New Jersey Foundation for Open Government

Name

New Jersey Foundation for Open Government

Legal name

New Jersey Foundation for Open Government

Website

https://njfog.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

New Jersey Foundation for Open Government is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes government transparency in New Jersey through public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation enforcing open records and meetings laws, serving citizens, journalists, and civic organizations with free resources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Transparency Advocacy

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking) (MPAJACAI)

Keywords

• Government transparency advocacy
• Public records access
• Open meetings compliance
• Freedom of information
• Civic education nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

New Jersey

HQ country

Trinidad & Tobago

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Contributions and Donations: NJFOG accepts individual contributions and donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible and acknowledged in writing.
2. Foundation and Institutional Grants: Received funding from National Freedom of Information Coalition, Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, and Rutgers Law School in Newark. Also received Knight Foundation start-up grant.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NJFOG is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that educates New Jersey citizens on the state's open government laws (OPRA and OPMA), advocates for stronger transparency legislation, and engages in affirmative litigation to enforce public-records and public-meetings compliance. It provides free seminars, legal guides and handbooks, a civil court docket database, and the OPRAmachine web platform for filing and tracking public records requests.

Product overview

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) is a non-profit organization providing educational resources, legal guidance, and advocacy tools focused on government transparency. The organization offers a portfolio of resources including OPRAmachine (a web-based platform for anonymous OPRA requests with document cataloging and search), FOIA Machine (for federal records requests), the NJ Civil Court Docket Database (compiled records on 432,000+ court cases), OPRA and OPMA handbooks, the OPRA: The Basics guide, and records request letter generators. NJFOG also engages in litigation, legislative advocacy, and free public seminars on open government laws.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OPRAmachine
• FOIA Machine
• NJ Civil Court Docket Database
• OPRA: The Basics Guide
• NJFOG OPRA and OPMA Handbook
• Records Request Letter Generators

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2001NJFOG is a member of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, a national organization supporting freedom of information. Hosted NFOIC's annual conference in 2004.
• New Jersey Press Association (NJPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded NJFOG and continues close partnership. Jointly sponsors the Tim O'Brien Award for best reporting using OPRA.
• Society of Professional Journalists - New Jersey Chapter (SPJ-NJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNJFOG was founded by NJ-SPJ. Continues close relationship; jointly sponsors the Tim O'Brien Award and coordinates advocacy efforts.
• ACLU-NJcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance partner in coalition for OPRA and OPMA reform legislation and enforcement efforts.
• Code for JCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJersey City-based tech group, a chapter of Code for America Brigade, that collaborated with NJFOG on a project to increase access to civil court records in 2016.
• Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Reinvent Albany, and othersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on advocacy for Port Authority of NY and NJ transparency legislation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): EFF engages in litigation and advocacy on government transparency and records access, particularly digital FOIA issues. It is comparable to NJFOG as a litigation-and-advocacy transparency organization but operates nationally on broader civil liberties issues.
• Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides legal support and resources for journalists on public records and open meetings matters, overlapping with NJFOG's mission and audiences. It is a national incumbent rather than a single-state specialist.
• Sunlight Foundation: Sunlight Foundation works on government transparency, data access, and accountability at a national scale, intersecting with NJFOG's publishing of transparency resources like the PIRG Transparency Ratings by state. It is an adjacent incumbent rather than a single-state competitor.
• National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC): NFOIC is the national umbrella coalition of which NJFOG is a member and which inducted NJFOG's John Paff into its Hall of Fame. It operates broadly across state FOI issues whereas NJFOG specializes in NJ.

Direct peers

• ACLU of New Jersey: ACLU-NJ is a core strategic coalition partner of NJFOG and engages in parallel OPRA/OPMA reform advocacy and litigation in New Jersey, serving overlapping citizen and journalist segments.
• FOIA Machine: FOIA Machine is the nationwide repository of records requests that NJFOG already integrates and points users to via FOIA Machine as a core product. It is a directly comparable records-request infrastructure peer with broader geographic coverage.
• Society of Professional Journalists – New Jersey Chapter (SPJ-NJ): NJFOG was founded by NJ-SPJ and continues to co-sponsor the Tim O'Brien Award and coordinate advocacy efforts. It is the most directly comparable peer in mission and audience.
• MuckRock: MuckRock operates a national FOIA/records request platform that closely parallels NJFOG's OPRAmachine product. Both organizations enable anonymous records requests, catalog responses, and serve journalists and citizens, though MuckRock is national in scope while NJFOG is NJ-only.
• New Jersey Press Association (NJPA): NJPA co-founded NJFOG and jointly sponsors the Tim O'Brien Award for best reporting using OPRA. It is a tightly aligned coalition partner addressing the same NJ press and transparency ecosystem.
• Common Cause New Jersey: Common Cause NJ was one of NJFOG's founding coalition partners and continues to coordinate on OPRA/OPMA advocacy. It shares NJFOG's transparency and government accountability focus within the same state.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/newjerseyfog
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCfjzo9Nxogu8hJcM66AFKcg
• Facebookfacebook.com/NJFOG
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/njfog

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 New Jersey Foundation for Open Government