New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

Name

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

Legal name

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

Website

https://njisj.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Justice Advocacy

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Racial & Ethnic Justice Organizations (BPAGAFAC), Criminal Justice Reform & Legal System Advocacy (BPAGAFAI)

Keywords

• Racial justice advocacy
• Criminal justice reform
• Voting rights advocacy
• Economic justice policy
• Community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Newark

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The organization accepts individual donations through its website, with suggested amounts ranging from $50 to $1,000 and above. Donors can give one-time or recurring gifts.
2. Planned Giving: The organization accepts various planned giving vehicles including bequests, charitable gift annuities, closely held stock, assets from charitable remainder trusts, retirement plan assets, real estate, and life insurance.
3. Gift of Stock/Securities: Donors can give appreciated stock which they have owned for at least one year, receiving tax benefits while supporting the organization.
4. Donor-Advised Fund: The organization accepts donations through donor-advised funds via a third-party search tool.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice is a nonprofit advocacy organization that uses racial and social justice advocacy to empower people of color by building reparative systems that create wealth, transform justice, and harness democratic power in New Jersey. Its core offerings are three program areas — Economic Justice (racial wealth gap, housing, employment, baby bonds), Criminal Justice Reform (mass incarceration, police accountability, youth prisons), and Democracy & Justice (voting access, voter rights, voting age) — delivered through research, public education, narrative change, policy advocacy, and litigation. The organization does not sell products or services; it advances its mission through direct advocacy, coalition leadership, and community organizing.

Product overview

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice is a non-profit racial justice advocacy organization offering a portfolio of programmatic advocacy initiatives rather than a technology product. The organization's core offerings consist of three main advocacy programs: the Economic Justice Program (focused on closing the racial wealth gap through housing, employment, and education research), the Criminal Justice Reform Program (advocating against mass incarceration and for police accountability), and the Democracy & Justice Program (expanding voting access and voter rights). Key campaigns include Vote16 (lowering voting age to 16), the NJ Voting Rights Act campaign, Baby Bonds legislation advocacy, and youth prison closure efforts. The organization produces research reports on racial equity issues, provides policy advocacy materials, facilitates community organizing through digital platforms, and offers volunteer engagement programs. Their digital infrastructure includes advocacy action tools, volunteer management via Mobilize, and email newsletter communications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Economic Justice Program A policy and advocacy program focused on closing New Jersey's racial wealth gap through research and campaigns on housing, employment, student debt, and baby bonds legislation. It serves people of color in New Jersey who face structural economic inequities.
• Criminal Justice Reform Program A program advocating to end over-criminalization of communities of color and mass incarceration through research on youth prisons, police accountability, and civilian oversight. It serves communities of color in New Jersey affected by the criminal justice system.
• Democracy & Justice Program A program focused on expanding voting access and protecting the right to vote for people of color in New Jersey, including voting rights act campaigns and same-day registration advocacy. It serves voters of color and communities affected by voting disenfranchisement.
• Digital Advocacy Action Campaigns Online advocacy campaigns using the Quorum.us platform enabling supporters to contact elected officials on issues including voting rights, reparations, youth justice, and police accountability. The service is offered to community members and supporters of racial justice causes.
• Newark Police Consent Decree Monitoring Reports Comprehensive reports documenting the Newark Police Division's nine-year Consent Decree process, including policy recommendations for police reform and accountability. Served as part of the Independent Monitoring Team from 2016-2025.
• Reaching Higher: Expanding Access to College Education in New Jersey A policy report addressing higher education affordability, racial diversity, and student debt challenges in New Jersey with policy proposals for expansion. Targeted at policymakers and advocates working on educational equity.
• The Two New Jerseys Research Series A series of reports documenting economic inequities between New Jersey's communities, including the racial wealth gap analysis and county-by-county economic disparities. Targeted at policymakers, journalists, and the general public.
• Vote16 Campaign A campaign advocating to lower the voting age to 16 for school board elections in New Jersey municipalities, including the Vote16 Playbook resource guide. Supported Newark becoming the first NJ municipality to lower voting age to 16 for school board elections.

