What Underground Ministries does

Underground Ministries is a 501c3 nonprofit (Tax ID 61-1850476) founded in 2005 and headquartered in Mount Vernon, Washington, that builds community-based reentry support for people returning from prison and gang involvement. Its portfolio of programs centers on three operational pillars: Underground Healing, a holistic reentry program in Skagit Valley led entirely by formerly incarcerated reentry navigators (housing, transportation, employment readiness, court-debt resolution, driver's license attainment, addiction and mental health support); One Parish One Prisoner (OPOP), a structured two-year program that pairs 7-10 person faith-community teams with a single returning citizen through a five-step church preparation process, kickoff orientation, and ongoing curriculum — scaled to 119 teams across Washington, Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, and Alberta as of mid-2026; and Movement Building, a regional and national advocacy and storytelling function delivered through conferences, podcasts, legislative sessions, and earned media. Two adjacent programs complete the stack: Underground Coffee, a social-enterprise roasting brand operated in partnership with Fidalgo Coffee Roasters since 2007, and the Underground Employment Model, a three-part employer-partnership framework connecting formerly incarcerated job seekers with vetted employers plus three months of post-hire recovery support.

Name

Underground Ministries

Legal name

Underground Ministries

Website

https://undergroundministries.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Underground Ministries is a 501c3 nonprofit that equips faith communities and employer partners to support people reentering society from prison through its One Parish One Prisoner program, Underground Healing reentry services, and social-enterprise coffee operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prison Reentry and Community Reentry Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO)

Keywords

• Prison reentry support
• Faith-based community programs
• Gang reentry navigation
• Post-incarceration employment
• Restorative justice services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mount Vernon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monthly donors contributing $40/month ($500/year) to fund OPOP team recruitment and launch. One-time and recurring donation options available.
2. Church Tuition: Participating churches pay tuition on a sliding scale ($250-$5,000) for the 2-year OPOP curriculum, training, program support, and guidance.
3. Merchandise Sales: Online store selling branded merchandise including t-shirts ($30), hoodies ($50), crewnecks ($45), hats ($30), and beanies ($25).
4. Underground Coffee Revenue Share: Portion of Fidalgo Coffee sales of Underground Coffee brand goes to fund Underground Ministries' reentry work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Underground Ministries operates faith-based prison reentry and gang-healing programs that pair individuals leaving incarceration with community support teams for a two-year relationship journey. Its core offerings include One Parish One Prisoner (a structured church mobilization model), Underground Healing (direct reentry navigation led by formerly incarcerated staff), Underground Coffee (a social-enterprise coffee partnership), the Underground Employment Model (an employer partnership framework), and Movement Building (regional and national advocacy and storytelling). The organization sells branded merchandise through its Underground Store to fund its mission.

Product overview

Underground Ministries operates a portfolio of programs focused on prison reentry and community healing. The core offerings include One Parish One Prisoner (a two-year program pairing faith communities with formerly incarcerated individuals), Underground Healing (a local reentry support program in Skagit Valley, Washington), and Movement Building (regional partnerships and national advocacy). The organization also runs Underground Coffee, a social enterprise coffee roasting business creating employment for those exiting the legal system, and an Underground Employment Model helping businesses nationwide hire formerly incarcerated individuals. Additionally, the organization sells branded merchandise through the Underground Store including t-shirts, hoodies, crewnecks, caps, and beanies to support the ministry's mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Underground Healing: Holistic prison reentry program offering support for men, women, and families healing from gangs and incarceration in Skagit Valley, Washington.
• One Parish One Prisoner (OPOP)
• Underground Coffee

