Hubbry Logo
NGP VANNGP VANMain
Open search
NGP VAN
Community hub
NGP VAN
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
NGP VAN
NGP VAN
NGP VAN
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

NGP VAN, Inc. is an American privately owned voter database and web hosting service provider used by the Democratic Party, Democratic campaigns, and other non-profit organizations authorized by the Democratic Party. The platform or service is used by political and social campaigns for fundraising, campaign finance compliance, field organizing, and digital organizing. NGP VAN, Inc. was formerly known as Voter Activation Network, Inc. and changed its name to NGP VAN, Inc. in January 2011. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Washington, D.C.

Key Information

In 2009, the company was the largest partisan provider of campaign compliance software, used by most Democratic members of Congress.[5] The company's services have been utilized by clients such as the Obama 2008 presidential campaign, the Obama 2012 presidential campaign,[6] the Hillary Rodham Clinton 2016 presidential campaign, the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign, the British Liberal Democrats,[7] and the Liberal Party of Canada.

The company was acquired by London-based private equity firm Apax Partners in 2021 and conducted layoffs in 2023.[8] Persistent technical issues have led to concerns from workers and the Democratic party that NGP VAN may be unable or unwilling to meet their needs.[9] In the lead-up to the 2024 elections significant problems with the NGP VAN system led the Kamala Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to intervene by sending full time technical staff to keep it afloat through the election.[10]

History

[edit]

NGP VAN was created in November 2010 by the merger of its two predecessor companies: NGP Software (founded in 1997 by Nathaniel Pearlman, who later served as chief technology officer for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign,[11] in his attic in Washington, DC), and Voter Activation Network (founded in 2001 by Mark Sullivan, in his study in Cambridge, Massachusetts).[12]

In October 2014, NGP VAN launched their EveryAction fundraising management platform for non-profits.[13]

There are occasional accusations that the Democratic Party has restricted access to Votebuilder to hold off a challenge to an incumbent office holder in a primary. For example, Rachel Ventura, running against an incumbent Democrat in IL-11, was told "I've heard from our Executive Director. Your request for Votebuilder for Illinois' 11th Congressional District through the Democratic Party of Illinois has been denied due to our regulations that we don't issue subscriptions to candidates challenging an incumbent."[14]

In 2019, the company made three acquisitions; ActionKit, BSD Tools from Blue State Digital, and DonorTrends.[15]

In 2021, NGP VAN's parent company, EveryAction, Inc., was acquired by London-based private equity firm Apax Partners.[8] The company also named Amanda Coulombe President of NGP VAN.[16] In January 2023, the company laid off 10% of their workforce.[9] The Intercept reported that employees and Democratic strategists worried NGP VAN was prioritizing profits over the needs of the Democratic Party, which the company has an effective monopoly over.[9] A second round of layoffs was conducted on September 6, 2023.[17]

In early 2023, an internal Democratic National Committee (DNC) memo expressed concern that NGP VAN's system was "inflexible, slow and unreliable, particularly during periods of peak use."[10] In early 2024 the DNC privately considered invoking a clause in its agreement with NGP VAN to access the system's source code and change providers, but chose not to. After Kamala Harris became the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, NGP VAN warned her campaign that their canvassing software was not prepared to meet the campaign's needs. In the summer of 2024, technical problems with NGP VAN's systems grew so severe that the campaign and the DNC sent full time engineering staff to the company for months to help keep the system operational through the election. Democratic financier Allen Blue funded an emergency operation to allow the system to keep up with the large amounts of data moving through the system.[10]

Products

[edit]

MiniVAN – A mobile canvassing application that allows for campaigns and organizations to contact voters or supporters, collect data, and sync the information back to their VAN or EveryAction database in real time.[18] 71% of progressive voter contact attempts were made on MiniVAN instead of paper lists in 2018.[19][20]

VoteBuilder – A web-based service used by the Democratic Party and associated campaigns to track interactions with potential voters. Votebuilder stores information like phone calls and other methods of contact with voters in the system. It is used as part of campaign voter persuasion and "get out the vote" operations. The software was created in 2006 to bridge a perceived gap in microtargeting abilities between the Republican and Democratic parties.[21]

On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, NGP VAN released a code update to their Votebuilder application which contained a bug that allowed two campaigns to see proprietary analytical scores. On the evening of Thursday, December 17 the DNC revoked the Sanders campaign's access to the national voter file, after the campaign accessed and saved data collected by the Clinton campaign.[22] The Sanders campaign sued the DNC in District Court and concurrently fired Josh Uretsky, the staffer who managed three other members of the Sanders campaign who improperly accessed the data. On December 19, the DNC restored the Sanders campaign's access after the campaign agreed to cooperate with their investigation.[23][24][25]

NGP – A web-based service for digital engagement, fundraising, and compliance reporting used by most federal Democratic campaigns. NGP is also used by state legislatures and local campaigns. In August 2017, the company released NGP 8, an updated version of the service.[26][27]

Innovation Platform – A series of APIs and integrations that was rolled out in 2014.[28] Several notable integrations include apps and services such as self-serve online advertising, broadcast and peer-to-peer text messaging tools, live calls, and do-it-yourself direct mail.[29][30]

Mobilize – A web-based service for event management and volunteer recruitment that connects campaigns with supporters. Mobilize emerged from the 2016 election and grew to become a vital piece of Democratic and progressive tech infrastructure, before being acquired in 2021.[31]

ActionKit — A web-based service for mailing list management, fundraising, and online activism for political campaigns and advocacy organizations. ActionKit grew out of custom software initially developed for MoveOn before being acquired in 2019.[32]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

