Coalition on Homelessness

What Coalition on Homelessness does

The Coalition on Homelessness is a San Francisco-based 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1987 that organizes homeless and formerly homeless individuals alongside front-line service providers to create permanent solutions to homelessness while protecting the human rights of those living on the streets. The organization operates two primary weekly workgroups — Housing Justice and Human Rights — composed entirely of homeless and formerly homeless members who set policy and strategy, and publishes the Street Sheet, the oldest continuously published street newspaper in North America. Its policy output over nearly four decades has produced landmark research reports including Punishing the Poorest, Shelter Shock, The Roadmap, and Stop the Revolving Door, and has directly shaped San Francisco's homelessness, shelter, and policing policies.

The Coalition's core deliverables are not commercial technology but organizing and research products: the Street Sheet newspaper, an extensive library of peer-led research publications, advocacy campaigns such as RVBan2025 and Stolen Belonging, and direct legal referrals through the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights handling approximately 3,000 civil rights cases per year. The underlying technology footprint is minimal — a Square merchandise storefront, a Fundraise Up donation platform, a basic WordPress website, and bitcoin donation processing via OpenNode — with no proprietary platform or software product.

The revenue model is grassroots individual donations, with 520 individual donors in the most recent reported year and 60 monthly sustainers comprising the bulk of operating support. Supplemental income comes from merchandise sales (hoodies, beanies, totes), vehicle donations processed through Auction City and Vehicles for Charity, Community Thrift Store designations (Account #205), house party fundraisers, and bitcoin donations. The organization deliberately does not accept government funding to maintain advocacy independence, which limits total revenue scale but reinforces its policy posture. Geographic scope is exclusively San Francisco, with policy influence extending to California state-level legislation including the Right to Rest Act.

Name

Coalition on Homelessness

Legal name

Coalition on Homelessness

Website

https://cohsf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless Advocacy and Housing Justice Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Other Community Housing Services (624229), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Housing & Neighborhood Services (Local Housing Programs) (BPAIACAJ)

Keywords

• Homeless advocacy services
• Community organizing programs
• Street newspaper publishing
• Housing justice advocacy
• Human rights organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Grassroots donations from individual supporters constitute the vast majority of the organization's budget. Last year there were 520 individual donors, with 60 giving monthly sustainer donations. Donations are tax-deductible as the organization is a 501c3 nonprofit.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Coalition hoodies, beanies, Street Sheet masks, and totes through an online storefront at coalition-on-homelessness.square.site.
3. Vehicle Donations: Accepts donations of cars, RVs, and boats through Auction City (online or 1-800-574-0888) and Vehicles for Charity (1-866-628-2277), with proceeds supporting the Coalition.
4. Community Thrift Donations: Donations designated to Coalition on Homelessness (Account #205) at Community Thrift Store (623 Valencia St., San Francisco). Accepts clothing, furniture, electronics, books, artwork, and more.
5. House Party Fundraisers: Community members host house parties or birthday parties with Coalition staff presenting campaigns; facilitated by Development Director at (415) 346-3740 x303.
6. Bitcoin Donations: Organization now accepts bitcoin donations via OpenNode payment gateway.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Coalition on Homelessness organizes homeless people and front-line service providers in San Francisco to create permanent housing solutions and protect the human rights of those forced to remain on the streets. It delivers this through two weekly community workgroups (Housing Justice and Human Rights), the Street Sheet street newspaper (the oldest continuously published street newspaper in North America), a research publications program, advocacy campaigns such as RVBan2025 and Stolen Belonging, civil rights case referrals, and educational resources including a Know Your Rights pamphlet and a Homelessness Services Guide.

Product overview

Coalition on Homelessness is a grassroots non-profit organization that does not offer a traditional tech product but provides advocacy services, research publications, and community organizing programs. The organization operates through two primary workgroups (Housing Justice and Human Rights), publishes the Street Sheet street newspaper, conducts research and publishes reports (including Stop the Revolving Door, Punishing the Poorest, and The Roadmap), runs advocacy campaigns like RVBan2025 and Stolen Belonging, and provides educational resources including Know Your Rights pamphlets and a Homelessness Services Guide. The organization also operates a merchandise store for fundraising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Street Sheet: A street newspaper that is the oldest continuously published in North America and has the largest circulation. Published by the Coalition on Homelessness.

Products and services

• Street Sheet newspaper The oldest continuously published street newspaper in North America and the paper with the largest circulation; sold by homeless and formerly homeless vendors throughout San Francisco to support themselves while distributing the Coalition's editorial content.
• Housing Justice Workgroup

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,306 housing subsidies won for homeless families, elderly, youth, single adults and disabled adults over five years (2010-2019)
• +7 more outcomes

