Black Organizing Project

What Black Organizing Project does

Black Organizing Project (BOP) is a member-led, multigenerational nonprofit community organizing organization founded in 2009 in Oakland, California, by Jackie Byers. The organization centers Black students, families, caregivers, and community members in campaigns to dismantle systemic anti-Blackness, particularly within the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Its signature program, the Bettering Our School System (BOSS) Campaign launched in October 2011, successfully drove the 2020 elimination of OUSD's internal police department through the George Floyd Resolution — a first-of-its-kind municipal reform. BOP operates complementary programs including the Black Leadership Institute (BLI) annual organizer training program, the Living Wage For All coalition campaign for economic justice, school site organizing for Black parents and youth, and member-led committees spanning Art & Culture, Communications, Fundraising, Outreach, Political Education, and Youth Organizing.

BOP's business model is donation-based: it operates as a 501(c)(3)-style nonprofit funded primarily by individual contributions through a monthly BOP Sustainer program and one-time gifts, with additional support from Donor Advised Funds, wire transfers, and institutional gifts. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The organization distributes its services entirely through direct community engagement — door-knocking, tabling, school-site organizing, press conferences, marches, and coalition campaigns — with no digital product, API, or commercial offering. The customer base comprises Black Oakland residents across segments including youth, families and caregivers, educational workers, and general community members, with BOP's "revenue" derived from individual donor sustainers and institutional funders rather than contracted customers.

The organization is led by Co-Executive Director Zach Norris alongside founder Jackie Byers and Communications Manager Keala Uchoa, supported by a member governance structure. With 11-50 employees and a single Oakland headquarters (PO Box 23712), BOP operates as a regionally-focused grassroots advocacy organization with no identified parent company, subsidiaries, equity investors, or M&A activity. Notable coalition partners include SEIU 1021, the Oakland Education Association, and the Living Wage for All Coalition.

Name

Black Organizing Project

Legal name

Black Organizing Project

Website

https://blackorganizingproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Black Organizing Project is a member-led, multigenerational nonprofit founded in 2009 in Oakland, California, that organizes Black students, families, and educators to end the criminalization of Black youth in schools and advance economic justice through community campaigns and coalition partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Organizing Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Racial & Ethnic Justice Organizations (BPAGAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Labor, Worker Rights & Employment Policy Advocacy (BPAGAFAH)

Keywords

• Community organizing services
• Racial justice advocacy
• Education justice campaigns
• Grassroots leadership development
• Nonprofit policy reform

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations (Monthly and One-Time): Monthly sustaining donations (BOP Sustainer program) provide reliable year-round support for organizing with parents, students, and educators. One-time gifts support community organizing, youth leadership development, and campaigns against criminalization of Black students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Black Organizing Project is a nonprofit, member-led community organizing organization that builds Black power through grassroots organizing, leadership development, and policy advocacy in Oakland, CA. It runs campaigns on education justice (including the BOSS Campaign and School Site Organizing), economic equity (Living Wage For All), and leadership development (Black Leadership Institute), and convenes member committees that drive issue selection and strategy. Its work targets systemic racism in schools, workplaces, and local government, with a track record of concrete policy wins such as the elimination of the OUSD school police department in 2020.