NGP VAN

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
NGP VAN is a for-profit American technology company that provides integrated software platforms for fundraising, voter contact, compliance reporting, and digital organizing, primarily serving Democratic and progressive political campaigns, organizations, nonprofits, and municipalities. Founded in 1997 by Nathaniel Pearlman as NGP Software to assist campaigns with fundraising and accounting, it later merged with the Voter Activation Network (VAN) to form NGP VAN, creating a comprehensive voter database and tools that have become central to Democratic Party operations. The company's platforms, including its customer relationship management (CRM) system and tools for , phone banking, and email mobilization, are used by nearly every major Democratic campaign, enabling data-driven voter and donor on an unprecedented scale. NGP VAN has powered key electoral efforts, such as protecting abortion access in state measures and supporting down-ballot races, contributing to its reputation as the "winningest platform" for progressive causes. However, its near-monopoly in Democratic tech has drawn scrutiny, including a 2015 data access controversy involving the campaign and the , as well as significant layoffs in 2023 under ownership that raised concerns about reliability ahead of the 2024 elections. Despite these challenges, NGP VAN demonstrated robust in 2024, handling surges in and organizing amid heightened political activity.

History

Founding of NGP and VAN

NGP Software was founded in 1997 by Nathaniel Pearlman, a political technology entrepreneur, to develop tools assisting Democratic campaigns with online and compliance reporting to the (FEC). The software addressed limitations in existing systems by enabling electronic filing of data, which previously required manual processes prone to errors and delays. Pearlman's initiative stemmed from his experience in Democratic campaigns, where he identified the need for streamlined digital solutions amid growing regulatory demands under the of 2002, though the company predated that legislation. The Voter Activation Network (VAN) originated in the late 1990s, founded by Mark Sullivan, a operative with the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee (DSCC), to centralize and modernize voter file management for Democratic organizations. Sullivan, frustrated by fragmented and outdated voter databases that hindered targeted outreach, built VAN as a web-based platform aggregating voter records, contact histories, and polling data from state parties and campaigns. Early iterations focused on enabling coordinated get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts, with initial adoption by DSCC-affiliated Senate races; by the early 2000s, it incorporated copyright protections dating back to at least 2001, reflecting operational maturity. Co-ownership involved figures like Steve Adler, who divested his stake in 2005 to pursue other ventures, underscoring VAN's evolution from a niche tool to a foundational Democratic component.

Merger and Expansion (2000s–2010s)

In the early 2000s, NGP Software, founded in 1997 by Nathaniel Pearlman to provide online fundraising and compliance tools for Democratic campaigns, expanded its client base significantly, powering efforts for high-profile races including Howard Dean's 2004 presidential bid and Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. By 2009, NGP had become the largest partisan provider of campaign compliance software, serving most Democratic members of and establishing itself as a core infrastructure for progressive fundraising operations. Concurrently, the Voter Activation Network (VAN), established in 2001 by Mark Sullivan in , focused on voter file management and field organizing tools, growing to manage centralized voter data for Democratic state parties and campaigns, which enhanced coordinated outreach during cycles like the 2004 and 2008 elections. The pivotal merger occurred in November 2010, when NGP Software and VAN combined operations to form NGP VAN, creating an integrated platform that linked , compliance, and voter contact functionalities under one vendor. This union, announced on November 4, 2010, addressed longstanding silos in Democratic tech by enabling seamless data sharing between financial tracking and voter databases, thereby streamlining workflows for campaigns and organizations. The company formally rebranded as NGP VAN, Inc. in January 2011, solidifying its position as the Democratic Party's primary technology provider. Throughout the , NGP VAN expanded its offerings and market dominance, becoming the for voter access via the DNC's shared voter file, which nearly every Democratic campaign relied upon for targeting and mobilization. Key developments included the October 2014 launch of EveryAction, a cloud-based and platform tailored for nonprofits, which broadened NGP VAN's reach beyond electoral campaigns to advocacy groups. By mid-decade, the platform's centrality was evident in incidents like the 2015 access dispute during the Democratic primaries, where NGP VAN's systems hosted sensitive voter information for both and Sanders campaigns, underscoring its role as a critical despite operational tensions. Late in the decade, acquisitions such as ActionKit, BSD Tools, and DonorTrends in enhanced digital organizing, analytics, and donor modeling capabilities, further integrating advanced tools for progressive operations. This period of growth positioned NGP VAN as an indispensable asset, handling for hundreds of millions of voter contacts across cycles.

Key Events and Challenges (2015–2022)

In December 2015, a software glitch in NGP VAN's system inadvertently allowed users from multiple Democratic campaigns, including Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, to access proprietary voter data belonging to rival campaigns, such as Hillary Clinton's. At least four Sanders staffers exploited the error to view and download Clinton campaign lists, prompting the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to suspend Sanders' access to the Voter Activation Network (VAN) platform pending investigation. NGP VAN quickly contained the issue and conducted an audit, revealing the bug affected all Democratic users temporarily, but the incident exposed systemic vulnerabilities in the centralized data infrastructure relied upon by nearly all major Democratic campaigns. The breach intensified inter-campaign tensions during the Democratic primary, leading Sanders' team to fire one implicated staffer and file a federal complaint against the DNC, alleging improper suspension of access; an accord was reached days later, restoring Sanders' platform privileges without admitting fault. Critics highlighted the episode as evidence of NGP VAN's monopoly-like dominance, with Democrats' near-total dependence on the provider creating a for voter and operations. No further major breaches were publicly reported in the period, but the event underscored ongoing risks of over-centralization in progressive campaign tech, where alternatives remained limited and costly to adopt. Despite the setback, NGP VAN expanded its role as the backbone for Democratic through subsequent election cycles, supporting voter targeting and mobilization for the 2016 presidential campaign, 2018 midterms—where down-ballot races increasingly leveraged its tools for organizing—and the unprecedented 2020 cycle amid expanded mail-in voting and a large primary field. By 2022, the platform handled significant scale for midterm efforts, with the company reporting investments in upgrades to address prior limitations in innovation and integration. However, persistent challenges included high licensing fees and sluggish feature development, fostering "VANxiety" among users wary of lock-in to a dominant amid calls for more decentralized or open-source alternatives in progressive circles.

