Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance

What Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance does

Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance (AEARA) is a community-based nonprofit organization headquartered in Miramichi, New Brunswick, governed by a volunteer board of directors composed entirely of people of African descent. It was co-founded by Ronald Sharpe, Waisu Adeoje, and Lisa-Gay Taylor to address systemic barriers affecting people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples, and other racialized communities in Atlantic Canada — specifically New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island — across education, justice, public safety, and employment. Its primary constituents are Black communities and individuals of African descent, with secondary segments including Indigenous Peoples, Black youth aged 16–24, and other racialized groups.

AEARA's portfolio comprises interconnected programs rather than a unified product. Core initiatives include the Open Server Project (an enterprise-grade open-source server for community data sovereignty and cybersecurity), Community Housing development in northern New Brunswick, the Creative Media Arts Program (CMAP) for youth 16–24, the Black Youth Outreach Program (delivered with Public Safety Canada), and Black Voice: Speak. Heal. Rise. restorative gatherings. Supporting services include the Access to Justice Project (community-based research), Community Disaggregated Data Analysis, Virtual Education Development, Justice & Public Safety Reform advocacy, Sankofa Ubuntu Training, and Trauma-Informed Training. Programming is delivered in-person across six New Brunswick communities and online to wider Atlantic Canada audiences.

AEARA funds its operations through donations (TD Canada Trust bank transfers, direct deposits, pre-authorized debits) and grants from government and institutional funders including Public Safety Canada, Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, and Black Opportunity Fund. All programs are offered free of charge to community members; no pricing model or revenue figure is publicly disclosed. The organization is sustained by an affiliate ecosystem comprising Black Business Initiative, Network for the Advancement of Black Communities, John Howard Society of New Brunswick, Immigrant Women's Association New Brunswick, Miramichi AfroConnection, Centre for Housing Alternatives New Brunswick, and French Boundary East Cultural Foundation, among others.

Name

Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance

Legal name

ATLANTIC EQUITY AND RESEARCH ALLIANCE

Website

https://aeara.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance (AEARA) is a volunteer-governed, African-descent-led nonprofit headquartered in Miramichi, New Brunswick that delivers research, advocacy, youth programs, restorative gatherings, and open-source data infrastructure for Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities across Atlantic Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Equity and Social Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships (EDADALAK), Education Partnerships for Equity, Inclusion & Gender (EDADALAF)

Keywords

• Community equity programs
• Anti-racism training
• Community housing support
• Trauma-informed education
• Youth outreach services

Headquarters

HQ city

Miramichi

HQ country

Canada

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. Donations and Contributions: The organization accepts donations through bank transfers (TD Canada Trust account), direct deposits, and pre-authorized debits. Donations support ongoing programs and community initiatives.
2. Government and Foundation Grants: AEARA receives funding from government agencies (e.g., Public Safety Canada for the Black Youth Outreach Program) and foundations to support research, community programs, and capacity building initiatives.
3. Future Training Programs Revenue: Planned future revenue stream from training programs on digital business needs, server management, and cybersecurity aimed at Black-owned businesses and community partnerships.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance is a volunteer-run nonprofit that develops and delivers community programs, training, and advocacy initiatives targeting systemic barriers faced by Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities in Atlantic Canada. Its portfolio spans community housing support, youth outreach, cultural-heritage publishing, access-to-justice assistance, and trauma-informed and equity-based training curricula.

