The Moment We Saw the Gap
In an era flooded with misinformation, gutted local coverage, and fractured public trust, Vngle emerged with a bold ambition:
While over 60 million Americans live in news deserts—places with little to no civic visibility—we saw this not just as a media crisis, but as a deeper structural failure:
So we didn't just launch a platform.
Where It Started: From Firsthand Gaps to First Principles
Ferguson, MO – 2016
While studying at Morehouse College, our founder Blake Stoner joined the ground response in Ferguson after civil unrest erupted. The mainstream media told a flattened story—missing nuance, local voices, and community understanding.
As the son of a city councilman and grandson of a Civil Rights Freedom Rider, Blake understood both sides: the halls of power and the truth on the pavement.
"I saw how critical information got lost between communities and their leaders. I knew we needed a new way to connect what's real to those responsible for real change."
From Field Research to First Reporting
2017–2018: 21-City Civic Listening TourWhile in graduate school at Columbia, Blake launched a self-funded 21-city journey to work directly with communities failed by traditional media systems. Residents weren't subjects—they were collaborators, co-architects of a more equitable way to source, verify, and share insight.
That same year, the first official Vngle story was captured, marking the birth of a model where everyday people could contribute to a verified, trusted civic signal—from the ground up.
From Local News to Civic Insights
2020: The Public LaunchVngle debuted as a grassroots news operation focused on underreported areas. But as we scaled, it became clear:
We developed:
- A network of trained, verified local contributors
- A patented provenance system to track the origin of insights
- A delivery engine for real-time, system-ready reporting
Institutions across media, government, research, and philanthropy began using Vngle to spot blind spots, respond to harm, and operate with community-aligned intelligence.
Our Model in Action
Vngle has trained hundreds of civic contributors across America—equipping them to surface insights in housing, health, education, public safety, consumer protection, and culture.
Those insights now fuel:
We deliver:
…all designed for policy relevance, editorial usability, and public accountability.
A Nonpartisan Model, Built to Complement
We are proudly nonpartisan. Our mission isn't to take sides—it's to elevate what's real, regardless of political orientation. That's why researchers, journalists, and civic leaders across sectors trust Vngle to add fidelity to the civic lens.
Newsrooms use our infrastructure to source from places they can't reach. Cities use our insights to respond before crises grow. Funders use our data to allocate with equity.
In partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY), we co-founded INI, a civic innovation engine that trains next-gen leaders in grassroots-powered research and civic data practices.
Where We Are Now
We've listened. We've built. We've stayed on the ground.
Today, Vngle is the Civic Insights Company—the connective layer between ground truth and institutional decision-making.
Our infrastructure supports:
Let's Build What the System Needs Next
Vngle is actively partnering with:
Whether you're a civic leader, data buyer, editor, or funder: We can help you see what's really happening—before it becomes tomorrow's headline.
🛠️ Let's build the next layer of civic infrastructure. Together.
