Investing in Pragmatism: 2025-2026 Venture Cohort Accomplishments

The Moderate Power Venture Fund (MPVF) invests in and supports entrepreneurial projects that fight for pragmatism—and against extremism—in American civic life. During the 2025–2026 funding cycle, MPVF grantees helped activate new constituencies online, engage young voters, build pragmatic coalitions, fight extremism in local politics, train future policymakers, and empower new political donors to fight for a better future.

Together, American Hunters & Anglers, Beacon Coalition, Blue Cities/Red States Coalition, The Juno Fund, ReNew Democracy Foundation, and Young People’s Alliance grew the center-left ecosystem and reached hundreds of thousands of people through grassroots organizing, digital media, leadership development, and coalition-building. MPVF’s early investment helped these groups grow faster, reach new audiences, and turn promising ideas into measurable impact.

American Hunters & Anglers (AHA)

American Hunters & Anglers used MPVF support to build a sophisticated social media studio focused on activating politically apathetic, middle-of-the-road “Joe Rogan Bro” voters through content centered on conservation, public lands, and outdoor culture. Over the course of the grant cycle, the organization grew to more than 80,000 followers across social platforms and generated millions of monthly views through original video content.

As AHA’s reach expanded, its content increasingly gained the attention of influential audiences, including members of Congress, journalists, and conservation advocates. The organization played a direct role in raising awareness around federal public lands legislation and mobilizing supporters to contact lawmakers on key issues. Alongside its digital growth—including the launch of The Arena podcast—AHA also began preparing to establish a SuperPAC designed to elevate pro-conservation champions in the 2026 elections and beyond. 

Blue Cities / Red States Coalition

Led by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, the Blue Cities / Red States Coalition brought together 13 mayors from Democratic-led cities in Republican-controlled states to share ideas and advance practical, bipartisan solutions. During the funding cycle, the coalition developed a policy platform focused on public safety, housing, healthcare, childcare, food, and energy affordability while formally launching its public brand and expanding its presence through new social media campaigns and opinion pieces targeted at center-right audiences.

In January 2026, a group of coalition mayors met together in person for the first time, helping deepen relationships and build momentum ahead of a second convening planned for Miami this fall. The coalition also secured additional fundraising support, strengthened relationships with civic leaders, policy organizations, and funders across the country, and began the process of hiring a senior director to support its continued growth.

Beacon Coalition

Beacon Coalition grew from a volunteer-led startup into an influential local political organization in Western Pennsylvania. The group focused on early-stage candidate engagement, voter education, and targeted intervention in local political processes to push back against extremism.

The organization reached over 100,000 voters in 2025 through canvassing and online outreach in the Pittsburgh mayoral race and other municipal races, and they are poised to reach over 250,000 voters in the 2027 municipal election cycle. They also prepared timely, non-election-cycle voter education materials highlighting pragmatic Democrats’ achievements and shedding light on leaders normalizing extremist practices. State legislative leaders increasingly turned to Beacon for strategic support, and the organization is now preparing to deepen its work in Pennsylvania and expand its model into Ohio. 

The Juno Fund

The Juno Fund continued growing its new network of women political donors focused on supporting pragmatic center-left candidates and causes. During the grant cycle, the organization grew from 17 founding members to 50 active members and cultivated a Leadership Circle and peer network to make political giving more engaging and convert more prospects to donors.

The organization hosted donor education briefings, political events, and candidate conversations designed to help members become more strategic and long-term political donors. Notably, 90% of members renewed their participation from 2025 to 2026, signaling strong engagement and community retention. Juno raised and invested over $265,000 in moderate Democratic campaigns through their PAC, and they secured operational contributions to strengthen their internal infrastructure and programming. 

ReNew Democracy Foundation

The ReNew Democracy Foundation expanded its congressional fellowship program for young leaders from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing careers in public service. During the grant cycle, the organization doubled its applicant pool, expanded recruitment into new states, increased outreach to center-left congressional offices, and added a new Senior Fellow position in the Senate. 

ReNew Democracy also strengthened its professional development programming through workshops on appropriations, persuasive writing, communication, and leadership, while beginning to build an alumni network to support fellows after the program. Congressional offices consistently praised the fellows’ professionalism and ability to contribute immediately in demanding legislative environments.

Young People’s Alliance (YPA)

The Young People’s Alliance significantly expanded its youth organizing footprint during the funding cycle, growing from 20 campuses to 87 campuses across 16 states and building a membership base of more than 4,000 young people. 

Through campus organizing, policy education, and advocacy campaigns, YPA engaged more than 17,000 students and hosted events attended by over 5,500 participants. The organization became especially active on issues related to AI safety and youth economic opportunity, organizing advocacy campaigns that reached more than 100 congressional offices and helped shape AI-related legislation in multiple states. YPA leaders expanded the organization’s media presence through op-eds, interviews, and public events focused on the future of work, technology, and the American Dream for young people. 

Conclusion

These organizations show what’s possible when innovative leaders get early support and the flexibility to grow. In just one funding cycle, MPVF grantees expanded into new states and campuses, built influential digital platforms, trained future public servants, mobilized young voters, and opened new pathways for pragmatic leadership to thrive. They are reaching audiences too often overlooked by traditional political organizing, building lasting infrastructure for the center-left, and proving that practical, solutions-oriented politics can still inspire people and deliver real results. Together, they are helping build a stronger, more dynamic ecosystem of leaders and organizations ready to shape the future of American democracy.