Tacoma Urban League

What Tacoma Urban League does

The Tacoma Urban League (TUL) is a private nonprofit community-advocacy organization founded in 1968 by an organizing committee led by Thomas Dixon to advance social equality and economic independence for African Americans and other marginalized groups in the South Puget Sound region of Washington State. It delivers programming across five service pillars—Education, Economic Empowerment, Health, Housing, and Justice—through named initiatives including Cookie Clubhouse (youth), Healthy Minds (mental health), A Way Home Tacoma Black Homeownership (supported by the acquired Homeownership Center NW), the Business Master Class Series, and the Community Reinvestment Project (CRP) Blended Capital Programming launched in March 2025 with the Tacoma Black Fund. Supporting resources include the Black Business Directory, the Doing It Does It Directory for Black-owned businesses across Washington State, and the Volunteer Guild / Young Professionals Network.

The organization's digital infrastructure is lightweight rather than productized: a Squarespace-hosted public website, a custom Tacoma Urban League Program Hub built on Base44 for program registration and an admin dashboard, JotForm/Microsoft Forms/Google Forms for intake and consent, PayPal for donations, and Eventbrite/RallyUp/Qgiv for event ticketing and fundraising. No proprietary AI/ML platform, API, or developer-facing product is offered; operations are oriented to community service delivery rather than software. Headcount is small (1–10 employees) and the organization operates from a single remodeled headquarters at 2550 S Yakima Ave, Tacoma, WA, which reopened on September 19, 2025.

TUL's revenue mechanics combine voluntary individual donations via PayPal, sustaining Guild membership dues (adults 40+) and Young Professionals Network dues (ages 20–40), corporate sponsorships (e.g., MultiCare, WSECU), ticketed fundraisers such as Harlem Nights and Ebony Fashion Week, modest per-attendee workshop fees, and public funding through the Community Reinvestment Project. Funding rounds disclosed total $50,000 from Columbia Bank and Umpqua Bank in December 2023 alongside a 2023 Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation grant. Governance is vested in a volunteer Board of Directors chaired by Phyllis McElroy; executive leadership rests with President & CEO Desirée Wilkins Finch, appointed effective October 30, 2024, who is currently on leave while the Board conducts an independent third-party legal review that the Board states is unrelated to public funding or CRP participation.

Name

Tacoma Urban League

Legal name

The Tacoma Urban League

Website

https://thetacomaurbanleague.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tacoma Urban League is a 1968-founded nonprofit civil rights organization that delivers education, economic empowerment, health, housing, and justice programs to African Americans and underserved communities in Washington's South Puget Sound region through community-led programming and partner-supported service delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Advocacy and Civil Rights Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community & Adult Education (Municipal/Community Schools) (EDAAAEAB), Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

Keywords

• Civil rights advocacy
• Community empowerment
• Housing counseling
• Workforce training
• Youth education

Headquarters

HQ city

Tacoma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations: Voluntary individual donations collected through the website and PayPal donate button. Donations supplement membership dues and fund programming, direct community support, community events, and advocacy.
2. Membership Dues (Guild): Sustaining memberships at the Guild level for adults 40 and up, plus a Young Professionals Network (ages 20–40). Members gain access to volunteering, classes, events, discounts, specialized training, grants, resources, and networking events.
3. Fundraising Events: Annual fundraisers such as Harlem Nights (Leaders in Women's Health), Ebony Fashion Week, the Black Business Mixer, and the State of Black Tacoma gathering that generate contributed revenue and sponsorship.
4. Public Funding / Community Reinvestment Project (CRP): Participation in public funding programs and the Community Reinvestment Program with Blended Capital Programming — created jobs via small businesses, training programs, homeownership support, and community-led safety projects.
5. Corporate Sponsorships: Sponsorship from corporate partners such as MultiCare (recognized as sponsor on website) and WSECU (sponsor of State of Black Tacoma).
6. Ticketed Workshops & Events: Small per-attendee registration fees for select workshops and events (e.g., $10 Self-Advocacy & Lifetime Immunizations workshop; $28.76 tickets for "Said by the Father and Son").

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Core offering

Tacoma Urban League is a nonprofit civil-rights and community-advocacy organization that delivers free or low-cost programming across five pillars (Education, Economic Empowerment, Health, Housing, and Justice) to African Americans and other underserved groups in Tacoma and the South Puget Sound region. Its sellable offerings include youth programming (Cookie Clubhouse), mental-health services (Healthy Minds), Black homeownership support (A Way Home Tacoma / Homeownership Center NW), small-business education (Business Master Class Series), the Community Reinvestment Project (CRP) Blended Capital Programming, the Black Business Directory under the Black Empowerment Center, the Doing It, Does It partner directory, and a sustaining Volunteer Guild / Young Professionals Network. Revenue is drawn from donations, membership dues, sponsorships, modest event fees, and the CRP partnership with the Tacoma Black Fund.

