Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence

What Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence does

Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on November 30, 2021, by three American Federation of Teachers members and public school educators — Abbey Clements (Sandy Hook survivor, 2012), Sarah Lerner (Parkland survivor, 2018), and Sari Beth Rosenberg — to mobilize educators as a national constituency for gun violence prevention. The organization, headquartered in Danbury, CT, operates a grassroots advocacy and peer-support model with a small staff of approximately five people, led by Co-founder and Executive Director Abbey Clements and supported by a Director of Development (Lisa Cook), board members, and a Crisis Intervention Team led by Senior Advisor Dr. Michael J. Schulz.

The organization's core programs include a Crisis Intervention & Support Team (launched November 2025) providing peer support from survivor-educators and licensed clinical professionals to schools impacted by gun violence; Project Lockdown (launched September 2025), a national campaign to promote secure firearm storage; the Teachers Unify Podcast hosted by Sarah Lerner; the ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence teen playwright program; and Future Teachers Unify campus chapters (first chapter at Penn State). The technology stack is limited to commodity tools — Squarespace website, Transistor podcast hosting, ActBlue donation processing, Bonfire merchandise, and Substack — with no proprietary technology platform.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations and grants, with streams including individual donations (25,000+ monthly recurring donors in the Educators Circle), merchandise sales (100% of proceeds to mission), corporate and foundation grants (Bohnett, Joyce, Fund for a Safer Future, Adelman Family, Susan Stuart Seiler Family Foundation, Bob and Sue Isler), employer matching gifts, and a separate 501(c)(4) affiliate (Teachers Unify Action) for non-deductible political advocacy. The organization distributes through AFT's Share My Lesson platform (1.9M educator reach), conference circuits (SXSW EDU, AFT Convention, Netroots Nation, National PTA LegCon), earned media, and social channels, claiming engagement with 1+ million educators and 400+ million people reached through national media.

Name

Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence

Legal name

Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence

Website

https://teachersunify.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2021 by three educator-survivors of Sandy Hook and Parkland that mobilizes educators nationwide for gun violence prevention through advocacy, a Crisis Intervention Team, the Project Lockdown firearm-storage campaign, and grassroots community organizing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy and Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Gun Violence Prevention & Public Safety Policy Advocacy (BPAGAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Child Development, Behavior Guidance & Trauma-Informed Practice Training (EDACAIAG)

Keywords

• Gun violence prevention
• Educator advocacy
• Crisis intervention services
• School safety programs
• Grassroots nonprofit movement

Headquarters

HQ city

Danbury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations to 501(c)3 organization processed through ActBlue. Monthly recurring giving through 'Educators Circle' with 25,000+ grassroots donors. One-time and recurring donation options available.
2. Merchandise Sales: Bonfire-powered merch store where 100% of proceeds support programming. Includes apparel and branded items.
3. Corporate/Foundation Grants: Support from foundations including Bohnett Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Fund for a Safer Future, Adelman Family Foundation, Susan Stuart Seiler Family Foundation, and Bob and Sue Isler. Honor Society donors have given $10,000+.
4. Employer Matching: Employer matching gift programs encouraged through 'Impact Multipliers' section. Corporate giving partnerships promoted.
5. Teachers Unify Action (501(c)4): Separate affiliated 501(c)4 organization for policy and advocacy work. Donations to this entity are NOT tax-deductible. Promotes cultural change, legislation, and policy dedicated to keeping educators, students, and families safe from gun violence.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence is a 501(c)(3) grassroots nonprofit organization that mobilizes educators to advocate for gun violence prevention and supports schools impacted by gun violence. It provides crisis intervention and peer support through its Crisis Intervention & Support Team, runs national campaigns such as Project Lockdown on secure firearm storage, publishes the Teachers Unify Podcast, and operates a merchandise store and Educators Circle monthly giving program to fund programming.

Product overview

Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence operates as a single unified nonprofit offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core programs include a Crisis Intervention & Support Team providing peer support from survivor educators, the Teachers Unify Podcast amplifying educator voices, and Project Lockdown addressing secure firearm storage. Supporting initiatives include the ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence program for teen playwrights, Future Teachers Unify campus chapters, and merchandise sales where all proceeds fund programming. The organization functions as a grassroots advocacy and support network rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Project Lockdown: A national campaign to stop preventable school shootings by addressing the single biggest threat to our schools: unlocked guns at home.
• Teachers Unify Podcast
• Future Teachers Unify
• Crisis Intervention & Support Team
• Teachers Unify Action

