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF). 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/261593306/202023219349104987/full.
  25. “Civic Ventures.” Idealist. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.idealist.org/en/business/a159686c6ad44b2fbb4b428567a5450c-civic-ventures-seattle.
  26. “Nick Hanauer.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-hanauer-092ab82/.
  27. “2018 Ideas Summit Speakers.” The New Deal Leaders. May 29, 2018. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://newdealleaders.org/2018-summit-speakers/.
  28. “Stephanie Ervin.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-ervin-0b233110/.
  29. “Who We Are.” Civic Ventures. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/.
  30. “Who We Are.” Civic Ventures. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/.
  31. “2021-Civic Ventures L3 Report.” State of Washington Online Records L3 Report. February 28, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://accesshub.pdc.wa.gov/node/89403.
  32. “Civic Ventures.” Idealist. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.idealist.org/en/business/a159686c6ad44b2fbb4b428567a5450c-civic-ventures-seattle.
  33. “Civic Ventures. LinkedIn Profile. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/civicventures/.
  34. “Who We Are.” Civic Ventures. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/.
  35. “Letter Re: EAP Exemption Rules – Stakeholder Feedback on Draft Rule Concepts.” Civic Ventures. October 26, 2018. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://ehq-production-us-california.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/797fc17226caf40b2fb436f8fde747a0fc81998e/documents/attachments/000/002/493/original/Jasmin_Weaver_-_Civic_Ventures.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBJCUKKD4ZO4WUUA%2F20220613%2Fus-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220613T030855Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=73ce0b083678e09b95c4a22e8cf57513a91e3a6c1d1a00356807c32e7e51bce3.
  36. Brodeur, Nicole. “Nick Hanauer wants to stop the nation from ‘going to hell in a handbasket’.” Seattle Times. January 17, 2019. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.seattletimes.com/life/nick-hanauer-wants-to-stop-the-nation-from-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket/.
  37. [1] Goldyn, Kate. “Naick Hanauer, BA ’81, Takes on Social Change.” University of Washington Department of Philosophy. December 16, 2015. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://phil.washington.edu/news/2015/12/16/nick-hanauer-ba-81-takes-social-change.
  38. “Civic Ventures is our parent organization.” Civic Action. Accessed June 12, 2022. http://www.civicaction.com/.
  39. “Donate to Civic Action.” ActBlue. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/civic-action-1.
  40. “Donate to Civic Action.” Civic Action ActBlue. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/civic-action-1.
  41. “Home.” Civic Action. Accessed June 11, 2022. http://www.civicaction.com/.
  42. Constant, Paul. “It’s Time for (Civic) Action.” Civic Ventures. February 1, 2017. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/its-time-for-civic-action/.
  43. “Civic Action.” Open Gov Washington. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://opengovwa.com/corporation/604059104.
  44. “About CAPE.” Civic Alliance for a Prosperous Economy. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://www.capecampaigns.com/.
  45. “Home.” Pitchfork Economics. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://pitchforkeconomics.com/.
  46. “Home.” Civic Ventures. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civic-ventures.com/.
  47. Silk, Zach. “Schrödinger’s Economy.” The Pitch from Civic Ventures. June 9, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civicventures.substack.com/.
  48. “Home.” Civic Skunk Works. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://civicskunk.works/.
  49. “Civic Ventures.” Medium. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://medium.com/@civicventures.
  50. Constant, Paul. “Yes, the Tax Code Is Racist. That’s Bad for Everyone.” Civic Skunk Works. December 16, 2021. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civicskunk.works/yes-the-tax-code-is-racist-thats-bad-for-everyone-c53e51b99720.
  51. Constant, Paul. “If Democrats Want to Win in November They Have to Side with American Workers.” Civic Skunk Works. April 21, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civicskunk.works/if-democrats-want-to-win-in-november-they-have-to-side-with-american-workers-8043e9d06e2f.
  52. [1] Constant, Paul. “Abortion is an Economic Issue.” Civic Skunk Works. April 21, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://civicskunk.works/abortion-is-an-economic-issue-43091ebb6087.

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Nick Hanauer
    Founder
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: October 1, 1997

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $7,281,374 $4,857,448 $9,304,007 $1,098,100 N $7,088,055 $178,250 $14,398 $315,000 PDF
    2019 Dec Form 990 $3,732,596 $4,202,911 $6,167,353 $385,372 N $3,310,540 $358,625 $45,872 $271,328 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $4,214,829 $6,109,037 $6,620,166 $368,084 Y $3,619,893 $557,612 $36,411 $340,000 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $2,986,928 $6,224,565 $8,514,821 $368,531 N $2,602,383 $366,595 $16,513 $391,808 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $31,399,957 $26,200,515 $14,375,876 $2,991,949 N $31,148,708 $241,276 $6,877 $776,736
    2015 Dec Form 990 $3,807,220 $6,320,715 $6,671,444 $486,959 N $3,680,413 $123,425 $1,398 $751,168 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $3,557,728 $8,122,382 $9,226,507 $528,527 N $3,260,460 $290,377 $895 $682,625 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $11,803,393 $9,049,803 $15,015,577 $1,752,943 N $11,575,315 $225,874 $736 $535,554 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $5,038,099 $5,537,517 $11,232,239 $723,195 N $4,778,680 $223,742 $1,388 $489,483 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $1,857,582 $5,074,809 $11,653,588 $601,150 N $1,626,546 $187,724 $1,877 $511,986 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Civic Ventures

    1301 2nd Avenue Suite 2850
    Seattle, WA 94129-0542