Products and Services

Voter Activation Network (VAN)

The Voter Activation Network (VAN) is the core voter database and field organizing platform offered by NGP VAN, designed to equip Democratic and progressive campaigns with tools for identifying, contacting, and mobilizing supporters. It compiles comprehensive voter files from state election records, including registration details, voting history, demographics, and proprietary modeling data, enabling users to segment electorates for targeted persuasion and turnout efforts. Access is coordinated through state Democratic parties via the VoteBuilder interface, which enforces data-sharing protocols to maintain a unified national repository while allowing localized customization. VAN's functionality extends to list-building, , and turf management, supporting volunteer recruitment and script development for various outreach modalities such as door-knocking, calls, and texts. Desktop tools like SmartVAN provide geospatial mapping, performance tracking, and integration with external data sources for enhanced targeting precision. Mobile integration via allows canvassers to download assigned voter turfs onto smartphones or tablets, conduct real-time surveys with linear or branched scripts, and log outcomes—including activist codes and notes—directly into the database without paper intermediaries. In 2023, facilitated 92% of the 41 million doors knocked by Democratic-aligned operations, demonstrating its scale in high-volume field programs. The platform's data synchronization ensures interactions update the shared voter file, informing iterative modeling and compliance reporting for and volunteer coordination. While VAN integrates with NGP's modules for donor-voter matching, its primary emphasis remains on metrics like contact rates and conversion probabilities, which have underpinned operations in races from local committees to presidential contests. This ecosystem prioritizes usability for non-technical users, with automated commits reducing errors, though it requires ongoing state-level licensing and training for optimal deployment.

NationBuilder Platform (NGP)

The NGP platform within NGP VAN functions as a specialized (CRM) system focused on , donor tracking, and for Democratic and progressive campaigns. Originally developed as standalone software in the late 1990s, it handles contribution processing, donor segmentation, recurring donations, and integration with payment gateways to streamline financial operations. Campaigns using NGP can generate customized reports compliant with (FEC) requirements, as well as state and local filing mandates, having supported thousands of such submissions over two decades. NGP emphasizes and segmentation, allowing users to tag supporters by donation history, levels, and demographics for targeted appeals, which has contributed to raising billions of dollars for users since its inception. Unlike more generalized CRMs, NGP prioritizes political finance workflows, including PAC reporting and joint committee management, making it a core tool for compliance-heavy operations in U.S. elections. Its interface supports bulk imports, exportable lists for , and for acknowledgment emails and thank-you pages. Integration with other NGP VAN modules, such as , enables unified workflows where informs voter targeting, though access is restricted to vetted Democratic-aligned entities, reflecting its origins in party-endorsed vendor ecosystems. This exclusivity stems from contractual ties to the Democratic National Committee's resources, limiting with non-partisan or Republican tools without third-party bridges. Critics, including competitors, argue this creates dependency on Democratic , but proponents highlight its reliability in high-stakes cycles, with upgrades in 2023–2025 enhancing mobile processing and AI-driven donor predictions.

Additional Tools and Integrations

NGP VAN offers a suite of supplementary tools designed to support Democratic and progressive campaigns in areas such as , digital outreach, and compliance. Its software enables online contribution processing through customizable donation forms optimized for conversion rates, alongside donor management systems that maintain comprehensive records integrated with broader CRM functionalities. Targeted email and campaign tools facilitate direct supporter engagement, while digital advertising features allow for data-driven ad placements and audience targeting. For field and volunteer operations, MiniVAN serves as a mobile canvassing application, enabling door-to-door outreach with real-time data syncing to the core VAN database; it has been utilized extensively in progressive organizing efforts since its development. Mobilize provides event management capabilities, including volunteer recruitment and logistics, with upgrades announced on July 28, 2025, incorporating full Spanish-language event feeds, QR code check-ins for streamlined attendance tracking, Bluesky social sharing, and group chat functionalities to enhance grassroots coordination. Organize Everywhere functions as a web-based platform for volunteer and event management, particularly tailored for state-level Democratic parties to decentralize organizing tasks. Compliance tools automate federal, state, and local reporting requirements, generating audit trails to ensure regulatory adherence for campaigns. Integrations form a core aspect of NGP VAN's , allowing seamless data flow with third-party services to mitigate in campaign workflows. The platform supports connections via , enabling automation with over 8,000 applications, including for CRM synchronization and for form-based data ingestion that updates supporter records automatically. Partner integrations extend to outreach tools like CallHub for telephony-based voter contacting, where NGP VAN data populates call scripts and logs interactions back to the system, and Reach for supplementary data synchronization. integrations leverage platforms for supporter matching, ad targeting, and influence mapping to amplify relational organizing. NGP VAN maintains a vetted partner directory covering , compliance, digital ads, texting, calling, and additional organizing solutions, ensuring compatibility without risks for approved tools.