Quantifiable outcome

• Led passage of the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act, making New Jersey the 10th state with a voting rights act.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, P.C.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal partner that filed Motion to Dismiss in United States v. Caldwell on behalf of the Institute and coalition of civil rights organizations to protect New Jersey voter records from improper DOJ access. CJ Griffin serves as Partner & Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein.
• NJVRA NOW CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of over 60 state and national organizations led by the Institute for advocacy and passage of the New Jersey Voting Rights Act. Members include NAACP, ACLU of New Jersey, League of Women Voters of New Jersey, AAPI New Jersey, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, New Jersey Working Families Alliance, Faith in New Jersey, NAACP Camden County East, and many others.
• Rutgers UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRutgers University conducted community surveys to ascertain community attitudes toward the Newark Police Division during the Consent Decree monitoring process, working with the Independent Monitoring Team.
• ACLU of New JerseycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing advocacy partner. Collaborated on a Policy Brief stressing the right to record police in 2021. Worked together on police accountability issues and Consent Decree monitoring work.
• Brick City Peace CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCure violence program in Newark that works in collaboration with law enforcement to keep communities safe and heard. Referenced as a model for reinvesting funds from police budgets into community-based violence interruption programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Race Forward: National racial justice organization advancing systemic change through narrative, policy, and movement-building. Similar to NJISJ's "narrative change and advocacy" frame and overlapping in audience of funders focused on reparative economics and racial equity advocacy.
• Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP): National policy organization advancing racial equity and economic security through research, policy, and advocacy. Directly comparable to NJISJ's Economic Justice Program on wealth gap, baby bonds, student debt, and housing equity work targeting communities of color.

Direct peers

• ACLU of New Jersey: State-level affiliate of the ACLU focused on civil liberties and racial justice through litigation and advocacy. A core coalition partner of NJISJ on police accountability and voting rights; closest organizational analog operating in the same geography and issue space.
• Vera Institute of Justice: National research and advocacy organization partnering with governments to reform criminal justice and immigration systems. Directly comparable to NJISJ in combining research, litigation, and legislative advocacy; NJISJ operates at smaller scale but with similar multi-state policy ambitions.
• The Sentencing Project: National research and advocacy organization focused on criminal justice reform, ending mass incarceration, and reducing racial disparities. Strongly comparable to NJISJ's Criminal Justice Reform Program in research output and policy advocacy targeting juvenile incarceration and police accountability.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Nonpartisan law and policy institute at NYU focused on democracy, voting rights, and criminal justice reform. NJISJ's Democracy & Justice Program and Brennan Center produce overlapping reports on voting access and criminal justice, making their outputs direct substitutes for foundation and media attention.
• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: National civil rights legal organization advancing racial justice through litigation, public education, and policy advocacy. Highly comparable to NJISJ on voting rights litigation (note the shared Caldwell voter records filing) and election protection work.

Broad incumbents

• Equal Justice Initiative: National legal and policy organization confronting mass incarceration, racial injustice, and poverty. Operates at greater geographic and reputational scale; overlapping mission with NJISJ's Criminal Justice Reform Program and reparative justice framing.
• NAACP: Premier national civil rights organization pursuing racial justice through litigation, advocacy, and organizing. NJISJ serves as the New Jersey affiliate-style civil rights leader and partners with NAACP through the NJVRA NOW Coalition, sharing advocacy playbooks on voting rights and economic justice.
• Southern Poverty Law Center: Larger national civil rights and racial justice nonprofit that combines litigation, policy advocacy, and public education. Directly comparable mission to NJISJ, operates at significantly broader geographic scope and is the destination employer of NJISJ's departing CEO.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nj_isj
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCU6Ek5h_rK-U_c6Klh-LPUg
• Facebookfacebook.com/NJISJ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-jersey-institute-for-social-justice
• Instagraminstagram.com/dosocialjustice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about New Jersey Institute for Social Justice