Higher Ground Labs

Higher Ground Labs is an accelerator and seed-stage venture capital firm based in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2017. It builds an ecosystem for progressive political technology by providing capital, mentorship, programming, and strategic support to early-stage companies developing software and services for political campaigns. The firm typically invests up to $100,000 and focuses on software-enabled sectors such as cybersecurity, data analytics, fintech, and the future of work.

Betsy Hoover

Founder and Managing Partner

Vin Morada

Vice President, Investments

Past deals in GovTech

Plural

Seed Round in 2023
Plural is a company that provides public policy tools to help teams save time and discover opportunities in workflows.

JusticeText

Seed Round in 2022
JusticeText is a company that specializes in audiovisual evidence management, providing a software platform designed specifically for criminal defense attorneys and the justice system. Founded in 2019 and based in Chicago, Illinois, JusticeText offers a tool that automates the transcription of video evidence, including body camera footage, interrogation videos, and jail calls. Its features include speaker recognition, timestamped notes, video clipping, and transcript editing, which facilitate the efficient processing and incorporation of crucial audio and video evidence in legal defense. By expediting the review of this evidence, JusticeText aims to promote fairer outcomes within the criminal justice system, particularly for public defenders representing clients in legal proceedings.

Plural

Series A in 2022
Plural is a company that provides public policy tools to help teams save time and discover opportunities in workflows.

Civic Eagle

Series A in 2022
Civic Eagle, Inc. is a software company that specializes in providing a workflow solution for advocates and policy teams. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Minnesota, Civic Eagle offers a platform called Enview, which integrates state and federal bills with team communications. This platform enables lobbyists, policy professionals, and government affairs teams to efficiently discover, analyze, and manage legislation without manual effort. By streamlining the process of tracking and working with legislation across the country, Civic Eagle allows policy advocates to concentrate on impactful campaigns, ultimately aiming to foster better democratic outcomes for individuals and communities.

OpenGrants

Convertible Note in 2022
OpenGrants is a grant search engine and marketplace that connects organizations with non-dilutive funding opportunities. The company provides a comprehensive platform that features a database of grants from various sources, including government agencies, foundations, and corporations. This enables users to independently search for grants or hire independent grant consultants to assist in identifying, applying for, and managing funding opportunities. By streamlining the grant search process, OpenGrants aims to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of funding for companies and organizations seeking financial support.

Civitech

Series A in 2022
Civitech is a political technology company that focuses on leveraging technology to address civic challenges and enhance democratic processes. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Civitech develops an integration platform that supports political candidates, campaign staff, and volunteers. Its flagship product, CampaignOS, serves as a central hub for managing campaign activities and resources, facilitating the recruitment and coordination of campaign personnel. The company aims to empower democratic candidates, promote progressive causes, and improve the ability of local governments to serve their communities more effectively. By increasing civic participation and providing tools for organizations, Civitech strives to create a more equitable democracy.

GroundBase

Seed Round in 2021
GroundBase is a technology company that specializes in providing affordable and user-friendly organizing tools tailored for progressive campaigns. Its platform features personalized contact tools, SMS and email capabilities for outreach, and resources for door-knocking and calls. Additionally, GroundBase offers an API that facilitates integration with other platforms, empowering organizers, activists, and advocates to effectively manage and engage with voters, volunteers, and donors. By focusing on the unique needs of progressive campaigns, GroundBase aims to create lasting advantages for its users in their organizing efforts.

Votus

Seed Round in 2021
Votus is an engagement and data analytics platform focused on enhancing civic representation. The company collects public data on civic issues from various internal and external sources and connects this information to specific voting districts and elected officials. This approach facilitates engagement among neighbors within districts, allowing them to reach consensus on important issues and engage in solution-oriented discussions with their representatives. Additionally, Votus provides tools for organizations to build relationships with persuadable audiences through personalized interactions across multiple digital channels. The platform offers custom data reports that include detailed analytics such as topic analysis, geolocation insights, sentiment analysis, and influencer identification, enabling clients to effectively connect and engage with their audiences across various social networks.

Mobilize

Series A in 2020
Mobilize is an event management and volunteer recruitment platform designed for mission-driven organizations and their supporters. The platform facilitates the recruitment of volunteers, provides organizers with timely updates, and enables the sharing of events with partners. By optimizing social recruitment and leveraging cross-promotions, Mobilize effectively connects activists, progressive organizations, and democratic campaigns, helping them to mobilize resources and achieve their goals.