Ownership and Operations

Corporate Structure and Leadership

NGP VAN operates as an independent business unit within Bonterra, a social impact technology company formed through backed by Apax Partners. Apax acquired the entities comprising Bonterra, including NGP VAN and EveryAction, in 2022, consolidating them under a structure aimed at scaling software for nonprofits and political organizations. This private ownership model limits public disclosure of detailed governance, with no publicly available information on a formal as of 2025. The unit maintains a dedicated product roadmap, staff, and focus on Democratic and progressive clients, separate from Bonterra's broader social good portfolio. In September 2023, Bonterra CEO Scott Brighton announced NGP VAN's reorganization to enhance autonomy, including workforce adjustments to align resources with client needs amid reported layoffs affecting Democratic tech infrastructure. Leadership includes General Manager Chelsea Peterson Thompson, who oversees operations and strategy for the political division, continuing in her role post-restructuring. Chief Operating Officer Alex Stanton manages day-to-day execution, having joined to streamline internal processes. Additional key personnel include Vice President of Engineering Sunil Sadasivan, appointed in June 2025 to drive technical advancements. This team reports into Bonterra's executive structure while prioritizing NGP VAN's specialized ecosystem.

Acquisition by Apax Partners

In August 2021, funds advised by , a London-based , acquired EveryAction—which encompassed NGP VAN's operations—and combined it with Social Solutions and CyberGrants in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion to form a consolidated platform for nonprofit and social impact software. The deal represented a departure from NGP VAN's prior ownership structure, which had included a 2018 growth investment from , a U.S. firm focused on scaling companies. Apax's strategy emphasized building a "landscape-defining" entity serving over 15,000 nonprofits, including half of the Fortune 100 companies' programs, by integrating , case management, and grantmaking tools. For NGP VAN, this acquisition introduced private equity-driven efficiencies, such as expanded R&D investment and product innovation, but also sparked unease among Democratic campaign operatives who feared a shift toward could undermine the company's alignment with progressive political priorities. The transaction prompted immediate leadership changes at EveryAction and NGP VAN, with three top executives, including EveryAction CEO Derek Lundberg, departing shortly after the announcement; Chelsea Peterson was appointed as the new leader for the political division. In March 2022, the combined companies rebranded under Bonterra Tech, retaining NGP VAN as a dedicated arm for Democratic and progressive campaign services while broadening the parent entity's focus beyond electoral politics. This structure allowed Apax to leverage NGP VAN's voter database and compliance tools for synergies with nonprofit CRM offerings, though critics highlighted risks of data silos and reduced agility in election cycles.

Internal Restructuring and Layoffs

In September 2023, NGP VAN announced a reorganization to operate as an independent business unit within its parent company Bonterra, with a renewed exclusive focus on providing technology services to Democratic and progressive campaigns and organizations. This restructuring was presented by CEO Jon Soltz as a strategic realignment to prioritize core mission-driven clients amid competitive pressures and internal operational shifts following Bonterra's consolidation under ownership by . Earlier in 2023, NGP VAN implemented layoffs as part of broader cost-cutting initiatives driven by its owners, aimed at enhancing profitability and efficiency across the Bonterra portfolio, which includes NGP VAN, EveryAction, and other Democratic-aligned tech firms. These staff reductions, which affected engineering, support, and development teams, were criticized by Democratic campaign professionals for risking service reliability and innovation at a critical juncture before the cycle. Reports indicated that the layoffs contributed to delays in product updates and heightened user frustrations with the Voter Activation Network (VAN) platform, exacerbating perceptions of instability in the Democratic tech ecosystem. The restructuring and layoffs reflected strategies to address post-pandemic revenue challenges and investor demands for higher margins, though they drew scrutiny for potentially prioritizing financial returns over the long-term robustness of political . Democratic stakeholders, including campaign managers and party officials, expressed alarm that the personnel losses could undermine , integration capabilities, and , with some estimating impacts on hundreds of roles across the affected entities. Despite these changes, NGP VAN maintained that the reorganization would ultimately strengthen service delivery by eliminating distractions from non-partisan markets.

Controversies and Criticisms

Data Security Breaches

In December 2015, a configuration error in NGP VAN's Voter Activation Network (VAN) platform enabled staffers from the presidential campaign to access proprietary voter targeting data belonging to the campaign for approximately 45 minutes. The incident stemmed from an isolated software patch glitch that temporarily breached the system's firewalls separating campaign-specific data within NGP VAN's shared database, which aggregates voter files including voting history, addresses, and contact information rented to Democratic campaigns. No financial, donor, or volunteer data was exposed, and the error was not the result of external hacking but an internal system flaw that NGP VAN promptly corrected. The (DNC), which relies on NGP VAN as its primary data provider, suspended the Sanders campaign's access to the voter database pending an investigation into the accessed data's use and disposal, disrupting operations in key early primary states like and . In response, the DNC commissioned an independent audit by a firm and directed NGP VAN to review its access procedures. The Sanders campaign fired one staffer involved, suspended two others, and publicly attributed the lapse to NGP VAN's incompetence while accepting responsibility for not immediately reporting the access; it subsequently sued the DNC over the suspension, regaining access after nearly 48 hours. The event underscored broader vulnerabilities in NGP VAN's centralized model, where all Democratic campaigns depend on a single vendor for sensitive voter data, amplifying risks from any systemic failure compared to more decentralized alternatives. Critics, including competitors like NationBuilder, highlighted how NGP VAN's shared infrastructure contrasts with isolated databases that limit cross-campaign exposure. NGP VAN acknowledged the breach and committed to enhanced practices, though no further unauthorized accesses were reported from this incident. In August 2018, security firm Lookout identified a custom kit mimicking NGP VAN's login page, targeting DNC staff credentials via a fraudulent domain to potentially steal access to campaign data; the site was deactivated shortly after detection without evidence of successful compromises. This attempt illustrated ongoing risks to NGP VAN users in distributed work environments but did not result in a confirmed . No major external breaches of NGP VAN's systems have been publicly disclosed beyond the 2015 access failure.

