Grassroots Leadership

What Grassroots Leadership does

Grassroots Leadership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit civil and human rights organization founded in 1980 and headquartered in Austin, Texas (EIN 58-1581743). It runs organizing, research, advocacy, and public education programs aimed at reducing the scope of mass incarceration and deportation and at reframing public safety away from arrest and deportation. Its core programs include Participatory Defense (community-based legal defense support inspired by the Silicon Valley De-Bug model), Texas Advocates for Justice (TAJ, a member-based organizing vehicle with chapters in Austin and Houston), ICE Fuera de Austin (ICE opposition), and Mujeres Luchadoras (support for women impacted by carceral and immigration systems). It also runs campaigns such as Care Not Cages, End Operation Lone Star, Counsel At First Appearance (CAFA), Black Mama's Bail Out (in partnership with National Bail Out across 19 states), and Register To Vote Texas. The organization does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its digital stack consists of a Squarespace website, EveryAction email, Instagram, and petition/action tools. Revenue is generated through individual donations, foundation grants, and charitable contributions, with no fees charged to program participants. The organization is BIPOC-led, with the majority of its roughly 34-person staff being directly impacted by carceral systems, and it convenes coalitions such as the 2025 Community Investment Budget Coalition (40+ organizations, $79.548 million community investment proposal) and the CAFA Coalition to pursue local policy change in Austin, Travis County, Harris County, and Dilley, Texas.

Name

Grassroots Leadership

Legal name

Grassroots Leadership

Website

https://grassrootsleadership.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grassroots Leadership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas that organizes communities impacted by incarceration and deportation through participatory defense, policy campaigns, and coalitions in Texas and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil and Human Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Criminal justice advocacy
• Immigration rights organizing
• Participatory defense programs
• Community organizing services
• Policy advocacy campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Grassroots Leadership relies primarily on individual donations, foundation grants, and charitable contributions from supporters. The organization emphasizes that funding-forward work requires long-term investments that center movement organizers' knowledge, vision, and expertise. EIN: 58-1581743.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Grassroots Leadership is a civil and human rights nonprofit that organizes impacted communities and runs advocacy programs and campaigns to transform the criminal justice and immigration systems. Its offerings include participatory defense (community-based legal defense support), Texas Advocates for Justice (member-based organizing), immigration advocacy (ICE Fuera de Austin, Mujeres Luchadoras), and policy campaigns (Care Not Cages, End Operation Lone Star, CAFA, Black Mama's Bail Out, Register To Vote Texas).

Product overview

Grassroots Leadership is a civil and human rights nonprofit organization (not a technology product company). The organization operates as a platform of advocacy programs and campaigns rather than a commercial product. Its core offerings include: Participatory Defense (community defense programming), Texas Advocates for Justice (member-based organizing), ICE Fuera de Austin (immigration advocacy), and campaign initiatives like Care Not Cages, End Operation Lone Star, CAFA, Register To Vote Texas, and Black Mama's Bail Out. These programs work together to transform justice and immigration systems through organizing, research, advocacy, and public education, building bridges between communities to increase the capacity of local leaders and coalitions, and mobilizing those most impacted by incarceration and deportation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Texas Advocates for Justice: A criminal justice member-based organization powered by Grassroots Leadership, part of the Participatory Defense program hub in Harris County in Houston, Texas

