About Us

Our Story

VEP was launched in November 2019 to create a new model of volunteering in support of voting rights. It was inspired in large part by a conversation in the fall of 2016 with an older Black Philadelphia voter who conveyed that his reticence to vote was because “you people come here every four years and tell us ‘go vote’ then you leave ‘cause you don’t give a damn about us.” Activists of color have said for decades that we must abandon these short-term, transactional forms of voter engagement, and instead adopt respectful, long-term strategies built on trust. VEP therefore created a new and innovative model that mobilizes volunteer professionals to provide pro bono technical assistance to small, high-impact, front-line voting rights organizations with strong existing ties to their community.

VEP recruits and manages a network of volunteers with a wide range of skills and expertise to provide remote capacity building support tailored to each organization’s needs. VEP assists partner organizations in determining their needs, matches volunteers with the necessary skills and experience, and manages the process to ensure timely and satisfactory completion of projects.

Over the first three years of operations, VEP has assisted 40 partners in 14 states where there is risk of voter suppression. Most are small (in staff and budget) and do not have major support from other sources. The vast majority are led by people of color and/or women.  Our network of 200+ volunteers range from high school and college students, early- and mid-career professionals, executives, and retirees who come from across the country and around the world.  There is always the need for more volunteers - come join us!

VEP is a fiscally sponsored project of Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE).