Black-Led Organizing Fund

Arizona Coalition for Change (C4C) & its (c)(4) sister organization Our Voice, Our Vote Arizona (OVOV) are member-led organizations based in Phoenix and Tucson committed to advocating for lasting progressive public policies that empower and equip our most vulnerable communities. They focus on building civic and political power in black and brown communities through voter mobilization & turnout, grassroots organizing, leadership development training, voter registration, electing champions into office, and holding elected officials accountable. By putting people first, they develop and lift up the voices of the New American Majority to take on the nations’ most pressing issues. 

Black Political Cultivation Arizona (BPCAZ) is an all-Black, queer, femme and nonbinary-led grassroots political organization. They are flexing their creativity and passion in elections, organizing, and public policy work to dismantle the systems that categorize vibrant identities as targets and keep people poor and caged.

Mass Liberation Arizona, and their partner 501(c)3 organization, Decarcerate Arizona, are building political power to end mass incarceration and divest from the carceral system in Arizona. They are a directly-impacted people’s organization, led by Black femme abolitionists. They organize in disproportionately policed, incarcerated, and paroled communities in Arizona with a growing membership inside prison facilities and in Black communities throughout the state.

Action STL Power Project is pushing policy demands, connecting with and organizing communities to support important issues/candidates on the ballot.

Black Visions Collective is putting into practice the lessons learned from organizations who came before it in order to shape a political home for Black people across Minnesota. BLVC is building an organization with the capacity to change the policies, culture and leadership of Minnesota's progressive movement in order to transform the lives of Black Minnesotans across the diaspora.

Faith in Action is a multi-faith and multi-racial group working on economic justice including preventing predatory lending, reducing medical debt and affordable housing, criminal justice coalition work including immigrant rights. They mobilize voters to the polls in Dallas county.

TOP is a strong grassroots organization in the state, with offices in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. They use direct action, advocacy, base-building, leadership development and vote work to advance an agenda or social and economic equality for low and moderate-income Texans.

United Fort Worth is a multiracial grassroots community organization that boldly works to challenge discriminatory policies and systems of oppression while empowering Black, Latinx, and other historically marginalized and working-class communities to join the fight for justice through collective action. They envision a Fort Worth where Black, Latinx, and historically marginalized people live freely, without oppression, intimidation, or inequity, and enjoy holistic representation that centers their humanity.

Detroit Action is a grassroots community organization building power for workers and Detroiters of color throughout the metro region. A consistent and deliberate attack on its institutions has made Detroit one of the most politically and economically marginalized cities in the country. Michigan Action is transforming the most vulnerable communities in Michigan by building the electoral power to fight back against these unjust policies.

MOSES organizes communities, develops faith leaders, and builds relationships to advocate for social justice through a group of diverse congregations. MOSES accomplishes this through training leaders in churches, synagogues, and mosques, teaching participants how to articulate their shared values and work with their constituents to take collective action in the public arena. This year, they are doing a large deep canvassing program focused on the metro Detroit suburbs.

Michigan People's Campaign organizes to build the power their communities need to win the justice they deserve. They are working for an equitable and sustainable world that reflects the values of economic and racial justice. The long-term goals of the movement politics work are 1.) to win governing power for their members and allies across Michigan on all levels of government, 2.) normalize movement politics methodology on the “Left", 3.) normalize their issue demands and worldview and 4.) build a Multiracial working class identity. The short term goals are to expand our governing power while building new infrastructure that outlasts the election.

Mothering Justice Action Fund is returning decision making power to the people affected by policy decisions the most. The ultimate goal of the C4 Plan is to identify, connect, and engage with 50,000 black women in select target areas across the state of Michigan. Mothering Justice will add new people to the voter registration rolls, educate voters about election issues, make sure new and unlikely voters actually cast their ballots, and ensure that misinformation and intimidation don’t inhibit people from voting.

S’UP AK is a grassroots organization that engages at each level of government to increase public awareness of issues that affect their community. As one of the few BIPOC Women-Led social justice organizations in the Greatland, they are reimagining what our world can be.

A vibrant member-based youth activist and civic engagement organization, at the forefront of the movement for black lives and connecting it with other social justice issues. They are combining leadership development, advocacy, direct action, and vote work to build political power.

The Black Male Voter Project is a national organization that engages Black men in the political process. As the only national organization of it's kind focusing on the voting habits of Black men, they are increasing the number of super voters through intentional and authentic one-on-one conversations and relational organizing. They are active in 13 states including VA, NC, SC, GA, MS, FL, AL, TX, AR, OH, IN, NY, and NJ.

Advance North Carolina (“Advance Carolina”) is a statewide, Black-led, 501c(4) organization with a mission to build political and economic power in Black communities and institutions in North Carolina. The organization educates and mobilizes African American and progressive voters to take charge through inclusive, committed, and authentic engagement and organizing to advance community-based political solutions.

Emancipate Votes is a nonprofit social welfare organization that supports educational and electoral strategies to end mass incarceration and structural racism in North Carolina.

The Equity Alliance Fund encourages Black voters to support policies and candidates who will invest in overlooked and underserved communities of color.