Products and services

• ICE Fuera de Austin A program focused on opposing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) activities and deportation practices in Austin, Texas, serving immigrant communities at risk of detention and deportation.
• Mujeres Luchadoras A program supporting women impacted by the carceral and immigration systems through advocacy and organizing, serving women and their families facing incarceration or deportation.
• Participatory Defense A community-based defense program that empowers individuals and families to actively participate in legal defense processes, inspired by the Silicon Valley De-Bug model. It serves people facing criminal charges and their loved ones through court accompaniment and community support.
• Texas Advocates for Justice (TAJ) A member-based criminal justice organization powered by Grassroots Leadership, with chapters in Austin and Houston focusing on policy change and community organizing for directly impacted people in the criminal legal system.
• Care Not Cages A campaign advocating for community investment in care services rather than incarceration, focusing on budget priorities at Austin City Council.
• End Operation Lone Star A campaign opposing Operation Lone Star, Texas's immigration enforcement program that critics say enables racial profiling and separation of families.
• Counsel At First Appearance (CAFA) A campaign advocating for legal representation at first court appearance to prevent unnecessary pretrial detention, serving indigent defendants in Travis County.
• Register To Vote Texas A voter registration and civic engagement campaign encouraging Texas residents to participate in elections.
• Black Mama's Bail Out An annual campaign joining National Bail Out to free Black mothers and caregivers from jail by paying bail, reuniting them with their children during the Mother's Day week.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully removed LiveView camera item from Austin City Council agenda through coalition advocacy
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Bail OutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots Leadership partners with National Bail Out for the annual #FreeBlackMamas campaign to free Black mothers and caregivers and reunite them with their children. This is a nationwide collective raising awareness about money bail's human and financial costs and its impact on Black mothers and caregivers. The partnership operates across 19 states.
• Texas Advocates for Justice (TAJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTexas Advocates for Justice is a criminal justice member-based organization powered by Grassroots Leadership. TAJ operates in Austin and Houston with monthly General Body Meetings, participatory defense programs, and community organizing focused on directly impacted people in the criminal legal system.
• BLMP - Black LGBTQIA+ Texas Migrant ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Black LGBTQIA+ Texas Migrant Project for the #FreeBlackMamas campaign, bringing intersectional advocacy for Black mothers across the BIPOC community in Texas.
• 2025 Community Investment Budget Coalition PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of 40+ organizations including Alliance for Safety and Justice, ACLU of Texas, Austin Justice Coalition, Texas Civil Rights Project, Workers Defense Project, and others jointly advocating for community investment priorities in Austin's budget. Grassroots Leadership is a co-signatory on the $79.548 million community investment proposal.
• CAFA Coalition (Counsel At First Appearance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition including Grassroots Leadership, Foundation for the Austin Sanctuary Network, VOCAL Texas, Austin Area Urban League, Advocates for Social Justice Reform, and Equity Action advocating for Counsel At First Appearance services for Travis County Jail detainees.
• Never Again Action ATXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for immigration advocacy work including community teach-ins about migrants and security at Texas's Southern border and opposition to Operation Lone Star.
• We Will Resist CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner for Journeys of Resistance programming calling out Houston's addiction to incarceration and co-creating community-rooted solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Mijente: BIPOC-led national organization supporting Latinx and Chicanx organizing on immigration, detention, and criminalization; comparable peer with overlapping anti-detention and anti-Operation Lone Star advocacy.
• National Bail Out Collective: Black-led national collective organizing #FreeBlackMamas and bail funds across 19 states; comparable because Grassroots Leadership runs its Black Mama's Bail Out chapter in partnership with this network.

Direct peers

• RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services): Texas-based 501(c)(3) providing immigration legal services, bond fund, and advocacy against detention and deportation. Most directly comparable peer because of overlapping Texas geography, immigration detention opposition, and BIPOC-led organizing model.
• Texas Defender Service: Texas nonprofit providing criminal defense, reentry support, and policy advocacy on indigent defense reform; comparable peer because of overlapping Texas focus on counsel-at-first-appearance and pretrial detention reform.
• Texas Civil Rights Project: Statewide Texas civil rights legal and advocacy organization working on criminal justice, immigration, and voting rights; core co-coalition partner of Grassroots Leadership on community investment and CAFA campaigns.
• Austin Justice Coalition: Austin-based racial justice coalition focused on ending policing, pretrial detention, and mass incarceration; shared coalition partner in the Community Investment Budget Coalition and TAJ-style organizing work.
• Detention Watch Network: National coalition advancing immigrant detention abolition; directly comparable mission on anti-detention advocacy and overlapping Texas-specific work (e.g., T. Don Hutto and South Texas family detention).
• VOCAL Texas: Texas chapter of a national grassroots organizing network led by directly impacted people on criminal justice, drug policy, and homelessness; comparable member-based organizing model and overlapping campaigns in Austin.

Broad incumbents

• Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): National network mobilizing white people for racial justice; comparable as a movement-building/coalition peer on criminal justice and immigration campaigns, though structurally different and broader in scope.
• ACLU of Texas: Statewide affiliate of the ACLU with litigation, lobbying, and organizing across civil liberties; overlaps with Grassroots Leadership on surveillance, immigration, and pretrial justice campaigns but operates at broader scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GrassrootsLeadership
• Instagraminstagram.com/grassroots_leadership
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grassroots-leadership

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 Grassroots Leadership