Digital Democracy
Digital Democracy (rebranded to Awana Digital) is a US-based nonprofit founded in 2008, headquartered in Oakland, that works to empower marginalized communities to use technology to defend their rights.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Digital Democracy does
Digital Democracy is a United States–based nonprofit founded in 2008 and headquartered in Oakland, with a stated mission to empower marginalized communities to use technology to defend their rights. The organization is small, with 11-50 employees, and has recently rebranded to Awana Digital, as indicated by the company website URL and associated rebrand announcement page (awana.digital). Emily Jacobi is listed as founder & executive director, providing long-tenured leadership continuity since inception.
The source material does not disclose specific products, services, or technical platforms built by the organization; aggregated product, technology, integrations, and pricing fields are blank, and the public website surface captured is limited to a "Hello" rebrand landing page. As a result, there is no documented evidence of a proprietary technology stack, software platform, API, or content offering that could be analyzed for architecture or features. Any programmatic activity occurs outside the data captured here.
Commercial mechanics are similarly thin: there is no disclosed pricing model, no revenue or ARR figures, and no customer logos. The only documented inbound capital is a single $500,000 philanthropic investment from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation on 2023-12-20, with the foundation also acting as lead investor. The operating model therefore reads as grant-funded nonprofit activity rather than a transactional, productized, or fee-for-service business.
Digital Democracy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Digital Democracy
- Website
- https://digital-democracy.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Digital Democracy (rebranded to Awana Digital) is a US-based nonprofit founded in 2008, headquartered in Oakland, that works to empower marginalized communities to use technology to defend their rights.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Digital Democracy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Rights Advocacy
- NAICS
- Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good) (BPAGALAK), Media Freedom, Access to Information & Digital Rights (BPADAGAE)
Keywords
Where Digital Democracy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Digital Democracy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations
Digital Democracy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Digital Democracy is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 that empowers marginalized communities to use technology to defend their rights. The organization provides technology training, digital advocacy tools, and capacity-building services focused on supporting indigenous and at-risk populations facing rights challenges globally. The organization is based in Oakland, California and has since rebranded to Awana Digital.
Product overview
Digital Democracy has rebranded to Awana Digital. The source data contains only a rebrand announcement page with no detailed product or service information available in the provided content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Technology Training Programs Training programs that equip marginalized communities with digital skills and tool literacy to defend their rights through online platforms and digital tools.
- Digital Advocacy Tools Digital tools and resources that enable communities to conduct online advocacy and document rights violations for awareness and accountability.
- Capacity-Building Services Long-term capacity-building services supporting indigenous and at-risk populations facing rights challenges, delivered through partnerships with community-based organizations.
Companies that use Digital Democracy
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Digital Democracy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Digital Democracy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves4 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Digital Democracy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Freedom House: Independent watchdog organization promoting democracy and digital freedom worldwide. Comparable mission focus on rights and democratic governance, but with broader thematic scope and significantly larger institutional footprint.
- Mozilla Foundation: Foundation working on internet health, digital rights, and inclusion through grants and advocacy. Comparable in mission but vastly larger in resources, brand recognition, and program scope.
- Frontline Defenders: International human rights organization protecting frontline defenders, including via digital security capacity-building. Comparable in defending at-risk activists with technology, but operating at larger global scale.
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Long-established digital civil liberties organization advocating for privacy, free expression, and innovation. Comparable in mission domain but operates at significantly greater scale and with broader policy and litigation mandates than Awana Digital.
Others
- Open Technology Fund (OTF): Fund that supports projects advancing internet freedom and digital safety for high-risk users. Relevant peer as a likely funder, peer organization, or partner for Awana Digital's digital-rights capacity-building work.
Direct peers
- Access Now: International digital rights nonprofit defending and extending the digital rights of users at risk. Directly comparable mission of using technology to protect marginalized users, with broader global reach than Digital Democracy / Awana Digital.
- Article 19: Global freedom of expression organization working on digital rights and information access for at-risk communities. Directly overlaps with Awana Digital's mission of using technology to defend marginalized populations' rights.
- Witness: Human rights nonprofit that trains activists to use video and technology to document and defend rights. Closely comparable in leveraging technology for marginalized-community rights defense, with a similar operational scale.
- Tactical Tech: International nonprofit working at the intersection of technology and human rights, producing tools and trainings for civil society. Directly comparable civic-tech orientation and small-team operational profile.
Emerging players
- Code for America: Nonprofit that builds civic technology and partners with government to deliver digital services to underserved populations. Comparable civic-tech and digital-inclusion orientation, though focused more on domestic US government services.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Digital Democracy social profiles
Digital presenceDigital Democracy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Digital Democracy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Digital Democracy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Digital Democracy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Digital Democracy
What does Digital Democracy do?
Digital Democracy is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 that empowers marginalized communities to use technology to defend their rights. The organization provides technology training, digital advocacy tools, and capacity-building services focused on supporting indigenous and at-risk populations facing rights challenges globally. The organization is based in Oakland, California and has since rebranded to Awana Digital.
When was Digital Democracy founded?
Digital Democracy was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Digital Democracy based?
Digital Democracy is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Digital Democracy's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Freedom House, Mozilla Foundation, Frontline Defenders and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Open Technology Fund (OTF) is listed as an others. Direct peers are Access Now, Article 19, Witness and Tactical Tech. Code for America is listed as an emerging player.
Does Digital Democracy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Digital Democracy.
What industry is Digital Democracy in?
Digital Democracy's product category is Digital Rights Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAFAL, Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy, with a secondary code of BPAGALAK, Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good). Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8600.