Variant Strategies

What Variant Strategies does

Variant Strategies is a Brooklyn, NY-based for-profit media and advocacy firm founded in 2019 by Abby Goldberg that produces documentary films, graphic-novel-style animations, multilingual video PSAs, photography exhibitions, and integrated campaign microsites for nonprofit, philanthropic, and multilateral clients. Its portfolio centers on social impact storytelling that pairs trauma-informed interviewing, coalition-based distribution, and strategic campaign design to translate complex legal and social issues into measurable outcomes — including a 2024 Gold Anthem Award for the bail-reform short film This Is Freedom, the We Have Rights immigrant rights campaign (reaching 75 million people across nine languages), and contributions to the Oregon Supreme Court vacating hundreds of non-unanimous jury convictions. The firm's core technology stack is human-driven: a two-person internal team (Goldberg and a Marketing Associate) working alongside a curated per-project network of cinematographers, illustrators (notably Fluor Films), co-production partners (MediaTank Productions), composers (Fiona Apple), narrators (Jesse Williams, Kumail Nanjiani), and grassroots distribution coalitions of 40-500+ partner organizations.

The firm's business model is project-based professional services: bespoke, custom-priced engagements scoped individually with prospective clients who reach out via the website's 'Let's collaborate!' contact form. Revenue is generated through campaign strategy, video production, microsite development, press and influencer outreach, donor event design, and coalition-building services delivered to a highly diversified client base spanning immigrant rights (Brooklyn Defender Services, ACLU, WITNESS), criminal justice (Zealous, Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition, Texas Jail Project), international human rights (IJDH, BAI, CEJIL, KOFAVIV), women's rights (Women's Link Worldwide, KOFAVIV, WDN), philanthropy (Schusterman, MacArthur, Bertha, Hewlett, HIP), and multilateral bodies (UN entities, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; engagements are typically multi-year contracts scoped per project.

The go-to-market motion is sales-led and relationship-driven, anchored by Goldberg's 20+ years of social impact experience, an 11-person Advisory Board drawn from technology (Justos, Bancor, Cactus), philanthropy (Women Donors Network, Skoll Foundation), human rights (IJDH, Digital Democracy), and media, plus a substantial portfolio of founder-led speaking engagements at the UN, U.S. Congress, USAID, the Inter-American Commission, and the International Human Rights Film Festival in Mexico City. Geographic reach spans the United States and at least nine international regions including the Caribbean, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southern Africa, and South/Southeast Asia. Variant has no disclosed external investors, no parent company, and operates as a privately held, founder-owned firm.

Name

Variant Strategies

Legal name

Variant Strategies

Website

https://variantstrategies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Variant Strategies is a Brooklyn-based for-profit media and advocacy firm founded in 2019 that produces documentary films, animated campaigns, and integrated strategic storytelling for nonprofits, philanthropies, and multilateral bodies to drive legal, policy, and funding outcomes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social impact strategy and advocacy media services

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Short-Form Video Creation, Editing & Templates Apps (MPACAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Influencer Campaign Strategy & Planning (BPAFAHAC), Influencer Contracting, Compliance & Rights Management (MPAAAHAL)

Keywords

• Social impact consulting
• Advocacy campaign production
• Documentary film production
• Media strategy services
• Human rights communications

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Project-based professional services: Variant Strategies generates revenue by taking on bespoke, project-based engagements for nonprofits, philanthropies, social businesses, and causes. Engagements typically include film/video production, campaign strategy, microsite development, social media toolkits, press outreach, and distribution strategy. Clients reach out via the 'Let's collaborate!' contact form to discuss opportunities for Variant to help scale their impact. Pricing is custom per project and is not publicly disclosed.
2. Advisory and consulting engagements: Abby Goldberg has consulted for several UN entities, Wikipedia, and other prominent organizations, and has served as a Judge at the International Human Rights Film Festival in Mexico City. These engagements represent an additional consulting/advisory revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Variant Strategies is a media and advocacy firm that partners with organizations, philanthropies, businesses and causes to achieve social justice and human rights impact through innovative storytelling, films and media campaigns. It delivers strategic communications, campaign development, documentary and animated film production, microsite and social media toolkit design, and press/coalition distribution strategy on a project basis. Its work spans animated explainer videos (e.g., We Have Rights), graphic-novel-style films (The Court Watchers), verité documentaries (This Is Freedom, Ja Nou We L), and integrated legislative and judicial advocacy campaigns.

