LA Forward

What LA Forward does

LA Forward is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit community organization, founded in 2016, that builds progressive political power across Los Angeles County through direct advocacy, electoral organizing, and coalition leadership. It serves progressive voters, activists, and LA County residents more broadly through seven issue-specific working groups (Housing, Climate, Unarmed Crisis Response, Transportation, Governance Reform, Immigrant Justice, and Capital Investment), the Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy for training candidates and campaign staff, and free voter guides that have reached millions of people since 2016. It also holds steering committee seats in flagship coalitions including ACT-LA, Our Future LA, and the LA Chapter of the Working Families Party, and is affiliated with a separate 501(c)(3), LA Forward Institute (EIN 87-2728708), which serves as its educational arm for civic education, leadership development, and strategic research.

The organization runs on a donation-funded operating model: a majority of its budget comes from members' monthly contributions, with a stated 2026 goal of raising 60% of the budget from dues-paying members to ensure accountability to the community rather than institutional funders. Its core technology is the FastAction platform, a single-click digital advocacy tool integrated with NGPVAN for campaign management, enabling rapid member mobilization on council votes and ballot measures. The organization operates virtually with approximately six staff, is led by founder David Levitus, and became an independent 501(c)(4) (EIN 87-2742396) in May 2023 after years of fiscal sponsorship. It has no parent company, no disclosed external funding rounds, and does not sell products or services.

Name

LA Forward

Legal name

LA Forward

Website

https://laforward.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LA Forward is a 501(c)(4) progressive community organization in Los Angeles County that builds political power through advocacy, coalition leadership, voter guides, working groups, and candidate training, funded primarily by member donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

akta.pro primary industry

Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK), Event PR & Communications Support (BPAFADAO)

Keywords

• Progressive community organizing
• Civic engagement advocacy
• Political campaign training
• Policy advocacy campaigns
• Voter education resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Donations: Primary revenue source from monthly dues-paying members. In 2026, goal is to raise 60% of budget from dues-paying members to maintain accountability to community rather than institutional funders.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LA Forward is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit community organization that engages in direct advocacy and political campaigns to advance progressive policies across Los Angeles County. It organizes residents through working groups on housing, climate, transportation, governance, immigrant justice, and other issues; trains progressive candidates and campaign staff through its Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy; and publishes voter guides and podcasts to inform civic participation.

Product overview

LA Forward is a community advocacy organization structured around its core 501(c)(4) nonprofit LA Forward and its affiliated 501(c)(3) educational arm, LA Forward Institute. The organization operates through a suite of organizing programs including Working Groups focused on specific issues (housing, climate, transportation, unarmed crisis response, governance reform, immigrant justice, and capital investment), the Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy for training candidates and campaign staff, and voter education resources. It leverages the FastAction platform for member engagement and publishes podcasts as part of its communications strategy. The organization engages in direct advocacy, coalition-building, and electoral work to advance progressive policies across Los Angeles County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy A training program that recruits and trains a diverse cohort of LA County residents to be candidates and campaign staffers for progressive politics.
• Working Groups Issue-based organizing groups that meet regularly to advance specific progressive policy agendas in Los Angeles County.
• Voter Guides Free voter education resources helping LA County residents make informed decisions about candidates and ballot measures aligned with progressive values.
• Podcasts Audio content programming covering progressive issues and organizing efforts in Los Angeles.
• LA Forward Institute The 501(c)(3) educational arm of LA Forward that makes local government accessible and advances accountability through civic education, leadership development, and strategic research to strengthen democracy and advance racial and economic justice.
• South Bay Organizing Regional community engagement effort growing LA Forward's membership and progressive organizing presence in the South Bay area.

Quantifiable outcome

• Expansion of unarmed crisis response to 40% of the city since 2023
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• LA Forward InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner501(c)(3) nonprofit educational arm of LA Forward. Makes local government accessible and advances accountability through civic education, leadership development, and strategic research. Provides tax-deductible giving vehicle for donors.
• LA Forward Action FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated 501(c)(4) organization for political contributions; contributions are NOT tax-deductible.
• ACT-LAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing coalition; LA Forward serves on steering committee. Coalition fights for progressive housing policies across Los Angeles.
• Our Future LAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition; LA Forward serves on steering committee. Works on progressive reforms and structural change.
• Working Families Party (LA Chapter)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLA Forward serves on the steering committee of the LA Chapter of the Working Families Party.
• LA Voice ActionminorOthersExecutive Director David Levitus serves as Board Member with LA Voice Action.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Working Families Party: National progressive political party that LA Forward works with through its LA Chapter steering committee. Comparable in candidate endorsement, progressive policy advocacy, and electoral organizing mission.
• Indivisible: National progressive advocacy organization built on local group power and grassroots organizing. Comparable in local-chapter organizing, progressive policy advocacy, and member engagement model.
• ACLU of Southern California: Regional civil rights and civil liberties advocacy organization operating across Southern California. Comparable in advocacy mission, member-supported model, and policy/litigation-driven approach to progressive issues including immigrant justice and governance reform.
• MoveOn: National progressive advocacy and political mobilization organization with digital campaigning infrastructure and member-funded model. Comparable in member-driven advocacy, digital action tools, and progressive electoral engagement.

Direct peers

• ACT-LA (Alliance for Community Transit – Los Angeles): LA-based housing and transit justice coalition where LA Forward holds a steering committee seat. Directly comparable as a coalition-led progressive advocacy organization working on overlapping LA housing and transportation policy.
• Community Coalition (CoCo): South LA community organizing nonprofit focused on racial and economic justice through grassroots power-building. Directly comparable in mission, grassroots organizing model, and LA County footprint.
• Our Future LA: LA-based coalition working on progressive structural reform where LA Forward holds a steering committee seat. Directly comparable as a coalition-led progressive advocacy organization in Los Angeles.
• LAANE (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy): LA-based progressive advocacy organization focused on economic justice, worker rights, and coalition-based policy campaigns. Highly comparable to LA Forward as a 501(c)(4) advocacy org operating in Los Angeles with similar coalition and policy campaign models.
• PICO California (Faith in Action California): California network of faith-based community organizations engaged in relational organizing, voter engagement, and progressive policy advocacy. Comparable in large-scale relational organizing, civic leadership development, and coalition-driven policy campaigns.

Emerging players

• Re:Power: National progressive training and leadership development organization for candidates, campaign staff, and organizers. Directly comparable to LA Forward's Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy as a leadership pipeline and civic infrastructure builder.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-forward

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 LA Forward