Empower App

Empower App helps organizations build and manage supporter networks that use personal relationships to make change. Organizers can coordinate open or door-to-door canvassing, use automatic turf cutting, and let volunteers request nearby turf. Volunteers can take relational actions to recruit, mobilize, support events, or fundraise. Contact options include calling, texting, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Instagram, and Signal. The app supports English and Spanish and offers in-app branding for organizations. Listed integrations and data options include NGP VAN, LAN, EveryAction, ActBlue, Tableau, SQL, JSON, AWS, BigQuery, and CSVs; integrations and APIs are available. The FAQ says users own their data, can export it at any time, and Empower will not sell it. The organization also offers training, coaching, and ongoing support, with pen-and-paper options for low-tech volunteers. The maker says the app facilitated 9 million friend-to-friend conversations during its 2024 programs. Approved 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and labor organizations can access the organizer and activist smartphone apps at no cost. Political parties, PACs, and candidates must contact Empower for pricing details.

Empower App combines canvassing, relational calls to action, messaging, and organizational support. Eligibility and pricing depend on the type of organization; political parties, PACs, and candidates need to contact Empower for details.

Empower App suits organizations that want volunteers to organize supporters and reach people through personal relationships. The listed free access applies to approved 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and labor organizations.

Empower App is a volunteer-action platform built around supporters’ personal relationships. It suits nonprofits, labor groups and campaigns that need canvassing plus coordinated outreach across many messaging channels. Its no-cost access for approved 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and labor organizations is compelling; political users must request a custom quote before judging fit.

Overview

Empower turns a supporter network into an organized program for recruiting, mobilizing, event participation and fundraising. It is more than a peer-to-peer texting service: field canvassing, relational actions and organizer tools sit in the same system. That breadth is valuable when volunteers move between neighborhood work and their own contacts, but unnecessary for a team seeking only one communications channel.

The product is available on Android, iOS and the web. Empower is headquartered in Monona, Wisconsin, and describes the app as a volunteer hub for organizations building, expanding and activating support. It says its 2024 programs facilitated 9 million friend-to-friend conversations, a scale that signals suitability for substantial programs rather than only small informal groups.

Key features

Open canvassing and door-to-door canvassing cover both flexible outreach and traditional field work. Automatic turf cutting can divide territory for organizers, while requests for nearby turf help volunteers find actionable assignments. These tools make Empower a stronger choice for coordinated field programs than for organizations that do not need geographic work.

Relational calls to action support recruiting, mobilization, events and fundraising. Volunteers can call or use texting, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Instagram and Signal. The channel variety lets an organization meet supporters in their preferred services, although managing a multi-channel volunteer program requires more coordination than a single-channel product.

English and Spanish support broadens volunteer access, and in-app branding can make the experience feel like the organization’s own program. Connections and data workflows encompass NGP VAN, LAN, EveryAction, ActBlue, Tableau, SQL, JSON, AWS, BigQuery and CSVs, with integrations and APIs available. Users retain ownership of their data, Empower says it will not sell that data, and exports can be made at any time—important safeguards for organizations changing systems or consolidating records.

Pen-and-paper options accommodate low-tech volunteers, so a group can include participants who cannot rely on a smartphone without abandoning the wider program.

Pricing

The free plan costs nothing for approved 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and labor organizations. It includes access to the organizer and activist smartphone apps, making it the natural starting point for eligible nonprofits and labor groups. Approval is a condition, and the free offer does not establish that political organizations receive the same terms.

Political parties, PACs and candidates have custom pricing. Empower describes campaign pricing as affordable, but the amount and billing terms require contacting the company. Campaigns should budget for a sales conversation rather than assume nonprofit free access, and compare the quote with their expected volunteer and messaging scale.

Platforms

Empower runs on Android, iOS and the web. Smartphone apps cover organizers and activists on the free nonprofit and labor plan, while web access supports browser-based work. The combination is well suited to distributed volunteer programs that need mobile participation and organizer access beyond a phone.

Who it's for

Choose Empower if your nonprofit, labor organization or campaign needs one place for canvassing, relational recruitment and outreach through several social and messaging services. Its training, coaching, exportable data and low-tech participation options also help organizations building a structured volunteer program rather than running an occasional action.

It is a weaker fit for a team that only sends peer-to-peer texts, wants a published campaign price, or has no use for canvassing and volunteer-network activation.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Free eligible plan: approved 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and labor organizations receive organizer and activist smartphone apps at no charge.
• Broad outreach mix: canvassing, relational actions, calls, texts and six additional messaging channels support varied volunteer programs.
• Portable data: users own their data, can export it at any time and can connect major nonprofit databases and analytics formats.
• Inclusive operations: English and Spanish, organizational branding, coaching and pen-and-paper participation reduce barriers to volunteer involvement.

Cons

• Campaign cost is unresolved: parties, PACs and candidates must contact Empower for pricing, making advance budgeting difficult.
• Broader than a single-channel tool: organizations focused only on texting may take on capabilities they will not use.
• Free access has an eligibility gate: groups outside the approved nonprofit and labor categories cannot rely on the $0 plan.

Alternatives

For a wider comparison of outreach products, see Peer-to-Peer Texting Software.

CallHub is a paid platform with a free plan, free trial, broad desktop and mobile coverage, and an Essential plan at $0.05 a month with up to 10,000 contacts and 10 agents; choose it when those contact and agent terms suit a communications operation.

Impactive offers a freemium Standard plan with a $0 licensing fee, pay-as-you-go billing, 1,000 form responses monthly and low per-message SMS and MMS rates; it is an alternative for teams prioritizing those transaction-based communication costs.

text+ is a freemium Android and iOS app with free texting and calling reception, while outbound calling and premium features are paid; pick it for basic personal messaging rather than a full volunteer-action hub.

TextNow provides unlimited talk and text on its free plan, with select-app 5G data and an active SIM requirement; its $35.99 monthly Unlimited Plan suits a phone-service need more than coordinated canvassing.

OutreachCircle offers a free Supporter Action Hub.

UpVote Campaigns uses quote-based pricing.

Rally Corp Peer-to-Peer Texting starts at $99 a month for 1,000 monthly credits and one user, with a $199 monthly Growth plan; choose it when a paid, explicitly peer-to-peer texting setup matches your budget.

Reach starts at $115 a month for small organizations under 150,000 records; it is an option when database size and campaign-tag management drive the decision.

Verdict

Empower App is the strongest choice for an eligible nonprofit or labor organization that wants canvassing, supporter-led actions and multi-channel outreach backed by training and data portability. Its main reason to look elsewhere is the absence of a published campaign price and the possibility that a single-purpose messaging tool will meet your needs with less scope.