Fred T. Korematsu Institute

What Fred T. Korematsu Institute does

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education advocacy organization founded in 2009 and headquartered (via P.O. Box) in San Francisco, California. Its stated mission is to promote civic participation and education that advances racial equity, social justice, and human rights for all. The organization's core function is preserving and extending the legacy of Fred T. Korematsu — the civil rights plaintiff who challenged the WWII Japanese American incarceration before the Supreme Court and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 — through curriculum, media, exhibits, and advocacy. Its principal products are a K-12 Educational Toolkit (and a Digital Curriculum Toolkit version launched in 2022), the Emmy Award-winning documentary "Of Civil Wrongs and Rights," a Telly Award-winning PSA titled "What Would You Do," the national traveling exhibit "Am I An American Or Am I Not?," and the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution observance. Since December 2010 the institute has distributed more than 15,000 educational toolkits to teachers in all 50 U.S. states and 12 countries, and Fred Korematsu Day has been codified by legislation in California (2010), Hawai'i, Virginia, Florida, Arizona, New Jersey, and Michigan, with additional proclamations in Utah, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Name

Fred T. Korematsu Institute

Legal name

Fred T. Korematsu Institute

Website

https://korematsuinstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces K-12 educational toolkits, documentaries, exhibits, and advocacy programs to advance civil rights, racial equity, and civic education in honor of Fred T. Korematsu.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Rights Education and Advocacy

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Mathematics Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAG)

Keywords

• Civil rights education
• Social justice advocacy
• Educational curriculum
• Asian American history
• Civic engagement programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the primary revenue stream is from tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The organization solicits donations through its website and direct outreach.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education advocacy organization that develops and distributes K-12 educational curriculum, documentary media, traveling exhibits, and advocacy programs centered on Fred Korematsu's civil rights legacy, WWII Japanese American incarceration, and contemporary civil liberties issues. The organization provides free toolkits to teachers across all 50 states and 12 countries, and drives legislative recognition of Fred Korematsu Day in multiple U.S. states.

Product overview

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education advocacy organization offering educational programs, media content, and advocacy initiatives focused on advancing racial equity, social justice, and human rights. The organization operates a unified portfolio centered on educational resources and awareness programs: the core Educational Toolkit and Digital Curriculum Toolkit provide curriculum materials for K-12 education; the Of Civil Wrongs and Rights documentary and What Would You Do PSA constitute the media offerings; the Am I An American Or Am I Not? National Traveling Exhibit and Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution program extend reach through exhibits and observances. The institute has distributed over 15,000 toolkits across all 50 states and 12 countries since 2010.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution: An annual observance on January 30 honoring Fred Korematsu's legacy and his fight for racial equity, social justice, and human rights

Products and services

• Educational Toolkit Comprehensive K-12 curriculum kit containing historical information, photos, lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, teacher's guide, and supplemental materials covering Fred Korematsu's story, WWII Japanese American incarceration, Asian American history, and current civil rights issues. Distributed free of charge to teachers upon request.
• Digital Curriculum Toolkit

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

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

• Advancing Justice - Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor civil rights organization partner working on joint advocacy initiatives for Asian American communities.
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional bar association partnership supporting legal advocacy and education.
• U.S. Department of the InteriorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal government partnership for preservation and education about civil rights history.
• National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with leading social studies education organization to promote curriculum resources.
• California Civil Liberties Public Program (CCLPEP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalifornia state program supporting education about civil liberties.
• Asian Pacific American Informational Network (APIAHF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational API heritage archives organization.
• Japanese American National Museum (JANM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier museum preserving and sharing Japanese American experiences and history.
• Japanese American Association of Northern CaliforniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization serving Japanese American community in Northern California.
• Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal grant program supporting preservation of Japanese American confinement sites.
• JACL (Japanese American Citizens League)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization.
• National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization dedicated to the preservation of Japanese American history.
• Voice of WitnessminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHuman rights-focused oral history organization.
• Japanese American Memorial to the Intolerance of 1942minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorial organization dedicated to remembering Japanese American experiences.
• Minidoka PilgrimageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual pilgrimage to historic Japanese American incarceration sites.
• American Muslim Voice FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterfaith civil rights organization that launched the Fred Korematsu Civil Rights Award.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Densho: Densho is a digital archive and education organization dedicated to preserving and sharing stories of Japanese American incarceration during WWII. It offers K-12 curriculum, lesson plans, and teacher resources on the same subject matter and to the same educator audience as the Korematsu Institute.
• Japanese American National Museum: JANM is the premier museum preserving the Japanese American experience and develops K-12 educational programs on Japanese American incarceration and civil rights. It is a listed strategic partner of the Korematsu Institute and serves overlapping schools, community, and government audiences with similar curriculum products.
• Facing History and Ourselves: Facing History provides K-12 civics and human rights curriculum with lesson plans, case studies, and professional development for educators. It competes for the same social studies teachers and districts and addresses overlapping themes of standing up to injustice, making it directly comparable on product and customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center: The Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Center is a national institution that develops exhibits, digital storytelling, and educational resources about Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences. It is a much larger, broader-scope entity that overlaps with the Institute's education and exhibit missions.
• Anti-Defamation League (Education Division): ADL's education division produces K-12 social studies and civics curriculum on bias, civil rights, and Holocaust/internment-era history. It serves schools nationwide with a comparable products-to-educators model though on a much larger scale.

Regional players

• Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience: The Wing Luke Museum is a Seattle-based museum focused on Asian Pacific American history with educational programs, exhibits, and curriculum for schools. It is comparable on mission and product mix but primarily serves the Pacific Northwest rather than operating nationally like the Korematsu Institute.

Others

• Japanese American Citizens League: JACL is the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization and a listed partner of the Korematsu Institute. It complements the Institute through advocacy, education, and community organizing on overlapping civil liberties issues but is not a direct curriculum competitor.
• California History-Social Science Project: CHSSP is a UC-based professional development network supporting K-12 history-social studies teachers in California. It is an enabling organization that funnels curriculum adoption decisions relevant to the Institute's target audience and sits inside the same standards framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/korematsu
• Facebookfacebook.com/KorematsuInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/korematsu-institute-for-civil-rights-and-education
• Instagraminstagram.com/korematsu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Fred T. Korematsu Institute