Monopoly Position and Vendor Lock-In

NGP VAN has maintained a dominant position in the Democratic campaign technology ecosystem since 2007, when it became the Democratic National Committee's preferred vendor for voter management across all 50 state parties, following adoption by 25 states in 2006. This entrenchment was solidified through its role in powering Barack Obama's presidential campaign, establishing the Voter Activation Network (VAN) as the for accessing the party's centralized voter file, which includes enriched from state parties and cooperatives. By , NGP VAN reported over 4 million active users among Democratic campaigns, organizations, and progressive groups, with nearly every major Democratic campaign relying on its tools for voter , targeting, and compliance due to the lack of comparable alternatives with equivalent depth and integrations. This dominance manifests as a near-monopoly in voter database access, where campaigns must contract with NGP VAN to obtain official DNC-maintained voter files, creating barriers for competitors. Consolidation efforts, including the 2010 merger of NGP fundraising software with VAN and subsequent acquisitions under Bonterra (e.g., EveryAction in 2021 and ActionKit in 2019), further centralized control over complementary tools like CRM and email platforms, reducing options for Democratic users. Critics, including Senator in a 2016 antitrust speech, argue that this structure elevates costs and degrades service quality by insulating NGP VAN from competitive pressures, as evidenced by persistent complaints about outdated interfaces and high fees despite its scale. Vendor lock-in arises primarily from NGP VAN's exclusive licensing of DNC data, which prohibits integration with rival platforms via restrictive API terms of service, forcing campaigns to either use VAN tools or forgo access to historical and real-time voter records. Switching providers incurs substantial costs, including data export challenges due to inconsistent standards across state files and the loss of proprietary enhancements like modeling scores, making alternatives such as OpenField or Civitech viable only for smaller or non-DNC-aligned operations. The Unlock the VAN campaign, launched to pressure the DNC for tool-agnostic data access, highlights how this dependency stifles innovation and disadvantages grassroots candidates reliant on modern civic tech stacks. Recent developments, including over 350 layoffs at Bonterra entities in 2023 amid ownership by , have exposed vulnerabilities in this model, prompting warnings from Democratic operatives about potential disruptions for cycles and calls for diversification. Despite emerging competitors, NGP VAN's control over the core data infrastructure ensures continued reliance, with expenditures exceeding $37 million in the 2022 cycle alone underscoring its entrenched revenue stream from captive users.

Allegations of Bias and Favoritism

NGP VAN has faced criticism for its explicit partisan orientation, serving exclusively Democratic and progressive campaigns, which establishes a monopoly on voter data and tools within that ecosystem. This structure, formalized through exclusive contracts with the (DNC), limits access to non-Democratic users and contrasts with Republican counterparts like the RNC's Data Trust, potentially amplifying Democratic operational advantages. A prominent allegation of internal favoritism arose during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, when a technical glitch in NGP VAN's VoteBuilder platform allowed ' campaign staff to access proprietary voter data belonging to rival Hillary Clinton's campaign on December 15, 2015. In response, the DNC suspended Sanders' access to the national voter database on December 17, 2015, citing a breach of agreements, while Clinton's access remained intact. Sanders' campaign manager accused the DNC of "pro-Clinton bias" and using the incident to undermine their operations, arguing the punishment disproportionately targeted the challenger. Critics, including political operatives and analysts, contend that NGP VAN's integration with DNC-controlled enables such gatekeeping, allowing the party to revoke access mid-campaign and favor establishment candidates over insurgents like Sanders. Campaigns do not retain of inputted , which reverts to the DNC and state parties, creating dependency and vulnerability to . This model has been described as undemocratic, as it empowers party leadership to influence primary outcomes through technological leverage rather than voter preference alone. The incident highlighted NGP VAN's role as a central , with nearly every Democratic campaign reliant on its platform for voter files, , and organizing since the late . While NGP VAN reported it as its first breach in nearly 20 years, the event fueled broader skepticism about the neutrality of access decisions, particularly given the DNC's overlapping interests with major vendors. Access was partially restored after negotiations, but the episode underscored allegations that the system's design inherently privileges incumbents or aligned factions.

