Voices for Racial Justice

What Voices for Racial Justice does

Voices for Racial Justice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1993 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, originally as the Organizing Apprenticeship Project. The organization operates as a community-led racial justice entity with 1-10 employees, focused on training new and emergent leaders from Black, brown, and Indigenous communities, convening networks of BIPOC change makers, and shifting narratives through storytelling in Minnesota. Its core programmatic offerings include the Education Equity Parent Fellowship (a paid, cohort-based training program for BIPOC parents that has run for 5 years and graduated 16 parents in June 2025), the Alumni Expansion Cohort for ongoing fellowship engagement, multilingual safety planning resources for immigrant families (available in English, Spanish, and Somali), and the proprietary Centering Community in Policymaking Framework. In 2025-2026, the organization completed a strategic planning process and rebrand, and announced a new training series launching in 2026 covering community organizing, inclusive policymaking, and storytelling for change.

The organization's business model is nonprofit grant and donation funded, with no traditional revenue-generating products or services sold to customers. Revenue streams consist of individual donations, corporate contributions, and foundation grants, supplemented by fellowship funding that pays stipends to participating parents. Distribution occurs through direct program delivery, coalition partner networks (including Get On Board, Advancing Equity Coalition, MN Ethnic Studies, Solutions Not Suspensions, and Teachers of Color Act Coalition), and digital self-serve resource distribution. The organization participated in a national coalition white paper on AmeriCorps modernization in March 2026 alongside EDSAFE AI Alliance, City Year, and Voices for National Service, reflecting a policy advocacy posture that extends beyond Minnesota. The organization's competitive position rests on 30+ years of community organizing history, a deeply embedded alumni network of trained organizers, and proprietary frameworks rather than technology or data assets.

Name

Voices for Racial Justice

Legal name

Voices for Racial Justice

Website

https://voicesforracialjustice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Voices for Racial Justice is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit founded in 1993 that trains and convenes BIPOC leaders through cohort-based fellowships, narrative change, and coalition organizing to advance racial justice in Minnesota.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Community Organizing and Racial Justice Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Racial & Ethnic Justice Organizations (BPAGAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ), Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG), Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Racial justice organizing
• Community leadership training
• Education equity advocacy
• Community policymaking frameworks
• Nonprofit fellowship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit organization, Voices for Racial Justice operates primarily through individual donations, corporate donations, and foundation grants. The organization accepts donations through their website and hosts fundraising campaigns for specific initiatives like rent relief for immigrant families.
2. Fellowship Stipends: The organization provides paid fellowship opportunities to participants in their Education Equity Parent Fellowship program, where parents of color receive compensation for their participation in the 18-session training cohort.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Voices for Racial Justice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that trains and convenes BIPOC community leaders in Minnesota through cohort-based fellowship programs, develops frameworks for community-centered policymaking, and distributes multilingual safety planning resources for immigrant families. Its core offerings include the Education Equity Parent Fellowship, Alumni Expansion Cohort, the Centering Community in Policymaking Framework, and downloadable safety planning packets.

Product overview

Voices for Racial Justice offers a portfolio of organizing and advocacy programs rather than a technology product. The core offerings include the Education Equity Parent Fellowship (a paid cohort-based training for BIPOC parents), the Alumni Expansion Cohort for ongoing leadership development, Safety Planning Resources (multilingual printable materials in English, Spanish, and Somali), and the Centering Community in Policymaking Framework. New training programs in community organizing, inclusive policymaking, and storytelling for change are launching in summer 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Education Equity Parent Fellowship

