Tiny Village Spirit

What Tiny Village Spirit does

Tiny Village Spirit is a Berkeley, California-based 501(c)(3) non-profit that organizes communities to build tiny-home villages for unhoused neighbors in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a constituent-led model emphasizing volunteer labor and resident participation. The organization led the creation of the Oakland Tiny House Empowerment Village (22 units, completed 2022, now operated by Youth Spirit Artworks) and is currently building the Richmond Tiny House Village, Farm & Garden (target move-in July 2026), a seven-agency collaboration that doubles emergency housing for unsheltered youth ages 18-24 from 12 to 24 units. Its portfolio of "products" extends beyond physical villages to include the National Tiny House Village Directory (a living map platform connecting organizers nationwide), the Village Blueprint (an open-source step-by-step toolkit co-developed with Latitude High School for replicating the model), and a youth organizing program with 12 paid trainees leading decision-making.

The business model is donation-based rather than commercial: the organization accepts tax-deductible contributions via individual donations, GoFundMe campaigns, corporate workplace giving (Benevity), and institutional grants, with suggested giving tiers ($75/wall panel, $500/door) and a stated "100% to village construction, no overhead" positioning. Its go-to-market is community-driven rather than sales-driven: weekly build days, Facebook community groups, earned media, email newsletters, and 81+ partner organizations (including Arup, Blue Shield, CAW Architects, Pyatok, faith congregations, and multiple schools) serve as the volunteer and donor acquisition channels. The team is lean (4 core staff including co-founders Sally Hindman, Maheesh Jain, and Gabe Monett) and the operating model relies on 3,000+ volunteers who have collectively placed every board, bolt, and brushstroke in the organization's villages.

Name

Tiny Village Spirit

Legal name

Tiny Village Spirit

Website

https://tinyvillagespirit.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tiny Village Spirit is a Berkeley-based 501(c)(3) non-profit that organizes Bay Area communities to build tiny-home villages for unhoused youth (ages 18-24), operating through volunteer labor, donations, and an 81+ partner ecosystem across Oakland, Richmond, and a national organizer directory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Housing Services

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

Keywords

• Tiny home villages
• Emergency housing services
• Homelessness services
• Community organizing
• Volunteer construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the construction of tiny home villages. Multiple giving options including Venmo (@tinyvillagespiritCA), ACH transfer (Routing 121102036, Account 3505601370), and mail-in checks to 3129 Ellis Street, Berkeley, CA 94703.
2. GoFundMe Campaigns: Campaign-based fundraising through GoFundMe for specific projects such as the Richmond Tiny House Village, Farm & Garden.
3. Corporate Workplace Giving: Accepts donations through Benevity workplace giving portal, allowing employees to donate through employer-sponsored programs.
4. Volunteer Labor: While not a direct revenue stream, the organization leverages thousands of volunteer hours (3,000+ volunteers, 4,000+ for Oakland project) to construct villages, effectively providing in-kind construction services valued at significant community labor contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Tiny Village Spirit organizes communities to build emergency tiny-home villages for unhoused neighbors in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization funds, designs, and constructs resident-led tiny-house communities through volunteer labor and donations, currently operating the Oakland Tiny House Empowerment Village (22 units) and building the Richmond Tiny House Village, Farm & Garden (target: 24 units for youth ages 18–24 by July 2026). It also provides the open-source Village Blueprint toolkit and National Tiny House Village Directory to support replication by other communities.

