Our Mission is to hold concentrated power centers to account, and bring them under democratic control.


Demand Progress Action is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. It houses operations that, until mid-2022, took place as a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund. Our sister 501(c)(3) organization is Demand Progress Education Fund.

We work to secure progressive policy changes for everyday people by organizing broad grassroots campaigns, leading smart lobbying initiatives, and leveraging our staff’s policy expertise.

We run online campaigns to rally people to take action on the issues that affect them — by contacting Congress and other leaders, supporting pressure tactics, and spreading the word in their own communities.

We bring together large and diverse coalitions that transcend political lines and embrace shared values — and leverage that backing to work effectively in Washington, serving as an advocate for the public in the decisions that affect our lives.

 

Disclosure of Grants, Donations, Gifts, and Payments for Services

A Snapshot

  • nearly
    1 mil
    affiliated activists
  • over
    30 mil
    actions
  • over
    1,000
    meetings with policymakers
  • at least
    35
    cups of coffee per day

Our History

We began with the knowledge that the internet was full of possibility for both good and evil

Demand Progress was founded in late 2010 by David Segal, at the time a Rhode Island state lawmaker, and technologist Aaron Swartz; the pair had worked together during David’s unsuccessful progressive primary campaign for an open seat in Congress. It all began with an online petition and alliance-building campaign that eventually helped defeat the infamous internet censorship bill known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

That set the stage for Demand Progress’s first decade of organizing for a free and open internet, and eventually expanding to focus on other issues arising from the concentration and   abuse of power.

In the aftermath of the campaign against SOPA, Demand Progress helped lead efforts to successfully block online surveillance bills such as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). Demand Progress also helped lead the public push for reform of surveillance practices at the hands of the National Security Agency in the wake of Snowden’s revelations.

All the while, Demand Progress contended with the infamous, unjust prosecution of its cofounder Aaron Swartz –– for allegedly downloading too many academic articles from the JSTOR cataloguing service –– and tragically ending with Aaron’s suicide. Demand Progress has fought for a modicum of justice for Aaron by repeatedly preventing the expansion and harshening of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the law under which Aaron was prosecuted.

Demand Progress went on to co-lead successful efforts to compel the institution of net neutrality rules in 2014-2015. This work steeredDemand Progress to encompass a broader critique of corporate power in our economy and governance structures –– including  through endeavors to check the power of the dominant online platforms.

Demand Progress worked with allied organizations to inform the year-long House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust investigations, leading to the report by the Subcommittee on Antitrust making recommendations for Congress to rein in Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.

Moreover, Demand Progress pushes back against corporate control of our government by advocating for modernization to make it more transparent and effective, and for ways to strengthen Congress and its oversight of the executive branch, to name a few.

And our national security and human rights work, first born from our opposition to mass surveillance, has grown to include advocacy in opposition to militarism and an elevation of Congress’s power to act as a check on warmaking.

 

 

Financials

The following financial disclosures list grants, donations, gifts, and payment for services received by the Demand Progress as housed within our Fiscal Sponsor. Most of our funding is for general support of our work; funding for specific projects and programs generally are described as such.

Demand Progress does not accept contributions from governments. On occasion we accept contributions from corporations for work that is aligned with our mission, such as that in opposition to mass government surveillance or in support of anti-monopoly efforts. Corporate donations generally represent no more than 5% of our income.

Financial Disclosure Information for 2022

  • Omidyar Network ($445,000)
  • Democracy Fund Voice ($250,000)
  • Way to Win ($250,000)
  • Open Society Policy Center ($240,000)
  • Voqal ($60,000)
  • Thousands of supporters (more than $400,000)

Financial Disclosure Information for 2021

  • Democracy Fund Voice — To support the First Branch Center ($250,000)
  • Omidyar Network — To support regulation of tech monopolies ($250,000)
  • Way to Win — ($250,000)
  • Open Society Policy Center — To support a progressive foreign policy ($150,000)
  • Voqal — To support internet rights ($100,000)
  • Athena Coalition — To support regulation of tech monopolies ($21,000)
  • Tens of thousands of supporters — To support the work of Demand Progress ($650,000)

Financial Disclosure Information for 2020

  • Open Society Policy Center — ($300,000)
  • Way to Win — ($250,000)
  • Open Society Policy Center — To support a progressive foreign policy ($150,000)
  • National Popular Vote — ($125,000)
  • Economic Security Project Action — To elevate anti-monopoly policy ($75,000)
  • Megan Hull — ($30,000)
  • Movement Voter Project — ($10,000)
  • Tens of thousands of supporters — To support the work of Demand Progress ($900,000)