Product overview

Variant Strategies is a single media and advocacy firm (not a multi-module software platform) whose portfolio is an integrated set of named storytelling projects and campaigns — animated videos (We Have Rights, The Court Watchers, #ChildcareForCA), documentary films (This Is Freedom, Still In Prison, Ja Nou We L, Breaking The Wall Of Impunity, Justice for Mexico's Children: Guarderia ABC, Fight The Outbreak, Advancing Justice Through Expert Testimony in Haiti, Silence Interrupted, Plan Hídrico, South Africa's Struggle For Quality Infrastructure, Addressing Forced Disappearances), photography exhibitions (Ja Nou We L), donor convenings and reports (Haitian Women and Girls), bilingual film series (Intercambio), and crowdfunded coalitions (Gather Grassroots Leaders, Global Justice for Burma 8/8/08). All are produced under Variant's core services of strategic campaign development, video production, press and influencer outreach, and distribution strategy. The named projects in the products array collectively constitute Variant's campaign portfolio, delivered with a curated collaborator network of filmmakers, illustrators, editors, and partner organizations rather than as discrete software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Variant Strategies (core campaign strategy and production services) End-to-end social impact campaign services pairing organizations, philanthropies, businesses, and causes with strategic storytelling, video production, and distribution to produce measurable policy, legislative, judicial, and budgetary impact. Engagements are scoped per project and quoted via the website's 'Let's collaborate!' contact form.
• We Have Rights Campaign Series of animated videos in 9 languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, Haitian Creole) teaching immigrants their constitutional rights when interacting with ICE, paired with an emergency plan microsite at wehaverights.us and distributed via a 200+ organization coalition.
• The Court Watchers Short animated film scored by singer Fiona Apple and narrated by actor Jesse Williams, paired with a national education and action campaign to drive volunteer enrollment in virtual court watch programs and advocate for open access to courts.
• This Is Freedom / Freedom Stories Short verité documentary following two real Texans through a normal day of freedom after release under Harris County's bail reform; centerpiece of a national Freedom Stories campaign with premiere, panels, public art, teach-ins, and sustained messaging to grow support for bail reform.
• #ChildcareForCA Campaign Animated video advocacy campaign created for CAPPA (California Alternative Payment Program Association) featuring an animated centerpiece video about a single mother, a microsite at childcareforCA.com, a letter to legislators, and a social media toolkit urging California to increase funding for licensed family child care and raise provider rates.
• Still In Prison Campaign Multi-film campaign and coalition effort pressing for retroactivity of the U.S. Supreme Court's Ramos v. Louisiana ruling on non-unanimous juries to apply in Oregon; succeeded when the Oregon Supreme Court vacated hundreds of convictions in December 2022.
• Ja Nou We L / The Way We See It Photography Exhibition Photography training program, bilingual (English/Haitian Creole) exhibition catalog, and benefit launch built around 47 original photographs taken by survivors of gender-based violence in post-earthquake Haiti, with online print sales benefiting KOFAVIV's 2,000 women members.
• COVID Vaccine Confidence Video Campaign Multilingual PSA video series in three lengths (30s, 60s, 2:30) and nine languages (English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Arabic, Tagalog) created for the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition to counter fears among immigrant communities about immigration-status consequences of COVID vaccination.
