What Highlander Research and Education Center does

Highlander Research and Education Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) social justice education organization founded in 1932 as the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee, now operating from a 200-acre campus near New Market, TN. The organization functions as 'The Movement School,' delivering popular education workshops, multi-day training programs, fellowships, and youth/children's camps for grassroots organizers, youth leaders, cultural organizers, and BIPOC artists across the U.S. South and Appalachia. Core programming includes Seeds of Fire (intergenerational youth organizing, ages 15-26), Children's Justice Camp (ages 6-12), Cultural Organizing Train-the-Trainer, the Mapping Our Futures economics and governance curriculum (English and Spanish), Electoral Justice programming, PAR Institute (Participatory Action Research), and the Septima Clark Learning Center archive housing over 1,200 catalogued books. Fiscal sponsorship is provided to 12 named grassroots organizations, and the We Shall Overcome Fund (since 1966) issues grants up to $2,000.

The organization's revenue model is diversified across nonprofit funding streams rather than commercial pricing. Primary revenue sources include individual donations (one-time, recurring, stock gifts via Charles Schwab), foundation and government grants (Surdna Foundation for PAR Institute, Tennessee Arts Commission and NEA for Homecoming, Chorus Foundation, Lumina Foundation $400K in 2022), fiscal sponsorship administrative fees for 12 sponsored organizations, We Shall Overcome royalty-derived grants, modest online bookstore sales, and sliding-scale event registration for annual events like Homecoming. Pricing is not the primary access mechanism; programming is donation- and grant-funded with sliding-scale events. The organization's core technology is the popular education methodology, a learner-centered pedagogical framework refined over nine decades, rather than a software or platform product. Go-to-market relies on movement media coverage, partner network referrals, social media, email newsletter, and the annual Homecoming gathering.

In February 2026, Vonda McDaniel and Garrett Stark formally assumed Co-Executive Director roles following a year-long participatory transition process led by Strategies for Social Change, succeeding transitional leaders Allyn Maxfield-Steele and Salimah Muhammad. The organization has historical significance as the training ground for Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Septima Clark, and other Civil Rights Movement leaders, and continues to operate from its 200-acre Hill facility in the Great Smoky Mountains following its 1972 relocation from Knoxville.

Name

Highlander Research and Education Center

Legal name

Highlander Research and Education Center

Website

https://highlandercenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Highlander Research and Education Center is a nonprofit social justice education organization founded in 1932 that delivers popular education workshops, youth organizing, and movement infrastructure programs for grassroots organizers across the U.S. South and Appalachia, funded primarily through donations, foundation grants, and fiscal sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Justice Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB), After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC), Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Popular education
• Social justice training
• Grassroots organizing
• Movement building
• Community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

New Market

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations (Individual): Highlander accepts individual donations through its website, including one-time and recurring gifts, as well as stock donations processed through Charles Schwab (DTC 0164, Account #9140-4548). This is a primary revenue stream for the nonprofit.
2. Foundation & Government Grants: The organization receives grant funding from foundations and government arts/agencies. Confirmed funders include the Surdna Foundation (PAR Institute), Tennessee Arts Commission, and National Endowment for the Arts (Homecoming support). Additional funders include the Chorus Foundation.
3. Bookstore Sales: Highlander operates an online bookstore selling books related to its methodologies, history, and movement work (e.g., Unearthing Seeds of Fire, We Make the Road by Walking, Beautiful Solutions toolbox). Revenue is modest and supplementary.
4. We Shall Overcome Fund: Since 1966, Highlander has administered the We Shall Overcome Fund, generated by royalties from commercial use of the song 'We Shall Overcome.' Fund supports cultural and social programs in Southern African American communities (grants up to $2,000).
5. Fiscal Sponsorship Administration: Highlander provides fiscal sponsorship for 12 grassroots organizations, handling record-keeping and financial accountability. This generates administrative support and deepens movement infrastructure relationships.
6. Event Registration: Highlander charges sliding-scale registration fees for events such as Homecoming (annual fall gathering). No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Highlander Research and Education Center operates a 200-acre residential education campus in New Market, Tennessee, functioning as "The Movement School." It delivers popular-education-based workshops, youth programs, fellowships, and curricula to grassroots organizers across the U.S. South and Appalachia, and administers fiscal sponsorship for 12 affiliated grassroots organizations. Founded in 1932, it is one of the oldest continuously operating social-justice training centers in the United States.

