Essie Justice Group

What Essie Justice Group does

Essie Justice Group is a 501(c)(3)-style nonprofit organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in Oakland, California. According to its self-description, it harnesses the collective power of women with incarcerated loved ones to empower women and end mass incarceration, indicating a dual mission of direct support to a defined beneficiary population and broader criminal-justice reform advocacy. The organization operates with a small staff of 1-10 employees under founder and executive director Gina Clayton, suggesting a lean operating model focused on community organizing, narrative change, and policy advocacy rather than service delivery at scale. There is no proprietary technology platform, app, or API referenced in any available source; the organization's public-facing website (essiejusticegroup.org) returned only a loader page during data collection, indicating limited transparency into current programs, membership size, or geographic reach. The revenue model is characteristic of mission-driven nonprofits: philanthropic grant funding from foundations and likely individual donors, with the only explicitly disclosed funder being The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, which provided a 2017 grant and is known for multi-year venture philanthropy commitments to early-stage social entrepreneurs. No pricing model, productized services, or commercial customer segments apply, and no evidence of geographic expansion beyond the Oakland base was found in the input.

Name

Essie Justice Group

Website

https://essiejusticegroup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Essie Justice Group is a Oakland-based nonprofit founded in 2014 that organizes women with incarcerated loved ones to advance criminal-justice reform and end mass incarceration, operating with a small staff under founder Gina Clayton.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Criminal Justice Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Criminal Justice Reform & Legal System Advocacy (BPAGAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN), Racial & Ethnic Justice Organizations (BPAGAFAC), Transitional Justice, Accountability & Reparations (BPADAGAL)

Keywords

• Criminal justice advocacy
• Incarcerated family support
• Mass incarceration reform
• Women empowerment programs
• Community organizing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Core offering

Essie Justice Group is a nonprofit organization that organizes and mobilizes women with incarcerated loved ones to advocate for policy reform, peer support, and systemic change aimed at ending mass incarceration. The organization provides community-based advocacy, leadership development, and direct support services to a constituency of women and families directly impacted by incarceration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advocacy and Organizing Program

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Expansion highlights1 record

Broad incumbents

• The Sentencing Project: National research and advocacy organization focused on reducing the use of incarceration and addressing racial disparities. Comparable mission area (ending mass incarceration) with substantially larger research, advocacy, and policy footprint.
• Equal Justice Initiative: Major national criminal justice reform nonprofit working to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment. Compares to Essie on mission (ending mass incarceration) and reform-advocacy posture, but operates at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
• Vera Institute of Justice: Established national research and policy nonprofit advancing justice reform across incarceration, policing, and immigration. Shares Essie's reform mission but operates as a much larger policy and research institution rather than a constituency-led advocacy group.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Major national law and policy institute working on criminal justice reform, democracy, and constitutional issues. Comparable reform-advocacy positioning on mass incarceration, though with a much broader portfolio and institutional scale.

Regional players

• Anti-Recidivism Coalition: California-based advocacy and support organization led by formerly incarcerated people, focused on reducing recidivism through policy reform and direct services. Comparable model of directly-impacted leadership driving reform, anchored in California like Essie.

Direct peers

• A New Way of Life: A Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing housing, reentry support, and advocacy for women with incarceration histories. Highly comparable to Essie Justice Group given the shared focus on directly-impacted women, advocacy for systemic reform, and small-team nonprofit operating model.
• National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls: National membership organization led by formerly incarcerated women advocating for gender-responsive policy and support. Closely comparable in constituency-led model and criminal justice reform focus targeting women.

Emerging players

• Black Mamas Bail Out: Movement-driven effort to bail out Black mothers and caregivers pretrial while exposing cash-bail injustice. Overlaps with Essie on centering directly-impacted Black women and intersectional advocacy against mass incarceration.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/essie4justice
• Facebookfacebook.com/timeline

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

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 Essie Justice Group