What Code for Progress does

Code for Progress is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization founded in 2013 with between 11 and 50 employees. Its core program consists of systematically scanning court docket systems to identify individuals named as defendants in lawsuits filed by large industrial debt aggregators, then attempting direct contact via mail, phone, and text messaging to inform those defendants of their legal rights, notify them of response deadlines, and refer them to local pro-bono legal aid organizations or other community resources capable of assisting with complaint response drafting.

The organization's underlying technology is a court docket scanning and defendant contact pipeline, composed of (a) systematic ingestion of public court records, (b) filtering to surface cases filed by the largest and most exploitative plaintiffs, and (c) multi-channel outreach (mail, phone, SMS) operating under published Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. There is no commercial product, named platform, or app offering. Disclosed outcome metrics include a 32% increase in complaint response rates when defendants are contacted via the program and the finding that approximately 70% of lawsuits in which a defendant submits a response are subsequently dropped by debt aggregators.

Revenue mechanics are those of a charitable non-profit: funding flows in via donations, grants, and charitable contributions rather than commercial product sales, and services are delivered free of charge to defendants. The target customer segment is low-income individuals and communities of color disproportionately targeted by predatory debt litigation, including defendants in cases tied to credit card and medical debt (over $1 trillion of the $16 trillion in U.S. household debt, with $88 billion of medical debt currently in collections proceedings). The organization cites 24% of state court dockets as debt collection lawsuits and a ~70% default judgment rate among uncontacted defendants as the addressable problem. No head office city is consistently disclosed in the source material, with a (215) area code suggesting Philadelphia-area operations in addition to the Washington listing.

Name

Code for Progress

Legal name

Code for Progress

Website

https://codeforprogress.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Code for Progress is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization that scans court docket systems to identify defendants in predatory debt collection lawsuits and contacts them directly via mail, phone, and text messaging to inform them of their rights and connect them with pro-bono legal aid resources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Debt Legal Advocacy

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Debt Settlement & Negotiation Services (FSAEAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Text-Based Programming (Python, Java, C/C++) (EDAMACAB)

Keywords

• Nonprofit tech training
• Debt litigation defense
• Consumer rights advocacy
• Court docket monitoring
• Pro bono legal referral

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Non-profit Funding: As a non-profit organization, Code for Progress generates revenue through donations, grants, and charitable contributions rather than commercial product sales. The organization operates as a social justice entity focused on technical training and debt litigation intervention.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Code for Progress is a non-profit organization that scans court docket systems to identify individuals sued by large predatory debt aggregators, then contacts these defendants directly via mail, phone, and text messaging to inform them of their rights, response deadlines, and connect them with local pro-bono legal aid resources. The organization historically engaged people of color and women in the coding workforce through holistic technical training and currently applies this technical expertise to counter the weaponization of the court system by industrialized debt collectors.

Product overview

Code for Progress is a non-profit organization, not a product company. It operates as a social justice initiative that scans court docket systems to identify individuals sued by debt aggregators, then contacts these defendants via mail, phone, and text messaging to inform them of their rights and direct them to pro-bono legal aid resources. The organization does not offer a commercial product, platform, or named software service offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Court Docket Scanning and Defendant Outreach Service A free service for individual defendants sued by large predatory debt aggregators in U.S. state courts. Code for Progress systematically scans court docket systems to identify victims of lawsuits filed by the largest and most exploitative plaintiffs, then attempts to contact defendants through mail, phone, and text messaging to inform them of their rights, response deadlines, and direct them to local pro-bono legal aid organizations and resources for crafting a response to the complaint.
• Pro-Bono Legal Aid Referral Program A free referral service connecting defendants in debt collection lawsuits with local pro-bono legal aid organizations and other community resources that assist them in crafting responses to debt collection complaints. Partnerships with pro-bono legal aid organizations are core to the organization's mission of empowering individuals to defend themselves against predatory debt litigation.
• Code for Progress Technical Training Program (historical) A holistic technical training program historically offered by Code for Progress to engage people of color and women in the coding workforce. Participants received investment in their technical training and communities of support; alumni have applied their skills to counter the weaponization of the court systems by industrialized debt aggregators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 32% increase in complaint responses when defendants are contacted
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Pro-bono Legal Aid OrganizationscoreOthersCode for Progress partners with local pro-bono legal aid organizations and other resources to assist defendants in crafting responses to debt collection complaints. These partnerships are essential to the organization's mission of empowering individuals to defend themselves against predatory debt litigation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Civil Rights Corps: Non-profit impact-litigation organization that has specifically targeted predatory debt-buyer practices in state courts; directly comparable in mission, defendant-side posture, and small-staff litigation strategy.
• Pro Bono Net: Non-profit providing technology infrastructure (HotDocs, LawHelp) for legal aid and pro-bono attorneys; most comparable on the technology-mediated delivery of pro-bono legal services that CfP depends on.
• National Consumer Law Center: Non-profit that advocates for low-income consumers against predatory debt collection and related practices through litigation, research, and policy; directly overlaps CfP's defendant-side debt-collection defense mission.
• Justice Technology Lab: Non-profit that facilitates technology development for criminal and civil-justice reform; closely comparable small non-profit tech-for-justice operating model and grant-backed funding profile.
• Resilient Coders: Non-profit coding bootcamp serving young people from underserved communities; closely comparable to the original CfP workforce-development mission and small non-profit training model.
• Code for America: Civic technology non-profit applying software and data engineering to government and justice-system problems; the closest analog on the small non-profit, technology-for-justice operating model that CfP occupies today.
• Per Scholas: National non-profit providing technology training to individuals from underestimated communities; aligns with CfP's original coding-workforce mission for women and people of color before the litigation pivot.

Broad incumbents

• Money Management International: Established national non-profit credit-counseling agency offering debt management plans and consumer debt advisory across the full credit lifecycle; adjacent on consumer debt but operates as a much larger incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/codeforprogress
• Facebookfacebook.com/codeforprogress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Code for Progress