3 min read
Co-founders Tyler Johnson and Jeff Slater have worked in campaigns providing strategy and digital solutions for decades. When they founded Progressive Nation they wanted to ensure more people had access to impactful websites and tools that inspire communities to take action.
Web design was a key part at the beginning but they wanted to combine website development and community organizing to help their clients drive their missions forward. Taking a leap of faith, they decided to pursue building a business out of their passion project.
“We’ve believed in NationBuilder since its beginning: We built our entire business model around it, based our innovative growth strategy on it.”
Tyler Johnson & Jeff Slater | Founders, Progressive Nation
Tyler and Jeff had worked with NationBuilder on a number of campaigns and when it came to the tool they wanted to build on for their clients it was clear that a partnership with NationBuilder was going to be the ideal solution.
Initially, their business was built around receiving referrals for customers who needed the services and NationBuilder expertise that Progressive Nation offered, but in 2018 they took this to another level and supercharged their agency growth by joining the NationBuilder Alliance program. This program gave the team the ability to resell NationBuilder software directly to their clients and access wholesale prices that enabled them to create a profitable margin. By bundling NationBuilder with their consulting services, they not only provided streamlined solutions for their clients but also established a recurring revenue model.
Running a business that serves multiple political and advocacy campaigns means juggling numerous customers, missions, timelines, and priorities. As an Alliance member, Jeff and Tyler run the show in a HQ nation, providing the ability to oversee various customer’s campaigns from a centralized dashboard in order to strategically offer ongoing client support.
When managing 100s of websites and regularly developing new features, the idea of sharing these one by one is a non-starter for an organization looking to work at scale. Utilizing the NationBuilder Alliance program, they were able to view and iterate updates across their clients, without the need to switch between systems or work on a piecemeal basis. In one place, they can identify trends, spot opportunities, release new features, and offer consistent support in real-time, ensuring no campaign falls behind.
“There’s nothing really quite like it that does so much out of the box. Anything else that has aspects of the functionality you have to combine several different services, NationBuilder is all-in-one which is useful and compelling for a lot of our customers.”
Tyler Johnson & Jeff Slater | Founders, Progressive Nation
Delivering efficiency across dozens of campaigns helped Progressive Nation build a reputation for reliability and results. Clients knew they could trust Jeff and Tyler to deliver on time, on budget, and with a high level of quality.
This trust translated into more new customer referrals, higher customer retention, and ultimately a booming business. Since joining the program in 2024, the team has recruited 200 new clients, contributing to a 241% growth in their revenue. Trusted by a diverse range of organizations, from grassroots campaigns to traditional nonprofits, this impressive growth is a direct result of this strategic partnership.
“We got our start because of the NationBuilder Alliance program. We’ve gone from 0 clients to over 200 since 2018.”
Tyler Johnson & Jeff Slater | Founders, Progressive Nation
So who are some of these clients?
Be The Change Earth Alliance, a Vancouver-based non-profit organization, was inspired to upgrade their website and libraries to improve user experience for their teachers and students. By creating microsites and integrating donations, workflows, and Google Analytics, they streamlined operation processes, improved site navigation, and saved costs by eliminating third-party services, while expanding the scale, complexity, capabilities, and targeted customization of their online infrastructure.
"Working with Progressive Nation has been great, a really positive experience, and a transformative experience for our website,” says Executive Director George Radner. “I definitely recommend their services.”
Toronto’s iconic Glad Day Bookshop, a Toronto based bookstore and advocacy organization, turned adversity into opportunity during the Covid-19 pandemic, showcasing the true power of Progressive Nation’s setup. Already equipped with NationBuilder’s flexible tools, Glad Day rapidly pivoted on a dime to launch an Emergency Fund supporting 2SLGBTQ+ artists across their website. With Progressive Nation’s integrated platform, they raised over $330,000 in a year, provided 900 grants, and built a vibrant donor base from scratch.
Chiara Padovani, a municipal candidate based in Toronto, grew her grassroots campaign against a well-established incumbent with the help of Progressive Nation. By integrating tools like NationBuilder petitions, email newsletters, and volunteer lists, her campaign achieved a 150% growth in her email list, garnered 2,000 petition signatures, and reached 8,000 new phone numbers!
By leveraging NationBuilder’s tools and reseller program, Progressive Nation developed a scalable model that included centralized campaign management, ongoing client support, and recurring revenue through direct reselling of NationBuilder subscriptions. For agencies looking to scale, the Alliance program offers a clear path to growth: access to training, a centralized dashboard for managing clients, and a business model built for sustainable revenue.
