NGP VAN Reviews

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61 Reviews
- Industry: Retail
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Contact
Reviewed on 2018/12/17
Pros
The internet processing and the phone number is still in my place I don’t know what to do with the other phone number
Cons
Slow To with the new number of you guys at work and I wanna I gotta get you some good time to go home then go get it done so you don’t need me and you can give it back to me and then I’ll throw you a phone call me if you wanna or not I’m just waiting on you to call him and tell him you got the money I got you some money for me
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
NGP VAN is an extremely helpful tool
Reviewed on 2024/02/10
I've used NGP VAN for a couple of years, and we are actively using this program now prior to the...
I've used NGP VAN for a couple of years, and we are actively using this program now prior to the March Primary Elections.
Being able to identify registered Democrats, and canvass them is a modern miracle. Just this week we used NGP VAN to perform a literature distribution (lit drop) encouraging folks to vote early if they can, or vote on Election Day. We put together door hanger bags with voting dates and times, info on President Biden's accomplishments, voting locations, and a list of candidates running for State and local offices.
NGP VAN offers so many resources like names and addresses, actual maps and directions to these homes. It includes video instructions for the program's use as well. We can cover large areas of our county and are prepared to ask for residents by name, which makes the first encounter go smoothly. Thank you for giving us this very valuable tool.
M Davis 2nd Vice Chair & Volunteer Coordinator
Pros
I like NGP VAN's accuracy and multiple options. There are different maps to help with locating an address. The screens switch smoothly from one to another, no lag time at all, as long as you have internet connection. Even in our small, rural mountain town we have very few problems. I can't always say that about some programs.
Cons
You need some training, and actual experience, using this program, to maximize its use. NGP VAN can do so many things that it takes using it, with some instruction, to comprehend all it can do.
Response from Bonterra
Hi Marilynn, thank you so much for your feedback! We're thrilled to hear how NGP VAN has become an integral part of your election prep - your success is our victory dance! Training is key, and we appreciate you recognizing the power of mastering our tool. Your lit drop sounds epic, and we're proud to support your hard work in making every vote count. Cheers to making those first encounters smoother, and thank you for bringing communities together. Best of luck to you this March - you've got this!
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
My first month with NGP VAN
Reviewed on 2024/02/06
The Help Desk is not helpful. As a new customer, my campaign manager and I needed a lot of...
The Help Desk is not helpful. As a new customer, my campaign manager and I needed a lot of reassurance and handholding, because the learning curve is steep. A natural place to start seemed to be at the Help Desk. Unfortunately, this was: (1) not live (it is via an online work order; (2) not necessarily prompt; (3) as often as not referred me and my campaign manager back to the written documentation, which too often was not helpful --and which we had typically already accessed and found it wanting. We simply stopped using the non-helpful Help Desk. My distinct impression was that my time was a lot less valuable than the Help Desk personnel time. Most of my questions could have been answered in a minute or two by an expert; instead, I was directed to online materials that took a long time to plow through, and often didn't answer the question. Now for the good news: the thrice-weekly Zoom sessions with [sensitive content hidden] have been CRITICAL to our going forward with NGP8. They know their subject matter cold, are patient and excellent communicators, and are able to provide quick, definitive solutions to problems. It gives me great comfort to know that they are there and accessible. I STRONGLY suggest that NGP clients be directed to them immediately in the onboarding process, and in fact recommend that it be a requirement that all newbies have an early-on get-to-know-you session with the Zoom team. This would short-circuit a lot of frustration and, frankly, anger with NGP. We shouldn't have had to suffer buyer's remorse and be on the verge of bailing on NGP. Fortunately, we got past that.
A suggestion: Consider having a "Suggestion" box, perhaps right on the user splash page. I know there have been several times with [sensitive content hidden] that they've said, "Yes, I see what the problem is and we'll talk with our team about changing that." It would be good to know that there is an embedded process for change and improvement... ideally, with feedback so that the person who made the suggestion could be apprised of follow-up. This would yield great buy-in from clients, since they'd now be a part of the 'development team' and would see that their input is important. Moreover, there is simply no better source of improvement than feedback from end-users.