Voters Organized to Educate is building collective power to create change in the criminal legal system. They are dedicated to building an educated and engaged democracy by keeping people informed regarding elections, and ongoing issues in city, state, and national policy reform. Through working with organizations and individuals that believe in the principles of social justice and equality, Voters Organized to Educate impact elections and legislation in Louisiana and beyond.

Black Male Initiative Fund seeks to create effective outcomes for communities by empowering Black men economically and civically through the use of direct action, advocacy, and grassroots organizing. In doing so, they strive to achieve their vision of a healthy, just, and equitable society.

Black Voters Matter Fund is dedicated to expanding Black voter engagement and increasing progressive power. The organization works to advocate for policies that expand voting rights and access, including expanded early voting, re-entry restoration of rights astrengthening the Voting Rights Act as well as policies that intersect with race, gender, economic and other aspects of equity. They support local groups in over 41 counties in Georgia. This includes staff training, candidate development and network development for Black led groups, individuals, and cohorts across the South.Black Voters Matter was founded in Georgia’s black belt in 2016 where they helped flip a local state legislature race, breaking Georgia’s GOP supermajority.

The New Georgia Project Action Fund is transforming the state’s political landscape. NGP has registered thousands of Georgia residents to vote and is conducting citizen academies to get more people educated on how elections and public policy processes work. In addition to more traditional outreach, they’ve also worked to improve election administration and protection and tested the impact of “parties at the polls” on turnout.

SONG Power equips justice-loving Southerners with another toolbox to bring about liberation in our lifetime. SONG Power pushes policy demands; connects with and organizes thousands of LGBTQ Southerners to support progressive policies and candidates; and builds movement infrastructure in Southern states.

Black Voters Matter organizes voters in the Florida Panhandle, leading GOTV events and supporting for groups in Northern Florida who are not otherwise reached by the rest of Florida’s social justice infrastructure. Their deep voter engagement efforts focus on several key issues, including affordable housing, supporting returning citizens, and census education.

Dream Defenders was launched by organizers fighting back after the Trayvon Martin shooting. In protest of the killing, they occupied the state capitol for over a month. As part of the Statewide Alignment Group, Dream Defenders helped win Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to more than 1 million Floridians. They have expanded and deepened their base to 8 counties, catalyzing Black and Brown youth organizing across the state with a focus on policing, bail reform, and advancing a collective statewide strategy around state attorney and sheriff races.

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. Through education, grassroots organizing, coalition building, and lobbying, Equality Florida is committed to changing Florida so that no one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Their field team uses cutting edge technologies, state of the art voter contact techniques and data driven best practices to communicate with their growing voter file. Thirteen years of elections has built voter education and turnout programs that have been recognized by some of the best strategists in Florida – and have a record of success.

A multicultural network of congregations across Florida tackling systemic racial and economic injustice. Affiliated with the PICO National Network, FIF won a ‘Ban the Box’ measure in Broward County and worked on restoring voting rights to 1.5 million people disenfranchised by felony convictions. They are active in immigrant defense, know your rights and Sanctuary city work.

Empowering moderate and low income families politically, socially, and financially in the heart of little Haiti in Florida. GOTV and voter education are among their ongoing campaigns. FANM has led the fight to stop deportations of Haitians for more than 20 years.

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) brings together more than 70 organizations from across the state, including many grassroots groups. Led by returning citizens and formerly incarcerated people, FRRC has fought to return voting and civil rights to those caught in the criminal justice system and impacted by a Jim Crow-era lifetime voting ban. After leading the winning coalition to restore voting rights to more than 1 million Floridians, they are now working on educating, registering, and protecting new voters and their rights.

1Hood uses the power of the arts and artists to educate, persuade, and mobilize Black voters in Pittsburgh and across western PA.

215PA is a new multiracial collaborative led by parents, teachers, students, union members, and other Philadelphians coming together to make meaningful change. 215 People’s Alliance is lifting up issues of criminal justice reform and housing justice in upcoming elections.

Free The Ballot! Incarcerated Voter Family Network was started in 2019 as a project of members of the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. Over the past 5 years Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration has organized a statewide base of family members of incarcerated people in Philadelphia, York, Dauphin, Lancaster, Chester, Berks, Lehigh and Delaware Counties. Their main campaigns have been to win parole review for lifers and to ensure the rights of incarcerated people are respected by fighting against overly punitive and restrictive Department of Corrections policies. As they gained ground in these fights they realized the necessity of contesting for political power and formed Free The Ballot to fight on the electoral terrain.

BLOC uplifts Black citizens, leaders, and businesses across Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin by investing in building long-term power, taking political action, and empowering Black leaders with tools so that their issues are represented at all levels of government. BLOC builds transformational relationships with communities of color through organizing, silent canvasses, conversation, and engaging Wisconsinites year-round. The major Black voter engagement organization in Wisconsin, BLOC is rooted in Milwaukee’s core northside Black community, with expansion plans to Racine and Kenosha.

A visionary non-profit engaging low to no-income communities of color in Dane County to achieve social justice through coupling direct service, leadership development, and community organizing. It seeks to end violence against women, children, gender-non-conforming, and transgender folks within communities of color by challenging root causes of violence, poverty, and racism. Currently leading immigration justice efforts and organizing voter engagement.