Wepower

What Wepower does

Wepower is a St. Louis-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2018 by Charli Cooksey that activates community power among Black and Latinx residents to drive systems change in education, economic opportunity, child care, and justice. Its core program portfolio comprises the Power-Building Academy (a seven-month community organizing and leadership training program), the WEPOWER Accelerator (a small-cohort program supporting approximately 10 Black and Latinx entrepreneurs per cycle with training, mentorship, and investment capital), Chisholm's Chair (leadership development for women pursuing elected office), the Tomorrow Builders Fellowship, and the Community Wealth Action Group.

The organization pursues its mission primarily through voter mobilization, coalition advocacy, and ballot-initiative campaigns, with marquee efforts including the Child Care Voter campaign, Better Budgets Better Schools, Rise 189, and Ready by Five. Notable policy outcomes include passage of Proposition R (~$2.3M annually for birth-to-5 programs), $1.6M in CARES Act funding secured in 2020, and 2024 ballot pursuits of a $22.4M City and $76.5M County sales tax for child care. WEPOWER publishes authoritative content assets including The Playbook, the BBBS Policy Toolkit, and the 2021-2024 Moment to Movement Field Guide.

The business model is a charitable nonprofit: revenue derives from individual donations and foundation/corporate grants (Kauffman Foundation, JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Wells Fargo, Commerce Bank, Square Inc., and others), with programs delivered free to participants. WEPOWER does not operate a technology platform — its technical footprint is limited to a WordPress website, an Elected Officials Lookup tool, and standard social media channels. With 1-10 staff, WEPOWER operates as a lean community-anchored organization concentrating on organizing muscle and coalition leverage rather than technology scale.

Name

Wepower

Legal name

WEPOWER

Website

https://wepowerstl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wepower is a St. Louis-based nonprofit that builds political and economic power among Black and Latinx residents through leadership training, an entrepreneur accelerator, and policy campaigns focused on early childhood education, equitable schools, and child care access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Advocacy and Nonprofit Organizing Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

Keywords

• Community organizing services
• Leadership development programs
• Nonprofit advocacy services
• Entrepreneurship acceleration programs
• Policy advocacy campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

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. Individual Donations: WEPOWER receives donations from individuals through its Giving Community and direct fundraising campaigns. The organization runs periodic fundraising letters and calls to action for donors to support freedom work and organizational priorities.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants/Sponsorships: WEPOWER receives support from foundations and corporate sponsors including Kauffman Foundation, JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Wells Fargo, and others for programming including the Accelerator and community initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Wepower is a St. Louis-based nonprofit that delivers free community organizing, leadership development, and entrepreneurship programs to Black and Latinx residents, including the Power-Building Academy, WEPOWER Accelerator, Chisholm's Chair, and Tomorrow Builders Fellowship. It also runs voter mobilization and policy advocacy campaigns focused on early childhood education, K-12 school funding, and economic justice. Programs and campaigns are supported by donations, foundation grants, and corporate sponsorships.

Product overview

WEPOWER is a community organization, not a technology product company. It operates a portfolio of community organizing programs and advocacy campaigns focused on building political and economic power in Black and Latinx communities in St. Louis. The core programs include the Power-Building Academy for leadership development, an Accelerator for entrepreneurs, and various campaigns (Child Care Voter, Better Budgets Better Schools, Rise 189) aimed at policy change in early childhood education, K-12 schools, and economic systems. Additional offerings include Chisholm's Chair leadership development, Tomorrow Builders Fellowship, and publications like The Playbook and Moment to Movement Field Guide. WEPOWER does not offer a unified software product or platform but rather provides community programs, advocacy tools, and educational resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Power-Building Academy: Seven-month community-based leadership and policy change program for Black and Latinx residents
• WEPOWER Accelerator
• Chisholm's Chair
• Tomorrow Builders Fellowship
• Child Care Voter
• Ready by Five
• Better Budgets Better Schools
• Rise 189

