VoteRiders: Scaling Voter ID Help Through Trusted Partners

The Organization

VoteRiders is the country's leading nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on voter ID. Its mission is to eliminate ID barriers to the ballot box so every eligible voter can cast a ballot that counts. It:

• educates voters and communities about state-specific voter ID laws;
• gives free, individualized help to eligible voters getting the ID and underlying documents they need to vote;
• covers related costs, including fees and transportation;
• equips partner organizations with voter ID resources and tools; and
• advocates for policy that expands voting access.

Its vision is a thriving American democracy with an empowered, civically engaged, diverse, and representative electorate, where voter ID laws do not prevent any eligible voter from having a voice at the ballot box.

VoteRiders aims to reach 10 million voters in 2026. Funding grew from about $5M (2012–21) to about $20M over the last five years, but the budget now draws on reserves, so continued growth matters. One staffer leads fundraising, supported by consultants.

The Goal

VoteRiders is testing whether it can turn new contacts and corporate relationships into a durable funding base, because continued growth is essential to rebuilding reserves and keeping the work going. The working hypothesis is that acquired contacts, welcomed through an onboarding series before any ask, can become donors, especially monthly sustainers. A parallel hypothesis is that personal outreach and in-person events can win corporate grants (~$5K each) toward a $325K target; these grants will fund volunteer voter-contact events that also put corporate staff to work reaching voters likely to need ID help. Success means more corporate grantors with stronger annual relationships and a larger pipeline of supporters who can move up the giving ladder. The early signals being watched are new recurring donors, corporate commitments, and acquired-list response.

Strategies & Tactics in Motion

The experiment is currently running two engines in parallel: building a pool of likely individual donors and cultivating corporate partners who fund volunteer voter-contact events. On the acquisition side, VoteRiders has bought names from Civic Shout, Donor Atlas, and Dialog Digital, including 133,000 contacts in late August, and moves new names through a welcome series, now paired with early appeals, before heavier solicitation. Behind the scenes, the rebrand is complete and donation pages have moved to Fundraise Up, which uses AI to set ask amounts. The team is testing adjustments such as a $75 ask and a fall donor match, and is weighing a lighter single-email welcome.

On the corporate side, fundraising staff reached out to prospects with the impact report and strategic plan and followed up with personalized notes, backed by Civic Alliance events, CEO outreach, and a newly hired partnership lead. For major donors, a San Francisco visit raised six figures, Boston and New York visits are planned, and about 300–350 top donors received handwritten notes.

Early Learnings

• Corporate momentum is real, but uneven. Commitments grew from three in March to $195K in May. Target, PayPal, and Uber declined.
• Welcome-series giving is modest so far, and the consultant doubts new subscribers will give that early.
• Longer appeals and animated voter-story videos draw the best click-through. Click-through is a more reliable signal than opens.
• Average gifts run $30–40, which prompted a $75 ask test.

In-Flight Multiplier Signals

• Invested: $30K on 210,000 names early in the year.
• To date: $310,841 in corporate funds or commitments toward $325K, including in-kind Lyft ride credits. Acquisition has produced 1,162 donations totaling $45,498.
• Pipeline: A $52,500 donor match is running in September. One-time-to-recurring conversions reached 82 of 100 targeted. At the end of August, VoteRiders was at 71% of its $750K low-dollar goal.
• Capacity: The annual comms calendar is done, Fundraise Up is live, and a partnership lead was hired.

What We're Watching Next

The biggest open question is whether the acquired list converts at the fall peak: September is likely VoteRiders' best month on record; October may top it; and staff expect low-dollar giving to roughly triple. Signals of progress will include average gift size under the $75 ask test, how a single welcome email compares with the full series, and how Pride stickers compare with magnets. Deliverability markers such as spam complaint rates and a reply-request tactic will also be tracked.

On the corporate side, the $325K goal may fall slightly short with the election near, and because giving after Election Day is unlikely, the focus will shift to laying groundwork for future years. The clearest pivot point is Dialog Digital, whose long-term viability is in question, with its file slated for a 2027 pause while VoteRiders explores a self-managed warm-up domain. How these signals settle will show which acquisition and giving tactics are worth carrying forward.

Why This Matters Now

Voter ID bills have surfaced nearly every year since 2010, and ballot initiatives have passed in nearly every state where they were introduced, in liberal and conservative states alike. A California initiative would hit a state with no current ID requirement, a disaster for millions of voters. Corporate-backed events are core outreach toward VoteRiders' 10 million voter goal, with 6 million more texts planned before Election Day, so funding and voter contact are closely linked. Yet donors feel urgency mainly near the election, October is typically the strongest fundraising month, Vote Early Day (Oct. 27) and Election Day (Nov. 3) are fast approaching, and corporate support after Election Day is unlikely, leaving little time to learn while reserves are already being drawn on. For PM, this experiment tests whether a lean team can turn purchased names and corporate relationships into durable revenue, and it may yield replicable lessons on giving pages and acquisition vendors for other grantees.