Greater Boston Interfaith Organization

What Greater Boston Interfaith Organization does

Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organizing coalition founded in 1998 and headquartered in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The organization unites more than 50 member congregations and institutions — including churches, synagogues, mosques, and unions — representing over 100,000 individuals across Greater Boston. Its core service is structured community organizing, executed through a recurring cycle of relationship building, leader development, listening sessions, issue research, and direct action campaigns targeting housing justice, criminal justice reform, healthcare affordability, and immigrant rights.

GBIO's business model is funded exclusively through member institution dues, individual donations (including stock, donor-advised funds, and estate planning contributions), and foundation grants; the organization explicitly does not accept government funds to preserve political independence. Its 'products' are coalition organizing services and advocacy campaigns rather than technology or licensed goods. Campaigns are executed via a small professional staff (4-6 listed organizers/managers) supported by a 22-member Strategy Team (Board of Directors), large public rallies (1,700+ attendees documented), clergy-led open letters, and earned media coverage in outlets including the Boston Globe, GBH News, and the Rachel Maddow show. GBIO is also a founding member of the Just Power Alliance, a nine-organization coalition spanning five states and the District of Columbia.

GBIO's documented track record includes the 2018 Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform legislation (bail reform, mandatory minimums repeal, solitary confinement reduction), price caps on the Beth Israel-Lahey merger saving over $1 billion in healthcare costs, the $2.2 billion Affordable Homes Act bond authorization for public housing repairs, and a $73 million state-of-the-art Dearborn STEAM school replacement in Roxbury. In 2026, GBIO launched the 'Not With Our Money, Citizens!' campaign, withdrawing $2 million from Citizens Bank to protest its ties to CoreCivic and GEO Group, generating national visibility. The organization received the 2025 Housing Hero award from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.

Name

Greater Boston Interfaith Organization

Legal name

Greater Boston Interfaith Organization

Website

https://gbio.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) is a 501(c)(3) community organizing nonprofit founded in 1998 that unites 50+ congregations and institutions representing 100,000+ Greater Boston residents to drive advocacy campaigns on housing, criminal justice, healthcare, and immigrant rights.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Organizing and Advocacy Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL)

Keywords

• Community organizing services
• Interfaith coalition building
• Advocacy campaign management
• Grassroots leadership training
• Social justice advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Dorchester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Organization Dues: Dues from member institutions (churches, synagogues, mosques, unions, etc.) make up a portion of GBIO's annual budget, supporting staff salaries, leadership development, training, local organizing, campaigns and political action.
2. Individual Donations: Individual supporters contribute through various methods including check donations, stock donations, donor-advised funds, matching programs, and estate planning contributions.
3. Foundation Grants: Foundation grants support the organization's organizing and advocacy work.
4. No Government Funds: GBIO explicitly does not accept government funds to remain autonomous and politically independent.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GBIO is a broad-based community organizing nonprofit that coalesces, trains, and organizes people across religious, racial, ethnic, class, and neighborhood lines through a structured organizing cycle that includes one-on-one relationship building, leader development, listening sessions, issue research, and direct action campaigns. It sells organizational membership to faith-based institutions and runs named multi-issue advocacy campaigns on housing justice, criminal justice reform, healthcare affordability, and immigrant rights.

