Our City

What Our City does

Our City is a progressive grassroots nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2004 in San Francisco, California. It operates as a membership-based network mobilizing San Francisco residents and activists to influence local and state politics through voter outreach, coalition building, ballot measure campaigns, and direct legislative advocacy. The organization's core focus areas include environmental protection (defending CEQA, launching CleanPowerSF), tenant rights (drafting the Union at Home ordinance), clean energy, and fighting corporate and developer influence over San Francisco governance.

The organization does not develop technology products. Its work is built on a 20+ year accumulated network of residents, volunteers, and allied organizations (including Californians for Energy Choice, the CEQA Works Coalition of 150+ groups, the San Francisco CEQA Defenders, and the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco). Distribution channels are member-driven: email newsletters, social media (Facebook and Twitter/X as OurCitySF), door-to-door and street outreach in San Francisco neighborhoods, and coalition coordination with allied progressive organizations. Notable technical components are limited to standard nonprofit communications infrastructure.

Our City generates revenue through membership donations, with suggested annual contributions of $35-$120, plus reduced-price memberships for students and lower-income individuals and volunteer opportunities for those unable to pay. It is a private nonprofit with no parent company, no venture capital backing, and no external institutional investors. The organization maintains a small staff of 19 employees and operates from its headquarters at 1450 Sutter St. #325, San Francisco. Its customer base is essentially its membership of San Francisco residents and progressive activists, with broader reach into California statewide advocacy.

Name

Our City

Legal name

Our City

Website

https://our-city.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Our City is a 2004-founded San Francisco progressive grassroots nonprofit that mobilizes residents and allied coalitions to influence local and California politics. It focuses on tenant rights, environmental protection (CEQA defense, CleanPowerSF), clean energy, and resisting corporate influence, funded by $35-$120 annual membership donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grassroots Political Advocacy and Community Organizing

NAICS

Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Political Organizations (813940)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL), Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE)

Keywords

• Grassroots political advocacy
• Community organizing services
• Environmental justice campaigns
• Tenant rights advocacy
• Progressive civic engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Donations: Our City generates revenue primarily through membership donations ranging from $35 to $120 annually. The organization also accepts reduced-price memberships for students and individuals with lower incomes, and welcomes volunteer contributions from those unable to afford the membership fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Our City is a progressive grassroots advocacy organization that organizes San Francisco residents and activists to influence local and California politics. It runs campaigns on environmental protection, tenant rights, clean energy, and anti-gentrification, mobilizing members through outreach, voter education, coalition building, and direct advocacy at City Hall and the state legislature. The organization is funded primarily through member donations and provides no commercial products.

Product overview

Our City is a progressive grassroots political organization focused on community organizing, political activism, and advocacy campaigns in San Francisco. It does not offer commercial products or services. The organization engages in advocacy work including clean energy initiatives (CleanPowerSF), tenant rights (Union at Home ordinance), environmental protection (California Environmental Quality Act), anti-gentrification campaigns, and democratic reform. All activities are non-commercial advocacy and organizing efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $1 million in tenant rent reductions won through Union at Home law
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Californians for Energy ChoicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide coalition co-founded and coordinated by Our City to protect and advance community choice energy programs in California. The coalition has successfully defeated multiple legislative attacks on local clean energy programs and opposed PG&E bailouts and corporate takeovers.
• PublicNetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of organizations and individuals founded in 2006 by Our City and allies to demand accountability from San Francisco's Department of Technology and win a publicly owned internet system. Successfully blocked Google/Earthlink monopoly partnership and broke nationwide attempt to privatize community internet systems.
• Brightline Defense ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental and social justice organization that partnered with Our City, Sierra Club, and San Francisco Green Party to form a coalition opposing the polluting natural gas power plant proposed for the Bayview Hunters Point area.
• Surfrider FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental organization that partnered with Our City to fight bills in the California state legislature seeking to remove Coastal Commission authority. Coalition successfully stopped these bills in 2024 and 2025.
• Housing Rights Committee of San FranciscocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading tenant organization in San Francisco that partnered with Our City to write and pass the Union at Home ordinance, the strongest tenant rights law in the country, giving tenants legal tools to form unions and demand negotiations with corporate landlords.
• CEQA Works CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide coalition of over 150 organizations including Our City that challenged Senator Darrell Steinberg's 2012 attack on the California Environmental Quality Act. Coalition successfully thwarted the attempt to weaken environmental protections.
• REP SF (Reclaim Our Power)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing justice coalition that partnered with Our City and SF CEQA Defenders to fight 2023 legislation attempting to repeal environmental and community review of housing construction in San Francisco. Coalition secured restored neighborhood noticing, demolition bans, and protections against corporate real estate speculation.
• San Francisco Department of the Environment (SFE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity agency commissioned by Supervisor Gordon Mar (at Our City's coalition's request) to estimate costs for drafting a 100% local clean energy plan. SFE completed the cost estimate in December 2022 showing San Francisco could draft the plan for less than $1 million.
• San Francisco CEQA DefenderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition organized by Our City to fight attacks on California Environmental Quality Act protections at local and state levels. Coalition successfully stopped Scott Wiener's SB 607 attack on CEQA in June 2025.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• 350.org: 350.org is a global grassroots climate organization running campaigns against fossil fuel infrastructure and for renewable energy transition — overlaps Our City's climate justice, CleanPowerSF, and anti-PGE campaigns, but at an international scale.
• Public Citizen: Public Citizen is a national consumer and democracy advocacy nonprofit focused on corporate accountability and open government; its public-interest advocacy model maps to Our City's anti-corporate influence and democracy-from-the-ground-up mission.
• Greenpeace USA: Greenpeace USA runs grassroots campaigns on climate, fossil fuels, and corporate accountability; parallels Our City's grassroots organizing on PG&E, CEQA, and clean energy fights, though at national/global scope.
• Sierra Club: Sierra Club is a longstanding national environmental advocacy organization; Our City has partnered with its Bay Area chapter (Brightline coalition), and both engage members on clean energy, CEQA defense, and fossil fuel opposition, though Sierra Club operates at vastly greater scale.
• NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): NRDC is a major environmental advocacy organization; its California-focused work on CEQA, clean energy, and coastal protection overlaps Our City's statewide advocacy portfolio on those same issues.

Direct peers

• CREDO Action: CREDO Action is a progressive advocacy nonprofit funded through member donations that runs campaigns on climate, corporate accountability, and social justice — a near-direct analogue to Our City's membership-driven model and issue portfolio.
• Surfrider Foundation: Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots environmental nonprofit focused on coastal protection; Our City is already a documented coalition partner with Surfrider on 2024 and 2025 California coastal legislation campaigns, making them a directly comparable advocacy peer.
• Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco: The Housing Rights Committee of SF is a tenant-organization peer and direct coalition partner on the Union at Home ordinance; it operates in the same San Francisco tenant rights space Our City has built reputation in.
• Environment California: Environment California is a state-level environmental advocacy nonprofit campaigning on clean energy and coastal protection in Sacramento — closely analogous to Our City's state-level advocacy footprint on CEQA, coastal bills, and clean energy.
• MoveOn: MoveOn is a progressive grassroots advocacy organization that mobilizes members on campaigns around elections, climate, and social justice — overlapping Our City's community-led organizing on progressive causes, though operating at a far larger national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OurCitySF
• Facebookfacebook.com/OurCitySF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/our-city

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Our City