NGP VAN is a great product, but is bedeviled by its rather outdated front end that is apparently layered on legacy design and nomenclature that made sense 10 or 15 years ago. It shouldn't take weeks of frustration to be at the point where you're confident that you made a good choice. And good software design shouldn't demand that a new user learn a non-intuitive front end. A suggestion: Have an alert, non-defensive site navigation team, good listeners, sit side-by-side with a few new clients and watch as they take their first baby steps with NGP8. Too often what is intuitive to engineers and experienced users is in fact counter-intuitive to new users.
The integration with ActBlue is really great, and critical to the utility of NGP8.
Pros
It is comprehensive. The scope is remarkable, and I really appreciate the work that went into building it. It also appears to be pretty bomb-proof; it hasn't crashed on me yet. The best part of it has been the initial onboarding person ([sensitive content hidden]) with a special callout to [sensitive content hidden]. See my comments below about how critical they have been to successfully navigating the onboarding process.
Cons
It starts with the name. NGP vs. NGP VAN vs. NGP8...this single example pretty much sums up the nomenclature and relationship confusion. It was not at all evident the flow of information between the various entities, between VoteBuilder-MyCampaign-MiniVAN-NGP VAN...and that NGP VAN is the same as NGP8. There needs to be a wholesale review of naming conventions and definitions. (Too often the definitions don't conform to standard English or are inconsistent--e.g., "Delete" can mean 'delete from a form or from a search result,' or it can mean 'delete the record from the database.') There should never be confusion about what is going to happen when you push a "delete" button. That is just one example of dozens.
Alternatives Considered
NationBuilderReasons for Switching to NGP VAN
NGP VAN/NGP8 is within the Democratic ecosystem. It was used by several regional campaigns, albeit not by smaller campaigns like ours (for a state House district). I must say that NationBuilder impressed me a great deal, and seemed to have a much cleaner, more generally intuitive interface (although what I know of it is simply through their marketing Zoom). The input we had about NGP8, before signing up, was that it was (for larger campaigns, anyway) necessary, a "gotta have," but difficult to master. Necessary, but not beloved. It would be great to see NGP8 become easier to learn/use and more widely used. It has very little penetration, at least in my part of the country, to down-ballot races, which is a shame.- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Monthly for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
NGP Van, from Carl Hamm
Reviewed on 2024/12/05
Excellent. I am quite pleased with it. A most excellent product.
Excellent. I am quite pleased with it. A most excellent product.
Pros
Easy to use, an abundance of information
Cons
Nothing really. It is quite helpful with my needs
- Industry: Civic & Social Organization
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
NGP VAN- The Only Choice for Campaigns
Reviewed on 2024/03/26
Very positive overall, it maintains all of the lists, data, call, knock, and text data as well as...
Very positive overall, it maintains all of the lists, data, call, knock, and text data as well as valuable targeting information.
Pros
The platform is a fundamental tool to every campaign whether it be fundraising or canvassing, it is the most essential software a team can have when trying to win elections.
Cons
The interface continues to be clunky and somewhat difficult to navigate for new users. It functions first as a database as opposed to an active management tool.
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 6.0 /10
Getting better, but fails at on some critical features.
Reviewed on 2023/11/16
VAN is like living with a completely overbred Siamese cat. It can be lovely most days, but at...
VAN is like living with a completely overbred Siamese cat. It can be lovely most days, but at critical times, it WILL put a hairball in your shoes.
Pros
It's a pretty robust database. We've learned to use these data to better support our political campaigns. We're a SMALL Democratic organization, so candidates are learning Mini Van, and I'm the only who uses VAN.
Cons
That it can FAIL, and FAIL BADLY on election day. I didn't enjoy being screamed at by our Vice Chair because we could NOT chase people via phone who hadn't voted. The data were to update hourly, removing people who had voted, and nope, this did NOT happen. We used a simpler search, and then texted everyone who supposedly hadn't voted (thank you Scale to WIN, which is lovely), with lots of people who responded that "they had voted." BOO!
Response from Bonterra
Hi Catherine, thank you for your candid feedback. I appreciate you highlighting where our robust software has supported your political campaigns. At the same time, we are sorry to hear about your poor experience on an election day. I have promptly forwarded your feedback onto the relevant teams. Thank you once again for choosing NGP VAN.