Impact on Politics and Elections

Role in Democratic Campaign Strategies

NGP VAN serves as the primary technology platform for Democratic campaigns, offering an integrated suite of tools that enable data-driven voter targeting, , and field operations. Formed by the 2010 merger of NGP (a and compliance software) and VAN (a voter database system), it provides campaigns with access to a centralized voter file enriched with behavioral data, allowing for micro-targeted outreach strategies that prioritize high-propensity supporters. In the 2024 election cycle, NGP VAN's systems supported unprecedented scale, processing surges in organizing efforts and following shifts in Democratic leadership transitions. Central to Democratic strategies is NGP VAN's module, which has facilitated the raising of billions of dollars over its 25-year history through donor management, online contribution processing, and automated compliance reporting tailored to federal and state regulations. Campaigns use it to segment donors by past giving patterns and engagement levels, optimizing and digital appeals for small-dollar contributions that dominate modern Democratic models. For instance, in the cycle, Democratic entities expended over $37.9 million on NGP VAN services, underscoring its embedded role in resource mobilization. Voter outreach and field strategies rely heavily on VAN's database, which aggregates , consumer data, and campaign interactions to score voters on likelihood to support Democratic candidates, enabling predictive modeling for and persuasion efforts. Tools like SmartVAN and MiniVAN facilitate door-to-door canvassing and phone banking, with MiniVAN alone logging 90% of all Democratic walk attempts in 2024 through mobile data entry and real-time turf cutting. This integration supports get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operations, where campaigns deploy volunteers to high-impact precincts based on VAN's analytics, as seen in off-year wins like Virginia congressional races in 2023. Distributed organizing and digital engagement further amplify NGP VAN's strategic utility, allowing campaigns to coordinate volunteer networks via CRM functionalities that track interactions with supporters, donors, and potential voters. By syncing with platforms for and targeting, it enables scalable, low-cost mobilization tactics, such as peer-to-peer texting for persuasion in battleground states. Despite criticisms of vendor dependency, these tools have been credited with enhancing efficiency in resource-constrained environments, though their effectiveness hinges on accurate data inputs and integration with party-wide voter files.

Effectiveness and Failures in Key Cycles

NGP VAN's tools have been credited with enabling effective voter contact and data-driven strategies in Democratic victories during the and presidential cycles, where the platform supported advanced that provided Democrats a significant technological advantage over Republicans. In , the Obama campaign leveraged NGP VAN's database for integrated and , contributing to a robust ground game amid the party's shift toward data-centric operations. By , this edge persisted, with NGP VAN facilitating coordinated voter modeling that helped secure Obama's reelection despite Republican efforts to catch up. The 2016 cycle exposed notable failures, particularly in the Democratic primary, where a firewall breach in NGP VAN's system allowed unauthorized data access between the and Sanders campaigns, prompting Sanders' manager to describe it as "dangerous incompetence" after the campaign alerted the DNC to the vulnerability two months prior. This incident led to temporary suspension of Sanders' access and a alleging database blockade, highlighting NGP VAN's role as a in the party's near-monopoly on Democratic tech infrastructure. In the general election, broader criticisms emerged of Democratic data practices, including siloed systems and flawed modeling that failed to predict shifts in voter behavior, though these stemmed more from strategic misapplications than outright platform breakdowns. NGP VAN demonstrated resilience in the 2020 cycle, powering Biden's campaign through tools like Mobilize for volunteer coordination, which enabled the largest online mobilization in U.S. and supported decisive wins in key battlegrounds via enhanced ballot chasing and remote outreach amid the . Company data indicated adaptations for mail-in voting and virtual organizing, sustaining high-volume voter contact despite logistical challenges. In the 2024 cycle, NGP VAN handled unprecedented scale post-ticket change, processing surged and organizing without that could have impaired targeting, as evidenced by logging 90% of attempts via across Democratic efforts. However, electoral underperformance underscored that platform reliability alone does not guarantee outcomes, with losses attributed more to tactical and messaging shortfalls than technological deficiencies. Overall, while NGP VAN's monopoly has amplified efficiencies in successful cycles, its centralized structure has amplified risks in disruptions, as internal issues propagate across dependent campaigns.

Comparisons to Republican Tech Ecosystems

The Republican campaign technology ecosystem operates in a more fragmented manner compared to the integrated monopoly of on the Democratic side, featuring separate specialized platforms for voter , , and campaign rather than a unified provider. Central to GOP operations is The Data Trust, a nonprofit affiliated with the (RNC), which serves as the primary source of voter files, electoral , and modeling for conservative campaigns and organizations, maintaining a comprehensive database updated with voter history and consumer overlays to enable targeted outreach. Unlike 's Voter Activation Network (VAN), which grants Democratic campaigns seamless access to a shared, party-vetted database with built-in integration for field operations and compliance, The Data Trust emphasizes proprietary enhancements and dynamic querying but requires campaigns to pair it with third-party tools for full CRM functionality, potentially leading to challenges. Fundraising represents another key divergence, with functioning as the GOP's centralized online donation platform since its launch on June 24, 2019, designed explicitly to rival by capturing small-dollar contributions and streamlining compliance reporting for Republican candidates and committees. In its debut cycle, facilitated over $1 billion in contributions, demonstrating rapid scalability, though it lacks the deep backend integration with voter data that NGP VAN provides to for donor modeling and retargeting. This separation—voter data via The Data Trust and fundraising via —contrasts with NGP VAN's all-in-one architecture, where tools for , email mobilization, and feed directly into a single ecosystem, fostering data consistency but also for Democrats. Campaign management and outreach tools further highlight the GOP's reliance on competitive private vendors, including i360 for advanced donor and voter analytics backed by the , Aristotle for compliance and software, and emerging platforms like Vottiv for data-driven texting and calling in state-level races. Trail Blazer Campaign Manager offers an alternative CRM suite akin to NGP VAN's modules but tailored for smaller GOP operations, emphasizing flexibility over party-mandated standardization. This vendor diversity, supported by initiatives like Startup Caucus—a GOP-focused launched to incubate tech startups—promotes innovation through market competition, as evidenced by post-2016 RNC investments in modeling, yet it can result in siloed data flows and higher integration costs compared to the Democrats' cohesive, DNC-endorsed stack. Historical analyses note that Democratic tech advantages, built over cycles like Obama's campaign, stemmed from early party-led consolidation, while Republicans have prioritized private-sector agility to address past gaps in and digital organizing. Overall, the GOP ecosystem's mitigates risks of single-point failures, as seen in NGP VAN's 2023 layoffs and concerns, but it demands greater campaign-side expertise for tool orchestration, potentially disadvantaging resource-strapped challengers against incumbents with established Democratic pipelines. In the cycle, this structure enabled Republicans to outperform Democrats in efficiency metrics, such as digital ad spend—$400 million less yet securing victories—through targeted synergies rather than monolithic reliance.

