Impact Data & Events Launches to Harness Star Power for Voter Turnout
A new non-partisan organization, Impact Data & Events, is poised to revolutionize civic engagement by leveraging data analytics and celebrity influence to drive voter turnout. Building on the success of previous initiatives like the #iVoted campaign, the group aims to maximize participation in elections and address critical social issues through strategic partnerships and data-driven campaigns.
The organization, officially launched on October 6th, 2025, represents an expansion of work that began in 2018 with the #iVoted movement. This evolved into the 2020 #iVoted Festival, the 2022 #iVoted Sweepstakes, and, most recently, 18 #iVoted Concerts in the past year. According to data from MIT, these concerts alone increased voter turnout by over 7%.
Impact Data & Events has developed a proprietary data model in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute. This model identifies the most influential talent – encompassing musicians, entertainers, athletes, and social media influencers – in any given location, specifically targeting those with the largest fan bases of unregistered or non-voting individuals. The organization has also created a tool to pinpoint where specific talent can have the greatest impact on election outcomes, guiding both in-person appearances and digital outreach.
“#iVoted isn’t going anywhere and lives under the larger entity of Impact Data & Events,” stated a senior official with the organization. “We’re excited to be announcing a free #iVoted NYC Concert for election night, November 4th, at Irving Plaza with incredible artists booked from our Johns Hopkins’ data.” However, the organization has refined its strategy, recognizing that voter registration is paramount. “We’ve since learned that the largest impact on turnout is made by registering the most new voters, which is exactly what our data shows.”
With a database encompassing tens of thousands of artists, Impact Data & Events intends to activate talent across the music industry and beyond, maximizing voter participation at scale. The organization’s scope extends beyond elections, with plans to produce free events supporting causes such as climate action, mental health initiatives, and debt cancellation.
A key component of this expanded effort is the integration of Bryan Calhoun, described as a leading digital marketing visionary. “Bryan and I realized we can reach the talent in our data via targeted digital campaigns that are precise to each location, while also scaling this work to make certain all artists are engaged for maximum impact,” the official explained.
Impact Data & Events is offering its data tools to all non-profits seeking to amplify their civic impact. The organization provides custom data plans and strategies tailored to each partner’s specific goals. Currently, they are piloting a first-of-its-kind, artist-branded direct-to-fan voter registration tool for the upcoming New York City mayoral election, utilizing data from Chartmetric to target top trending artists in and from NYC.
The culmination of these efforts will be the November 4th #iVoted NYC Concert at Irving Plaza, featuring performances by Lay Bankz, Connie Diiamond, JayR Rashiq, and DJ Nick Seale, hosted by HOT 97’s Miabelle. Individuals can RSVP by verifying their voter registration through HeadCount or submitting a selfie from outside their polling place or with a blank, unmarked ballot. Options are also available for ineligible voters to participate.
“Our core will always be producing free, data-booked impact concerts that the public takes tangible action to attend while simultaneously increasing civic participation,” the official added. “But expanding our digital offerings with our data model and decades of music industry experience is a natural evolution in an era where the most pressing issues of our time are at our fingertips at what feels like every moment. Impact Data & Events is excited to unite the industry and our partners to maximize voter turnout and solve issues that affect our daily lives and society at large.”
Founded by Emily White, Mike Luba, and Pat Sansone of Wilco, Impact Data & Events boasts a board of directors including Warped Tour Founder Kevin Lyman, John Boyle, Amaechi Uzoigwe, Steve Ferguson, Dr. Jonathan Gruber, Kathryn Frazier, Dana Meyerson, Jay Byrd, Lawrence Peryer, Evangeline Elder, and Joyce Dollinger.
Impact Data & Events produces free, data-booked, world-class concerts that require attendees to take tangible action. The non-partisan non-profit’s data model, developed with Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute, identifies top trending talent in any location on Google Maps with the largest number of non-voting and unregistered fans. As a 501(c)3 organization, Impact Data & Events creates data solutions and provides customized plans and execution for innovative nonprofits. They also design targeted digital campaigns for partners seeking to amplify their messaging with precision.
For media inquiries or press credentials, please contact Dana Meyerson / Biz 3 at [email protected]
