Unlock the Box

What Unlock the Box does

Unlock the Box Campaign is a national nonprofit advocacy coalition founded in 2021 (with prior organizing roots from 2018) and headquartered in Washington, DC, working to end long-term solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, jails, and detention facilities within a 10-year horizon. The organization operates as an umbrella for 22 state-level campaign partners plus the District of Columbia, providing a national voice on solitary confinement while supplying grassroots organizations with funding, strategic support, and technical assistance to advance anti-solitary legislation. Its steering committee comprises high-credibility partners including the ACLU's Stop Solitary Campaign, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), Amend at UCSF, California Families Against Solitary Confinement, and the Center for Children's Law and Policy. National Director Jessica Sandoval leads a small team (1-10 employees) that drives survivor- and family-led organizing.

The coalition's product surface is a digital advocacy ecosystem rather than a commercial technology stack. Core offerings include a Tableau-based Data Tracker cataloging solitary confinement bills from 2009 to present, an Action Center for emailing state and federal legislators, the 6x9 Virtual Reality Experience (a mobile app co-created with The Guardian and Solitary Watch), the Journey to Justice bus tour reaching 11 cities in 2025, and a Resources Library of research reports and fact sheets. Distribution is multi-channel: social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube, TikTok), email newsletters, the website, grassroots organizing, and earned media including a consulting role on a John Oliver segment. Funding flows through donations routed via NRCAT's Salsa Labs donation page; no commercial revenue, pricing model, or audited financials are disclosed.

The campaign's measurable impact includes passage of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act in New York (2021) capping solitary at 15 days, Connecticut's PROTECT Act leading to closure of the state's supermax facility, and 12 additional state laws restricting solitary for vulnerable populations enacted between July 2024 and July 2025. The coalition is now escalating from state to federal advocacy via the End of Solitary Confinement Act (ESCA) and the Federal Anti-Solitary Taskforce (FAST), with the Data Tracker recording 94 bills introduced across 29 states in the most recent 12-month window. Customer concentration is not applicable in a commercial sense; the served population is approximately 122,000 individuals currently held in solitary confinement in the United States, with survivor testimony central to the campaign's narrative strategy.

Name

Unlock the Box

Legal name

Unlock the Box Campaign

Website

https://unlocktheboxcampaign.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Unlock the Box is a national nonprofit advocacy coalition that partners with 22 state-level campaigns plus DC to end solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, jails, and detention facilities, serving survivors, families, and justice-involved individuals through survivor-led organizing and legislative advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Criminal Justice Advocacy

NAICS

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (9221)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Correctional Facility Management Outsourcing & Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) (BPAKANAJ)

Keywords

• Criminal justice advocacy
• Solitary confinement reform
• Policy advocacy coalition
• Grassroots organizing services
• Legislative campaign support

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Unlock the Box is a national advocacy coalition that partners with state and local campaigns across the United States to end the use of solitary confinement in prisons, jails, and detention facilities. The organization provides state-level partner organizations with funding, strategic support, and technical assistance to advance anti-solitary confinement legislation, while operating public education tools including a legislative Data Tracker, an Action Center, a virtual reality experience, a traveling advocacy bus tour, and a research resources library.

Product overview

Unlock the Box is a national campaign coalition (not a technology product company) that operates a digital advocacy ecosystem comprising the Data Tracker (a Tableau-based legislative bill database), Action Center (advocacy tools for contacting legislators), the 6x9 Virtual Reality Experience (immersive educational tool), the Journey to Justice Bus Tour (in-person advocacy initiative), and a Resources Library of research materials. These offerings work together as a unified advocacy platform to end solitary confinement through policy advocacy, public education, survivor empowerment, and grassroots organizing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Data Tracker A database of solitary confinement bills from 2009 to present day, accessible via Tableau dashboards including Map View, Annual Trends View, and Table View, allowing users to filter by bill type, vulnerable group, actions by year, and final status. Used by advocates, researchers, journalists, and policymakers tracking anti-solitary confinement legislation.
• Action Center Online advocacy platform enabling users to email state legislators and decision-makers, access state campaign partners, join the movement, and support the End Solitary Confinement Act (ESCA). For advocates, supporters, and concerned citizens engaging in legislative action.
• 6x9 Virtual Reality Experience Virtual reality experience created in collaboration with The Guardian and Solitary Watch that places users inside a U.S. solitary confinement cell, with descriptions of life in complete isolation. Available as a mobile app for Google Play and Apple App Store. Used by the public, educators, and policymakers to understand conditions of solitary confinement.
• Journey to Justice Bus Tour A traveling artivism, public education, and immersive experience tour planned for 11 cities across the U.S. from Washington State to Washington DC, designed to challenge commonly held beliefs about solitary confinement and connect people to the movement.
• Resources Library Collection of research reports, studies, videos, and fact sheets on solitary confinement including reports on the psychological effects, racial disparities, youth impact, and policy alternatives, along with a downloadable FAQ. Used by advocates, researchers, journalists, and the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• HALT Solitary Confinement Act passed in New York (2021) limiting solitary to no more than 15 days
• +2 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

