Voices for Virginia’s Children

What Voices for Virginia’s Children does

Voices for Virginia's Children is a nonpartisan research and advocacy nonprofit founded in 1994 and headquartered at 2405 Westwood Avenue, Suite F, in Richmond, Virginia. It describes itself as the commonwealth's only independent, multi-issue child policy and advocacy organization, focused on children whose needs are often overlooked, with policy concentration in early childhood care and education, foster care and adoption, health and mental health, and family economic security.

The organization runs a portfolio of non-commercial programs and tools rather than a unified software platform. Its core assets are the KIDS COUNT Data Center for Virginia, which maintains more than 200 state- and locality-level indicators on child well-being (as the Virginia affiliate of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's national KIDS COUNT network), and the VAYA (Virginia's Youth in Action) youth advocacy leadership program for young people ages 15-24. Supporting tools include Action Alerts, an online Bill Tracker, the annual Policy Agenda, the Our Stories Our Future Storybook, and the H.R. 1 Cuts Map Visualizer for federal policy impact analysis. The organization coordinates 8 advocacy coalitions and convenes events such as the annual Amplify Awards and intergenerational Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly.

The revenue model is donations and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners; no products or services are sold and pricing is not applicable. It maintains a small staff (1-10 employees) led by CEO Rachael Deane, with a Director of Engagement, Director of Communications, and Senior Director of Operations. Operating geography is the Commonwealth of Virginia, with an analytical and advocacy footprint that has begun extending to federal policy impacts on Virginia families.

Name

Voices for Virginia’s Children

Legal name

Voices for Virginia's Children

Website

https://vakids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Voices for Virginia's Children is a nonpartisan research and advocacy nonprofit founded in 1994 that advances Virginia child and family policy across early childhood, child welfare, mental health, health equity, and economic security. It operates the KIDS COUNT data center, the VAYA youth program, and 8 advocacy coalitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Policy Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

Keywords

• Child policy advocacy
• Nonprofit research organization
• Youth development programs
• KIDS COUNT data center
• Child welfare advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

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. Donations and Contributions: As a nonprofit organization, Voices for Virginia's Children generates revenue primarily through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners who support their mission of improving outcomes for Virginia's children and youth.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Voices for Virginia's Children is Virginia's only independent, multi-issue child policy and advocacy nonprofit. It conducts policy research, builds coalitions, mobilizes supporters through action alerts, hosts the KIDS COUNT data center with over 200 child well-being indicators, runs the VAYA youth leadership program, and engages directly with Virginia legislators to advance policy in early childhood, foster care, health/mental health, and family economic security.

Product overview

Voices for Virginia's Children is Virginia's only independent, multi-issue child policy and advocacy organization operating as a nonprofit, not a technology product company. Its offerings consist primarily of advocacy programs, research data tools, and community engagement initiatives rather than a unified software product platform. The core programs include the KIDS COUNT Data Center (a child well-being data repository with over 200 indicators), the Virginia's Youth in Action (VAYA) youth leadership program, the Amplify Awards recognition program, and various advocacy tools including Action Alerts, a Bill Tracker, Policy Agenda publications, and the H.R. 1 Cuts Map Visualizer. These programs work together to advance policy change for children across early childhood education, mental health, child welfare, health equity, and economic security.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VAYA (Virginia's Youth in Action): A statewide youth policy and advocacy leadership program for young people ages 15 to 24, designed to equip young advocates with tools, knowledge, and support to drive change in their communities.

Products and services

• KIDS COUNT Data Center A comprehensive data repository hosted by Voices for Virginia's Children containing more than 200 state- and locality-level indicators on child well-being over time, tracking outcomes across early childhood, foster care, health, mental health, and family economic security. Used by policymakers, advocates, and researchers in Virginia.
• Virginia's Youth in Action (VAYA) A competitive, statewide nine-month youth policy and advocacy leadership program for 10-12 young people ages 15 to 24 that explores public policy, advocacy, community engagement, storytelling, and systems change through monthly virtual trainings and in-person convenings.
• Amplify Awards An annual recognition program honoring advocates, organizations, and changemakers making a difference for young people across Virginia, with categories including Rising Voice Award, Enduring Impact Award, Youth-Led Change Award, and Healing in Action Award.
• Advocacy Action Alerts Organized campaign tools and messaging templates that enable supporters to contact Virginia legislators and advocate for specific policies affecting children and families, including Action Wednesday email campaigns.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.10B secured in Governor's budget for early childhood care and education
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Virginia General AssemblycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoices for Virginia's Children works directly with Virginia legislators to advance child-centered policies through testimony, advocacy, and collaborative policy development on issues including early childhood education, mental health, child welfare, and economic security.
• Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on child welfare reform initiatives including centralized intake systems, kinship care programs, and policy development for child protective services.
• Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children (VAAEYC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner focused on early childhood education policy advocacy, working together on childcare accessibility and early education system improvements.
• Annie E. Casey Foundation (KIDS COUNT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoices for Virginia's Children serves as the KIDS COUNT data center for Virginia, a national initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation tracking child well-being indicators.
• Virginia Commission on YouthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration with the Commission on Youth, chaired by Senator Barbara Favola, to improve outcomes for youth navigating multiple interconnecting systems including social services, juvenile justice, and mental health.
• UMFS Firefly HallminorOthersVenue partner for Amplify Awards ceremony events.
• Office of the Children's OmbudsmanmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on child welfare system accountability and reforms, including expanding the Office's powers to investigate complaints from young people.
• Virginia School-Based Health AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in expanding school-based health centers and mental health services in Virginia schools.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NC Child: North Carolina's independent child advocacy organization focused on policy research and legislative advocacy on child well-being, health, and economic security. Closely comparable in state-level, multi-issue, data-driven advocacy approach.
• Kentucky Youth Advocates: Kentucky's independent child policy and advocacy nonprofit producing KIDS COUNT data and lobbying on child welfare, juvenile justice, and youth policy. Directly comparable as a state-level child policy organization with KIDS COUNT affiliation.
• Kids Forward: Wisconsin's child advocacy organization focused on policy change to improve outcomes for kids, with a comparable multi-issue agenda and state-level policy advocacy model anchored in research and coalition work.
• Voices for Utah Children: A state-level independent child policy and advocacy nonprofit serving Utah children with a comparable multi-issue agenda spanning early childhood, child welfare, and economic security. Closest direct peer in organizational model, scope, and naming convention.
• Texans Care for Children: Texas-based independent child policy nonprofit advocating on health, early childhood, juvenile justice, and economic security. Directly comparable as a state-level multi-issue child advocacy organization focused on legislative outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• First Focus on Children: National bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to improving federal policies affecting children. Comparable child policy advocacy mission but operates nationally with a federal lobbying focus rather than state-level organizing.
• Children's Defense Fund: National child advocacy organization with a much larger footprint addressing overlapping policy areas including child welfare, early childhood, and family economic security. Comparable mission and advocacy approach, but operates at federal and national scale rather than state-focused.

Others

• Annie E. Casey Foundation: National foundation that funds and operates the KIDS COUNT network, of which Voices hosts Virginia's data center. Comparable data-driven child well-being focus, but functions as a foundation/funder and capacity-builder rather than a direct advocacy organization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Voices for Virginia’s Children