Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)

What Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) does

CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy) is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2001 that builds grassroots political power for working-class and immigrant communities across California's Central Coast. The organization operates through six physical chapter offices spanning Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and Santa Maria, delivering community organizing, leadership development, coalition building, civic engagement, policy research, and advocacy services in both English and Spanish. Its core programs include Know Your Rights educational resources, published research reports (e.g., the Harvesting Dignity farmworker wage report, Housing Crisis 805), civic engagement and voter participation campaigns, and issue-specific organizing on housing justice, environmental justice, and worker power — exemplified by the Oxnard rent stabilization ordinance, Ventura County redistricting wins, and the Rancho Laguna farmworker wage increase.

CAUSE's "products" are not technology platforms but advocacy service lines delivered via grassroots organizing, public hearings, petitions, rallies, and coalition campaigns. Its underlying infrastructure is built on field organizing capacity, bilingual English/Spanish communications, CRM and donation tools (CiviCRM / Action Network via its website connect.causenow.org), and a network of partner organizations including MICOP, Future Leaders of America, and the statewide Safety Net for All Coalition. The organization does not sell goods or services; it operates a donations-and-grants revenue model funded by individual donors, foundation grants, and government grants, supplemented by the Seven Generations Giving Circle planned-giving program.

Following the 2013 merger of Ventura County-based CAUSE and Santa Barbara County-based PUEBLO, the organization functions as the regional anchor for social, economic, and environmental justice organizing in the region, with a documented track record of policy victories at the municipal and county level. The organization is privately governed, staffed under a union contract, and currently expanding into Santa Maria and Lompoc while launching Project MILPA, a new policy initiative on agricultural land equity.

Name

Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)

Legal name

Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy

Website

https://causenow.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CAUSE is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2001 that runs community organizing, policy research, and advocacy across six Central Coast cities for working-class, immigrant, renter, and environmental justice communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Organizing Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAFAH

Labor, Worker Rights & Employment Policy Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAFAG

Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAFAC

Racial & Ethnic Justice Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAFAB

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

Keywords

• Community organizing
• Grassroots advocacy
• Immigrant rights
• Housing justice
• Worker power

Headquarters

HQ city

Ventura

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: CAUSE operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization primarily funded through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and government grants. The organization maintains a 'Seven Generations Giving Circle' planned giving program accepting bequests, life insurance donations, and other estate planning vehicles. Direct donations are processed through their website (connect.causenow.org).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CAUSE delivers community organizing, leadership development, coalition building, civic engagement, policy research, and advocacy services for working-class and immigrant communities across California's Central Coast. Operated through chapters in six cities, the organization runs campaigns for housing justice, environmental justice, worker rights, immigrant defense, and fair political representation, and produces bilingual educational resources and policy reports.

Product overview

CAUSE is a base-building nonprofit organization that provides community organizing, advocacy, and research services focused on social, economic, and environmental justice for working-class and immigrant communities in California's Central Coast. The organization operates through integrated programs including Know Your Rights educational resources (PDF guides for farmworkers and renters), published research reports on housing and labor issues, grassroots community organizing chapters in six cities, civic engagement campaigns, and policy advocacy. The organization does not offer a technology product platform but provides advocacy services and educational materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Project MILPA: A policy initiative working towards reversing park and green space inequities in communities of color, centering agricultural land equity for farmworkers transitioning to farmowners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Passed 4% annual rent cap and just cause eviction ordinance in Oxnard (6th largest city in CA with rent stabilization)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and flagship.

• Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMICOP is a key partner in CAUSE's organizing work, particularly in Santa Barbara County. Together they co-authored the 'Harvesting Dignity' report on farmworker wages and collaborated on the Rancho Laguna Farms labor action, with MICOP providing Mixteco interpreters during negotiations.
• Future Leaders of America (FLA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFLA is a sister organization engaged in youth organizing in Oxnard and Santa Maria school districts. CAUSE partnered with FLA to create a youth-led redistricting process, providing mapping technical expertise in the Santa Barbara Unified School District campaign.
• People, Parks, and Power (P3)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject MILPA is a local partner of P3, an initiative of the Prevention Institute working to reverse park and green space inequities in communities of color. P3 presented to Project MILPA leaders on park equity and green spaces, building upon overlapping goals around agricultural land equity.
• Safety Net for All CoalitionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerA statewide coalition of 120 immigrant and worker rights organizations across California working towards ending the exclusion of immigrant workers from unemployment benefits. CAUSE helped found this coalition during the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition's vision is to ensure those affected lead the campaign, with a leadership committee of leaders who will benefit from the legislation.
• Santa Barbara Tenants UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking in close partnership to spearhead grassroots campaigns addressing tenant displacement, renovictions, and housing insecurity. Together they advocated for stricter eviction regulations in Santa Barbara city and unincorporated county.
• Ventura Tenants UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with CAUSE and Manos Unidas to support tenants at Casa del Pueblo apartment complex facing mass eviction, successfully advocating for stronger eviction protection ordinance in Ventura.
• Manos UnidassecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with CAUSE and Ventura Tenants Union to support Casa del Pueblo tenants facing renoviction in Ventura.
• Lideres CamesinassecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner alongside MICOP in gaining support for rent stabilization in Oxnard, central to the three-year campaign that engaged over 10,000 residents.
• Santa Paula Latino Town HallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAUSE organized alongside this partner to achieve district elections in Santa Paula in February 2023, delivering better representation for the community.
• Ventura County Public Health DepartmentsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with CAUSE to protect H-2A farmworkers in labor camps during COVID-19 outbreaks, passing health orders to strengthen oversight and inspection and running vaccine clinics for farmworker families.
• Local Public Health DepartmentssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with public health departments across the region during COVID-19 pandemic for vaccine outreach, testing, and safety information distribution.
• California Redistricting CommissionsecondaryOthersCAUSE organized and mobilized the community to appear before the California Redistricting Commission, winning a new assembly district uniting working-class immigrant neighborhoods from Oxnard and Port Hueneme to the Westside of Ventura, Santa Paula, and Fillmore.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA): Statewide legal services and advocacy organization for rural and farmworker communities in California. CRLA's mix of legal aid, policy advocacy, and farmworker organizing in rural California closely mirrors CAUSE's combined legal/policy/community-organizing model for working-class immigrant populations.
• UFW Foundation: National farmworker advocacy and organizing nonprofit that combines policy, civic engagement, and direct services. Comparable to CAUSE in core farmworker constituency, organizing methodology, and bilingual grassroots mobilization.
• Communities for a Better Environment (CBE): California-based environmental justice organization working on pollution, toxic sites, and green space equity in communities of color. Directly comparable to CAUSE's environmental justice and Project MILPA agenda, with the same base-building and policy advocacy model.
• ACCE Institute (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment): Statewide California base-building community organizing network focused on housing, economic justice, and tenant rights. Closely aligned to CAUSE in methodology (grassroots leadership development, multi-county chapter structure, policy research + campaigns).
• CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles): Los Angeles-based immigrant rights organization combining legal services, organizing, and policy advocacy. Comparable to CAUSE on immigrant defense, rapid response, and Know Your Rights infrastructure, though at significantly larger urban scale.
• PICO California / Faith in Action California: Faith-rooted community organizing network active across California cities. Similar base-building methodology, leadership development pipeline, and multi-issue campaign model (housing, immigration, economic justice).
• Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP): Ventura/Santa Barbara County-based indigenous Mixteco community organizing nonprofit — a current CAUSE partner (co-author of Harvesting Dignity, Mixteco interpreting partner). Closest geographic and constituency peer with overlapping farmworker and immigrant rights work.
• Santa Barbara Tenants Union: Direct partner organization focused on tenant organizing in Santa Barbara city and unincorporated county. Operates in the same geography with overlapping housing justice campaigns and shared coalition campaigns against renoviction.

Broad incumbents

• LAANE (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy): Established Los Angeles-based worker center and policy research organization. Comparable to CAUSE on living wage and worker power campaigns, though LAANE focuses more on research-driven policy and sectoral bargaining than neighborhood-level base building.

Regional players

• Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice: Inland Empire-based immigrant rights and rapid response coalition. Comparable to CAUSE on immigrant defense and Know Your Rights work, though focused on a different California region (San Bernardino/Riverside) and therefore not a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cause805
• Instagraminstagram.com/cause805
• Xx.com/cause805
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/central-coast-alliance-united-for-a-sustainable-economy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)