Center to Support Immigrant Organizing

What Center to Support Immigrant Organizing does

Center to Support Immigrant Organizing (CSIO) is a Boston-based nonprofit intermediary organization founded in 1999 that builds the organizational and leadership capacity of immigrant-led groups across the greater Boston and New England region. The organization's portfolio centers on the Grassroots Leadership Institute — a 25-hour curriculum delivered in Spanish and English across five sessions — and the affiliated Grassroots Leadership Network for alumni of that Institute. Complementary programs include the Youth Ubuntu Project (launched 2013 with ACEDONE), the Immigrant Executive Director Network (launched 2016), and Equity Now & Beyond (launched 2021), a health equity coalition coordinating community-based vaccine clinics and policy advocacy with Brazilian Women's Group, ACEDONE, Haitian Americans United, and Agencia ALPHA. CSIO also provides direct organizational development support — strategic planning, coaching, facilitation, and capacity-building engagements — to immigrant-serving nonprofits including Chinese Progressive Association Boston, Proyecto Faro, and Casserly House.

CSIO's underlying technology stack is minimal: a WordPress website (csioboston.org), social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, WhatsApp), and MailChimp email communications. The organization's core "technology" is its methodology — popular education, participatory action research, and community accountability frameworks — rather than software. Revenue is generated through foundation grants (Hyams, Barr, The Boston Foundation, Common Stream, Haymarket, Point32Health), government contracts (Boston Public Health Commission, Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement, Office of Food Justice), individual donations from 150+ donors channeled through fiscal sponsor Third Sector New England (TSNE), and modest fee-for-service workshop revenue through TSNE MissionWorks' Better Nonprofit Management training series. The organization is led by Co-Directors Luz Zambrano and Kevin Whalen alongside co-founder Ann Philbin, with a small staff of 1-10 supported by university interns and an advisory board. CSIO operates under TSNE MissionWorks as its fiscal sponsor.

Name

Center to Support Immigrant Organizing

Legal name

Center to Support Immigrant Organizing

Website

https://csioboston.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Center to Support Immigrant Organizing (CSIO) is a Boston-based nonprofit intermediary founded in 1999 that builds leadership and organizational capacity of immigrant-led groups in greater Boston and New England through training curricula, peer networks, organizational development support, and the Equity Now & Beyond health equity coalition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Organizing Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Safety Communications / 911 Telecommunicator Training (EDAOAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical & Vocational Education & Training (TVET) (BPADAKAD), Border Management & Humanitarian Border Assistance (BPADAHAL), TVET/Skills & Workforce Education Authorities (EDADAAAH)

Keywords

• Grassroots leadership development
• Immigrant organizing support
• Organizational development services
• Community capacity building
• Nonprofit training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: CSIO maintains a network of over 150 individual donors who contribute to sustain organizational work. Donations are accepted through Third Sector New England (TSNE) as their fiscal sponsor.
2. Foundation Grants: CSIO receives critical support from foundations including The Hyams Foundation, Common Stream, Haymarket People's Fund, Barr Foundation, The Boston Foundation, and Point32Health Foundation. These foundations support social justice, grassroots organizing, and immigrant community work.
3. Government Grants and Contracts: CSIO receives support from government agencies including Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement, and Boston Office of Food Justice for specific programs and initiatives.
4. Fee-for-Service Workshops: CSIO provides workshops through TSNE MissionWorks Better Nonprofit Management training series with fees. They offer contact-based fee discounts for their training programs including Roots of Migration and Community Organizing workshops.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

CSIO is a nonprofit intermediary organization that builds the capacity of immigrant leaders, organizations, and communities through training, organizational development support, and peer-learning convenings. Its core offerings include the Grassroots Leadership Institute (a 25-hour curriculum in Spanish and English), the Grassroots Leadership Network for alumni, the Immigrant Executive Director Network, Organizational Development Support services such as coaching and strategic planning, and the Youth Ubuntu Project developed in partnership with ACEDONE.