Recent Developments

Performance in 2024 Elections

NGP VAN reported handling unprecedented scale during the 2024 U.S. elections, achieving 100% uptime with zero downtime incidents through Election Day on November 5, while processing over 3.6 billion calls and facilitating 1.9 billion voter contact attempts across the cycle. The platform supported 670,000 mobile app users—four times the number from —including a peak of 126,000 users on the final Saturday, with 55,000 concurrent sessions. efforts logged 270 million doors knocked, 90% via , marking a 143% increase over totals and a 355% rise in app-logged doors; overall attempts reached 240 million, up from 100 million in 2020. However, the VAN voter database integral to NGP VAN's ecosystem encountered severe strains from surging data volumes, nearly collapsing and risking a breakdown in get-out-the-vote operations that could have left campaigns reliant on manual methods. Emergency interventions by engineers, campaign staff, and external funding averted total failure, sustaining access amid heightened demand following the July 2024 presidential ticket change from to Harris. Pre-election concerns over 2023 layoffs at NGP VAN had amplified fears of technical shortcomings, though the company attributed post-election critiques to tactical or strategic missteps rather than platform deficiencies. Post-election reviews noted persistent reliability issues with NGP VAN, including overreliance on its CRM monopoly, amid Republican efforts to undermine Democratic and broader voter engagement shortfalls despite record outreach volumes. These factors fueled recommendations for Democrats to diversify and modernize their tech stack beyond legacy providers like NGP VAN, even as the platform demonstrated capacity for high-volume operations.

Product Upgrades and Innovations (2024–2025)

In September 2024, NGP VAN implemented auto-commit for data entry, automatically processing organizer inputs into the Voter Activation Network (VAN) nightly refresh to address a historical 10% rate from manual commits and accommodate a 40% surge in app usage during the election cycle. This shift eliminated redundant review steps—where only 0.2% of data was typically deleted—freeing organizers for fieldwork while enabling rollback via activity reports within 90 days for select users. On April 22, 2025, NGP VAN extended its Payments platform to ActionKit users, integrating Stripe Elements for PCI-compliant data handling, Stripe Link for recurring donor payment reuse, address autocomplete, and pre-filling to reduce checkout friction and elevate mobile conversion rates. Offered at a promotional 3.25% flat fee, the tools prioritized secure, streamlined with a roadmap for mobile wallets. A subsequent upgrade on May 8, 2025, introduced optimized donation forms across NGP VAN's ecosystem, featuring dynamic payment selectors for , , , and alongside Stripe Link, which simplified deployment with pre-configured defaults and integrated compliance reporting to increase conversions and minimize transaction costs. Mobilize received substantial enhancements on July 28, 2025, including fully translated Spanish-language event search results to broaden , beta check-in with volunteer host forms and self-check-in yielding a 1.5-fold increase in shift completions, an eightfold rise in walk-ins, and 95% check-in success, plus Bluesky sharing for pre- and post-signup promotion and group chat support for event coordination. In August 2025, NGP VAN launched "Organize Everywhere," offering state Democratic parties subsidized Mobilize access for perpetual volunteer recruitment, event management, and distributed organizing to sustain infrastructure beyond peaks.