Product overview

Highlander Research and Education Center is a nonprofit social justice education organization operating as 'The Movement School' since 1932. The organization offers a portfolio of educational programs and workshops rather than a technology product platform. Core offerings include: Seeds of Fire (youth intergenerational organizing for ages 15-26), Economics and Governance with the Mapping Our Futures curriculum, Cultural Organizing with Train the Trainer toolkit, Children's Justice Camp (ages 6-12), Electoral Justice programming, PAR Institute (Participatory Action Research), and the Septima Clark Learning Center (library and archive with 1,200+ books). Supporting programs include the We Shall Overcome Fund grants (up to $2,000), Greensboro Justice Fund Fellowship, annual Homecoming events, Winter Lyceum workshops, and Fiscal Sponsorship for 12 grassroots organizations. The organization also offers curriculum downloads including the Threads workshop series toolkit. All programming centers popular education methodologies for movement building in the U.S. South and Appalachia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Septima Clark Learning Center: Highlander's library and archive with collections and programming that weave together the layered history of Southern liberation through movement memory work.
• Greensboro Justice Fund Fellowship
• We Shall Overcome Fund
• PAR Institute (Participatory Action Research)
• Seeds of Fire
• Children's Justice Camp

Products and services

• Seeds of Fire Intergenerational organizing program bringing together Southern and Appalachian youth-led groups to build collective power through political education, mentorship, and skill-based training; targets youth ages 15–26.
• Mapping Our Futures (Economics and Governance Curriculum) Popular education curriculum exploring economic and governance systems through participatory community-based processes, available in multiple durations with Spanish translation ('Mapeando Nuestros Futuros').
• Cultural Organizing Program Program offering Train-the-Trainer workshops and a toolkit to share cultural organizing practices across communities in the U.S. South.
• Septima Clark Learning Center Highlander's library and archive featuring a radical bookstore, multi-use room, and deck with Smoky Mountain views; houses over 1,200 catalogued books and digital movement-history materials.
• Children's Justice Camp Week-long in-person summer camp at the historic Highlander Center for youth ages 6–12, offering leadership development, social-justice curriculum, and community-building activities.
• Electoral Justice Program Program equipping communities with tools for electoral participation, including the 'People Practicing Power' workshop series, critical civics curriculum, and election protection training for Southern organizers.
• PAR Institute (Participatory Action Research) Project supporting BIPOC artists and culture workers through participatory action research methodology, combining popular education, cultural organizing, and social-change tools with regranting to local communities.
• We Shall Overcome Fund Grant program generated from song royalties supporting grassroots cultural and social programs in African American communities throughout the South, funding projects up to $2,000 at the nexus of art and social change.
• Homecoming (Annual Event) Annual gathering bringing together movement participants from around the globe for fellowship, learning, strategizing, and relationship-building, typically held in September or October at the Highlander campus.
• Greensboro Justice Fund Fellowship Leadership fellowship honoring five organizers killed by KKK and Nazis in Greensboro in 1979, selecting five fellows annually to attend organizing training with $500 local stipends.
• Threads Workshop Series Grassroots community organizing workshop series combining popular education methodologies with campaigns for alternative systems, solidarity economies, and collective governance, with downloadable toolkit.
• Fiscal Sponsorship Program Program providing financial accountability and record-keeping for grassroots organizations, currently supporting 12 organizations including National Bail Out, Black Mecca Project, STAY Project, and others.
• Fascism 101 Monthly conversation series curriculum designed to raise understanding of rising fascism in the U.S. and explore anti-fascist resistance strategies.
• Winter Lyceum Free workshops event series bringing together organizers for conversations about community building, with regional sessions such as the December 2024 Miami 'A Revolution in Culture' session.

Quantifiable outcome

• Seeds of Fire program has impacted thousands of young people over 18 years
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