Products and services

• Power-Building Academy Seven-month community-based leadership and policy change program for Black and Latinx residents in St. Louis, training changemakers to analyze power and systems, design policy solutions, and organize for change in education, K-12, and economic opportunity.
• WEPOWER Accelerator Business accelerator that supports Black and Latinx entrepreneurs with training, mentorship, and investment capital to scale their companies and build community wealth.
• Chisholm's Chair Seven-month leadership development program for Black and Latinx women in the St. Louis region interested in pursuing elected or appointed leadership roles.
• Tomorrow Builders Fellowship Fellowship program that activates changemakers and entrepreneurs to join the movement toward building political and economic power.
• Community Wealth Action Group Collective working to reimagine St. Louis's local economy to put people over profits, organized under Wepower's People-Centered Economy pillar.
• Power and Policy Action Group (PPAG) Community group that advocates for early childhood education reform and policy change in St. Louis.
• Child Care Voter Campaign Voter mobilization and advocacy campaign calling for universal child care as a civil right, advocating for policies that ensure access to affordable child care for St. Louis and Missouri families.
• Better Budgets, Better Schools Campaign Coalition campaign demanding increased St. Louis Public Schools budget transparency and community input into education spending decisions.
• Rise 189 Campaign Campaign focused on East St. Louis School District 189, advocating for strategic planning, budget transparency, and community oversight to improve educational outcomes.
• Ready by Five Campaign Coalition campaign to increase public funding for early childhood education through ballot initiatives, aiming to secure sustainable investment in birth-to-5 programs.
• Elected Officials Lookup Tool Online tool that lets St. Louis residents enter their address to find and contact their elected officials.

Named customers3 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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Invest STLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in economic development work focused on centering racial equity in neighborhood investment and community development.
• Arch GrantsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Louis-based nonprofit providing grants and support to entrepreneurs, collaborated with on Accelerator programming.
• Skandalaris CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWashington University program supporting entrepreneurship innovation, partnered on Accelerator programming.
• Better Budgets Better Schools CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on increasing transparency and community input in St. Louis Public Schools budgeting, developed by WEPOWER Power-Building Academy graduates.
• Ready by Five STL CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampaign coalition to increase public funding for early childhood education. Paid for Proposition R campaign. WEPOWER is a key member organization.
• Rise 189 CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of East St. Louis residents working to improve East St. Louis School District 189 through policy solutions around strategic planning, transparency, and community engagement.
• Forward Through FergusoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEPOWER's founder Charli Cooksey previously served as interim executive director. Organization continues to collaborate on racial equity initiatives in St. Louis region.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Faith in Action: National faith-based community-organizing network that mobilizes power for policy change on economic, racial, and immigrant justice — directly analogous to WEPOWER's organizing and coalition model, but at national scale.
• PolicyLink: National racial-equity research and advocacy organization working on economic inclusion and community power — directly comparable to WEPOWER's policy advocacy on education funding and community wealth-building.
• Center for Community Change: National progressive organizing and advocacy group supporting grassroots power-building among low-income communities and communities of color, paralleling WEPOWER's theory of change around community-organizing for systems change.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community development financial institution investing in underserved neighborhoods — comparable to WEPOWER's economic development and community-wealth work, but operating at significantly larger scale and capital deployment.
• Prosperity Now: National nonprofit focused on helping low-income families and communities build wealth, paralleling WEPOWER's accelerator and Community Wealth Action Group programs aimed at building economic power in Black and Latinx communities.

Emerging players

• Black Economic Alliance: Coalition focused on accelerating economic mobility for Black Americans through entrepreneurship, corporate engagement, and policy — comparable to WEPOWER's accelerator and economic-empowerment mission.
• Race Forward: National racial-justice organization promoting systemic equity through policy, research, and movement-building, overlapping with WEPOWER's advocacy on education equity and community power.

Direct peers

• Forward Through Ferguson: St. Louis-based racial equity nonprofit where WEPOWER's founder Charli Cooksey served as interim executive director. Works on the same Ferguson-era racial equity agenda and shares coalition relationships in the St. Louis region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wepowerstl
• Xx.com/wepower_stl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Wepower