Products and services

• Crisis Intervention & Support Team A first-of-its-kind crisis intervention team composed of school shooting survivor-educators and licensed clinical professionals who provide peer support, crisis response, and postvention services to schools and educators impacted by gun violence.
• Project Lockdown A national campaign to stop preventable school shootings by addressing the single biggest threat to schools: unlocked guns at home. Educates parents and students about secure firearm storage.
• Teachers Unify Podcast A podcast hosted by co-founder Sarah Lerner that addresses issues of gun violence and its impact on schools and communities, featuring survivor educators and guest experts.
• ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence A program that empowers teen writers to tackle America's gun violence crisis through theatre, dialogue, and action. Selected playwrights receive $500, publication, mentorship, and nationwide production.
• Future Teachers Unify Campus-based chapters that provide workshops, resources, group discussions, and self-care events for college students. First chapter established at Penn State University.
• Teachers Unify Merchandise Store Online merch store selling branded items; all proceeds support the organization's mission to amplify narratives for change.
• Educators Circle Monthly Giving Program Monthly recurring donation program with 25,000+ grassroots donors providing consistent support for rapid response and long-term change for safe school communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Survivors highlight peer support can reduce PTSD rates by up to 30%

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Preston SpirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent, employee-owned creative agency that partnered pro-bono with Teachers Unify to launch the nationwide 'Project Lockdown' campaign to stop guns from going back to school through secure firearm storage education.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner and 501(c)3 supporter. Three co-founders are AFT union members. AFT Share My Lesson platform hosts Teachers Unify resources. AFT conventions provide speaking platforms.
• Everytown for Gun SafetycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor organizational partner in gun violence prevention movement. Affiliated with Survivor Network. Collaborative on policy advocacy and awareness campaigns.
• BradycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing gun violence prevention organization. Board member Shikha Hamilton previously served as Vice President, Organizing at Brady. Collaborative on advocacy and mobilization.
• ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun ViolencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive-year program empowering teen writers to tackle gun violence crisis through theatre. Selected playwrights receive $500, publication, mentorship, and nationwide production. Teachers Unify resources linked.
• Sandy Hook PromisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit founded by families of victims of Sandy Hook tragedy. Ambassador La-Shanda West serves on School Advisory Committee. Collaborative on safe schools programs.
• GiffordscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Collaborative on policy and legislative advocacy.
• National PTAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational parent-teacher association. Participates in National PTA LegCon events. Collaborative on school safety and family engagement.
• Share My LessoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFT's digital resource platform serving over 1.9 million educators. Hosts Teachers Unify curriculum resources and blog content on gun violence prevention.
• SXSW EDUminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual education conference where Teachers Unify presents and engages with educator community.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Giffords: Gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Operates advocacy, policy, and survivor storytelling functions that parallel Teachers Unify's work, with both organizations explicitly collaborating on legislative campaigns.
• Newtown Action Alliance: National Newtown-based gun violence prevention coalition founded by Sandy Hook family members. Operates federal advocacy and survivor support programs that overlap directly with Teachers Unify's crisis intervention and policy work, sharing a Sandy Hook survivor-founder lineage.
• Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: National gun violence prevention coalition with a policy and advocacy focus that overlaps with Teachers Unify's legislative work. Both groups target school safety, secure-storage policy, and federal/state legislation, and compete for similar foundation funding.
• Sandy Hook Promise: National nonprofit founded by families of Sandy Hook victims focused on school-based gun violence prevention programs and policy. Highly comparable: shares Sandy Hook survivor-founder DNA, school-safety mission, and educator-facing programming like Teachers Unify's Project Lockdown.
• Moms Demand Action: Grassroots advocacy arm of Everytown with a volunteer-led chapter model. Abbey Clements served as Deputy CT Chapter Leader and Survivor Fellow at Moms Demand Action before Teachers Unify's founding, reflecting closely overlapping membership, methodology, and policy agenda.
• March For Our Lives: Student-led gun violence prevention organization founded after Parkland. Sarah Lerner (Parkland survivor) co-founded Teachers Unify alongside her MSD ties, and both organizations center survivor voices in youth-focused advocacy, legislative campaigns, and movement-building.
• Brady (Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence): Long-standing national gun violence prevention organization. Brady board member Shikha Hamilton sits on Teachers Unify's board, and both groups collaborate on federal advocacy, survivor mobilization, and policy campaigns, making Brady one of the closest functional peers.

Broad incumbents

• American Federation of Teachers (AFT): Founding partner and 501(c)(3) supporter of Teachers Unify; represents 1.7 million members and hosts the Share My Lesson platform (1.9M educators). AFT is a strategic/incumbent peer because it is both a funder and a distribution channel, and shares overlapping professional-development programming for educators.
• National Education Association (NEA): Largest U.S. teacher union (3M+ members) with active gun violence prevention policy positions and educator training resources. Comparable as a broader education-sector incumbent that intersects with Teachers Unify on school safety advocacy and educator mobilization.
• Everytown for Gun Safety: Largest U.S. gun violence prevention organization, founded by Michael Bloomberg. Directly comparable as a national advocacy group with a survivor network (Survivor Network) and policy arm; competes for the same donor and foundation dollars as Teachers Unify and overlaps on grassroots mobilization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TeachersUnify
• Instagraminstagram.com/teachersunify
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/teachers-unify-to-end-gun-violence

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence