From the Washington Post's Steven Overly:

Husband-and-wife duo Chris Lundberg and April Pedersen launched the nonprofit Democracy in Action eight years ago to provide online tools and training for other nonprofits looking to raise money, plan events or mass communicate.

But the pair discovered the Web tools could be useful to other clients, such as political campaigns, so they spun them out into a for-profit software firm called Salsa Labs. The company now counts 50 employees in Dupont Circle and an Austin satellite office.

But thanks to a $5 million investment announced Monday (Aug. 1) from Edison Ventures, those ranks will likely swell by 100 during the next 18 months. They plan to open a third office in Reston and expand marketing efforts to attract new clients.

From TechPresident's Nick Judd:

One of the most widely used purveyors of political software for progressive causes today announced an investment deal that essentially doubles the size of its business.

Salsa Labs, the company that sells online tools to nonprofits and progressive political organizations, today announced that New Jersey-based investment firm Edison Ventures will be pumping $5 million into their business ahead of 2012. ... The company grew from 30 to 50 employees over the course of the last year, and plans to put some of this new investment towards hiring 100 people through the 2012 elections.

"We see this great opportunity leading to the 2012 elections and just to help out so many more organizations and candidates," Salsa Labs co-founder Chris Lundberg told me today.

"It'll look to us probably doubling the size of our business," he said later on.

Salsa is working on a slew of new features for the 2012 election cycle, mostly around new donation management features, better analytics, and improvements to Salsa's back end. The Edison Ventures funding will allow them to roll out those improvements more quickly, Lundberg told me.

From VentureBeat's Meghan Kelly:

Salsa plans to use the funding to extend its third-party network as well as reach new markets. Funding will also be used to expand its product line, including donor tracking, social customer relationships management, and a mobile app.

The company also plans to make quite a few new hires. ”We’re going to be tapping about 135 people over the next year, “said Lundberg. The company will be opening an office in Reston, Va., and expanding its Austin, Texas office.

From AustinInnovation.com:

Salsa Labs Inc., which provides a web-based fundraising tool for nonprofits, advocacy groups and political campaigns, will add about 135 employees over the next 18 months – including at its Austin office – after securing $5 million in venture capital from Edison Ventures.

Washington, D.C.-based Salsa Labs currently has about 50 employees. The company plans to expand its D.C. and Austin offices and open an office in Reston, Va., a D.C. suburb.