The U.S. Democracy Hub is the most complete, insightful, and accessible data platform to understand the U.S. Democracy field and the organizations in it. By introducing a modern taxonomy that redefines the sector and its causes, the Hub offers funders, nonprofits, researchers, and journalists in-depth analysis of the sector's size, financial sustainability, staffing, and the institutional philanthropy that supports it. Set to launch in September 2024, the Hub will feature data from over 4,500 nonprofits and 30,000 funders active in 70 custom ecosystems.

It's quick, easy, and free! Click to register. After answering a few simple questions, you'll land right in the Hub. 

Anyone can create a login and access the U.S. Democracy Hub, for free. Some features are specific to particular types of users. Only nonprofit organizations and foundations have profiles, which are listed in ecosystems. Only nonprofits can request to be reclassified in particular curated ecosystems. If you are a consultant, you can contact us to let us know which of your client organizations you would like to be linked to, or use the platform independently.

Nope, it's FREE! The U.S. Democracy Hub is sponsored by the Democracy Funders Network.

The taxonomy was developed through a methodical process, beginning with a thematic analysis of three existing democracy categorization schemas, followed by validation with subject matter experts. Through multiple rounds of expert feedback and iterative co-design, the schema was refined and tested on over 1,000 nonprofit organizations. Insights from this practical application informed further adjustments, ensuring real-world relevance. The final schema underwent a comprehensive expert, communications, and legal review to ensure clarity, accuracy, and broad applicability.

Democracy Funders Network (DFN) created a modern taxonomy to make the complexity of the U.S. Democracy sector easier to understand for everyone involved in it. It was developed with feedback from dozens of nonprofits and funders in the field so that they could easily locate themselves in it and analyze their sector, on their terms. The taxonomy is based on a four-level system of tags related to the missions and functions of nonprofit organizations in the sector. Here is an example: U.S. Democracy > Informed Public > Journalism & News Media > Solutions Journalism. Importantly, any nonprofit can request to be added to or reclassified in a particular curated ecosystem in the taxonomy. Requests are reviewed by Democracy Funders Network and implemented by Impala. Over 4500 nonprofits have been classified within 70 curated ecosystems, which are supported by over 30,000 funders.

Organizations can belong to multiple ecosystems based on the scope of their work. As a result, they may appear in more than one category and/or subcategory. In these cases, the organization's full financial and organizational data is represented in each ecosystem they belong to. However, when aggregating data across more than one ecosystem, we ensure that figures such as revenue, expenditures, and other statistics are not double-counted purely because an organization appears in multiple ecosystems. This approach provides an accurate and holistic view of the organization's contributions across multiple sectors, without inflating the overall numbers.

Yes, you may request to be added to or reclassified into different curated ecosystems. Access the request form by selecting the "Update my organization's tags" button on the Hub. Please select the ecosystem(s) to which you belong and at least one tag relevant to your work for each. Only select those constituting a significant portion of your activities and expenditures in alignment with your mission. You may also provide any additional information to support your request. Your request will be reviewed by Democracy Funders Network and Impala will update the platform accordingly. The review process can take up to three weeks. You’ll be notified of the result, once complete.

Impala transforms millions of public fillings (990 forms) into insightful profiles for every nonprofit and foundation in the U.S. Democracy Funders Network (DFN) applies a modern taxonomy to classify each democracy-affiliated organization into curated ecosystems (sub-sectors). Nonprofits and funders upload any missing or recent 990s to enhance the dataset, while nonprofits request to be reclassified, as needed. Users get insights from profiles and ecosystems of nonprofits and funders that are most relevant to their work.

Data is constantly being updated on a regular basis, as it becomes available. When organizations update their profiles (e.g. programs, people, impact), this data is available immediately. Any 990s uploaded by nonprofits or funders are processed in several days. Organization reclassifications are processed on a weekly basis. And as the IRS makes data available at scale for a particular fiscal year (e.g. 2023), we update our systems accordingly. That said, by encouraging organizations to upload their recent 990s, together we can bypass the longstanding issue of the IRS' data lag. As a result of our dynamic approach to gathering data, the U.S. Democracy Hub is the most complete and up-to-date source of information on the U.S. Democracy field and the organizations in it.

Yes! Researchers can download an export of the raw data from the U.S. Democracy Hub. The files are free to download after providing your name and email address. Click below to learn more about the data available and gain access to it.

Download Data Files

Most of Impala's data is sourced directly from Form 990s that have been released by the IRS. The data is supplemented by additional 990 uploads by users, self-reported profile information, some third party sources, and requests for reclassification in Sponsored Hubs, such as the U.S. Democracy Hub. While we make insightful public and user-generated data available on the platform, your organization and individual data privacy and security are top priorities to us. To learn more, see our Help Center, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.

What's important to us is (1) access and (2) attribution. Please include a hyperlink where possible, which links to this website. See "What is the Democracy Hub?" for easy information. Contact us if you would like a quote or have further questions.

The Democracy Hub is a collaborative initiative between Impala, a tech-for-good company known for its innovative solutions for nonprofits and funders, and the Democracy Funders Network, a cross-ideological learning and action community for donors concerned about the health of American democracy. This partnership combines technological expertise and high-quality data, with sector-specific knowledge to create a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for the entire U.S. Democracy field.

Reach out to support@impala.digital, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.