Goldin Institute

What Goldin Institute does

Goldin Institute is a Chicago-headquartered nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman, following a convening of grassroots leaders from Chicago and 14 countries. The organization inspires, equips, and connects grassroots leaders in over 50 countries to lead community-driven social change across themes including poverty alleviation, gender empowerment, environmental sustainability, conflict resolution, and violence prevention. It operates three core programs: the Goldin Global Fellows (an international Community of Practice for grassroots leaders), the Chicago Peace Fellows (a local program serving Chicago's South and West sides most impacted by violence), and the Mutual Aid Collaborative (a collective-action initiative launched by Chicago Peace Fellows alumni in response to COVID-19 and violence). The institute is governed by a Board of Advisors with founder-led continuity (Diane Goldin as Founder and Board Chair, Travis Rejman as Executive Director) and maintains wholly-owned regional offices in Mosquera, Colombia and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Its primary technology asset is the GATHER Platform, a mobile learning and curriculum delivery system pre-loaded on tablet devices. GATHER delivers connectivity, materials, videos, practices, and tools to provide a mobile classroom and toolkit for community leadership; features highlighted include collaborative learning, real-time communication, and practical field tools. The platform functions as enabling infrastructure for the fellowship programs rather than a standalone commercial product, and no application programming interfaces, SDKs, AI/ML components, patents, or third-party model integrations are disclosed in source materials.

The business model is donation-based and nonprofit. Funding comes from tax-deductible individual contributions offered at suggested levels of $100, $50, $25, or custom amounts, with a recurring donation option. Funds are directed to Grassroots Leadership, Global Fellows, Chicago Fellows, or Mutual Aid programs. No revenue figures, grants total, or fundraising rounds are disclosed. The customer base in a nonprofit sense consists of grassroots leader participants, beneficiary communities in 50+ countries, and individual donors; there are no disclosed enterprise customers, paid product tiers, or contract-based revenue streams.

Name

Goldin Institute

Legal name

Goldin Institute

Website

https://goldininstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Goldin Institute is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 2002 that equips and connects grassroots leaders across 50+ countries through its Global Fellows and Chicago Peace Fellows programs, supported by the GATHER mobile learning platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Pricing tiers

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Goldin Institute is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that runs fellowship programs (Goldin Global Fellows, Chicago Peace Fellows) and operates the GATHER mobile learning platform to connect, train, and equip grassroots leaders in over 50 countries for community-driven social change, peace building, and mutual aid initiatives.

Product overview

Goldin Institute is a Chicago-based nonprofit that operates as a portfolio of fellowship programs and a technology platform. The organization offers three main programs: the Goldin Global Fellows (international grassroots leadership program spanning 50+ countries), Chicago Peace Fellows (local peace-building fellowship), and the Mutual Aid Collaborative (collective action initiative). The GATHER Platform serves as the digital infrastructure supporting these programs, providing mobile-based shared learning, curriculum delivery, and connectivity tools for community leadership development. The organization does not appear to have a unified software product but rather provides programmatic offerings with an enabling technology component.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Goldin Global Fellows: A program that brings together grassroots leaders from around the world to learn and work together as a Community of Practice
• Chicago Peace Fellows
• GATHER Platform

Products and services

• Goldin Global Fellows A global fellowship program bringing together grassroots leaders from around the world to learn and work together as a Community of Practice, building on community talents and assets to drive real and lasting social change across 50+ countries.
• Chicago Peace Fellows A local fellowship program connecting and empowering leaders from neighborhoods across Chicago's West and South sides as a community of practice promoting grassroots peace-building, with over 100 alumni who have raised $100K+ for violence prevention in 20+ Chicago communities.
• GATHER Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 grassroots leaders equipped across 50+ countries
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ashoka: Global nonprofit identifying and supporting leading social entrepreneurs ('Ashoka Fellows') across many countries. Highly comparable to Goldin Institute's model of selecting, training, and networking grassroots leaders into a lifelong community of practice.
• Search for Common Ground: International conflict resolution nonprofit operating in fragile and conflict-affected countries with programs focused on peacebuilding. Closely comparable mission and multi-country grassroots delivery model to Goldin Institute.
• Peace Direct: UK-based nonprofit that supports local peacebuilders in conflict-affected countries through funding, training, and network-building. Directly comparable grassroots-peacebuilding model to Goldin Institute.
• International Alert: International peacebuilding nonprofit working with people affected by conflict across multiple regions. Comparable mission and multi-country grassroots peacebuilding footprint to Goldin Institute.
• Grassroots Solutions: U.S.-based civic engagement firm supporting grassroots leaders and community organizing. Comparable bottom-up approach to community leadership development.
• Beyond Conflict: Nonprofit focused on reducing violent conflict through leadership development and dialogue programs internationally. Comparable grassroots peace leadership training model.

Emerging players

• BuildOn: Nonprofit combining domestic urban service programs with international community-building in developing countries. Partial overlap with Goldin's dual Chicago/global programmatic model.
• Cure Violence (Cure Violence Global Institute): U.S.-based nonprofit treating violence as a public health issue, with programs operating in Chicago neighborhoods affected by violence. Overlaps with Goldin Institute's Chicago Peace Fellows violence-premission mission.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Large international humanitarian and development NGO working across conflict, poverty, and climate verticals in 40+ countries. Broader-scope incumbent in the same global grassroots-development space as Goldin Institute.

Others

• Resilience Builders: Adjacent capacity-building and leadership development programs for community organizers. Ecosystem peer in the grassroots leadership development space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GoldinInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/goldininstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Goldin Institute