Hearts and Minds

What Hearts and Minds does

Hearts and Minds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in April 1996 by Bill Blackman, a former Madison Avenue advertising executive, and headquartered in Midtown Manhattan with a mailing address in Silver Spring, Maryland. Its core function is public education and grassroots advocacy aimed at ending extreme global poverty, with a specific focus on reforming unfair trade rules, foreign aid policy, and international financial systems that the organization contends produce a net $3 trillion annual transfer from poor to rich nations. The organization operates primarily as a website-based content platform featuring over 600 articles and links to 900+ nonprofit reviews, supported by a WordPress CMS and a CRM system for managing volunteer and donor relationships.

Its product surface consists of several programs rather than a unified technology platform: the End Poverty Campaign (flagship advocacy initiative), Youth for Change and Seniors for Change (demographic-targeted engagement programs), an online petition platform, a volunteer vocational-experience program serving 30-50 people annually, and the Global Survival Campaign addressing poverty, terrorism, and environment as interconnected issues. The organization claims over 5 million cumulative website visitors and 20+ million page downloads, with all content, advocacy tools, and donation mechanisms delivered via the website.

The business model is donation-monetization combined with volunteer labor: Hearts and Minds accepts tax-deductible individual donations via online portals and checks, in-kind contributions of equipment and supplies, and hundreds of long-term volunteers and interns. The organization states it accomplishes more than $7 of work for every $1 of cash spent due to volunteer labor and donated goods. It is founder-controlled (Bill Blackman serves as unpaid president since 1996), governed by a small board (Dave Peterson, Chairman; Katie Lusk, Secretary/Treasurer), and reports no parent company, institutional investors, subsidiaries, or external equity ownership. No revenue, budget, or fundraising totals are publicly disclosed.

Name

Hearts and Minds

Legal name

Hearts and Minds Network, Inc.

Website

https://heartsandminds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hearts and Minds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 that uses a volunteer-driven website platform and grassroots advocacy campaigns to educate the public and press for US foreign aid and trade policy reforms aimed at ending extreme global poverty.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Poverty Advocacy

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Poverty alleviation advocacy
• Nonprofit public education
• Grassroots volunteer programs
• Online petition campaigns
• Charitable donation platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

New York City

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, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The organization accepts donations from individuals via online portals and checks. Donations are tax-deductible under 501(c)(3) status.
2. In-Kind Donations: Accepts donated desktop computers, laptops, mobile devices, office equipment, furniture and supplies. These donations are tax-deductible and help reduce operational costs.
3. Volunteer Labor: Hundred of longer-term volunteers and interns contribute thousands of hours of work. The organization accomplishes over $7 of work for every dollar spent due to volunteer contributions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hearts and Minds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that delivers public education and advocacy for policy reforms aimed at ending extreme global poverty. It operates a website platform with educational articles, runs petition and donation campaigns, and provides volunteer vocational experience programs. The core service is curating content and mobilizing grassroots advocates to influence US foreign aid and trade policies that affect the world's poorest populations.

Product overview

Hearts and Minds is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 that operates primarily as an educational and advocacy website platform. The organization offers a collection of programs and services including its core website platform with educational content about extreme global poverty, the End Poverty Campaign for grassroots advocacy, volunteer programs providing vocational experience, Youth for Change and Seniors for Change programs, an online petition platform, and the Global Survival Campaign addressing interconnected global issues. The organization does not operate as a technology product company but rather as a public education and advocacy nonprofit focused on reforming foreign aid and trade policies to help end extreme global poverty.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $7 of work accomplished per dollar spent due to volunteer labor and donated goods
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Global humanitarian and development organization with advocacy components addressing poverty and inequality — comparable mission, broader portfolio and scale.
• CARE: Major international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty with combined advocacy and programming — overlaps with Hearts and Minds' policy and education work but operates at vastly larger scale.
• Amnesty International USA: Large human rights and justice advocacy nonprofit — comparable grassroots petition/membership-advocacy model and 501(c)(3) structure, though broader than poverty-only mission.

Direct peers

• Oxfam America: US-based affiliate of Oxfam operating as a 501(c)(3) focused on ending global poverty through advocacy, policy reform, and public education — directly comparable in mission and advocacy approach to Hearts and Minds.
• Global Citizen: Movement mobilizing individuals to end extreme poverty through advocacy aimed at world leaders — comparable digital, petition, and community-organizing model for global poverty.
• ONE Campaign: Advocacy organization campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease through policy reform and grassroots mobilization — comparable to Hearts and Minds in its focus on US foreign aid policy change.
• Concern Worldwide US: International humanitarian organization tackling extreme poverty through advocacy and emergency response — comparable in mission scope and donor-mobilization strategy.
• RESULTS: Grassroots advocacy nonprofit mobilizing citizens to generate the political will to end poverty — directly comparable in volunteer-led, policy-advocacy-driven anti-poverty work.

Emerging players

• Borgen Project: Smaller nonprofit focused on ending global poverty through US foreign aid advocacy — similar scale, lean volunteer model, and policy-advocacy emphasis as Hearts and Minds.

Others

• CharityWatch: Independent charity watchdog formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy — which Bill Blackman personally helped launch. Tangentially related as an ecosystem player in nonprofit transparency.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/share
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hearts-minds

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hearts and Minds