Quantifiable outcome

• 55 organizers and community leaders engaged in strategic planning process in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EDSAFE AI AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026VRJ joined a coalition including EDSAFE AI Alliance, City Year, the Partnership for Student Success, and Voices for National Service to release a white paper on AmeriCorps modernization. The paper argues that AmeriCorps should be expanded as a workforce development vehicle to address job displacement caused by generative AI, proposing a policy roadmap for human-centric skills training.
• City YearcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026Part of the coalition white paper on AmeriCorps. City Year contributes expertise in national service and youth development as part of the policy roadmap to address career gaps among young Americans.
• Partnership for Student SuccesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026Coalition partner in the white paper release focused on AmeriCorps policy modernization. Contributes to the policy roadmap addressing workforce development and career gaps.
• Voices for National ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026Coalition partner and co-releaser of the white paper on AmeriCorps modernization. Named partner in the coalition focused on national service as a workforce development vehicle.
• Get On BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner working on education equity initiatives. Logo displayed on VRJ's Education Equity page alongside other coalition partners focused on disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and advancing education equity.
• Advancing Equity CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner on education equity work. Listed as a key partner in VRJ's Education Equity initiative focused on ensuring students of color are represented and supported in classrooms.
• MN Ethnic StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner working on ethnic studies education in Minnesota schools. Partners with VRJ in education equity coalition efforts.
• Solutions Not SuspensionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner focused on disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline through alternative discipline approaches. Works with VRJ on education equity initiatives.
• Teachers of Color Act CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on advancing legislation to increase representation of teachers of color in Minnesota schools. Alumni of VRJ's Education Equity Fellowship continue to work on this initiative.
• Ayada LeadscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMovement partner celebrating 10 years of work including leadership trainings like Get On Board and civic engagement programs. VRJ celebrated Ayada Leads' 10th Anniversary Gala and has deep gratitude for partnership in movement building.
• Wilder FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with VRJ in 2025 for community listening sessions. The Wilder Foundation helped facilitate honest conversations with community members to inform VRJ's new strategic plan.
• Equity & ResultscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting partner that worked with VRJ to create a new strategic plan rooted in love, strength, and solidarity based on community input gathered through Wilder Foundation listening sessions.
• Blackbird RevoltminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCreative agency that designed VRJ's new brand and logo, which situates VRJ in the constellation of liberatory movements and incorporates the northern star and big dipper constellation symbolizing hope, imagination, and connection to ancestors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Race Forward: Race Forward is a national racial justice nonprofit that advances racial equity through research, narrative change, and organizing — closely mirroring VRJ's three-pillar model of training, convening, and narrative change.
• Advancement Project: Advancement Project is a racial justice organization that combines community organizing, policy advocacy, and litigation to advance equity — comparable to VRJ's blend of training, coalition work, and policy frameworks.
• Center for Popular Democracy: Center for Popular Democracy is a network of progressive community organizations that build power through organizing, leadership development, and policy advocacy — directly parallel to VRJ's three-pillar model.
• People's Action: People's Action is a national network that organizes and trains members to drive progressive policy change across states — directly comparable to VRJ's cohort-based training and coalition-led policy advocacy approach.
• Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): SURJ organizes white people to act for racial justice through training, base-building, and narrative change — overlapping with VRJ's leadership training and narrative shift pillars, though with a different demographic focus.

Regional players

• ACLU of Minnesota: ACLU of Minnesota is a state affiliate of a national civil liberties organization that engages in advocacy and legal action on racial justice, immigrant rights, and education equity — comparable to VRJ's advocacy footprint in Minnesota.
• ISAIAH: ISAIAH is a Minnesota-based faith-rooted community organizing coalition that trains leaders and drives policy campaigns — overlapping with VRJ's cohort-based training and state-level policy advocacy work.
• TakeAction Minnesota: TakeAction Minnesota is a state-based progressive organizing group that runs training programs, policy campaigns, and coalition work — directly comparable to VRJ's Minnesota-focused organizing model and education equity coalitions.

Broad incumbents

• National Urban League: The National Urban League is a historic civil rights and social justice organization advancing economic and educational equity — a broad incumbent whose education and equity programming overlaps with VRJ's parent fellowship and policy work.
• NAACP: NAACP is the largest U.S. civil rights organization with deep expertise in racial justice advocacy, legal work, and education equity — a broader incumbent operating in the same advocacy space as VRJ.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/voices4rj
• Facebookfacebook.com/Voices4RJ
• Instagraminstagram.com/voices4rj

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Voices for Racial Justice