Oregon Consumer Justice

What Oregon Consumer Justice does

Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ) is a Portland-based nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded in 2015 and formally established through a Cy Pres court order in April 2016. The organization operates exclusively within Oregon, serving state residents through three integrated functions: policy and advocacy before the Oregon legislature, the Public Utility Commission, and the Division of Financial Regulation; community engagement through Consumer Rights Exchange events held at libraries statewide and the OCJ Storyline voice platform; and legal solutions including amicus briefs and consumer protection research oversight. OCJ's core program areas center on auto, debt, insurance, and emerging consumer issues such as data privacy under the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act.

OCJ's product portfolio is educational and advocacy-oriented rather than commercial. Flagship offerings include the Data Privacy Toolkit, Consumer Comics (available in English and Spanish), a multilingual website (nine languages), the Consumer Protection Timeline, Issue Explainers, and annual representative survey research conducted in partnership with the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center. The organization's technology stack is lightweight: a Drupal-based website (ocj.org), a voice messaging platform for OCJ Storyline, Mailchimp for email distribution, and AI-assisted content development with human oversight. OCJ operates no commercial software product, no API, and no mobile application.

OCJ's revenue model is nonprofit grant-funded. Revenue streams include grants and foundation funding, Cy Pres awards (originating from the 2016 founding order), and oversight of the Consumer Protection Research Grant housed at the University of Oregon School of Law. The organization is also a grant-maker, having disbursed over $1 million in emergency eviction response grants during the COVID-19 pandemic and nearly $2 million in total grants to community organizations advancing consumer justice. All services and resources are provided free of charge to Oregon consumers; the organization does not monetize end users.

Name

Oregon Consumer Justice

Legal name

Oregon Consumer Justice

Website

https://ocj.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Oregon Consumer Justice is a Portland-based nonprofit that advocates for consumer rights across Oregon through policy engagement, community education, and legal solutions, focusing on auto, debt, insurance, and data privacy issues for state residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Advocacy Services

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Rights & Public Interest Advocacy (BPAGAFAK)

Keywords

• Consumer advocacy
• Consumer rights education
• Policy advocacy
• Nonprofit services
• Consumer protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

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. Grants and Foundation Funding: OCJ receives grant funding including over $1 million in emergency eviction response grants distributed to community organizations, and oversight of the Consumer Protection Research Grant housed at the University of Oregon School of Law.
2. Cy Pres Awards: OCJ was named in a Cy Pres order in 2016 for distribution of class action settlement funds, with founding board members administering these funds.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ) is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that advances consumer rights in Oregon through three integrated pillars: policy and advocacy before the Oregon legislature and regulatory bodies (Public Utility Commission, Division of Financial Regulation), community engagement programs (Consumer Rights Exchange events, OCJ Storyline voice platform), and legal solutions including amicus briefs and class action oversight. The organization provides free multilingual educational resources including consumer comics, data privacy toolkits, issue explainers, and an interactive consumer protection timeline, while conducting annual statewide consumer survey research in partnership with the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center.