- Industry: Civic & Social Organization
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 5.0 /10
VAN from a Precinct Chair Leader point of view
Reviewed on 2023/11/10
I am continually looking for new Precinct Chairs and VAN is critical in this search.
I am continually looking for new Precinct Chairs and VAN is critical in this search.
Pros
Ability to find potential activists and volunteers. Ability to see how reliable a voter a person is. Ability to see how the person identifies themself.
Cons
It can be difficult to learn. It makes it harder to train new Precinct Chairs when different levels of users see different views of VAN. For example, I do not understand why Precinct Chairs cannot see Scores.
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 3.0 /10
So Many Billing Issues
Reviewed on 2024/02/06
Pros
The actual features of the program are fine. I do wish that it was easier to resend emails to non-openers of previous emails.
Cons
The billing situation has been a mess for years. Sometimes invoices sent, other times not before credit card is charged. Issues with multiple billings for same account.
Response from Bonterra
Hi Eric, it's good to hear that you're enjoying the features of NGP VAN. Thank you for your candid feedback regarding our billing process. We'll be sure to pass this along - your experience is our top priority!
- Industry: Nonprofit Organization Management
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Van the invaluable tool to electoril success
Reviewed on 2023/11/16
I've been using the van since forever and haave had a positive experience, usung the produt and if...
I've been using the van since forever and haave had a positive experience, usung the produt and if there were any opportunites, I could just call up the team and have it resolved
Pros
Easeof use and the to teach others to grow your capacity
Cons
Doesn't have a dog emoji, sounds sill but very important in the islands
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Single person small campaign got good value
Reviewed on 2023/11/09
I enjoyed using it once I was comfortable with it.
I enjoyed using it once I was comfortable with it.
Pros
Once you figured out the interface and how it all works it's a powerful tool for identifying your targeted audience. It made it easier to coordinate volunteers and see what their status was for work getting done.
Cons
Took awhile to figure out the interface. It's definitely not for the tech-disinclined and you have to look at it through a certain point of view.
- Industry: Government Relations
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
2022 Virginia State Senate Campaign
Reviewed on 2023/11/29
Pros
What I like the most about VAN is how thorough of a software database it is. Everything you need to run an effective strategy in a political campaign are there.
Cons
Nothing. A first time campaign manager with now experience was able to figure out the basics. It may seem like a daunting UI interface, but with practice and understanding of what the parameters do, it can be learned.
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
A County Committee Review
Reviewed on 2023/11/09
Pros
Texas Democratic Party makes VAN available accessible to county committees.
Cons
Can't create a list using only VANID or StateFileID.
- Industry: Civic & Social Organization
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 5.0 /10
Voter info but limited
Reviewed on 2023/11/16
Pros
Generally has good VAN has the state voter information.
Cons
VAN does not have all voter information and sometimes information is incorrect.
Response from Bonterra
Thank you for your review, Daisy! We are so happy to hear that NGP VAN is helping you obtain the voter information you need. We appreciate your feedback on your data accuracy and committed to your success. I'll be sure to share these with our product team. Thank you for being an NGP VAN customer.
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Pretty Good
Reviewed on 2023/11/16
Overall, good. Uploading data for lists could be streamlined,
Overall, good. Uploading data for lists could be streamlined,
Pros
Ability to send emails to a large list is crucial
Cons
Ability to edit existing lists is limited to one record at a time
- Industry: Civic & Social Organization
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Monthly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
List expiration date
Reviewed on 2023/11/17
Everything is great except the expiring lists
Everything is great except the expiring lists
Pros
I love being able to pull up lists of voters when I need them
Cons
A bunch of our lists expired in the middle of our campaign. Lists should not expire until after election day - I wrote software for years at giant financial firms, and in my opinion, any voter contact system that expires a voter list before election day was designed by absolute dopes! Fix this.
Response from Bonterra
Hi John, thank you for your feedback on our voter lists. We appreciate your positive rating, and are sorry to hear we missed the mark for your needs. I have promptly forwarded your thoughts onto the relevant team members. Please know that we take your feedback seriously and are committed to your success. Thank you for being an NGP VAN customer.
