SPUR

What SPUR does

SPUR (San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy organization founded in 1959 and headquartered in San Francisco, with regional offices in San Jose and Oakland. The organization conducts research, education, and advocacy on urban issues across the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, with seven policy pillars: planning, housing, transportation, sustainability and resilience, economy, governance, and food and agriculture. SPUR's stated mission is to bring together people from across the political spectrum to develop solutions to major urban problems facing the region, serving a population of approximately 8 million residents across a market described as the second-most diverse large metro region in the country.

SPUR's revenue model is overwhelmingly membership-driven (76% of FY 2022-23 revenue), supplemented by foundation grants (23%), special events (13%), and earned income (5%). The membership program spans six individual tiers from $75/year (Standard) to $25,000/year (President's Circle), with a parallel business membership program organized around affinity councils. Disclosed FY 2022-23 total revenue was $7.2M against expenses of $8.3M, with $15.2M in net assets as of March 31, 2023. The organization employs 51-100 people, is led by President and CEO Sean Elsbernd, and is governed by an independent Board of Directors with no parent company or institutional investor. Strategic revenue diversification includes corporate-funded initiatives (notably the JPMorgan Chase-funded Future of Downtown program) and an expanding foundation grant portfolio including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and San Francisco Foundation.

The organization's product portfolio consists of policy research publications, The Urbanist magazine, an interactive SPUR Voter Guide, the Ideas + Action symposium, Silver SPUR Awards, Good Government Awards, free public educational programs, and facility rental of the SPUR Urban Center at 654 Mission Street. Distribution relies on a multi-channel content approach: website, newsletters, public events, voter guides, and earned media (100+ media appearances in 2022). SPUR operates a coalition-based advocacy model with partners including California YIMBY, Pacific Institute, Sierra Club, Greenbelt Alliance, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, and Mineta Transportation Institute. The organization does not develop technology products, has no app or API platform, and its underlying technology stack is limited to standard content distribution and member management infrastructure.

Name

SPUR

Legal name

San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association

Website

https://spur.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SPUR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy organization founded in 1959 that conducts research, education, and advocacy on urban planning, housing, transportation, and governance issues for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, serving individual members, businesses, and government partners through publications, voter guides, events, and coalition-based advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Policy Research and Civic Planning

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Urban policy research
• Civic planning publications
• Public policy advocacy
• Voter education guides
• Nonprofit civic engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Revenue: Individual and business memberships provide recurring revenue. The organization reported $4,832,584 in membership revenue in FY 2022-23, representing 76% of total revenue. Membership tiers range from $75/year standard to $25,000/year President's Circle.
2. Grants and Foundation Support: Grants from foundations and institutional donors. Reported $1,631,529 in grants (23% of revenue) in FY 2022-23. Includes support from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, San Francisco Foundation, and other foundations.
3. Special Events: Revenue from events including Silver SPUR Awards, Ideas + Action symposium, and Good Government Awards. Reported $906,894 in special events revenue (13% of revenue) in FY 2022-23.
4. Earned Income: Earned income from publications, facility rentals, and other programs. Reported $376,613 in earned income (5% of revenue) in FY 2022-23.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SPUR is a member-supported nonprofit urban policy research organization that conducts independent research on housing, transportation, climate resilience, governance, and the economy in the San Francisco Bay Area. It publishes policy reports, The Urbanist magazine, an annual nonpartisan voter guide, and produces public educational events, while engaging directly with elected officials and agencies to translate research into policy outcomes.

Product overview

SPUR is a nonprofit public policy organization offering a portfolio of research, education, and advocacy products. The core offerings include published research (policy briefs, reports, The Urbanist magazine), voter guides, and membership programs (individual and business tiers including affinity councils). The organization also hosts events including the Ideas + Action symposium, Silver SPUR Awards, and Good Government Awards, and provides facility rental at the SPUR Urban Center. These offerings work together to advance SPUR's mission of creating an equitable, sustainable, and prosperous Bay Area through research, education, and advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SPUR Publications and Policy Reports

Quantifiable outcome

• Voter guide garnered more than 260,000 page views in 2022
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mineta Transportation InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Published Bay Area Parking Census report with Mineta Transportation Institute, providing detailed assessment of region's parking infrastructure to inform future policymaking.
• Terner Center for Housing InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaborated on brief regarding middle-income housing model using joint powers authorities with tax incentives, explaining how this model works and how to ensure meaningful benefits.
• Greenbelt AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Published Watershed Moments with Greenbelt Alliance and Pacific Institute, case studies of Northern California leaders pioneering water efficiency, protecting groundwater, and recycling water.
• Pacific InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2021Collaborated on Water for a Growing Bay Area report (October 2021) showing how the Bay Area can grow without increasing water demand. Joint publication with Pacific Institute laid out 18 recommendations for water management.
• California YIMBYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in housing advocacy, including joint letter to SCAG on SB 79 implementation methodology. SPUR is part of broader coalition working on housing policy reform.
• Abundant Housing LAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in housing advocacy, part of broader coalition advocating for housing policy reform including SB 79 implementation methodology.
• Sierra ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint report on gas appliances and air pollution with Sierra Club and RMI, outlining how state and regional air agencies can end gas appliance pollution in California.
• Tax Fairness ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on research exploring how California's Proposition 13 impacts homeowners in Oakland, examining who benefits from property tax law and who shoulders burdens.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Regional Plan Association: Independent regional planning organization for the New York–New Jersey–Connecticut tri-state region. Directly comparable to SPUR as a member-supported nonprofit producing research, advocacy, and policy recommendations on housing, transit, and urban planning for a large U.S. metro area.
• Greenbelt Alliance: Bay Area land-use and open-space advocacy organization and active SPUR coalition partner. Comparable as a regional nonprofit think-tank/advocate focused on land use, housing, and sustainability in the same nine-county geography.
• California YIMBY: Statewide housing advocacy organization and SPUR coalition partner on SB 79 and other housing reform efforts. Comparable as a mission-aligned advocacy nonprofit driving housing policy reform in California.
• Abundant Housing LA: Los Angeles-based housing advocacy coalition partner of SPUR. Comparable as a regional housing-advocacy organization using research, coalition-building, and policy advocacy on the same playbook SPUR runs at the city/county level.
• Mineta Transportation Institute: San José State University-affiliated transportation policy research institute that co-published the Bay Area Parking Census with SPUR. Comparable as a research-driven policy organization producing transit and infrastructure analysis in the same Bay Area ecosystem.
• Terner Center for Housing Innovation: UC Berkeley-affiliated housing policy research center collaborating with SPUR on middle-income housing and joint powers authorities. Comparable as an applied housing policy research entity producing briefs and recommendations for California housing reform.
• Pacific Institute: Oakland-based water and sustainability research organization that co-published 'Water for a Growing Bay Area' with SPUR. Comparable as a mission-driven research and policy nonprofit focused on sustainability issues affecting the Bay Area.

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute: Large national nonprofit research organization producing evidence-based insights on housing, transportation, and economic policy. Comparable as a policy-research nonprofit with a broader national footprint and similar research-and-advocacy model.
• Brookings Institution: National think tank producing research on urban economics, housing, and metropolitan policy. Comparable as a large-scale, member-supported policy research institution with a similar research/education/advocacy triad, though operating at national rather than regional scale.
• Manhattan Institute: National policy research organization focused on urban issues including housing affordability, transit, and governance. Comparable as a think tank producing applied urban-policy research and engaging directly with city and state policymakers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SPUR_Urbanist
• Facebookfacebook.com/timeline

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 SPUR