26 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Bail OutcoreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to National Bail Out, a Black-led abolitionist organization working to end mass incarceration and pretrial detention through community bail funds.
• Black Land and Power Project (National Black Food and Justice Alliance)coreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to the Black Land and Power Project, which organizes around Black land ownership, food sovereignty, and food justice.
• Power U Center for Social ChangecoreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to Power U Center for Social Change, a Miami-based organization focused on social and economic justice organizing.
• The STAY Project (Stay Together Appalachian Youth)coreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to the STAY Project, a network supporting Appalachian young people in organizing and leadership development.
• SiOP (Standing in Our Power)coreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to SiOP, an organization focused on building power for social and economic justice.
• People's Advocacy InstitutecoreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to People's Advocacy Institute, which supports social justice advocacy and organizing in Southern communities.
• Grantmakers for Southern Progress (G4SP)coreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to Grantmakers for Southern Progress, a funders' network focused on advancing social justice in the Southern United States.
• Southern Connected Communities ProjectcoreOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to Southern Connected Communities Project, supporting connected community organizing across the Southern U.S.
• Jane Sapp Legacy ProjectminorOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to the Jane Sapp Legacy Project, honoring the cultural organizer and educator Jane Sapp's legacy of music, education, and social justice.
• The Black Mecca ProjectminorOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to the Black Mecca Project, focused on documenting and strengthening Black cultural and economic life.
• The Black Mycelium ProjectminorOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to the Black Mycelium Project, a cultural organizing project focused on Black community resilience and liberation.
• Mississippi Justice Funders CollaborativeminorOthersHighlander provides fiscal sponsorship to the Mississippi Justice Funders Collaborative, a funders' network supporting justice work in Mississippi.
• US Solidarity Economy NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Highlander in developing the Mapping Our Futures curriculum, contributing expertise in solidarity economy principles and network building across the U.S.
• Center for Popular EconomicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Highlander on the Economics and Governance curriculum (Mapping Our Futures), providing economic analysis and popular economics education frameworks.
• United for a Fair EconomycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Highlander in developing the Mapping Our Futures curriculum, contributing to economic justice framing and curriculum design.
• Beautiful SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint initiative with Beautiful Solutions (This Changes Everything), contributing to Beautiful Solutions Cards and the broader toolbox documenting solidarity economy solutions from around the world. The Beautiful Solutions website (solutions.thischangeseverything.org) expands ideas and strategies developed through Highlander's curriculum work.
• Alternate RootscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in implementing the PAR Institute, bringing a membership network of artists and culture workers engaged in social and environmental justice to the collaborative.
• National Performance NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the PAR Institute, supporting the Spring 2023 Mid-South Institute Cohort and connecting Highlander to a national network of performance and cultural organizations.
• Transforming Power FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in implementing the PAR Institute, contributing to the collaborative supporting BIPOC artists and culture workers in participatory action research projects.
• Beloved Community Center (Greensboro, NC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHighlander was chosen alongside the Beloved Community Center to carry on the legacy of the Greensboro Justice Fund. Together they received GJF's assets at its 30th anniversary to train organizers in the name of the five organizers killed by KKK and Nazis in 1979.
• Media JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Fascism 101 workshop series (2023), exploring the threat of rising fascism in the U.S. and anti-fascist resistance strategies.
• Vision Change WincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Fascism 101 workshop series (2023), contributing to monthly conversations about the current political environment and anti-fascist organizing.
• Right to the CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Fascism 101 workshop series (2023), collaborating with Highlander, Media Justice, and Vision Change Win on curriculum exploring fascism and resistance.
• Strategies for Social ChangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed the participatory leadership transition process for Highlander's co-executive director search, supporting the Board and Staff in identifying new leadership (Vonda McDaniel and Garrett Stark).
• Movement for Black LivescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiscal sponsorship and capacity support recipient. Highlander creates capacity for movement organizations including M4BL through fiscal sponsorships and hands-on support.
• Southern Movement AssemblycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiscal sponsorship and capacity support recipient. Highlander provides fiscal sponsorship and hands-on support for the Southern Movement Assembly, a regional coalition building power across Southern states.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Grassroots Leadership: Movement education and advocacy organization focused on criminal justice, immigration, and economic justice — overlapping with Highlander's electoral justice, fiscal sponsorship, and movement infrastructure work.
• Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): National network mobilizing white people for racial justice through education and organizing — directly comparable to Highlander's anti-racist, Southern-focused movement education approach though without the campus and archive infrastructure.
• Auburn Theological Seminary: Faith-rooted leadership development organization training social movement leaders with programs analogous to Highlander's Seeds of Fire and Cultural Organizing initiatives, though with a religious-progressive framing rather than a Southern regional identity.
• Training for Change: Philadelphia-based nonprofit offering popular education and activist training workshops using methodologies directly comparable to Highlander's. Both train organizers, train-the-trainer cohorts, and operate on a workshop-based delivery model with movement education focus.
• The Midwest Academy: Chicago-based nonprofit offering strategic planning and organizing training for progressive organizations. Directly comparable to Highlander's training function, with a longer track record in campaign strategy training though narrower in regional focus.
• Ruckus Society: Provides direct action and nonviolent civil disobedience training for movement organizers using popular education methodologies. Comparable to Highlander's training function but specializes in action tactics rather than political/cultural education.
• National Organizers Alliance: Membership network of professional organizers offering training, convening, and skill development — comparable to Highlander's role as a convening organization for the movement ecosystem.
• Project South: Atlanta-based movement building and popular education organization serving the U.S. South. Highly comparable to Highlander's Southern regional identity, popular education methodology, and youth/adult organizer training focus.
• The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond: New Orleans-based nonprofit providing anti-racism training and organizing education using a popular education framework similar to Highlander's. Runs multi-day workshops, train-the-trainer programs, and serves grassroots organizers across the U.S. South.

Broad incumbents

• Center for Popular Democracy: National organizing network and fiscal intermediary supporting 60+ affiliate organizations — a scaled version of Highlander's fiscal sponsorship model with broader geographic and issue reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/highlanderctr
• YouTubevimeo.com/highlandercenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/highlander.center
• Instagraminstagram.com/highlandercenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highlander-research-and-education-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highlander Research and Education Center