OpenField

Pre Seed Round in 2019
OpenField is a mobile-first community organizing tool that empowers organizations, political campaigns, nonprofits, and advocacy groups to enhance their outreach efforts. The platform facilitates various forms of engagement, including traditional canvassing, deep canvassing, phone banking, and voter registration. Its unique Intelligent Auto Turf Cutter allows users to quickly create walkable canvassing areas across cities, while the natural language notes capture and analytics feature transforms individual responses into actionable insights. As the only tool offering these capabilities, OpenField is designed to be highly scalable, suitable for both local initiatives and national campaigns. The application is user-friendly, enabling most individuals to become proficient in its use within minutes and without formal training. Founded by Arianna Trujillo-Wesler and Emily Del Beccaro, OpenField has gained recognition for its innovative approach, winning the Best Software as a Service award at the 2021 Campaigns & Elections CampaignTech Awards. Trujillo-Wesler, an expert in community organizing and political technology, and Del Beccaro, a veteran in national data management, bring significant experience to the company's mission of building community power.

Voter Protection Partners

Seed Round in 2018
Voter Protection Partners is a Washington, D.C.-based organization founded in 2017 that focuses on enhancing voter protection efforts for political campaigns. The organization provides comprehensive services that include advising campaigns on program design, election day operations, and rapid response strategies. It operates secure tools for managing voter protection teams and for tracking, analyzing, and addressing voting incidents and election administration issues. By collecting and maintaining anonymous voter protection data, Voter Protection Partners offers actionable insights and recommendations that span multiple campaign cycles. Additionally, the organization has developed a mobile application called Guard Donkey, which uses location sharing to assist campaigns in mobilizing volunteers effectively. Through its initiatives, Voter Protection Partners aims to ensure that every vote earned is a vote counted, thereby strengthening the democratic process.

5 Calls

Seed Round in 2018
5 Calls allows citizens to call the government that is supposed to represent them.

Civic Eagle

Pre Seed Round in 2018
Civic Eagle, Inc. is a software company that specializes in providing a workflow solution for advocates and policy teams. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Minnesota, Civic Eagle offers a platform called Enview, which integrates state and federal bills with team communications. This platform enables lobbyists, policy professionals, and government affairs teams to efficiently discover, analyze, and manage legislation without manual effort. By streamlining the process of tracking and working with legislation across the country, Civic Eagle allows policy advocates to concentrate on impactful campaigns, ultimately aiming to foster better democratic outcomes for individuals and communities.

VoterCircle

Pre Seed Round in 2017
VoterCircle, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in friend-to-friend outreach for political campaigns and organizations. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Los Altos, California, VoterCircle offers a platform that integrates email communication with personal outreach methods, such as phone calls and door-to-door canvassing. This innovative approach enhances voter engagement by empowering individuals to support their preferred candidates in a more personal manner. The platform also identifies and recruits influential individuals within a campaign's electorate, thereby maximizing outreach effectiveness. VoterCircle caters to various electoral levels, including local, state, and federal races, making it suitable for campaigns of any size, from school board elections to U.S. Senate contests.

Victory Guide

Pre Seed Round in 2017
Victory Guide is a technology company that provides a digital campaign management platform specifically designed for progressive, Democratic, or left-of-center candidates. The platform offers essential tools to facilitate the electoral process, including customized daily guidance, identification of target voters, and comprehensive voter outreach plans. By automating time-consuming activities, organizing voter information, and managing volunteers, Victory Guide enables candidates to efficiently navigate the complexities of running for office. The company aims to empower progressive candidates, enhancing their ability to connect with voters and achieve electoral success.

Mobilize

Pre Seed Round in 2017
Mobilize is an event management and volunteer recruitment platform designed for mission-driven organizations and their supporters. The platform facilitates the recruitment of volunteers, provides organizers with timely updates, and enables the sharing of events with partners. By optimizing social recruitment and leveraging cross-promotions, Mobilize effectively connects activists, progressive organizations, and democratic campaigns, helping them to mobilize resources and achieve their goals.

BallotReady

Seed Round in 2017
BallotReady is an online, non-partisan voter guide for local elections that aggregates content from candidate websites, League of Women Voters questionnaires, news articles, campaign finance records, and legislative roll calls to provide nonpartisan background information on every candidate and referendum on a voter's ballot. The platform enables users to compare all candidates on their ballot, obtain essential information needed in the voting booth, and save selected candidates to a mobile device for offline review. It supports civic engagement by offering data services and digital tools that help voters understand their entire ballot and make informed choices.
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