Product overview

Oregon Consumer Justice is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that operates as a single unified mission rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The organization offers a portfolio of programs and resources including community engagement initiatives (Consumer Rights Exchange, OCJ Storyline), educational materials (Consumer Comics, Issue Explainers, Consumer Protection Timeline, Data Privacy Toolkit), research programs (Consumer Survey Research), and referral resources (Enforcement Resources). These offerings work together to advance consumer rights through advocacy, education, and community mobilization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consumer Rights Exchange Community meetings held at libraries across Oregon where Oregonians learn about consumer rights, discuss local consumer experiences, share ideas for solutions, and explore ways to support each other.
• Consumer Comics Comic-style educational guides covering consumer topics like used car purchasing, debt management, and digital safety, available in English and Spanish for distribution at community events, classrooms, and waiting rooms.
• OCJ Storyline Voice message platform allowing Oregon citizens to share real-world consumer experiences to help advocate for people-centered consumer laws.
• Data Privacy Toolkit Guides and resources helping Oregonians understand their privacy rights under the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act and how to control data collection, block data broker profits, and protect personal information.
• Consumer Protection Timeline Interactive resource showing the evolution of consumer protection rights in the United States from the 1700s to present day.
• Issue Explainers Video content explaining complex consumer topics including private attorney general actions, mandatory arbitration, and class action lawsuits.
• Consumer Survey Research Annual representative survey research conducted in partnership with Oregon Values and Beliefs Center to explore how consumer issues affect Oregonians statewide.
• Enforcement Resources Directory connecting consumers with government agencies for filing complaints including Oregon DOJ, Division of Financial Regulation, DMV, and federal agencies like FTC, CFPB, and FCC.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1,900 Oregonians surveyed annually to inform consumer protection priorities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oregon Values and Beliefs Center (OVBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOCJ partners with OVBC to conduct representative survey research using multiple-choice questions and write-in responses to explore how consumer issues affect Oregonians statewide. Nearly 1,900 Oregonians were surveyed in summer 2025. This partnership provides the research foundation for OCJ's advocacy priorities and engagement programs.
• University of Oregon School of LawcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOCJ provides oversight to the Consumer Protection Research Grant housed at the UO School of Law, funding research that advances consumer protection throughout the state. A collaborative committee composed of faculty from UO and Oregon State University, as well as community leaders appointed by OCJ, reviews applications and awards grants annually.
• Consumer Alliance of OregonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOCJ works with the Consumer Alliance of Oregon, which develops annual legislative priorities focused on protecting consumers' rights while preventing predatory practices that harm Oregonians.
• Oregon State University FacultyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaculty from Oregon State University participate in the Consumer Protection Research Grant review committee alongside University of Oregon faculty and community leaders appointed by OCJ.
• Community Organizations (Eviction Response Grantees)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerOCJ awarded more than $1 million in emergency eviction response grants to organizations helping Oregonians at risk of eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between July 2021 and February 2022, OCJ hosted 12 community listening sessions in partnership with these community organizations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Consumer Law Center: Specializes in consumer law research, litigation support, and policy advocacy on issues including debt collection, predatory lending, and fair credit - core OCJ issue areas. NCLC provides the legal and research backbone that informs many state-level consumer advocacy organizations including Oregon Consumer Justice.
• Texas Appleseed: Texas-based nonprofit public interest justice center operating across multiple issue areas including consumer protection, with structure and operational model closely matching OCJ - policy advocacy, community engagement, and research - at state level.
• Center for Responsible Lending: Nonprofit focused on predatory lending, debt issues, and consumer protection in financial services - one of OCJ's three core priority areas. CRL's policy advocacy and research model is highly comparable to OCJ's debt/financial services work.
• Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition: State-level consumer advocacy coalition advancing consumer protections through legislation, litigation, and education in Maryland. Near-perfect structural and operational analog to OCJ, operating the same three-pillar model at a comparable scale in a different state.
• Georgia Watch: Georgia-based nonprofit advocating for consumer protection through policy, outreach, and education. Directly comparable as a state-level consumer advocacy organization operating with similar staff structure, programmatic scope, and policy engagement approach.
• Consumer Action: National nonprofit providing multilingual consumer education, advocacy, and complaint resolution; particularly known for multilingual community outreach like OCJ. Direct peer in the consumer education and community engagement vertical, especially relevant given OCJ's 9-language materials strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Consumer Federation of America: National association of consumer organizations running research, advocacy, and education across consumer issues. Compares closely as a peer advocacy body serving a similar mission to OCJ but at federal scale with broader issue coverage.
• Public Citizen: National consumer advocacy nonprofit focusing on regulatory interventions, congressional advocacy, and litigation. OCJ operates the same model at a state level; Public Citizen's structure of policy + engagement + legal work closely mirrors OCJ's three-pillar approach.
• U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG): National federation of state PIRGs running consumer advocacy campaigns across all 50 states. Directly comparable mission and model (policy advocacy, grassroots engagement, research), but at a much larger scale; functions as the national umbrella that OCJ-style state-level consumer organizations often affiliate with.

Others

• National Association of Consumer Advocates: National membership organization for consumer protection attorneys running litigation and advocacy. Functions as a peer ecosystem player where OCJ's legal solutions work and amicus briefs interact with NACA's broader consumer attorney network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/oregonconsumerjustice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oregon-consumer-justice
• Instagraminstagram.com/oregonconsumerjustice
• Xx.com/orconsumerjust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Oregon Consumer Justice