Product overview

CSIO is a nonprofit intermediary organization that provides a portfolio of programs and services for immigrant community organizing. The core offerings include the Grassroots Leadership Institute (a 25-hour training curriculum in Spanish and English) and Grassroots Leadership Network (ongoing peer learning for GLI graduates). The Youth Ubuntu Project develops immigrant teen leadership, while the Immigrant Executive Director Network provides support for organization leaders. CSIO also offers Organizational Development Support and Capacity Building services to strengthen immigrant community organizations. Equity Now & Beyond is a health equity coalition addressing Covid and broader health needs in immigrant communities. All programs emphasize grassroots leadership development, participatory democracy, and cross-community solidarity building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grassroots Leadership Institute (GLI) A 25-hour training curriculum delivered in Spanish and English over 5 sessions, addressing globalization, facilitation, organizational planning, membership development, and campaign development for immigrant organizers and community leaders.
• Grassroots Leadership Network (GLN) An ongoing peer-learning network for graduates of the Grassroots Leadership Institute who continue to gather to deepen their learning, share best practices, and build solidarity across grassroots groups doing leadership development and organizing work.
• Youth Ubuntu Project (YUP) A youth leadership development program co-led with ACEDONE that builds unity and solidarity among immigrant teens from Latin American, Caribbean, Asian, and African communities in Boston through social justice education, arts for activism, and cross-community solidarity building.
• Immigrant Executive Director Network A network of Latina, African, and Asian immigrant executive directors from grassroots and social justice organizations that convenes for solidarity, training, and peer support, with current membership including directors from Vietnamese-American Civic Association, The City School, Brockton Interfaith Committee, Women Encouraging Empowerment, Lynn Worker Center, and United for a Fair Economy.
• Organizational Development Support Custom organizational development services for immigrant-serving nonprofits including leadership development strategies, organizational assessments, evaluation and planning, work plan development, coaching for executives and organizers, strategic and operational planning, grant writing, research and reporting, and budget development.
• Equity Now & Beyond A coalition coordinated by CSIO and led by Brazilian Women's Group, ACEDONE, Haitian Americans United/True Alliance Center, and Agencia ALPHA that organizes for health equity, immigration, economic and social justice through community-based vaccine and wellness clinics, Know Your Rights trainings, policy advocacy, worker cooperative development, and a Community Land Trust initiative.
• Network of Immigrant & African American Solidarity (NIAAS) A dialogue-based program that bridges Boston's diverse communities of color through shared stories of lived experiences, relationship building, and mutual education, with a series of dialogues on Anti-Blackness, Black Lives Matter, and connection to the immigrant movement.
• Capacity Building Support for strengthening community capacity to achieve democratically based social justice, with organizational strengthening and leadership development as core components for immigrant-serving groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Vaccinated over 6,250 immigrants and educated over 100,000 community members during COVID-19 pandemic
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Third Sector New England (TSNE) / TSNE MissionWorkscoreOthersTSNE serves as CSIO's fiscal sponsor, providing administrative and financial infrastructure support. CSIO facilitates workshops as part of TSNE's Better Nonprofit Management training series.
• Brazilian Women's Group (BWG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBWG is a founding leader of the Equity Now & Beyond health equity coalition coordinated by CSIO, serving and organizing Brazilian immigrant constituents in their native language around health equity and social determinants of health.
• African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACEDONE co-leads the Equity Now & Beyond coalition with CSIO and partners on the Youth Ubuntu Project. They serve African immigrant communities and organize around health equity, immigration, and economic justice.
• Haitian Americans United (HAU) / True Alliance CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHAU and its sister organization True Alliance Center lead the Equity Now & Beyond coalition, serving Haitian immigrant communities through health equity organizing and COVID-19 response.
• Agencia ALPHAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgencia ALPHA is a core leader in the Equity Now & Beyond coalition and has received organizational development support and Grassroots Leadership Institute training from CSIO.
• Chinese Progressive Association (CPA Boston)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPA is a key partner receiving organizational development support from CSIO. CSIO facilitates their annual staff retreats and provides coaching for their Capacity Building Director.
• City Life/Vida UrbanamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPast organizational development support client and participant in Grassroots Leadership Network sessions.
• Proyecto FaromajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSIO provides coaching for Proyecto Faro's newly hired immigrant Executive Director who is taking on management and leadership responsibilities.
• Casserly HouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSIO conducted strategic planning for this Roslindale-based organization serving ESOL students and immigrant families.
• Immigrant Executive Director Network PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of 8 Latina, African and Asian immigrant Directors from grassroots organizations including Vietnamese-American Civic Association, The City School, Brockton Interfaith Committee, Women Encouraging Empowerment, Lynn Worker Center, and United for a Fair Economy who meet for peer support, training, and solidarity.
• Boston Public Health CommissionmajorOthersGovernment partner supporting Equity Now & Beyond vaccine outreach and advocacy efforts.
• Boston Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement (MOIA)majorOthersCity agency partner that invited CSIO to facilitate workshops for the Immigrants Lead Boston initiative and dialogues around racism among African American and immigrant E.D.s.
• Boston Public SchoolsmajorOthersPartner in youth vaccine outreach and school-based vaccine clinics for immigrant communities.
• Healthcare Providers (BMC, MGB, WSHC, HSCHC, BBCC)majorOthersHealthcare providers brought into trusted community settings at vaccine clinics organized by Equity Now & Beyond coalition.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Third Sector New England (TSNE MissionWorks): TSNE serves as CSIO's fiscal sponsor and operates a broad portfolio of capacity-building, fiscal sponsorship, and consulting services for New England nonprofits. It is comparable as a regional nonprofit intermediary infrastructure provider, though at far greater scale and breadth than CSIO's specialized immigrant organizing focus.
• Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA): MIRA is the largest statewide immigrant and refugee advocacy coalition in Massachusetts, convening 130+ organizations. It overlaps with CSIO's convening and capacity-building role for immigrant-serving organizations in the same Massachusetts ecosystem.
• National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA): NPNA is a national coalition of 40+ immigrant rights organizations. It is comparable to CSIO at a national scale as a coalition convener and capacity builder for immigrant-led organizing groups.
• Center for Community Change: Center for Community Change is a national nonprofit that builds the power and capacity of low-income and immigrant community organizations. Comparable in mission and methodology (grassroots leadership development, organizational capacity building) though at significantly greater national scale than CSIO.