Products and services

• One Parish One Prisoner (OPOP) A two-year program that pairs faith communities with individuals releasing from prison, guiding 7-10 person teams through relationship-building, release planning, and holistic reentry support, with a structured 5-step church preparation process, kickoff orientation, and ongoing curriculum.
• Underground Healing Holistic prison reentry program providing release planning, basic needs assistance, transportation, legal financial obligations support, housing coordination, license and car assistance, bank account setup, college enrollment, addiction and mental health support, and employment readiness for men, women, and families healing from gangs and incarceration in Skagit Valley, Washington.
• Movement Building Broader investment in regional partnerships and national conversations to shift the narrative from fear to embrace, sharing stories through videos, magazine and podcast features, books, and speaking engagements at conferences, churches, prisons, schools, and legislative sessions.
• Underground Coffee Premium coffee roasting business co-founded in 2007 with Fidalgo Coffee Roasters that creates gateway employment for men and women exiting the legal system, with a portion of all sales funding Underground Ministries' reentry work.
• Underground Employment Model A three-part employment partnership model connecting support organizations, employers, and formerly incarcerated employees, with downloadable blueprints, videos, and best practices for creating local Underground Employment partnerships, plus ongoing employee support for three months after placement.
• Underground Store (branded merchandise) Online store selling branded merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, crewnecks, caps, hats, and beanies, with proceeds supporting Underground Ministries' prison reentry and gang-healing mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• 119 OPOP teams launched, 100 in Washington State alone
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• T Bailey, InccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Founding Underground Employer partner providing quality employment for men and women exiting the legal system. Located in Anacortes, WA.
• Fidalgo Coffee RoasterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Founded Underground Coffee in 2007 as a premium coffee roasting business in a basement. Fidalgo Coffee helped with single origin imports, roast trainings, job internships, and eventually adopted Underground Coffee's operation and hiring model. A portion of all sales go to fuel Underground Ministries' work.
• Materials Testing & Consulting, InccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding Underground Employer partner in Burlington, WA providing employment opportunities for people rebuilding their lives after prison.
• Lifetime RooferscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnderground Employer partner in Everett, WA providing employment for formerly incarcerated individuals.
• R & S ElectriccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnderground Employer partner in Marysville, WA providing employment for people leaving prison.
• CANFLEX, InccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnderground Employer partner in Anacortes, WA providing employment opportunities for individuals in reentry.
• Skagit Legal AidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization helping community members with legal financial obligations and court debt barriers that prevent obtaining driver's licenses, apartment approvals, and employment.
• Skagit Valley CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity college partner that innovates and engineers registration onramps for those leaving hard pasts, supporting educational access for reentering citizens.
• O.U.R. JourneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization founded by Reentry Navigator Genaro Sanchez to extend healing to gang-affected youth expelled from high schools. Men and women from Underground Healing serve as trauma-informed mentors and facilitators.
• Southern Utah University (SUU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity with leading outdoor education department invited Underground to speak at campus lecture series. Represents potential partnership for outdoor education access.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Straight Ahead Ministries: Faith-based nonprofit running prison ministry and reentry support through volunteer mentors and church partnerships; comparable ministry structure and church-mobilization approach to Underground Ministries' OPOP teams.
• Homeboy Industries: Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing reentry, mental health, addiction recovery, and social enterprise employment for former gang-involved individuals; comparable gang-affected reentry focus and lived-experience leadership model to Underground Healing.
• Bridges to Life: Faith-based reentry program pairing churches and volunteers with incarcerated and post-release individuals across multiple U.S. states; closest direct peer to Underground Ministries' One Parish One Prisoner model of mobilizing congregations around returning citizens.
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): National nonprofit providing immediate employment and ongoing support for people returning home from incarceration; highly comparable Underground Employment Model employer-placement mission but without the faith-community/mentorship layer.
• The Fortune Society: New York-based reentry nonprofit offering housing, education, employment, and behavioral health services to formerly incarcerated individuals; comparable holistic reentry support model, although broader and more secular than Underground Ministries' faith-based framing.

Broad incumbents

• Prison Fellowship: Largest U.S. faith-based prison ministry, operates Angel Tree, prison visitation, and post-prison reentry programs nationally; comparable as faith-rooted reentry support but operates at much larger scale and with broader programmatic scope than Underground Ministries.

Emerging players

• Root & Rebound: Reentry support organization providing legal advocacy, education, and direct services to people returning from incarceration; comparable mission on reentry barriers but operates more as a legal/policy advocate than faith-mobilized church teams.

Regional players

• InnerChange Freedom Initiative: Faith-based in-prison rehabilitation program historically operated in partnership with state Departments of Corrections in select U.S. states; shares Underground Ministries' faith-based reentry ideology but delivers it inside prisons via contracted chaplains rather than post-release parish teams.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Underground Ministries