civic-engagement
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The Billionaire-Backed LLC That Refuses to Pick Just One Lever
Emerson Collective can write a grant, take an equity stake, convene a coalition, or back a story. That flexibility is its product - and its central bet on how difficult public problems get solved.
Zencity
Zencity is a govtech company that builds the leading platform for community trust, purpose-built for local government. It combines AI-driven social listening, statistically representative resident surveys, and communication tools to help cities, counties, and public safety agencies understand what residents think and turn that input into decisions, budgets, and policy. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York and Tel Aviv, Zencity works with more than 600 government agencies and has raised roughly $93M in venture funding.
Generation Citizen
Generation Citizen is a national nonprofit that brings action-oriented civics education into middle and high school classrooms. Founded as a 2008 student project at Brown University, it partners with schools and districts to run a project-based curriculum in which students identify a local issue, research it, and take real civic action - then present their work at community 'Civics Day' showcases. The organization also advocates for state and federal policy that funds equitable civic learning. It has reached more than 250,000 students and, in recent years, serves roughly 25,000 students annually across 150+ schools in eight states.
BallotReady
BallotReady is a Chicago-based civic technology company behind the nonpartisan online voter guide at ballotready.org - the place you go before you vote. It gives Americans tailored, trustworthy information on every candidate and referendum on their ballot, all the way down to school boards and water reclamation districts, plus tools to register, find a polling place, and make a plan to vote. Through its CivicEngine platform and API, BallotReady also powers voter registration, candidate recruitment, and turnout campaigns for organizations, brands, and nonprofits. Founded in 2015 out of the University of Chicago, it has helped tens of millions of voters and was acquired by Civitech in May 2025.
Change.org
Change.org is the world's largest online petition platform, letting anyone start a campaign, gather signatures, and pressure decision-makers on social, political, and consumer issues. Founded in 2007 by Ben Rattray, it now reports more than 580 million users worldwide. The platform operates as a public benefit corporation and, since 2021, is wholly owned by the nonprofit Change.org Foundation. Its stated mission is to empower people everywhere to create the change they want to see and to shift the balance of power between individuals and large institutions.