• Maryland Juvenile Restoration Act (JRA) PSA Short celebrity-narrated public service announcement built for social media to drive constituent support for Maryland's Juvenile Restoration Act, which ended juvenile life-without-parole sentencing.
• Breaking The Wall Of Impunity Two-film project (one for civil society, one for judges) using the Gelman Decision at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to push Uruguayan judges to reopen dictatorship-era crimes cases and overturn the national impunity law.
• Justice for Mexico's Children: Guarderia ABC Documentary film made for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights hearing on the 2009 Guarderia ABC fire that killed 49 toddlers in Sonora, Mexico; used to push the case to the Inter-American Court and support national reform of nursery safety standards.
• Fight The Outbreak: Holding the UN Accountable for Cholera in Haiti Two-video advocacy package (a 6-minute film for UN and legislator meetings and a 1-minute film in 5 languages for civil society) used in the legal case against the UN for introducing cholera to Haiti via peacekeepers.
• Advancing Justice Through Expert Testimony in Haiti Instructional and motivational documentary film promoting the use of expert witness testimony in Haitian rape cases; became required viewing for incoming Haitian lawyers.
• Silence Interrupted: Challenging Gender Based Violence in Armenia Documentary film and home-screening distribution strategy designed to break taboos around gender-based violence in Armenia and support passage of the country's first domestic violence law.
• Plan Hídrico: Water at the Foot of the Volcano Bilingual (English/Spanish) environmental documentary presenting sustainable solutions to reverse environmental degradation in the Mexico City water basin, used in community meetings and with local authorities.
• Gather Grassroots Leaders Campaign Crowdfunding and storytelling campaign partnership with Indiegogo and the Goldin Institute's Gather Fellows to crowdsource funding for community-led grassroots projects globally.
• Gender Justice Uncovered Awards Animated Film Animated short film promoting Women's Link Worldwide's Gender Justice Uncovered Awards, driving approximately four times more judicial decision nominations for the global database on women's rights.
• Global Justice for Burma 8/8/08 (B8 Campaign) Simultaneous global coalition events held in New Delhi, London, San Francisco, and New York on 8/8/08 calling for criminal accountability for Than Shwe.
• Haitian Women and Girls Donor Convening Day-long donor convening of 70 women donors with grassroots Haitian leaders and experts, plus a follow-up report and recommendations, produced in partnership with the Women Donors Network and UN Foundation.
• South Africa's Struggle For Quality Infrastructure Advocacy documentary and distribution strategy to push implementation of South Africa's Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing basic norms and standards in all public schools.
• Addressing Forced Disappearances in The Migrant Community Documentary film documenting a Honduran community's advocacy to recover family members killed in Mexico, used to push for a transnational body to coordinate identification and return of migrants' bodies.
• Hispanics In Philanthropy (HIP) Migration Program Videos End-of-year video for HIP's Migration Program plus three grantee videos (Women's Link Worldwide, CAFEMIN, Asociacion Pop Noj) in Spanish and English for the grantees' own fundraising use.
• Intercambio Documentary Series Concept Bi-national documentary series concept about the United States and Cuba after 60 years of isolation, intended for cultural exchange and corporate social responsibility partnership.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75 million people reached by the We Have Rights immigrant rights campaign; millions of immigrants helped safeguard themselves against deportation
• +12 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

