NMV's Year (and Decade!) in Review

Published

By Christie George

In the categories:

What a year! As 2019 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on our work and on my ten-year journey with NMV. Here are some highlights.

NMV: 2019

During this year’s open call, we vetted more than 500 pitches – far more than I would have dared to expect when we launched the open call several years ago – and deployed our largest funding round to date in support of 17 amazing startups.

To help these new leaders reach their potential, we took our entrepreneur support program to the next level, connecting founders to investors and partners, coaching them on everything from measuring impact to managing cash on hand, and investigating the gaps and opportunities in the ecosystem.

We also brought together the NMV community for our annual Summit, shared insights on the latest in progressive innovation, and so much more. Check out our 2019 highlights deck to see everything we’re celebrating this year – I couldn’t be more proud.

NMV: The First Decade

When I first started, NMV was a handful of donors and me. But since the beginning, we’ve supported startups – like SumOfUs, Blavity, and Notifica – that have moved national conversations forward, proven the power of digital organizing, and shown that amazing things happen when we fund beyond traditional boundaries. 

For example, Swing Left (a nonprofit) collaborated with MobilizeAmerica (a for-profit) to transform the way volunteers get involved with the campaigns and issues they care about. This kind of innovation is only possible when for-profits focus on impact and nonprofits achieve scale – and when we build the bridges that connect these worlds. 

Thank you for building these bridges with us. You’ve helped us prove that politics, media, and startups are a powerful combination. And the fact that there are so many of us working on the biggest challenges facing our democracy is cause for celebration. In that spirit, here’s a video we put together that’s a little bit about the Summit, a little bit about our work, and mostly about the awesomeness of the NMV community.


NMV: 2020 & Beyond

In 2020, I’ll onboard my successor, and then I’ll step aside. NMV has an exciting year ahead, and we’ll need to go big to win in November and build long-term power. If you'd like to support our work during this critical time, you can donate via credit card here and select New Media Ventures Education Fund from the donation designation drop down menu.

I’m sure this team and this community will accomplish great things I never dreamed of, just as, in 2010, I couldn’t have imagined how far we’d come by 2020. So whether you’ve been with me since the beginning or joined us this year, thank you for your partnership. I can’t wait to see what comes next.