No voter left behind
Rise Forward Foundation is a nonprofit organization building modern voter registration and civic engagement infrastructure — reaching communities of color, young voters, first-time voters, and low-propensity voters where they are, in the places where elections are decided by the thinnest of margins.
We believe participation is the foundation of a healthy democracy. But too many communities remain underrepresented, underinvested in, and disconnected from the political process — not because people don't want to vote, but because the system makes it harder for them to get there.
Our mission is to change that.
Our Vision
An America where voting is easy and every voice is heard.
Where we started
In 2024, our founding team ran the largest Asian American voter registration drive in U.S. history through Asian Americans Rise, a nonpartisan 501(c)(4) civic engagement organization.
We registered 51,274 voters across 8 states and 12 congressional districts. 33,864 of them voted. In 2 races, our registrations exceeded the margin of victory.
We didn't do it with a massive staff or an expensive ground game. We did it with good data, a simple mailer, and three text message follow-ups sent by real people — at $10 per registration, independently verified by Civitech through a randomized controlled trial.
The model worked. So we built Rise Forward Foundation to take it further — to all communities of color, in all the places that matter most in 2026.
How we work
We use modern outreach strategies — direct mail with pre-filled registration forms, targeted text messaging, and vote-by-mail engagement — to reach eligible voters efficiently and at scale.
We start with FOIA-sourced government data to identify exactly who is eligible but unregistered.
We reach them by name, at their address, with a form that's already filled out for them. We follow up. We measure everything.
Our approach combines rigorous measurement, cost-efficient outreach and long-term infrastructure building. This isn't guesswork. It's a system — and it's proven to work.
our Values
Data over assumptions. We use government voter files, randomized controlled trials, and rigorous measurement to know what works — and to prove it.
Efficiency as equity. Every dollar we spend registers more people. We treat cost-effectiveness as a responsibility we owe donors and our communities.
Built to last. A voter registered today votes in 2026, 2028, and every cycle after. We're building infrastructure, not running a one-time program.
Open playbook. We share what we learn. If our model can be improved, we want to know.