What Midwest Academy does

Midwest Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit training organization founded in 1972 by Heather Booth and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The organization delivers multi-day training programs, custom consulting, and ongoing coaching to progressive organizers across the United States, with a stated cumulative alumni base of over 50,000 organizers trained since founding. Its primary audiences are community-based organizations, labor unions, youth and student organizations, and statewide or regional coalitions working on social, economic, racial, and environmental justice campaigns.

The Academy's core offering is a methodology-driven curriculum centered on three components: essential skill-building, vision and power analysis, and self-care guidance for sustainable organizing. Its flagship products are Organizing for Justice (a 4-day training offered in English and Spanish) and Supervising Organizers (a 3-day in-person or 4-day virtual training, also in English and Spanish), supplemented by 1-Day Trainings, post-training Communities of Practice, the Café con Leche alumni gathering, Custom Organizational Training, Coaching engagements, and a Movement Job Board that aggregates organizing jobs nationally. The proprietary Strategy Chart, developed by founders Booth and Steve Max, is the central analytical tool of the curriculum and is supported by the book "Organizing for Social Change" (over 500,000 copies sold). Delivery occurs through public cohorts in rotating cities (Chicago, Atlanta, Denver) plus a virtual format introduced in 2020.

Midwest Academy generates revenue through a combination of training program fees structured on a sliding scale keyed to organizational budget ($360-$1,730 per training seat), custom consulting and coaching engagements with movement organizations, and tax-deductible donations processed through ActBlue. The organization employs 11 staff and is governed by a 14-member board chaired by Heather Booth, with current Co-Executive Directors Yomara Velez and Eric Zachary leading day-to-day operations.

Name

Midwest Academy

Legal name

Midwest Academy

Website

https://midwestacademy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Midwest Academy is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) founded in 1972 that delivers multi-day training, custom consulting, and coaching on progressive organizing strategy to community organizations, labor unions, and statewide coalitions, using a proprietary Strategy Chart methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training and Consulting

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Training Delivery Providers (In-Person, Virtual, Train-the-Trainer) (BPACANAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Train-the-Trainer & Instructor Enablement Services (BPAEANAL)

Keywords

• Organizer training programs
• Community organizing education
• Progressive movement building
• Campaign strategy consulting
• Nonprofit capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Carmel

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Programs: Revenue from organizing training programs including Organizing for Justice (4-day), Supervising Organizers (3-day), and specialized trainings. Pricing is based on a sliding scale according to organizational budget size.
2. Custom Organizational Training: Custom training services delivered directly to organizations to address specific organizing and policy goals, including skill development and campaign strategy.
3. Coaching Services: Ongoing coaching relationships that support organizers and strategists in creating tools and habits for growth and concrete organizing victories.
4. Donations: The organization accepts donations through ActBlue (secure.actblue.com/donate/midwest-academy-1) as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with TAX ID: 36-2776406.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Midwest Academy trains progressive organizers and builds organizational capacity through multi-day training programs (Organizing for Justice, Supervising Organizers, and 1-day specialized sessions), custom organizational consulting, and ongoing coaching. Its proprietary methodology, anchored in the Strategy Chart tool, focuses on essential skill-building, vision and power analysis, and self-care guidance for sustainable movement building. Programs are delivered virtually and in-person in rotating U.S. cities and are offered in both English and Spanish.