- Industry: Computer Software
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Just a user
Reviewed on 2023/11/17
Pros
Complete list of voters Dem Support Scores are useful
Cons
I know data is in there, but there should be better ways to get them out.
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
Review from a Red District
Reviewed on 2023/04/12
As a Candidate in a very small dollar campaign with a district hundreds of miles in size, it was...
As a Candidate in a very small dollar campaign with a district hundreds of miles in size, it was invaluable to have a tool like NPG VAN that also syncs to the phone app
Pros
Can access the entire district, create large lists and then add filters to get more targeted results
Cons
Unfortunately some information is outdated, and the lack of email addresses (especially when so many are registered for VBM and have provided them to the SOE's) and the unreliable phone data is a hindrance.
Response from Bonterra
Hi Carolynn, Thank you so much for sharing your experience with NGP VAN. It's great to hear that you found our sync tool with the phone app to be a game-changer for collecting field data from canvassing teams. We want to make sure that our platform is accessible and useful for campaigns of all sizes, and we're so glad that it was helpful for your small dollar campaign. I'm sorry to hear that you've come across some outdated information and issues with email addresses and phone data. The database that you use (VoteBuilder) relies on source file information our client obtains from the various states. The file is updated on an ongoing basis, with some fields' updates receiving greater frequency. We will always work with you if certain data is flagged as missing or incorrect, so you can obtain or correct it from the source. Specific examples are always helpful. If you are interested in receiving more support on this, please lease contact our customer support team at [email protected]. One thing to keep in mind, email addresses are not provided on our site; they are added by users on the front end, since all of our email tools are opt-in.
Thank you so much for choosing NGP VAN, and we really appreciate your feedback as we continue to improve our platform. Best wishes, Kathleen
- Industry: Insurance
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Helpful Analytic Platform
Reviewed on 2023/04/07
Overall it is positive. I think a lot of my criticism of the platform comes from the administrators...
Overall it is positive. I think a lot of my criticism of the platform comes from the administrators I have access through. There are a lot of levels of access and gaining the right level of access while maintaining proper security is cumbersome at times. But overall VAN is very helpful with a vast majority of the analytical work I need to do for the organization.
Pros
The ability to create snapshots of areas quickly - e.g. after the most recent election we used VAN to analyze how various groups of voters performed around our various districts. This would have taken significant time before we were using VAN but now it was no more than an afternoon and did not need to wait for anyone outside our organization to get us data.
Cons
The interface. I think an overhaul to the interface would allow for used to unlock more of what VAN has to offer.
Response from Bonterra
Hi John,
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on VAN. It's awesome to hear that you were able to analyze voter performance quickly after the recent election with the help of our platform! I understand you had some difficulty with the interface, and I'll make sure to pass on your feedback to the VAN team. Your feedback is important to us, and we appreciate your support.
P.S. If you ever need help, please don't hesitate to reach out; we're always here!
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: 10,000+ Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 5.0 /10
Keep up with Compliance Requriments!
Reviewed on 2023/04/28
Pros
NGP VAN contains LOTS of useful tools for a local political organization. I like the homepage, and updating activist information is easy.
Cons
We rely on NGP VAN as our primary tool for complying with the state regulatory authority. When the state regulatory changed its systems in March 2023, NGP VAN's form populator started injecting nonsensical data. Manual override is difficult to implement, and it has nearly overwhelmed our treasurer (a volunteer). Customer support blames the state regulatory authority, while offering no solutions or even a timeline for expected solutions. We're approaching the start of the third month of this frustration. We need better from NGP VAN.
- Industry: Public Relations & Communications
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Great product but needs diligence to keep updated
Reviewed on 2023/05/07
Overall good experience, and absolutely essential for political campaigns.
Overall good experience, and absolutely essential for political campaigns.
Pros
I like the ease of researching voters and designating turfs for campaign.
Cons
It seems in there is some updating required as there are many disconnected numbers or wrong numbers.
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Enthusiastic VAN User
Reviewed on 2023/04/20
Most recently we are using VAN to support local candidates in the upcoming May 6 election. We are...