Product overview

Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) is a broad-based community organizing nonprofit founded in 1998, not a technology company. It operates as a coalition of over 50 congregations and institutions representing more than 100,000 individuals. GBIO's primary offerings are its community organizing programs and advocacy campaigns including the Housing Justice Campaign, Not With Our Money Citizens! campaign, Criminal Justice Reform, and Health Care initiatives. Additionally, GBIO publishes periodic newsletters (The Intersect) and annual Impact Reports documenting its organizing work. The organization is funded by member dues, individual donations, and foundation grants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Organizing Services Core coalition-based organizing services that coalesce, train, and organize people across religious, racial, ethnic, class, and neighborhood lines through a structured organizing cycle including one-on-one relationship building, training, listening, issue research, and direct action. For dues-paying member institutions and the congregants who participate through them.
• Housing Justice Campaign A multi-issue advocacy campaign focused on safe public housing, access to quality housing for returning citizens, increased funding for affordable housing, and expanding housing supply through MBTA Communities Zoning Act implementation.
• Not With Our Money, Citizens! Campaign An organized money campaign calling on Citizens Bank to end financial ties with CoreCivic and the GEO Group, private prison companies facilitating ICE detention operations. GBIO withdrew $1 million from Citizens Bank and published a report documenting complaints and incidents from these detention centers.
• Criminal Justice Reform Campaign (2018) A multi-year advocacy campaign resulting in landmark 2018 Massachusetts criminal justice reform legislation, including repeal of mandatory minimums for low-level drug offenses, bail reform, reduction of post-release fees and fines, and reduction of solitary confinement time.
• Health Care Campaign (2018) An advocacy campaign focused on the Beth Israel Lahey Health merger, resulting in price caps saving Massachusetts residents over $1 billion in healthcare costs and securing $72 million for community health centers.
• The Intersect Newsletter A periodic newsletter providing updates about GBIO news, events, and public-facing activities for supporters and member institutions.
• Annual Impact Reports Annual reports documenting GBIO's organizing activities, campaign outcomes, and organizational progress from 2016 to 2025, published for donors, members, and the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• $2.2 billion in bond authorization for public housing capital repairs
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Just Power AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGBIO is a founding member of the Just Power Alliance, a coalition of nine broad-based organizations spanning five states and the District of Columbia. The Alliance seeks to build a just, joyful world for all, driven by relationships and supported by decades of organizing experience.
• Black Ministerial Alliance TenPoint CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Black Ministerial Alliance TenPoint Coalition to host Boston mayoral candidate forum focusing on issues important to Boston's Black communities, including immigration, homeownership, and Madison Park Technical Vocational High School renovations.
• Justice 4 HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization providing support for formerly incarcerated individuals. Collaborated on housing justice campaign, particularly around re-entry rental assistance and ID guarantee for those leaving incarceration.
• Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization and partner in affordable homeownership campaign. Collaborated on addressing Boston's racial homeownership gap, leading to new homeownership goals in Mayor Walsh's 2030 plan and $3.8 million in CPA funds for first-time homebuyers.
• American Civil Liberties Union of MassachusettssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ACLU of Massachusetts on 'What a Difference a DA Makes' nonpartisan voter education and engagement campaign in 2018, focusing on District Attorney races in Suffolk and Middlesex counties.
• Massachusetts Council of ChurchessecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterfaith partner in organizing efforts including Labor Day March and Prayers for Liberty gatherings to raise awareness about sacred values being violated by federal administration policies.
• Board of RabbissecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterfaith partner in Prayers for Liberty gatherings and advocacy efforts.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Industrial Areas Foundation: The oldest and largest broad-based community organizing network in the U.S. and the parent methodology developer of the model GBIO uses. Directly comparable in organizing cycle, governance, and campaign approach.
• VOCAL-NY: New York-based grassroots organizing coalition addressing housing, criminal justice, and HIV/AIDS through member-led campaigns. Comparable in organizing model, issue portfolio, and mass-mobilization tactics.
• Boston Workers Alliance: Boston-based membership organization of low-wage workers and immigrants using direct action and organizing on housing, jobs, and immigration. Comparable in target constituents, geography, and grassroots mobilization.
• Massachusetts Communities Action Network: Massachusetts-based coalition of community organizations using broad-based organizing on housing, criminal justice, and immigrant rights. Operates the same organizing model in overlapping geography with overlapping issue campaigns.
• DART (Direct Action for Rights and Equality): Rhode Island-based member-led organizing group working on housing, criminal justice, and immigrant rights using similar relational organizing. Comparable in scale, member-driven model, and New England geography.
• Make the Road New York: Member-led organizing nonprofit serving immigrant and working-class communities in New York and Connecticut on housing, immigration, education, and criminal justice. Highly comparable in member institution model and multi-issue advocacy.
• City Life/Vida Urbana: Boston-area grassroots organization focused on housing justice and tenant rights for working-class communities of color. Directly comparable on housing campaign focus and tenant organizing model.
• Faith in Action (formerly PICO National Network): National network of broad-based faith and community organizations using the same congregation-based organizing model as GBIO. Highly comparable in structure, methodology (relational organizing, dues-paying member institutions, multi-issue campaigns on housing, immigration, and criminal justice).
• Texas Organizing Project: Texas-based broad-based community organization using the IAF-style organizing model on housing, criminal justice, and civic engagement. Highly comparable in structure, methodology, and demographic focus.

Regional players

• New Hampshire Council of Churches: Interfaith council in New Hampshire convening congregations on social justice, refugee resettlement, and advocacy. Comparable in interfaith coalition structure but operates in a different geography and has a more faith-convener orientation than GBIO's organizing focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GBinterfaith
• Facebookfacebook.com/GBinterfaithorganization
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/greater-boston-interfaith-orgn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Greater Boston Interfaith Organization