36 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Brooklyn Defender ServicesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-creator of the We Have Rights immigrant rights video campaign (4 videos in 7 languages). Founded the campaign based on a group of Brooklyn Defender Services immigration lawyers' request to address overwhelming numbers of immigrants seeking information about ICE encounters. Co-distributed campaign materials through BDS network.
• MediaTank ProductionsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecurring co-production partner for animated and live-action films. Co-directed/co-produced We Have Rights (with BDS and ACLU), The Court Watchers, Still In Prison, and other campaigns. Founder Michael Kleiman has provided a testimonial.
• Fluor FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnimation/illustration partner that illustrated the We Have Rights, Court Watchers, COVID Vaccine, and other campaign videos. Listed as a client/partner on the homepage.
• ZealousflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecurring advocacy partner across criminal justice campaigns — Still In Prison (Oregon non-unanimous jury challenge), The Court Watchers (court accountability), and This is Freedom / Freedom Stories (Harris County bail reform). CEO Scott Hechinger calls Variant Strategies his advocacy film and storytelling 'dream team.'
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerNational distribution partner for the We Have Rights campaign; engaged as a national partner on Still In Prison; listed as a client/partner on the Partners & Clients page.
• WITNESScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-collaborator on the fifth We Have Rights video ('When Documenting ICE Arrests') released in 2020; advisory board member Michael J. Hirschhorn also serves on the WITNESS board.
• California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for the #ChildcareforCA video advocacy campaign, microsite, social media toolkit, and legislative outreach. Successful launch on 3/1/23 with 20k+ video views in the first week.
• Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partner on UN Cholera accountability campaign (Fight The Outbreak), Advancing Justice Through Expert Testimony in Haiti, and other Haiti-focused projects. Advisory board member Brian Concannon is Executive Director of IJDH.
• Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHaitian legal partner on the UN Cholera campaign and expert testimony film.
• Goldin InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on the Gather Grassroots Leaders Campaign with the inaugural class of Gather Fellows. Executive Director Travis Rejman provided a testimonial. 4-month program raised $15,000+ via Indiegogo partnership.
• IndiegogocoreTechnology or IntegrationCrowdfunding platform partner for the Gather Grassroots Leaders campaign. Variant pitched Indiegogo on the partnership and developed a 'Collections and Information Page' on the platform.
• Women's Link WorldwideflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for the Gender Justice Uncovered Awards animated film; featured grantee in the HIP Migration Program video. The video drove ~4x more case submissions than ever before.
• Women's Resource Center (Armenia)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient/partner on the 'Silence Interrupted' documentary on gender-based violence; contributed to passage of Armenia's first domestic violence law.
• Equal Education / Equal Education Legal CentreflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for the South Africa's Struggle for Quality Infrastructure documentary (12-day shoot covering over 2,000 miles across the Eastern Cape).
• KOFAVIV (Commission of Women Victims for Victims)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHaitian grassroots women's organization (2,000 members) that co-produced the Ja Nou We L photography exhibition, benefit at Splashlight Studios, and ongoing GBV response programs. Co-founder Marie Eramithe Delva is on Variant's Advisory Board.
• ELK StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC-based photography agency partner on the Ja Nou We L exhibition curation, catalog, and benefit event. Listed as a partner on the homepage.
• Democracy LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization. President and Founder Alvaro Salas provided a testimonial.
• DigiRanchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed partner on the Partners & Clients homepage.
• Global Citizen YearminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed partner on the Partners & Clients homepage.
• Hemispheric InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed partner on the Partners & Clients homepage.
• Nike Community ImpactminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed partner on the Partners & Clients homepage.
• Maryland Juvenile Justice CoalitionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient/partner for the JRA PSA and broader campaign supporting the Maryland Juvenile Restoration Act.
• New Media Advocacy Project (N-Map)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Abby Goldberg. Co-produced multiple films including Plan Hídrico, Justice for Mexico's Children Guarderia ABC, Breaking the Wall of Impunity, Silence Interrupted, South Africa's Struggle for Quality Infrastructure, Advancing Justice in Haiti, and the UN Cholera case.
• Digital DemocracyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Abby Goldberg; led the Haiti program together with Digital Democracy. Emily Jacobi (Founder & Executive Director) is on Variant's Advisory Board. Co-produced the Ja Nou We L exhibition and KOFAVIV photography training program.