Most recently we are using VAN to support local candidates in the upcoming May 6 election. We are using it to generate lists for block walking, text campaigns, postcard campaigns, and phone banking.
Pros
As a volunteer political activist, I find VAN invaluable in every aspect. We use it to identify like-minded voters in our relational outreach campaigns. It is robust and easy to use. The support staff is knowledgeable and responds quickly whenever I have a question.
Cons
I'm having a hard time thinking of anything I don't like. I personally find it easy to use but I suppose users who skew older might think it's a little complicated. But their support staff is great, so that shouldn't be a problem.
Response from Bonterra
Hey Lissa,
Thank you for sharing your positive experience with VAN! It's really great to know that it has been so valuable in your work as a political activist. We appreciate your kind words about our support staff and we'll continue to provide prompt assistance to our users.
Your feedback about older users finding the system complicated is noted and we'll work on improving our platform's user-friendliness for all demographics.
We're glad to hear that VAN has been helpful in supporting local candidates for the upcoming election, and we hope to continue contributing to your efforts.
Thanks for taking the time to write this review; it means a lot to us. We wish you all the best in your future campaigns and endeavors.
Stay awesome! :)
Kathleen
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Mobile Messaging
Reviewed on 2023/04/12
Pros
Bulk Upload Feature Wizard Function yes.
Cons
Maine Democratic Party needs mobile messaging to send bulk texts with opt-out and data sync functionality.
Response from Bonterra
Hi Ant, We're sorry to hear about your experience with our product and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We take customer feedback seriously and are committed to making things right. It sounds like it could help you to hear more about our Mobile Messaging capabilities. Can you please explain, in detail, what happened so we can take the necessary steps to improve our mobile messaging? We would like to ensure that our customers have a positive experience using our product, and your feedback can help us achieve this goal. Please contact our customer support team at [email protected]. Thank you for your patience and understanding! We hope to have the opportunity to turn your experience around and make things right for you. Best regards, Kathleen Connelly
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Monthly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 4.0 /10
Need to increase functionality
Reviewed on 2023/04/18
Pros
Not much, the data is outdated many times because other users aren't updating and saving their responses. System needs to be tied in directly to Secretary of State updates in each state.
Cons
Not enough cross tabs to micro target by race, or economic status
Response from Bonterra
Hey there! Thanks for leaving your review. I totally understand where you're coming from - having accurate and up-to-date data is really important, as is the ability to micro target your audience. For some data points, like phones and mailing addresses, the information is updated on a frequent basis, whereas entire voting address/voting roll updates (new voters added, old voters dropped, etc.) are done more periodically. Unfortunately, the various Secretaries of State are unlikely to ever allow a real-time sync to public voter roll data, mostly out of an abundance of caution for cybersecurity. With that said, we are always happy to work with America Votes to assist you with any Michigan-specific information you believe the file should contain. If you would like more support in this, please contact our customer support team at [email protected]. We truly appreciate your feedback! Best, Kathleen
- Industry: Nonprofit Organization Management
- Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Voter Database is integral to our outreach
Reviewed on 2023/04/12
Pros
The ability to target specific demographics or geographical areas is critical to our success
Cons
Needs more flexibility when establishing scripts for phone, text, or walk campaigns.
Response from Bonterra
Hi Mary,
Thank you for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that you're happy with our filtering and communication tools and that it's been helpful for your organization. We strive to provide the best possible experience so you can be successful.
Regarding your feedback on the need for more flexibility when establishing scripts for phone, text, or walk campaigns, we appreciate your suggestion. We are always looking for ways to improve our platform and make it more user-friendly for our customers. We'll be sure to share your feedback with our development team to see if we can incorporate your suggestions into future updates.
Thank you again for taking the time to review us, and we're glad that our platform has been helpful for your outreach efforts. Please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer support team if you have any further feedback or questions!
Best,
Kathleen
- Industry: Political Organization
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Monthly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
van for the win
Reviewed on 2023/04/18
It has been well. The text banking additions have been nice!
It has been well. The text banking additions have been nice!
Pros
I like how easy it is to build list and coalitions.
Cons
I would like to see more information on donors.