References

  1. https://www.ngpvan.com/about/
  2. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ngp-van
  3. https://micahsifry.com/project/living-with-vanxiety-the-present-and-future-of-progressive-movement-tech/
  4. https://www.influencewatch.org/for-profit/ngp-van/
  5. https://www.ngpvan.com/feature/contact-management/
  6. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/were-in-it-for-the-long-haul/
  7. https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20250820ph55812/ngp-van-launches-organize-everywhere-to-power-state-parties-with-year-round-organizing-tools
  8. https://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/bernie-sanders-dnc-data-breach-217016
  9. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/05/democrats-ngp-van-collapse-00120184
  10. https://theintercept.com/2023/01/24/layoffs-democratic-party-ngp-van/
  11. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/van-in-2024-unprecedented-scale-and-performance/
  12. https://www.mixergy.com/interviews/nathaniel-pearlman-ngp-van/
  13. https://www.princetonstrategies.com/post/deep-dive-on-the-history-of-ngp-van
  14. https://greatbattlefield.com/episode/leaving-a-legacy-in-progressive-political-technology-with-mark-sullivan-of-ngp-van/
  15. https://law.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Ray-Appen2-5-22-08.pdf
  16. https://pbn.com/five-questions-with-steve-adler58579/
  17. https://mixergy.com/interviews/nathaniel-pearlman-ngp-van/
  18. https://www.zippia.com/ngp-van-careers-1565141/history/
  19. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voter-activation-network-and-ngp-software-to-merge-106718013.html
  20. https://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/democrats-data-breach-vulnerability-216955
  21. https://www.npr.org/2015/12/24/460851290/answering-your-questions-about-the-democratic-data-breach
  22. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dnc-data-breach-happened-means-bernie-sanders-campaign/story?id=35841222
  23. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sanders-campaign-threatens-to-take-dnc-to-court-over-data-breach/
  24. https://medium.com/@AmyKDacey/here-s-what-happened-with-ngp-van-the-sanders-campaign-and-the-clinton-campaign-d75dd1d2edbf
  25. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sanders-campaign-fires-staffer-wrongfully-accessing-clinton-campaign/story?id=35836009
  26. 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
  27. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/2018-takeaways/
  28. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/lookingback2020-pt1/
  29. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/3-ways-ngp-van-investing-innovating-evolving/
  30. https://theconnector.substack.com/p/living-with-vanxiety-the-present
  31. https://madisondems.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Votebuilder101QuickReferenceGuide2017.pdf
  32. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/canvassing-with-minivan/
  33. https://callhub.io/blog/political-campaign/nationbuilder-vs-ngp-van/
  34. https://www.ngpvan.com/feature/fundraising/
  35. https://www.ngpvan.com/feature/compliance-reporting/
  36. https://nationbuilder.com/how_is_nationbuilder_different_from_ngp_van
  37. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/ngp-van-launches-major-mobilize-upgrades/
  38. https://www.ngpvan.com/
  39. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ngp-van-launches-major-upgrades-to-mobilize-fully-translated-spanish-language-event-feeds-qr-code-check-in-enhancements-bluesky-sharing-and-group-chat-302514900.html
  40. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/ngp-van-launches-organize-everywhere/
  41. https://zapier.com/apps/ngp-van/integrations
  42. https://www.jotform.com/integrations/ngp-van
  43. https://zapier.com/apps/hubspot/integrations/ngp-van
  44. https://callhub.io/blog/integration/ngp-van-integration-with-callhub/
  45. https://www.reach.vote/knowledge-base/van-integration/
  46. https://www.ngpvan.com/feature/social-network-integration/
  47. https://www.ngpvan.com/partners/
  48. https://theintercept.com/2022/05/10/democrats-campaign-tech-ngp-van-apax/
  49. https://www.influencewatch.org/for-profit/bonterra/
  50. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/ngpvan-announces-reorganization/
  51. https://theintercept.com/2023/10/05/democrats-campaign-tech-layoffs-2024-bonterra-ngp-van-actionkit/
  52. https://www.zoominfo.com/c/ngp-van-inc/27656692
  53. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/ngp-van-welcomes-sunil-sadasivan-as-new-vice-president-of-engineering/
  54. https://www.apax.com/news-views/apax-funds-create-landscape-defining-social-good-software-platform/
  55. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/us/politics/democrats-voter-data.html
  56. https://highergroundlabs.com/the-everyaction-acquisition-where-do-we-go-from-here/
  57. https://thenonprofittimes.com/npt_articles/leadership-transition-at-merged-tech-firms/
  58. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-bonterra-technology-that-powers-those-who-power-social-impact-301508548.html
  59. https://www.bonterratech.com/blog/everyaction
  60. https://progressivehub.net/private-equity-is-destroying-democrats-campaign-tech/
  61. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/15/2147043/-Nuts-amp-Bolts-Inside-a-Democratic-campaign-What-the-layoffs-at-NGP-VAN-might-mean-for-2024
  62. https://democrats.org/news/statement-by-dnc-chair-on-sanders-data-breach/
  63. https://www.lookout.com/threat-intelligence/article/dnc-phishing-kit
  64. https://www.unlockthevan.com/
  65. https://developers.ngpvan.com/tos
  66. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2022&vendor=NGP%2BVAN
  67. https://goodparty.org/blog/article/political-campaign-management-software
  68. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/18/the-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-data-fight-explained/
  69. https://medium.com/@heywillconway/why-the-ngp-van-model-is-hurting-democracy-d9893d3d28f7
  70. https://www.vox.com/2015/12/18/10623886/the-feud-between-bernie-sanders-and-the-dnc-explained
  71. https://campaignsandelections.com/campaigntech/tech-or-tactics-a-democratic-vendor-releases-data-to-help-provide-an-answer/
  72. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/2023-election-results/
  73. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/crm-for-political-campaigns/
  74. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/distributed-organizing-guide/
  75. https://www.politico.com/story/2012/03/gop-faces-digital-divide-074630
  76. https://www.fastcompany.com/3021701/obama-08-startup-sold-to-politics-giants
  77. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/sanders-campaign-press-release-statement-jeff-weaver-bernie-sanders-2016-campaign-manager
  78. https://www.courthousenews.com/sanders-sues-democrats-over-voter-database-blockade/
  79. https://micahsifry.medium.com/doing-the-work-of-democracy-despite-lousy-tech-and-data-9c65da709c28
  80. https://join.mobilize.us/blog/2020-election-recap/
  81. https://www.epolitics.com/2025/05/01/actblue-and-ngp-van-the-double-edged-sword-of-ubiquity/
  82. https://thedatatrust.com/
  83. https://thedatatrust.com/data-platform/
  84. https://thedatatrust.com/republicans-launch-winred-to-compete-with-actblue/
  85. https://csdp.princeton.edu/document/1044
  86. https://www.techbuzznews.com/vottivs-tech-powers-republican-campaigns/
  87. https://www.g2.com/products/ngp-van/competitors/alternatives
  88. https://startupcaucus.com/
  89. https://academic.oup.com/book/10362/chapter/158142364
  90. https://www.techforcampaigns.org/results/2024-digital-ads-report
  91. https://highergroundlabs.com/political-tech-landscape-report-2024/
  92. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/shifting-to-auto-commit-to-save-data-and-time/
  93. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/answering-your-questions-about-auto-commit/
  94. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/ngp-van-payments-launches-for-actionkit/
  95. https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/supercharge-campaign-fundraising-with-new-ngp-van-forms-optimized-checkout/
  96. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ngp-van-launches-organize-everywhere-190000696.html
  97. https://x.com/NGPVAN/status/1962986142103376124
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.