Product overview

Tiny Village Spirit is a Bay Area 501(c)(3) non-profit that builds tiny home villages for unhoused neighbors. Their portfolio consists of two completed/active village construction projects (Oakland Tiny House Empowerment Village and Richmond Tiny House Village, Farm & Garden), supported by volunteer build days and youth organizing programs. Additionally, they operate the National Tiny House Village Directory platform for connecting village administrators nationwide, and offer the Village Blueprint as an open-source toolkit for replicating their model. The organization is entirely community-driven, powered by volunteers and partner organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oakland Tiny House Empowerment Village A 22-unit legal, resident-run tiny house community in Oakland, California, built by over 4,000 volunteers, 14 schools, and 28 businesses. The first youth tiny-house village, designed and operated by Youth Spirit Artworks as a constituent-led community for youth experiencing homelessness.
• Richmond Tiny House Village, Farm & Garden A seven-agency collaboration in Richmond, California that doubles emergency housing capacity for unsheltered youth ages 18-24 (from 12 to 24 units), featuring a working urban farm and garden. Built entirely by volunteer hands during weekly Saturday build days.
• National Tiny House Village Directory A living map of tiny house villages for unhoused people across the United States, designed to help organizers find each other, share lessons, and build collective power around housing justice.
• Village Blueprint A step-by-step open-source resource for schools, NGOs, and grassroots groups to build tiny house villages in their own communities. Co-developed with Latitude High School, it covers village planning in the classroom, navigating district and county policy, building momentum through media, community outreach strategies, and templates and practical guides.
• Volunteer Build Days Weekly volunteer build days (most Saturdays) at the Richmond site where community members frame walls, paint murals, plant gardens, and contribute to village construction. No experience required; a primary touchpoint for community engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 22 housing units built in Oakland through 4,000+ volunteer hours
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Youth Spirit ArtworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Spirit Artworks is a key strategic partner and the current operator of the Oakland Tiny House Empowerment Village. The team behind Tiny Village Spirit led the creation of this village—a constituent-led community for youth experiencing homelessness in Oakland, California. Sally Hindman founded Youth Spirit Artworks in 2007 and served as Executive Director for fifteen years, project-managing creation of the Oakland village from 2016 to 2021. The partnership continues through co-development of the tiny house village model.
• Latitude High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLatitude High School co-developed the Village Blueprint, a step-by-step open-source resource for schools, NGOs, and grassroots groups who want to build tiny house villages with and for unhoused people in their own communities. The blueprint includes village planning in the classroom, policy navigation, media strategies, and practical building guides.
• 81+ Partner Organizations (Businesses, Faith Groups, Organizations, Schools)flagshipOthers81+ partner organizations across 4 categories: (1) Businesses & Gov't Programs: Arup, Blue Shield, Burchell Nursery, CAW Architects, City of Richmond–Richmond Builds, City of Richmond–YouthWorks, Community Of Resource & Resolution (CORR), Jones Electrical Service Co., Moxion Power, Pyatok and Associates Architects, Red Oak Realty, San Quentin Prison Shop Program, TEF Design; (2) Congregations & Faith-Based Groups: Berkeley Friends Meeting, multiple congregations, schools, and faith-based organizations; (3) Organizations: Alameda County Bar Association, Girls Garage, Rebuilding Together East Bay Network, Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and others; (4) Schools: Berkeley High School, Kennedy High School, Lick Wilmerding High School, West Contra Costa Unified School District, and others. These partners provide volunteers, donations, expertise, and resources for village construction and community organizing.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bridge House (Boulder): Boulder, CO nonprofit that runs a community-built tiny-home community alongside supportive services. Direct peer for examining how tiny-village nonprofits manage transitions to permanent housing and worker training models.
• DignityMoves: San Francisco–based nonprofit that builds interim tiny-home communities for people experiencing homelessness using a similar volunteer- and donation-driven model. The closest direct operating peer to Tiny Village Spirit and the most natural comparison set for funders evaluating both.
• HomeAid America: National nonprofit that mobilizes the building industry to construct and renovate housing for people experiencing homelessness. Comparable in mission (housing for the unhoused) and in leveraging donated labor/materials, though at much larger geographic scale.
• Youth Spirit Artworks: Berkeley/Oakland–based youth nonprofit founded by Sally Hindman that currently operates the Oakland Tiny House Empowerment Village. Sister organization with deep founder/personnel overlap and the on-site operator of TVS's flagship completed village.
• Opportunity Village Eugene: Pioneering nonprofit tiny-house village in Eugene, Oregon serving people experiencing homelessness. Operates the same community-built, constituent-led model at a single site, making it a useful functional peer for measuring build economics and resident outcomes.
• Quixote Village: Olympia, Washington–based nonprofit tiny-home village for people experiencing homelessness. Replicates the same resident-built, community-organization model and helps frame cost-per-unit and operating benchmarks for TVS.

Broad incumbents

• Covenant House: Large, national nonprofit providing housing and wraparound services for youth experiencing homelessness ages 18–24. Closest broad incumbent mirror of TVS's 18–24 youth focus, useful for sizing demand and outcomes expectations.
• Mercy Housing: One of the largest U.S. nonprofit affordable housing developers and operators. Provides a reference point for what scaled, institutional affordable-housing nonprofits look like — both as an aspirational peer and as competitive context for funders.

Regional players

• Tipping Point Community: Bay Area–based anti-poverty funder that invests in housing and homelessness solutions in the same geography as TVS. Useful as a regional peer/funder reference for evaluating capital access and grant-market dynamics.

Emerging players

• Community Solutions: Runs the Built for Zero program, a systems-change effort to reduce homelessness through coordinated data and local government partnerships. Complementary rather than competitive: Community Solutions targets the system TVS operates within.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/tinyvillagespirit
• Xx.com/with_replies
• Facebookfacebook.com/tinyvillagespirit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tiny-village-spirit

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tiny Village Spirit