• Global Justice CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Abby Goldberg; Variant Founder Abby Goldberg served as Director of Communication and Fundraising at GJC. Partner on the Global Justice for Burma 8/8/08 (B8 Campaign).
• Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on the 'Breaking The Wall Of Impunity' documentary about Uruguay dictatorship crimes accountability.
• Isaiah King StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on the Gender Justice Uncovered Awards animated film.
• Protecting Immigrant Families CoalitionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for the COVID-19 vaccine confidence video in 9 languages, 3 lengths, distributed via coalition of 500+ immigrant justice organizations.
• Hispanics In Philanthropy (HIP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for the HIP Migration Program End of Year video and grantee videos; listed as a partner on the homepage.
• Texas Jail ProjectflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner on the 'This is Freedom' / Freedom Stories bail reform documentary in Harris County, Texas.
• Splashlight StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC-based venue host for the Ja Nou We L benefit event that raised over $20,000 for KOFAVIV.
• International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on the B8 Campaign including events in New Delhi, London, San Francisco, and New York; contributed to Than Shwe stepping down from power in 2011.
• Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center (PRODH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for the Justice for Mexico's Children: Guarderia ABC documentary shown at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
• Movimiento 5 de Junio (Parents of Guarderia ABC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization on the Guarderia ABC campaign film distributed to commemorate the fire.
• CAFEMIN (Casa de Acogida, Formación y Empoderamiento para la Mujer Migrante y Refugiada)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrantee featured in HIP Migration Program video for Hispanics In Philanthropy.
• Asociacion Pop NojminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrantee featured in HIP Migration Program video for Hispanics In Philanthropy.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• M+R: M+R is a marketing and communications agency exclusively serving nonprofits, foundations, and advocacy organizations across digital, media, and creative services. Like Variant, M+R operates as a specialist agency for mission-driven organizations but at much larger scale and with a broader service portfolio.
• Spitfire Strategies: Spitfire Strategies is a strategic communications firm exclusively serving nonprofits and foundations with message research, campaign strategy, and media planning. It is comparable to Variant's 'strategy-first, not media-first' positioning and shared nonprofit/foundation client base.
• Purpose: Purpose is a creative agency and strategy consultancy that builds and runs campaigns, movements, and communications for social impact, progressive causes, and purpose-driven brands. It is the closest peer to Variant Strategies in combining campaign strategy, creative production, and coalition distribution for measurable social outcomes.
• Burness: Burness is a communications firm supporting nonprofits, foundations, and social impact organizations with strategic communications, media relations, and narrative work. Directly comparable to Variant's positioning as a mission-focused communications partner, though with broader scale and a more PR-centric orientation.
• Kartemquin Films: Kartemquin Films is a Chicago-based documentary production company that produces socially conscious nonfiction films and runs community engagement and impact campaigns. Comparable to Variant in documentary production for social justice and human rights issues, with a longer track record and a wider distribution footprint in public television.
• Blue State: Blue State is a digital agency that works with nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and progressive causes on creative, digital, and fundraising campaigns. Like Variant, it serves movement-driven clients and combines creative production with distribution, though at significantly larger scale and with technology-enabled fundraising capabilities.
• Fenton: Fenton is a social impact communications firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and philanthropies on narrative strategy, media relations, and campaign execution. Comparable to Variant in mission-driven positioning and foundation/advocacy client base, with broader scale and digital capabilities.
• GMMB: GMMB is an advertising and strategic communications firm specializing in issue advocacy, public health, and social impact campaigns for foundations, nonprofits, and government. Comparable to Variant in social impact campaign work and foundation/nonprofit client mix, with significantly greater paid media, data, and production capacity.

Broad incumbents

• BerlinRosen: BerlinRosen is a progressive public relations and strategic communications firm serving nonprofits, advocacy groups, foundations, and political clients. Comparable to Variant in serving progressive causes with strategic communications, though at far greater scale and with broader corporate, political, and tech-sector clients.
• Participant Media: Participant Media is an entertainment company that produces film, television, and digital content explicitly designed to drive social impact. Comparable to Variant's strategy of pairing storytelling with measurable social outcomes, but operating at the scale of a major Hollywood studio with a much broader content portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VariantAdvocacy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Variant Strategies