OpEd Project

What OpEd Project does

The OpEd Project is a New York-based thought-leadership and training organization founded in 2008 and incubated under Echoing Green, with a mission to elevate underrepresented expert voices — particularly women — in public commentary and media. It operates a portfolio of programs anchored by the "Write to Change the World" core workshop (a 100% virtual, two-half-day discovery-based curriculum priced at $450 per participant) and the flagship year-long Public Voices Fellowship delivered in partnership with institutions such as Yale, Northwestern, UT Austin, and the Ford Foundation. The organization supplements these offerings with the "Connection: Accelerating Ideas" advanced workshop, weekly "Ask A Journalist" office hours, a volunteer Mentor-Editor network of 100+ credentialed journalists (including Pulitzer Prize winners and editors at major publications), private editorial coaching at $85-100/hour, an Ambassador Program for alumni, branded merchandise, and donations.

Name

OpEd Project

Legal name

The OpEd Project

Website

https://theopedproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The OpEd Project is a New York-based thought-leadership training organization founded in 2008 that runs virtual workshops, the Public Voices Fellowship, and mentor-editor programs to elevate underrepresented expert voices — primarily women — in public commentary and media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional training and thought leadership development

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Public Relations Agencies (541820), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Publishing & Submission Prep Workshops (Query Letters, Agents, Journals) (EDAMAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Writing Craft & Technique Workshops (Voice, Structure, Character, Style) (EDAMAMAH), Writing Retreats & Intensive Bootcamps (EDAMAMAK)

Keywords

• Thought leadership training
• Op-ed writing workshops
• Public voices fellowship
• Editorial coaching services
• Media commentary training

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Workshop Registration Fees: Public workshops ('Write to Change the World') priced at $450 per participant. Workshops are 2-day virtual intensives. Partial and full scholarships available for up to 30% of participants.
2. Private Editorial Coaching: Ad hoc contract coaching services by working journalists. Compensation for coaches starts at $85/hour up to $100/hour. Matched with individual clients for brainstorming, coaching, copy editing, and pitching advice.
3. Fellowship Coach Compensation: Part-time contracted roles for Public Voices Fellowship Coaches. Compensation starts at $2,000/month for approximately 10-15 hours/week commitment.
4. Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise including T-shirts ($20), onesies ($15), notebooks ($25), and tote bags ($40). Also offered as gift packages combined with workshop registrations.
5. Donations: Nonprofit donations from supporters. Organization provides scholarships funded through sustainable social justice model and donations.
6. Institutional Memberships and Programs: Organizations can bring The OpEd Project to their university or organization through custom programs and institutional memberships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The OpEd Project delivers discovery-based workshops and fellowships that train underrepresented experts — particularly women — to write and place opinion pieces in major media outlets. Its core product is the "Write to Change the World" virtual workshop, complemented by the flagship Public Voices Fellowship delivered in partnership with universities and foundations. It also offers private editorial coaching, an Institutional Membership program for organizations, branded merchandise, and a volunteer Mentor-Editor network of 100+ journalists.

Product overview

The OpEd Project is a global thought leadership organization offering a portfolio of programs centered around opinion writing and public voice development. The core offering is the "Write to Change the World" workshop, complemented by an advanced "Connection: Accelerating Ideas" workshop. The flagship Public Voices Fellowship provides year-long intensive support for underrepresented experts. Additional services include the Mentor-Editor Program (volunteer micro-mentoring), Private Editorial Coaching, Ask A Journalist Office Hours, and Scholarship support. The organization also offers Institutional Membership for organizations and Story Campaigns for partners. A Store section sells branded merchandise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Write to Change the World Workshop

Quantifiable outcome

• Mentors statistically double their mentees' odds of publication success to over 70%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Yale UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYale is an institutional partner for the Public Voices Fellowship program, hosting fellowship cohorts and providing access to faculty and academic expertise for the thought leadership development program.
• Northwestern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthwestern University's Medill School is an institutional partner, working with The OpEd Project to deliver the Public Voices Fellowship to exceptional thinkers and accelerate diverse voices in journalism and public discourse.
• UT AustincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Texas at Austin is an institutional partner for the Public Voices Fellowship, hosting fellowship programs and contributing to the expansion of underrepresented voices in public discourse.
• Global Policy SolutionssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of fifteen institutional partners supporting the Public Voices Fellowship, contributing to the initiative to change who writes history by elevating underrepresented expert voices.
• Aspen InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAspen Institute is mentioned as a partner organization with whom The OpEd Project works, contributing to the collaborative approach to developing thought leadership across institutions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mediabistro: Media industry training and career development platform offering courses in writing, editing, and media skills. Comparable paid workshop model, self-serve virtual delivery, and target audience of working professionals seeking media skills.
• Gotham Writers Workshop: Long-running private writing school offering virtual and in-person workshops across multiple genres and formats. Directly comparable as a paid workshop model targeting adults seeking publishing skills, with a similar self-serve virtual delivery model.
• Hedgebrook: Nonprofit supporting women writers through residencies, workshops, and a global community. Comparable in mission (women writers), workshop format, and community-driven engagement model.
• International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF): Global nonprofit dedicated to elevating women journalists through training, fellowships, and reporting opportunities. Comparable mission and audience (women in media commentary), with overlapping fellowship and training programming.
• Squaw Valley Community of Writers: Long-running nonprofit workshop community offering intensive writing retreats led by published author-mentors. Comparable intensive workshop format, mentor-led pedagogy, and nonprofit structure serving aspiring writers.
• VONA/Voices: Writing workshops and retreats for writers of color. Mission-aligned with OpEd Project's diversity focus and operates a similar cohort-based, mentor-driven workshop model for underrepresented voices.

Broad incumbents

• Poynter Institute: Established journalism training nonprofit offering seminars, online courses, and fellowships for working journalists. Comparable training-and-fellowship model but operates at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Nieman Foundation for Journalism (Harvard): Harvard-based journalism fellowship and training program for mid-career journalists. Comparable fellowship-driven model serving similar expert voices; functions as a broader incumbent with prestigious institutional backing.
• The Moth: Storytelling organization running workshops, public events, and a global community centered on personal narrative performance. Comparable community-led GTM, workshop curriculum, and mission to amplify underrepresented voices through storytelling.

Emerging players

• Narrative Magazine: Online literary magazine and writing community offering workshops, mentorship, and publishing opportunities. Comparable intersection of writing instruction, mentorship, and publication outcomes, though more fiction-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theopedproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-oped-project-1
• Facebookfacebook.com/147180306144

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 OpEd Project