Product overview

Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance (AEARA) operates as a community-based organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and services rather than a unified software product. The portfolio centers on community advocacy and includes: the Open Server Project (open-source data infrastructure for community data sovereignty), Community Housing (sustainable housing research), Creative Media Arts Program (CMAP, a media/film training program for youth 16-24), Black Youth Outreach Program, and the Black Voice: Speak. Heal. Rise. restorative gathering initiative. Supporting services include Community Disaggregated Data Analysis, Virtual Education Development, Justice & Public Safety Reform advocacy, Sankofa Ubuntu Training, and Trauma-Informed Training workshops. The Access to Justice Project provides research-based policy recommendations. Together, these offerings form a holistic ecosystem addressing systemic barriers through research, education, community support, and technology infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Housing Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 89% of survey participants reported mental health impacts linked to legal problems
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Public Safety CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEARA partners with Public Safety Canada on the Black Youth Outreach Program, an initiative addressing systemic barriers faced by Black youth and their families. The program aims to reduce risk factors that often lead to criminalization through opportunity assessment, awareness building, and resilience development.
• Federal Black Employee CaucuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRonald Sharpe serves as Atlantic Region Representative of the Federal Black Employee Caucus, supporting Black employees in addressing workplace anti-Black racism. He conceptualized the Investment in Black Talent Program and was instrumental in developing the Building Black Leaders program within the Federal government.
• Black Business Initiative (BBI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated organization supporting Black businesses and economic development in Atlantic Canada. Listed as an AEARA affiliate on the organization's website.
• Network for the Advancement of Black Communities (NABC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNABC partners with AEARA on initiatives including the New Initiative to Tackle Housing Disparities in Black Communities. Listed as an affiliate organization and resource partner.
• John Howard Society of New BrunswickmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an AEARA affiliate organization. The John Howard Society focuses on justice reform and public safety, aligning with AEARA's justice and public safety reform initiatives.
• Immigrant Women's Association New Brunswick (IWANB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLisa-Gay Taylor serves as Director of IWANB, which she co-founded. IWANB focuses on barriers to integration and access to services within provincial education, justice, and economic structures in New Brunswick.
• Miramichi AfroConnectionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an AEARA affiliate organization based in Miramichi, New Brunswick. Community organization serving the local Black population.
• Centre for Housing Alternatives New Brunswick (CHTC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an AEARA affiliate. Organization focused on housing alternatives and affordable housing initiatives.
• French Boundary East Cultural Foundation (FBEC-CEFN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an AEARA affiliate organization serving the Francophone community in Atlantic Canada.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Maytree Foundation: Canadian private foundation focused on poverty reduction and social equity through policy research and grants. Comparable as a research-and-advocacy nonprofit serving marginalized populations, though operating at a national scale with broader scope than AEARA's Black/racialized focus.
• Canadian Race Relations Foundation: Federal Crown corporation dedicated to eliminating racism in Canada through research, public education, and grants. Comparable mission around research-driven equity advocacy for racialized communities, but operates at a national scale with significantly larger resources.
• John Howard Society of Canada: National federation of provincial societies focused on criminal justice reform, prevention, and supporting marginalized populations. Comparable justice-reform and youth-criminalization prevention work, and an AEARA affiliate partner at the NB level; operates at a national scale.

Direct peers

• Network for the Advancement of Black Communities (NABC): A network of organizations serving Black communities in Canada, including housing and capacity-building initiatives. Comparable as a Canadian Black-led equity-focused intermediary organization, and already an AEARA affiliate, so overlap is high.
• Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change: Canadian research and advocacy organization focused on the racialization of poverty and systemic barriers facing racialized communities. Comparable in research-driven equity advocacy, though Ontario-based with broader racial-equity (not Black-specific) framing.
• Ontario Black History Society: Canadian nonprofit promoting Black history, heritage, and community development. Comparable as a Black-led cultural and community-development nonprofit with research, education, and advocacy programming, though Ontario-focused.
• Black Health Alliance: Canadian nonprofit advancing Black health through research, education, and advocacy. Closely comparable in mission around Black community health equity, research-driven advocacy, and nonprofit structure serving racialized communities in Canada.
• Black Opportunity Fund: Black-led charitable organization supporting Black communities across Canada through funding and capacity building. Comparable as a Black-led equity nonprofit with grantmaking and community-capacity focus, and already an AEARA affiliate.
• Black Legal Action Centre: Ontario-based legal aid clinic focused on anti-Black racism and access to justice for Black communities. Directly comparable to AEARA's Access to Justice research and justice-reform advocacy work, though Ontario-focused rather than Atlantic Canada-focused.

Regional players

• Urban Alliance on Race Relations: Toronto-based nonprofit working to educate and engage the public on race relations and systemic discrimination. Comparable equity-advocacy mission for racialized communities, though GTA-focused rather than Atlantic Canada-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EquityAtlantic
• Facebookfacebook.com/EquityAtlantic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aeara
• Instagraminstagram.com/equityatlantic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Atlantic Equity and Research Alliance