Speak UP
Speak UP is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit that mobilizes LAUSD public school parents — particularly in Southeast LA's Latino and African American communities — to influence education policy, school board decisions, and elections through organizing, research, and bilingual advocacy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Speak UP does
Speak UP, legally "Speak Up – United Parents," is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit 501(c)(4) grassroots parent advocacy organization operating under the operating name "Speak Up: United Parents." Founded in 2016 and led by Founder and CEO Katie Braude, the organization engages, educates, and activates public school parents across the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to advocate for equitable education policy, school board accountability, and electoral outcomes in school board races. Its work is anchored in Southeast LA communities — including Huntington Park, South Gate, Vernon, Bell, Maywood, and Cudahy — where the student body is more than 90% Latino, more than 85% low-income, and includes seven schools ranked in the bottom 5% of California schools.
Speak UP does not operate proprietary technology or sell products or services. Its core deliverables are advocacy campaigns, original parent survey research and reports (including "The Impact of Racial Bias on Black Students in LAUSD," iFamily/iFamilia, Reopening, and Special Education surveys), bilingual (English/Spanish) programming across web and social channels, candidate forums and town halls, and direct voter engagement such as the 22,000+ doors knocked and 21,000+ phone calls made during the 2019 BD5 special election. The organization mobilizes its impact through coalitions with Families in Schools, Parent Revolution, League of Women Voters Los Angeles, NALEO Education Fund, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Innovate Public Schools, and others.
The revenue model is member donations and contributions; no products, services, or pricing exist. Reach is driven by a bilingual website (speakupparents.org), Facebook pages (LatinoPadresUnidos, SpeakUPEspanol), email, in-person community organizing, and earned media coverage. The organization is independent, with no parent company, holding entity, or disclosed institutional investors.
Speak UP firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Speak UP
- Legal name
- Speak Up - United Parents
- Website
- https://speakupparents.org
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Speak UP is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit that mobilizes LAUSD public school parents — particularly in Southeast LA's Latino and African American communities — to influence education policy, school board decisions, and elections through organizing, research, and bilingual advocacy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Speak UP industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Advocacy
- NAICS
- Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (61171)
- akta.pro primary industry
- K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)
Keywords
Where Speak UP is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Speak UP business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Member Donations and Contributions: Speak UP is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that relies on member donations and contributions from parents and community supporters to fund operations, advocacy campaigns, and election engagement activities.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Speak UP product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Speak UP is a grassroots nonprofit parent advocacy organization that engages, educates, and activates LAUSD public school parents to influence education policy, school board elections, and district decision-making. It offers parent advocacy training, bilingual community organizing, voter engagement in school board races, original research and surveys, and co-hosted candidate forums and town halls.
Product overview
Speak UP is a grassroots parent advocacy organization focused on education policy, not a technology product company. It does not offer software products, platforms, or digital services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Published 'The Impact of Racial Bias on Black Students in LAUSD' report, generating significant media coverage including LA Times, LAist, Daily News, and Fox 11 coverage.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Speak UP
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Speak UP technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Speak UP partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NALEO Education FundcoreCo-host of the LAUSD Board District 3 candidate forum (Sept. 23, 2020) and BD7 candidate meet and greet (Sept. 24, 2020) alongside Speak UP, League of Women Voters, and other partners.
- Our Turn, Our Voice: Communities for Quality EducationcorePartner organization in the 2020 LAUSD school board candidate forum co-hosting coalition, focused on elevating parent and community voices in education policy.
- L.A. Coalition for Excellent Public SchoolscoreCoalition partner in the 2020 school board candidate forums and meet and greet events, working with Speak UP to host and moderate discussions with BD3 and BD7 candidates.
- Innovate Public Schools - Los AngelescorePartner organization in hosting the BD7 virtual meet and greet with candidate Tanya Ortiz Franklin, co-hosting with Speak UP and other coalition partners in the 2020 election cycle.
- League of Women Voters Los AngelescoreCo-host of the LAUSD school board candidate forums for District 3 and District 7 in the 2020 election cycle. League of Women Voters provided forum moderation and voter education support alongside Speak UP.