Product overview

Tacoma Urban League is a community-empowerment nonprofit (not a software vendor) delivering its offering as a portfolio of community programs, services, and an internal program-management portal rather than a single unified SaaS product. The Tacoma Urban League Program Hub (built on Base44) acts as the operational backbone, providing program registration for community members and an Admin Dashboard for tracking registrations and attendance. Layered on top are the organization's five service pillars — Education, Economic Empowerment, Health, Housing, and Justice — delivered through named initiatives including Cookie Clubhouse (youth), Healthy Minds (mental health), the A Way Home Tacoma Black Homeownership program (supported by the newly acquired Homeownership Center NW), the Business Master Class Series, and the Community Reinvestment Project (CRP) Blended Capital Programming launched in March 2025. Supporting resources include the Black Business Directory, the partner-linked Doing It, Does It Directory, the Volunteer Guild membership program, and a fundraising/donations program (via PayPal). External event operations are routed through JotForm, Microsoft Forms, Google Forms, Eventbrite, RallyUp, and Qgiv for registration and ticketing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Doing It, Does It Directory: Information resource / directory pointing consumers to Black-owned local businesses, services, and professionals in Washington State and surrounding areas; operates its own website at doingitdoesit.com.
• Black Empowerment Center
• Tacoma Urban League Young Professionals (TULYP)
• Community Reinvestment Project (CRP)

Products and services

• Cookie Clubhouse Youth summer/day program featuring group exercise, small-group identity-development and healthy-relationship sessions, lunch, and whole-group enrichment activities such as Chicago-style line dancing, arts & activism, crafting, and hair care; for youth in the Tacoma community.
• Healthy Minds Mental-health-focused program under TUL's Health pillar, including workshops such as the Healthy Minds Vision Board Party Workshop hosted at TUL; serves community members seeking mental wellness support and resources.
• A Way Home Tacoma Black Homeownership Housing initiative supported by the newly acquired Homeownership Center NW, providing homeownership resources including HUD-certified housing counseling, homeowner education, realtor and loan-officer connections, and down payment assistance programs; for prospective and current Black homebuyers.
• Business Master Class Series Small-business education series for entrepreneurs, positioned under TUL's Economic Empowerment pillar; registration collected via Microsoft Forms.
• Black Business Directory Online directory under TUL's Black Empowerment Center that helps consumers find Black-owned businesses; members (individual, business, corporate) can list their business and access classes, events, discounts, specialized training, grants, resources, and networking events.
• Doing It, Does It Directory Information resource directory that points consumers toward Black-owned local businesses, services, and professionals across Washington State and surrounding areas, with business listings, reviews, and location information.
• Volunteer Guild Membership-based volunteer program (Guild level) for ongoing community service across TUL's programming; also offers a non-member volunteer mailing list for occasional opportunities.
• Community Reinvestment Project (CRP) Blended Capital Programming Economic-equity initiative launched in March 2025 in collaboration with community partners (including the Tacoma Black Fund) focused on job creation with diverse small businesses, workforce training, income support, homeownership and small-business support, and community-led safety projects.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• YWCA Pierce County: Tacoma/Pierce County nonprofit delivering community programs (housing, domestic violence, racial justice, youth) funded by donations, grants, and events. Comparable geographic focus, donor-funded model, and human-services program portfolio.
• Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle: Sister Urban League affiliate serving the Black community in the greater Seattle/Puget Sound area. Comparable mission (racial equity, workforce, housing, education), comparable business model (donations, grants, corporate sponsorships, programs), and overlapping geographic donor pool.
• Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective: Local Black-led community organization in Tacoma/Pierce County focused on equity and empowerment for Black residents. Direct regional peer competing for the same donor, member, and grant pool in the South Puget Sound.
• Tacoma Black Fund: Tacoma-based Black-led philanthropic fund explicitly partnering with TUL on the Community Reinvestment Project Blended Capital Programming. Closely comparable in mission (Black economic empowerment) and Tacoma-focused funding model.
• United Way of Pierce County: Local community-impact nonprofit operating in the same Tacoma / Pierce County service area on donations, workplace giving, and grant funding. Comparable geography, donor base, and community-program delivery model.
• Tacoma Community House: Tacoma-based nonprofit delivering immigrant, refugee, and low-income community services (education, employment, housing) via donations, grants, and volunteer networks. Comparable service-delivery model, donor base, and South Puget Sound geography.

Broad incumbents

• National Urban League: Federation parent of Urban League affiliates; provides policy advocacy, national programming, and brand standards that TUL operates under. Most directly comparable as the umbrella civil-rights and economic-empowerment network TUL belongs to.
• Urban League of Greater Atlanta: Large, established Urban League affiliate operating across a multi-county metro. Comparable five-pillar service model and program portfolio, but at a significantly larger scale, useful as a peer benchmark for TUL's potential growth trajectory.
• NAACP: Largest U.S. civil-rights advocacy organization with local branches operating on donations, memberships, and grants. Highly comparable in mission (racial equality, economic empowerment) and donor-supported nonprofit model.

Regional players

• Portland Urban League: Affiliated Urban League chapter serving the Portland, Oregon metro. Same national federation, same five-pillar service model (education, employment, housing, health, justice), comparable revenue mix (donations, grants, events). Comparable as a Pacific Northwest civil-rights and economic-empowerment nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TacUrbanLeague
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheTacomaUrbanLeague
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tacoma-urban-league

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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 Tacoma Urban League