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

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollectively founded with organizations in the East Bay, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle. A regional advocacy coalition focused on addressing homelessness through policy advocacy and organizing at the Western regional level. The Coalition on Homelessness co-founded WRAP alongside these partner cities.
• Community Housing PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated by the Coalition in 1991-1995 as the first supportive housing for homeless people in San Francisco. Now provides over 1,000 units of permanent affordable supportive housing and employs homeless people in construction, maintenance, and support services at those housing locations.
• GLIDEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for peer researchers. GLIDE referred candidates to the Coalition's peer research team for the Stop the Revolving Door needs assessment survey (2020).
• Lawyers' Committee for Civil RightscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe Coalition connects homeless folks who have received 'quality of life' citations to pro bono legal representation through the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. Coalition handles more than 3,000 civil rights cases per year through this partnership.
• UC Berkeley Center for Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with UC Berkeley Center for Human Rights to release 'Punishing the Poorest: How the Criminalization of Homelessness Perpetuates Poverty in San Francisco' (2017), a major research publication.
• Our Trans Home SFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked with Our Trans Home SF, which won a $2.3 million allocation for the City's first transitional housing for homeless trans and gender non-conforming people.
• Transgender, Gender-variant, Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for peer researchers. TGIJP referred candidates to the Coalition's peer research team for conducting transgender-specific focus groups and interviews in the Stop the Revolving Door needs assessment (2020).
• Tipping Point CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for peer researchers. Tipping Point Community referred candidates to the Coalition's peer research team. Additionally, the Coalition's Roadmap plan leveraged $1.5 million in private funding match sourced through Tipping Point.
• Larkin Street Youth ServicesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organization listed on the Coalition's Learn More page. Conducted focus groups with youth experiencing homelessness for the Stop the Revolving Door needs assessment.
• Homeless Prenatal ProgramminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organization listed on the Coalition's Learn More page. Conducted bilingual focus groups with doubled-up families for the Stop the Revolving Door needs assessment.
• SRO Families UnitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition collaborated with SRO Families United ally organization to release 'Living on The Margins: An analysis and Census of San Francisco Families Living in SROs' report.
• People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Coalition's General Assistance Rights Union spun off to become POWER, an independent organization. This eventually led to single adult welfare recipients earning a living wage and winning free Muni for youth in SF.
• El/La Para Trans LatinascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization that conducted individual interviews with transgender Latinas for the Coalition's Stop the Revolving Door needs assessment, specifically centering trans women of color experiences in homelessness research.
• St. James Infirmary (Mujeres Latinas en Acción)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted in-person interviews and focus groups with transgender individuals at St. James Infirmary's Mujeres Latinas en Acción group for the Stop the Revolving Door needs assessment, providing privacy for participants to share experiences on housing, substance use, and mental health.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP): WRAP is a regional homelessness and housing justice coalition co-founded by the Coalition on Homelessness alongside East Bay, LA, Portland, and Seattle groups. They share the same community-organizing, anti-criminalization model and publish parallel campaigns and policy research.
• Glide Foundation: Glide is a San Francisco–based nonprofit serving homeless and low-income populations through meals, housing, and harm reduction programs and is a direct referral partner of the Coalition. Both organizations serve overlapping homeless constituencies in SF with complementary advocacy and direct-service offerings.
• Hamilton Families: Hamilton Families runs SF's largest emergency family shelter system and supportive housing programs, operating in the same geography on family homelessness issues the Coalition organizes around. The two organizations share donor pools and co-lead housing justice campaigns including right-to-counsel.
• National Coalition for the Homeless: National Coalition for the Homeless is the U.S. national advocacy organization advancing homeless rights, civil rights, and housing justice, sharing the Coalition's rights-based, anti-criminalization framework. It is the closest peer at the national scale to the Coalition's local advocacy mission.
• Homeless Prenatal Program: Homeless Prenatal Program is a SF nonprofit serving homeless families and is a Coalition referral and research partner. Both organizations serve homeless families in San Francisco and conduct joint advocacy and bilingual research initiatives.
• Larkin Street Youth Services: Larkin Street is a SF nonprofit serving homeless youth with housing, education, and employment programs and is a Coalition research and referral partner. Both organizations address homelessness in SF with overlapping service populations and joint advocacy campaigns.
• TGI Justice Project: TGIJP is a SF-based transgender, gender-variant, and intersex justice organization that is a Coalition referral and research partner. Both organizations center lived experience, address trans homelessness in San Francisco, and conduct joint needs assessments.
• Community Housing Partnership: CHP is the supportive housing provider the Coalition created in 1991-1995 and now operates over 1,000 units of permanent supportive housing in SF. It is the operating-service arm born from the Coalition's advocacy, making it the most institutionally linked peer.

Emerging players

• St. Anthony's Foundation: St. Anthony's is a long-standing SF nonprofit serving homeless and low-income residents through meals, social services, and the Tenderloin Technology Lab. It shares the Coalition's SF homeless constituency but is primarily a direct-service rather than advocacy organization, making it a complementary peer.

Regional players

• Tipping Point Community: Tipping Point is a Bay Area anti-poverty fund that referred research participants to the Coalition and co-funded the $1.5 million private match under the Roadmap plan. They sit in overlapping SF homelessness funder and advocacy networks with shared grantees but operate as a funder rather than direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thecoalitionsf
• Facebookfacebook.com/CoalitionOnHomelessness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coalition-on-homelessness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Coalition on Homelessness