Echoes of Incarceration, Inc.

What Echoes of Incarceration, Inc. does

Echoes of Incarceration, Inc. is a New York-based nonprofit founded in 2008/2009 that operates a multi-tier documentary filmmaking and youth media training initiative for young adults (ages 16-25) directly impacted by the criminal justice system. The organization runs a structured three-level training pipeline: Level 1 (5-week Liberation Summer Camp with AFSC and school-based workshops), Level 2 (18-month Junior Crew program), and Level 3 (Senior Crew / Echoes Journalism Initiative). Crew members produce documentaries and journalism pieces drawn from their own lived experiences, with work distributed for free to educators, prisons, and conferences and used to train criminal justice stakeholders including police departments, public defenders, and judges.

The core technology is professional documentary filmmaking — video production and journalism training using professional camera equipment, with productions created in teams that include veteran media producers such as Project Director Jeremy Robins. Outputs include the multi-year Children of the Incarcerated series, the Resiliency Film Series, training films for criminal justice stakeholders, and first-person journalism produced in collaboration with Columbia University Justice Lab and distributed via outlets including Sesame Street, Upworthy, NowThis News, and Democracy Now.

The organization's revenue model is a hybrid of donations and grants and professional services. Donations are accepted via tiered monthly subscriptions ($10/$25/$45 per month), each tied to supporting a specific program participant. A second revenue stream — The Echoes Collective — provides paid freelance photo and video production services (event photography, headshots, live streaming, multi-camera shoots, full documentaries) to institutional clients including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Columbia University, NYU, the NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, Brooklyn Public Library, and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. The operating model is mission-driven and nonprofit, with no parent company, equity funding, or public listing; a separate entity, Ibis Productions, Inc., is referenced but appears distinct.

Name

Echoes of Incarceration, Inc.

Legal name

Echoes of Incarceration, Inc.

Website

https://echoesofincarceration.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Echoes of Incarceration is a New York-based nonprofit that trains court- and justice-impacted youth (ages 16-25) in documentary filmmaking through a three-tier pipeline and produces films used to train police, judges, and policymakers on juvenile justice. It funds operations via donations, grants, and a paid freelance production arm, the Echoes Collective.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Documentary Production and Youth Media Training

NAICS

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Training, Safety & Compliance Video (MPADAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reentry, Rehabilitation & Reintegration Programs (Education, Vocational, Case Management) (BPAKANAH), True Crime Documentaries (MPADADAN)

Keywords

• Youth documentary filmmaking
• Criminal justice advocacy
• Media training programs
• Nonprofit video production
• Documentary education services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The organization relies heavily on donations from individuals and grants to fund youth training programs including Liberation Summer Camp, Junior Crew, and Senior Crew programs.
2. Work-for-Hire Production Services: The Echoes Collective provides professional photography and video production services for hire, including event photography, professional headshots, live streaming, multi-camera shoots, and full documentary productions for clients including cultural institutions and government agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Echoes of Incarceration is a nonprofit that produces documentaries and video journalism pieces told from the lived experiences of youth filmmakers directly impacted by the criminal justice system. It operates a three-tier training pipeline (school workshops and summer camp, Junior Crew 18-month intensive, Senior Crew journalism initiative) and provides professional photo and video production services for hire through The Echoes Collective to institutional clients including cultural institutions, universities, and government agencies.

Product overview

Echoes of Incarceration is an award-winning documentary initiative that operates as a multi-level training and production organization. The core offering includes the Documentary Initiative, which produces films told from the life experiences of youth filmmakers directly impacted by the criminal justice system. The organization operates three training tiers: Level 1 (Liberation Summer Camp and School-Based Workshops) for introductory filmmaking; Level 2 (Junior Crew Program) providing 18-month intensive video production training; and Level 3 (Senior Crew Program) for advanced work with professional mentorship. Key documentary products include the Children of the Incarcerated Series, Resiliency Film Series, Training Films for Criminal Justice Stakeholders, and the Echoes Journalism Initiative. The Echoes Collective provides professional for-hire photography and video services. The portfolio also includes specialized programs like Professional Filmmaking Pathways and Filmmaking and Restorative Journalism Workshops for youth aged 17-25.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Documentary Initiative An award-winning documentary initiative produced by youth directly impacted by the criminal justice system, creating documentaries and video journalism told from the filmmakers' own life experiences.
• Children of the Incarcerated Series A six-year documentary series exploring parental incarceration, with films based on the Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents, covering topics from arrest to resilient youth portraits.
• Training Films for Criminal Justice Stakeholders Films created for lawmakers, judges, police, correctional officers, and other criminal justice stakeholders to raise awareness about the needs and experiences of young people in the justice system.
• Resiliency Film Series Films made by and for young adults impacted by the justice system, featuring success stories about artists and activists who have had a parent in prison.
• Echoes Journalism Initiative First-person, youth-reported stories on all the ways the criminal justice system interacts with young adults, examining scientific research and lived experiences.
• The Echoes Collective (For-Hire Production Services) Professional photography and video production services for individuals and organizations, including event photography, professional headshots, live streaming, multi-camera shoots, and full documentary productions.
• Liberation Summer Camp A 5-week summer camp providing a crash course in filmmaking and advocacy for youth impacted by the justice system, operated in partnership with the American Friends Service Committee.
• Junior Crew Program An 18-month intensive video production and journalism training program that creates short documentaries and training material for criminal justice stakeholders.
• Senior Crew Program Advanced training for youth who mentor younger crew members and work on core films for major outlets, with professional experience on freelance productions.
• Filmmaking and Restorative Journalism Workshops Introductory workshops introducing photo and video skills with creative challenges, incorporating restorative justice circles and meditation, designed for youth aged 17-25.
• Echoes Professional Filmmaking Pathways A 4-month intermediate filmmaking training program designed to prepare participants for paid freelance work with The Echoes Collective, including intensive production training and supported job placements.
• Visiting - Through the Youth Lens A documentary created in collaboration with Sesame Street and Upworthy that premiered at the White House in 2014, focusing on the importance of maintaining contact while a parent is incarcerated.
• School-Based Workshops Filmmaking and advocacy training through school workshops, creating PSAs and short films as part of the Resiliency Film series.
• Relationship Abuse Series A series of documentaries exploring relationship abuse including 'Different Shades of Pain' and 'Finding Healing: Criminal justice responses to relationship abuse.'