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACLU's Stop Solitary CampaigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey member of Unlock the Box's steering committee. The ACLU has been working to end solitary confinement since 2011 through its national Stop Solitary Campaign, contributing policy expertise and advocacy infrastructure to the coalition.
• National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts the Unlock the Box donation page and provides administrative and organizational support. Faith-based organization working to end torture in the United States, with solitary confinement as a key focus area.
• Amend at University of California San FranciscocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSteering committee member providing healthcare and corrections expertise. Amend works to transform U.S. corrections systems through evidence-based practices and policy reform.
• California Families Against Solitary ConfinementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSteering committee member bringing family perspective and survivor-led advocacy from California, which has been at the forefront of anti-solitary confinement organizing.
• Center for Children's Law and PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSteering committee member providing expertise on youth in solitary confinement and juvenile justice issues. Works to protect children in carceral settings from harmful practices.
• DecARcerate (Arkansas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState campaign partner leading Arkansas efforts. Successfully advocated for data collection on solitary confinement and passed HB1470 banning solitary for pregnant juveniles.
• Stop Solitary CT (Connecticut)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState campaign partner that led efforts resulting in passage of the PROTECT Act and closure of Connecticut's supermax facility.
• New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState campaign partner that achieved passage of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act in 2021, limiting solitary to 15 days and creating alternatives with at least 7 hours of daily out-of-cell time.
• Solitary WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia partner providing investigative reporting on solitary confinement. Launched in 2009 to investigate and report on the widespread use of solitary across the country. Provides the 'Voices from Solitary' series featuring real-life accounts from people in isolation.
• The GuardianminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Unlock the Box steering committee members Johnny Perez and Dolores Canales to create the '6x9: A Virtual Reality Experience' placing viewers inside a U.S. solitary confinement cell.
• Federal Anti-Solitary Taskforce (FAST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of national organizations advocating for federal legislation to end solitary confinement. Testifies before Congress and issues press releases on federal policy matters including the HALT Solitary Confinement law.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• The Marshall Project: Nonprofit news organization reporting on criminal justice with frequent coverage of solitary confinement. Comparable in driving public awareness and narrative change, though focused on journalism rather than direct legislative advocacy.
• Worth Rises: National nonprofit fighting the profiteering that drives mass incarceration through organizing, public education and coalition building. Comparable grassroots advocacy model and criminal justice reform focus, though addresses broader carceral issues.

Direct peers

• Prison Policy Initiative: Research and advocacy organization that produces influential reports on prison conditions, including solitary confinement practices. Comparable in producing evidence-based critiques of incarceration policy and supporting state-level reform.
• Just Detention International: Health and human rights organization dedicated to ending sexual abuse and harmful detention conditions, including prolonged isolation, in U.S. detention facilities. Shares survivor-centered advocacy approach and focus on detention conditions reform.
• Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM): National nonprofit advocating for sentencing reform and reduced use of extreme confinement, including solitary. Comparable in federal/state legislative strategy, policy advocacy and family/survivor engagement.
• Vera Institute of Justice: National nonprofit advancing criminal justice reform with active programs addressing conditions of confinement, including solitary confinement, through research, advocacy and direct technical assistance to corrections agencies. Highly comparable mission, advocacy model and policy reform focus.

Broad incumbents

• Center for American Progress: Major policy think tank with a criminal justice program addressing issues including solitary confinement reform. Comparable in federal advocacy and policy research, though part of a much broader ideological agenda.
• Human Rights Watch (U.S. Program): International human rights organization that has published investigative reports on solitary confinement in U.S. prisons and engages in domestic and international advocacy on the practice. Comparable in framing solitary as torture and convening policy responses.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Major policy and law organization addressing criminal justice reform including conditions of confinement. Comparable in legislative advocacy and policy research methodology, though operates at a much broader institutional scale.

Regional players

• Pretrial Justice Institute: Nonprofit focused on pretrial reform and reducing unnecessary detention, which overlaps with broader solitary confinement reform efforts. Adjacent in criminal justice advocacy space with shared goals of reducing extreme confinement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UnlockTheBoxNow
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@unlocktheboxnow
• Facebookfacebook.com/UnlockTheBoxNow
• Instagraminstagram.com/unlocktheboxnow
• TikToktiktok.com/@unlocktheboxnow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unlock-the-box-campaign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Unlock the Box