Bay Rising

What Bay Rising does

Bay Rising is a regional civic engagement coalition headquartered in Downtown Oakland, California, that coordinates a network of 30+ grassroots member organizations across the Bay Area including Oakland Rising, San Francisco Rising, and Silicon Valley Rising. Its core mission is to build the political power of communities of color and working-class communities through base-building, electoral organizing, issue campaigns, and coalition coordination, engaging tens of thousands of voters, volunteers, and community members across Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties.

Its product portfolio consists of non-commercial civic programs: a recurring Voter Guide covering California ballot measures and local elections; the Rep the Bay Leadership Program; fellowships; the Solutions Springboard shared policy platform; the Bay Area Progressive Governance Lab research initiative; Democracy Dollars public campaign-financing advocacy; Shared Communications infrastructure for member organizations; and Training and Capacity Building Services covering campaign support, communications training, field grants, and c3/c4 guidance. Underlying technology is standard nonprofit digital organizing infrastructure — a Squarespace-hosted website, social platforms (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram), and organizing tools such as Action Network, Hustle, and Airtable — with no proprietary technology stack or AI components.

Bay Rising operates as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit funded primarily through individual donations processed via Network for Good, contributions to its affiliated Bay Rising Ballot Action Committee (sponsored by the Center for Empowered Politics), and unstated grants. Its go-to-market is community-led organizing rather than commercial sales: the organization 'distributes' civic programs, research, and shared infrastructure through its member-organization network and coalition partners, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Filipino Advocates for Justice, Lift Up Contra Costa, and Urban Peace Movement. No pricing is publicly disclosed and no revenue figures are available.

Name

Bay Rising

Legal name

Bay Rising

Website

https://bayrising.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bay Rising is a regional Oakland-based 501(c)(4) civic engagement coalition coordinating 30+ grassroots organizations across the Bay Area to build political power for communities of color through electoral organizing, voter guides, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Engagement and Community Organizing

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH), Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good) (BPAGALAK)

Keywords

• Civic engagement organizing
• Grassroots coalition building
• Electoral organizing support
• Community advocacy training
• Voter education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Bay Rising accepts donations through Network for Good platform. As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, they engage in advocacy and political activities funded by individual donations and organizational contributions.
2. Training and Capacity Building Services: Bay Rising offers trainings to member organizations and aligned grassroots groups, providing campaign support, coaching, and capacity-building services across Oakland, San Francisco, and the South Bay.
3. Ballot Measure Campaign Contributions: As the Bay Rising Ballot Action Committee (sponsored by Center for Empowered Politics), the organization engages in electoral work and ballot measure campaigns, with funding from individual donors like Katrina Schaffer.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bay Rising is a regional civic engagement coalition that builds grassroots power across the Bay Area through base-building, electoral organizing, issue campaigns, voter education, leadership development, and capacity-building services. The organization coordinates a network of more than 30 member grassroots organizations across Oakland, San Francisco, the South Bay, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties, delivering voter guides, training, campaign support, policy research, and coalition communications.

Product overview

Bay Rising is a regional movement organization that functions as a civic engagement coalition rather than a technology product company. Its offering portfolio consists of civic participation programs (Voter Guide, Democracy Dollars), leadership development initiatives (Rep the Bay Leadership Program, Fellowships), policy platforms (Solutions Springboard, Bay Area Progressive Governance Lab), and operational coalition resources (Shared Communications, Training and Capacity Building Services). These programs work together as an integrated ecosystem enabling grassroots power-building across the Bay Area through base-building, electoral organizing, issue campaigns, and coalition coordination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Voter Guide

Quantifiable outcome

• While 60% of Bay Area residents are people of color, they only account for 34% of the region's top elected officials - Bay Rising works to address this gap through civic engagement and candidate support.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oakland RisingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Rising organization operating in Alameda County, part of Bay Rising's regional network of member organizations. Connects volunteers and community members to civic engagement opportunities in Oakland.
• San Francisco RisingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Rising organization in San Francisco County, part of Bay Rising's regional network. Works on civic engagement and electoral organizing in San Francisco.
• Silicon Valley RisingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Rising organization in Santa Clara County, part of Bay Rising's regional network. Engages voters and community members in the South Bay area.
• Center for Empowered PoliticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization that trains and develops leaders of color and grows movement infrastructure. Sponsors Bay Rising Ballot Action Committee. Led by Alex Tom, Executive Director.
• Design Action CollectiveminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides website design and development services. Design Action offers graphic design and visual communications for progressive, non-profit and social change organizations.
• Ella Baker Center for Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHuman rights organization based in Oakland. Part of the Bay Area coalition that issued joint statements on community safety following election results.
• Filipino Advocates for JusticeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots organization in the Bay Area. Part of the coalition that issued joint statements on community safety.
• Lift Up Contra CostaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization in Contra Costa County. Part of the Bay Area coalition for community safety initiatives.
• Urban Peace MovementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization focused on community safety and peace initiatives. Part of the Bay Area coalition on community safety.
• Bay Area Equity AtlasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner that tracks racial diversity data on Bay Area elected officials. Since 2018, has been tracking municipal officials and verifying racial identities of mayors, council members, supervisors and district attorneys.
• PolicyLinkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute focused on advancing economic and social equity. Collaborated with Bay Rising on a 2020 study about representation of people of color in Bay Area government.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Color of Change: One of the largest online racial justice organizations in the U.S., focused on political, corporate, and criminal justice advocacy for Black communities. Comparable in mission-driven advocacy for communities of color, digital organizing, and policy campaign execution.
• Working Families Party: A multi-state progressive political organization that recruits, trains, and supports candidates; comparable to Bay Rising in voter mobilization, ballot measure involvement, and coalition-building across multiple jurisdictions, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• Faith in Action: National nonpartisan network of 1,200+ faith-based community organizations engaged in civic engagement, voter mobilization, and policy advocacy. Comparable in base-building, coalition model, and policy focus on economic and racial justice.

Direct peers

• Ella Baker Center for Human Rights: Bay Area-based human rights organization and Bay Rising coalition partner. Directly comparable in progressive grassroots organizing, criminal justice reform focus, and Oakland-based community organizing for people of color.
• California Calls: Statewide progressive coalition building electoral power for low-income communities of color in California. Highly comparable in coalition organizing, voter engagement, and policy advocacy on housing, criminal justice, and economic justice priorities.
• Urban Peace Movement: Bay Area coalition partner focused on community safety and violence prevention. Comparable in grassroots organizing, youth leadership development, and progressive advocacy within the same Bay Area ecosystem.
• San Francisco Rising: Sister 'Rising' organization in San Francisco County, part of Bay Rising's regional coalition. Comparable in member-driven organizing, electoral work, and voter engagement focus on communities of color.
• Center for Empowered Politics: Bay Rising's strategic partner and sponsor of the Bay Rising Ballot Action Committee. Operates as a Bay Area civic engagement and leadership development organization focused on communities of color; directly comparable in mission, base-building model, and target geography.
• Silicon Valley Rising: Sister 'Rising' organization in Santa Clara County, focused on tech-worker and community organizing. Closely comparable in base-building, electoral strategy, and coalition-based structure within the same Bay Area ecosystem.
• Oakland Rising: A local 'Rising' organization within Bay Rising's own network, operating in Alameda County. Directly comparable in civic engagement, electoral organizing, and grassroots coalition model; serves as a building block of Bay Rising's regional structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_BayRising
• Facebookfacebook.com/BayRising
• Instagraminstagram.com/bayrising
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bay-rising

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Bay Rising