Quantifiable outcome

• Trained over 1,170 individuals in 2021 alone across police departments, public defenders, and justice leaders

Named customers8 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

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Sesame WorkshopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'Visiting - Through the Youth Lens' film focusing on the importance of maintaining contact while a parent is incarcerated. The film premiered at the White House in 2014.
• UpworthycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on 'Visiting - Through the Youth Lens' film created with Sesame Street, focused on children with incarcerated parents.
• NowThis NewscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on 'Reimagining Justice in Connecticut' journalism piece produced in collaboration with the Council on State Government's Justice Center.
• Columbia University Justice LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Echoes Journalism Initiative creating first-person, youth-reported stories on emerging adult justice. Collaborated on series titled 'Emerging Adult Journalists Explore Emerging Adult Justice'.
• Democracy NowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for journalism stories and documentary distribution.
• US Department of JusticemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner agency for creation of films for criminal justice stakeholders about the needs of young people in the justice system.
• US Department of Health and Human ServicesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner agency for creation of films addressing youth and family needs in justice system.
• NYC Administration for Children's Services (ACS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner agency for training materials and documentaries about children and families affected by incarceration.
• NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal JusticemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned Echoes crew to create documentary highlighting efforts around NYC to increase public safety without additional police, documenting violence interrupters, community justice centers, youth councils, and mediation centers.
• Brooklyn Public LibrarymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHired Echoes crew to create videos explaining the Telestory program (video visits with Rikers Island incarcerated individuals) for families and staff training.
• The Osborne AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization working with youth advisory boards and advocacy efforts. Youth from Osborne Association have successfully lobbied legislators in Albany.
• Council on State Governments Justice CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'Reimagining Justice in Connecticut' piece with NowThis News, examining bold experiments in CT corrections.
• New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for ChildrenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned video aimed at teens in the foster care system about permanency hearings. Echoes ran video workshops for teens to help them produce interviews with each other.
• American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Liberation Summer Camp, a 5-week intensive filmmaking and advocacy training program for youth.
• Downtown Community TelevisionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram where Project Director Jeremy Robins taught and created curriculum for youth media.
• Harlem Children's ZoneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram where Project Director Jeremy Robins taught and created curriculum for youth media.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• JustLeadershipUSA: National nonprofit dedicated to reducing the U.S. prison population by 50% and empowering directly impacted people as leaders. Comparable to Echoes because both center voices of people with lived experience in criminal justice reform and provide leadership/pipeline programs for affected communities.
• The Marshall Project: Nonprofit journalism organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Comparable to Echoes because both produce narrative content (journalism vs. documentary) created to humanize people impacted by incarceration, and both reach criminal justice stakeholders and the general public.
• Witness: International nonprofit that uses video to advance human rights. Comparable to Echoes because both use film/video as a tool for advocacy and social impact, training affected communities to produce their own stories rather than relying on outside filmmakers.
• The Osborne Association: New York-based nonprofit serving people affected by the criminal justice system. Echoes' Senior Crew members are recruited from Osborne's Youth Advisory Board, and both organizations train justice-impacted youth for advocacy and professional work, making them directly comparable mission-aligned peers.
• StoryCorps: Nonprofit that records and preserves oral histories from everyday people. Comparable because both organizations empower underrepresented voices through recorded storytelling, distribute content widely, and use their archives for education and social impact.

Broad incumbents

• POV (PBS): Long-running PBS documentary showcase that acquires and broadcasts independent documentaries. Comparable because Echoes' documentary style and criminal justice focus overlaps with POV's programming, and POV represents the type of distribution partner Echoes could scale into.
• Vera Institute of Justice: Major criminal justice research and reform nonprofit. Comparable because both produce content and training for criminal justice stakeholders (police, policymakers, public defenders) and focus on justice-impacted populations, though Vera is significantly larger and more policy-oriented.
• The Innocence Project: Nonprofit legal organization that works to exonerate wrongfully convicted people and reform the criminal justice system. Comparable because both center affected individuals' stories to drive criminal justice reform and engage policymakers, though Innocence Project focuses on legal exoneration rather than documentary training.
• YouthBuild USA: National nonprofit providing education, job training, and leadership development for opportunity youth ages 16-24. Comparable because both serve justice-impacted young adults with multi-month training programs that lead to job skills, but YouthBuild is much larger in construction trades.

Others

• Sundance Documentary Fund: Sundance Institute funds and supports independent nonfiction storytelling. Comparable to Echoes as a documentary ecosystem supporter; Sundance is a potential funding and distribution partner for Echoes' senior-level productions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EchoesDoc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/echoesofincarceration
• Facebookfacebook.com/echoesofincarceration
• Instagraminstagram.com/echoesofincarceration
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/echoes-of-incarceration-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Echoes of Incarceration, Inc.