- Alliance for a Better CommunitycoreCo-host of the BD5 candidate forum alongside Speak UP and other coalition partners, focused on civic engagement and parent voice in LAUSD school board elections.
- SELA CollaborativeminorParticipated as a coalition partner in the BD5 candidate forum hosted by Speak UP and other community organizations.
- United Way of Greater Los AngelescoreCoalition partner in the BD5 candidate forum, with United Way's Youth Civic Leaders Program represented on the parent panel. United Way also partners on broader education advocacy efforts in LA.
- Families in SchoolscoreSpeak UP partnered with Families in Schools to co-host the BD5 candidate forum in Cudahy. Families in Schools participated as part of a coalition of community-based organizations working to increase voter turnout and parent engagement in the LAUSD Board District 5 special election.
- Parent RevolutioncoreSpeak UP worked in coalition with Parent Revolution on voter outreach in the BD5 special election, knocking on 22,000+ doors and making 21,000+ calls to engage Southeast LA parents in the school board election.
- Families and Teachers UnitedcoreCoalition partner in voter outreach efforts for the BD5 special election, working alongside Speak UP and other organizations to increase voter participation in the primarily Latino Southeast communities.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Speak UP competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- NALEO Education Fund: National Latino civic and education policy organization that co-hosted Speak UP's 2020 BD3 candidate forum; broader geographic remit but directly comparable Latino parent voter engagement mission.
- League of Women Voters Los Angeles: Established civic engagement nonprofit that co-hosts Speak UP's LAUSD candidate forums and provides voter education; broader civic scope but overlapping education-election engagement work.
- United Way of Greater Los Angeles: Large-scale LA education and poverty-fighting nonprofit with broader scope than Speak UP; operates youth civic leaders program and co-hosts Speak UP's BD5 forums, making it a comparable education-advocacy player at larger scale.
Regional players
- Innovate Public Schools - Los Angeles: Bay Area-headquartered education advocacy organization with LA presence that co-hosted Speak UP's BD7 meet-and-greet; comparable parent-engagement and equity focus in K-12.
Direct peers
- Parent Revolution: LA-based parent advocacy organization that has co-organized BD5 voter outreach with Speak UP; both mobilize LAUSD parents around school board elections and equity-focused policy advocacy.
- InnerCity Struggle: East LA-based youth and parent organizing group advocating for education equity in LAUSD schools; directly comparable grassroots organizing model targeting similar Latino, low-income communities.
- Community Coalition: South LA grassroots organization that organizes parents around education, criminal justice, and equity issues in LAUSD, with overlapping voter engagement and policy advocacy tactics.
- Alliance for a Better Community: Co-hosted Speak UP's BD5 candidate forum and pursues civic engagement and education equity for Latino communities in LA, mirroring Speak UP's parent-empowerment mission.
- Families in Schools: Coalition partner that co-hosts Speak UP's BD5 candidate forums; both are LAUSD-focused parent engagement nonprofits working on school board elections and parent voice.
- LA Coalition for Excellent Public Schools: LAUSD-focused coalition partner that co-hosts Speak UP's candidate forums and works on school board accountability and equity, with directly overlapping target audience and tactics.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Speak UP social profiles
Digital presenceSpeak UP financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Speak UP leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Speak UP funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Speak UP M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Speak UP
What does Speak UP do?
Speak UP is a grassroots nonprofit parent advocacy organization that engages, educates, and activates LAUSD public school parents to influence education policy, school board elections, and district decision-making. It offers parent advocacy training, bilingual community organizing, voter engagement in school board races, original research and surveys, and co-hosted candidate forums and town halls.
Is Speak UP a public or private company?
Speak UP is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Speak UP founded?
Speak UP was founded in -1. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Speak UP based?
Speak UP is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does Speak UP make money?
One revenue line is on record: member Donations and Contributions.
Who are Speak UP's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are NALEO Education Fund, League of Women Voters Los Angeles and United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Innovate Public Schools - Los Angeles is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Parent Revolution, InnerCity Struggle, Community Coalition, Alliance for a Better Community, Families in Schools and LA Coalition for Excellent Public Schools.
Does Speak UP have an API?
No public API is recorded for Speak UP.
What industry is Speak UP in?
Speak UP's product category is Education Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAB, K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 8133.