Direct peers

• Chinese Progressive Association (CPA Boston): CPA is a Boston-based immigrant grassroots organization that both participates in CSIO's networks (Immigrant Executive Director Network) and receives direct organizational development and retreat facilitation from CSIO. Comparable as a fellow immigrant-led organizing nonprofit in Greater Boston.
• African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE): ACEDONE is a core coalition partner co-leading Equity Now & Beyond with CSIO and co-running the Youth Ubuntu Project. It is comparable as a Boston-area immigrant-led organizing nonprofit focused on African immigrant communities.
• Agencia ALPHA: Agencia ALPHA is a Brazilian/Portuguese-speaking immigrant organizing nonprofit in Greater Boston that participates in CSIO's Immigrant Executive Director Network and co-leads the Equity Now & Beyond coalition. Directly comparable in mission, geography, and community served.
• Brazilian Women's Group (BWG): BWG is a founding leader of the Equity Now & Beyond coalition organized by CSIO and serves Brazilian immigrant women in Massachusetts. Comparable as a grassroots immigrant-led organizing partner in the same CSIO ecosystem.
• Centro Presente: Centro Presente is a Massachusetts-based immigrant-led organization serving the Latin American immigrant community through organizing, education, and advocacy. Comparable as a peer immigrant-led grassroots organizing nonprofit in the same regional ecosystem.
• The Welcome Project: The Welcome Project is a Somerville, MA-based immigrant community organization offering ESOL, civic engagement, and youth programs. Comparable as a Greater Boston immigrant-serving nonprofit that operates in the same partnership ecosystem as CSIO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-to-support-immigrant

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center to Support Immigrant Organizing