Product overview

Black Organizing Project is a member-led community organization offering a portfolio of interconnected advocacy programs, leadership development initiatives, and resource-sharing services. Core programs include the BOSS Campaign (Bettering Our School System) focused on police-free schools, the Living Wage For All Campaign for economic justice, and the Black Leadership Institute for organizer training. Supporting programs encompass School Site Organizing, Grassroots Organizing, and Member Committees, while the Black Sanctuary, Not Pushout Report provides research-based advocacy. The organization also operates a monthly giving program (BOP Sustainer) and maintains a Mutual Aid Resources directory for community support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BOSS Campaign A campaign focused on dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and ending police presence in Oakland public schools. Designed for Black students, parents, and community members impacted by school criminalization, this campaign contributed to the elimination of the OUSD school police department in 2020.
• Living Wage For All An economic equity campaign advocating for living wages and improved working conditions for low-wage workers in Oakland. Targeted at Black workers and other impacted communities facing wage suppression and economic insecurity.
• Black Leadership Institute A leadership development program that trains and develops Black community members as grassroots organizers and civic leaders. Designed for emerging Black leaders in Oakland who want to build organizing skills and assume leadership roles in social justice campaigns.
• School Site Organizing Site-based organizing embedded in Oakland public schools to build parent and student power around education justice issues. Designed for Black families and students directly impacted by school policies and conditions in OUSD.
• Grassroots Organizing Program Core organizing program that mobilizes Black community members around shared priorities and trains them in direct action, campaign strategy, and civic engagement. Designed for Oakland residents who want to participate in collective action for racial and economic justice.
• Member Committees Member-led committees that drive issue selection, campaign strategy, and organizational decision-making. Designed for dues-paying and active BOP members who want to shape the direction of the organization's work through participatory governance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminated OUSD internal police department in 2020
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Coalition Partners (multiple organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBOP collaborates with multiple coalition partners in grassroots organizing efforts, including logos displayed for coalition partners on the Grassroots Organizing page. Partnerships enable aligned efforts, amplified impact, and collaborative movement-building work throughout Oakland.
• SEIU 1021coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021 to organize alongside educational workers and fight for fair wages, proper school funding, and worker retention in OUSD schools.
• Oakland Education AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Oakland Education Association (teachers union) to ensure schools are properly funded and workers are fairly paid, supported, and retained. In February 2026, OEA reached a historic agreement with OUSD on pay raises while reinstating hundreds of positions.
• Living Wage for All CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition-led, community-driven effort to raise wages and close the gap between income and the true cost of living. BOP is working alongside workers, labor leaders, and community partners to build dignity, stability, and real economic power in Black communities. Campaign aims to raise Alameda County minimum wage to $30/hour and tax California billionaires.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ACLU of Northern California: Regional affiliate of the ACLU litigating and advocating on civil liberties in Northern California, including school-to-prison pipeline issues; comparable to BOP on civil rights advocacy for Oakland residents, but uses litigation-first strategy rather than direct member organizing.
• NAACP: Largest US civil rights organization with longstanding racial-justice advocacy, legal defense, and policy work; comparable to BOP as a racial-justice advocacy institution, though operates nationally rather than at neighborhood scale.

Emerging players

• Movement for Black Lives: National coalition of Black-led organizations advancing a shared policy platform on racial justice; comparable to BOP as a Black-led organizing network, but operates at coalition-of-coalitions scale rather than single-city base building.
• Black Youth Project 100: National member-based organization of Black 18–35 year-olds organized around racial justice, criminalization, and Black liberation; comparable to BOP on intergenerational Black organizing and member-led model, though operates nationally rather than as a city-based chapter.

Direct peers

• Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth: San Francisco-based youth and parent organizing nonprofit focused on educational equity, school discipline reform, and Black and Brown family leadership in public schools; comparable to BOP on mission, base-building model, and school-discipline advocacy, just across the Bay.
• Asian Youth Promoting Advocacy & Leadership (AYPAL): Oakland-based API youth organizing group working on educational justice, immigrant rights, and police-free schools; directly comparable to BOP on geography, youth-led base-building model, and OUSD-focused education advocacy.
• Urban Peace Movement: Oakland-based youth organizing nonprofit led by and for young people of color working on school discipline, public safety, and healing-centered alternatives; overlaps with BOP on Oakland geography, youth organizing focus, and anti-criminalization campaigns.
• Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ): Oakland-based organization led by young people of color focused on healing, restorative justice, and ending youth incarceration; directly comparable to BOP on Oakland base, restorative-justice framing, and youth-led organizing model.

Regional players

• Anti-Eviction Mapping Project: Oakland-based volunteer data-visualization and advocacy collective documenting displacement and housing justice; adjacent rather than directly comparable, but shares Oakland geography, member-led model, and use of community storytelling and research to drive advocacy.
• Oakland Education Association: Oakland teachers union and BOP coalition partner working on living wages and school funding; an adjacent institutional partner rather than a competitor, but operates in the same Oakland education-justice space with overlapping membership base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BlackOrgProject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/black-organizing-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Black Organizing Project