Product overview

Midwest Academy offers a unified training and consulting portfolio centered on progressive organizing education. The core offering consists of multi-day training programs including Organizing for Justice (available in English and Spanish), Supervising Organizers (English and Spanish), and 1-Day Trainings covering strategy and coalition-building. Alumni are served through Communities of Practice (Supervising Cohorts) and Café con Leche gatherings. Consulting services include Custom Training and Coaching for organizations. The organization also maintains a Movement Job Board as a resource for the organizing community. All offerings share a common methodology focused on essential skill-building, vision and power analysis, and self-care guidance for sustainable organizing work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Organizing for Justice A 4-day training (in-person or virtual) that develops essential organizing skills, political and power analysis, and self-care practices for organizers working in progressive and social-justice campaigns. Designed for individual organizers and staff from community organizations, labor unions, and advocacy nonprofits.
• Supervising Organizers A 3-day in-person or 4-day virtual training designed for new and seasoned supervisors of organizers who want to align their leadership role with their vision for justice. For staff and managers in progressive organizations building internal capacity to lead organizing teams.
• Organizing for Justice: Part 2 A continuation training that adds advanced organizing skills and strategies to organizers' toolbox following Organizing for Justice. For organizers who have completed the foundational training and want to deepen their practice.
• Organizarse para la Justicia: Habilidades Esenciales A 4-day organizing training conducted entirely in Spanish, providing essential organizing skills to Spanish-speaking organizers and the organizations they work for.
• Supervisando Organizadores A 3-day in-person or 4-day virtual training delivered in Spanish, designed to address the needs and challenges of supervisors of organizers in Spanish-speaking organizing contexts.
• 1-Day Trainings Single-day training sessions focused on specific topics such as campaign strategy using Midwest Academy's Strategy Chart and coalition-building, designed as focused deep dives for individual organizers and teams.
• Custom Training Direct, customized training engagements designed for specific organizations based on their needs, organizing goals, and current social and economic context. Includes custom curriculum development and a hands-on approach to deepen staff skills, knowledge of organizing, and identification of organizational strengths and struggles.
• Coaching Ongoing coaching relationship that supports organizers and strategists in creating tools and habits that facilitate growth, change, and lead to concrete organizing and movement victories. Sessions can be bi-weekly, monthly check-ins, or intensive formats. Rooted in strengthening leadership of people impacted by oppression.
• Movement Job Board An online platform for posting and finding movement and organizing jobs across the country, requiring salary/rate transparency on listings. Serves job seekers and hiring organizations in the progressive organizing ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50,000 progressive organizers trained since 1972
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Yomara Velez (Co-Executive Director)coreOthers · 16 December 2022Yomara Velez joined as Co-Executive Director alongside Eric Zachary in 2022, bringing new leadership direction to the organization as it celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Organizers Alliance: The National Organizers Alliance is a membership association for professional organizers that offers trainings, gatherings, and professional development. It is a peer in building the craft and infrastructure of community organizing, complementing Midwest Academy's curriculum.
• Training for Change: Training for Change delivers experiential workshops and multi-day trainings for activists, organizers, and social change leaders globally. Its facilitation methodology, group-process focus, and movement-building orientation closely parallel Midwest Academy's core training offerings.
• Grassroots Leadership Academy: Grassroots Leadership Academy trains community organizers, base-building leaders, and coalition leaders in person-centered, relational organizing models. It serves the same nonprofit and movement segment with a comparable multi-day training curriculum.
• AFL-CIO Organizing Institute: The AFL-CIO Organizing Institute runs the labor movement's flagship organizer training programs, including the Organizing Institute and steward/supervisor tracks. It is a direct peer to Midwest Academy's Supervising Organizers and Organizing for Justice programs in the labor vertical.
• re:power (formerly Wellstone Action): re:power is the closest comparable organization, providing political and leadership training for progressive organizers, candidates, and campaign staff. It emerged from the same tradition of progressive movement training that Midwest Academy helped establish and targets an overlapping audience with a similar curriculum-driven, multi-day training model.

Others

• Marshall Ganz / Harvard Kennedy School Organizing Programs: Harvard Kennedy School's organizing programs (rooted in Marshall Ganz's public narrative, leadership, and constituency-organizing frameworks) train organizers through executive education and academic programs. They are an adjacent provider of organizing pedagogy rather than a direct commercial competitor.
• EMILY's List Training Programs: EMILY's List runs campaign and candidate training for Democratic women running for office and the staff supporting them. It is an adjacent training provider in the progressive political ecosystem rather than a direct competitor for community-organizer curricula.

Broad incumbents

• Center for Popular Democracy: Center for Popular Democracy (and its affiliate CPD Action) operates one of the largest progressive organizing training and capacity-building infrastructures in the U.S., serving affiliate community organizations with leadership development programs comparable to Midwest Academy's consulting work.
• People's Action Institute: People's Action is a national progressive organizing network that runs training, leadership development, and campaign programs for member organizations. It is broader than Midwest Academy in scope (advocacy plus training) but overlaps directly on community organizer training.

Emerging players

• Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE): LEE recruits and trains recent college graduates to serve as teachers and organizers in low-income communities, with explicit organizing and leadership development tracks. It overlaps with Midwest Academy's youth/student segment and movement-building orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@midwestacademyinc
• Facebookfacebook.com/midwestacademy
• Instagraminstagram.com/midwest_academy
• Xx.com/midwestacad
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/midwest-academy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 Midwest Academy