Urban Peace Movement

What Urban Peace Movement does

Urban Peace Movement (UPM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2009 and headquartered in Oakland, California. UPM builds youth leadership to address community violence and mass incarceration in communities of color through its proprietary 'Healing-Centered Youth Organizing' methodology, which integrates culturally relevant healing practices with collective action for social justice. The organization serves Oakland youth directly impacted by violence and incarceration, system-involved Black and Brown men, families with incarcerated loved ones, and the broader Oakland and Alameda County community.

UPM operates a portfolio of four core programs: Leaders In Training (L.I.T.), a high school-aged youth leadership program; DetermiNation Men's Group, a brotherhood circle for Black men focused on cultural healing and social justice; Community Healing, which delivers trauma-informed intergenerational healing circles including the monthly Heal-R-Town series; and Participatory Defense, which supports families navigating the criminal justice system. These programs are reinforced by advocacy campaigns such as Decarcerate & Reinvest, DA Accountability, and Stop Pepper Spraying Our Kids!, and by publications including the Healing Centered Youth Organizing Framework and the Resentencing Road Map and Toolkit developed with CURYJ, YWFC, and Silicon Valley De-Bug. The organization is led by Executive Director Nicole Lee and operates with approximately 12 staff members.

UPM is funded through individual donations, foundation grants, and government program funding, with services delivered free of charge to beneficiaries. Known grant relationships include the Akonadi Foundation (individual grants of $50,000–$150,000 from a $1.4 million pool) and California Stop The Hate program funding. UPM convenes and participates in multiple coalitions including the DA Accountability Table within the Justice Reinvestment Coalition of Alameda County, Oakland United Coalition, Lift Up Oakland Coalition, Revive Oakland Coalition, and the statewide Alliance for Boys & Men of Color. Distribution relies on direct community programming, block parties such as 'That's Oakland, Baby!,' earned media in outlets like East Bay Times and Oaklandside, and grassroots organizing rather than traditional sales channels.

Name

Urban Peace Movement

Legal name

Urban Peace Movement

Website

https://urbanpeacemovement.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Urban Peace Movement is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2009 in Oakland, California, that builds youth leadership through its Healing-Centered Youth Organizing model to address community violence and mass incarceration affecting Oakland youth and families of color.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Organizing and Community Advocacy Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC), Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE)

Keywords

• Youth organizing programs
• Community violence prevention
• Criminal justice advocacy
• Youth leadership development
• Community healing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland Mills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: UPM is a nonprofit organization that funds its operations through individual donations, foundation grants, and government program funding. The organization accepts donations through platforms like Every.org and conducts fundraising campaigns for specific initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Urban Peace Movement delivers free, community-based youth organizing, leadership development, and trauma-informed healing programs for Oakland youth (primarily of color) impacted by violence and mass incarceration, alongside criminal-justice advocacy campaigns. Core programmatic offerings include Leaders In Training (L.I.T.), DetermiNation Men's Group, Community Healing, Participatory Defense, and Heal-R-Town healing circles, all unified by its proprietary Healing-Centered Youth Organizing methodology. Services are delivered directly to individual community beneficiaries at no cost, funded through donations and grants.

Product overview

Urban Peace Movement (UPM) offers a portfolio of youth organizing and community healing programs unified by its 'Healing-Centered Youth Organizing' model. The core programs include Community Healing (culturally relevant healing practices), DetermiNation Men's Group (brotherhood circle for Black men), Leaders In Training/L.I.T. (youth leadership development), Participatory Defense (criminal justice advocacy), and program components like Heal-R-Town (monthly healing circles) and That's Oakland, Baby! (community block parties). These programs are supported by advocacy campaigns including Decarcerate & Reinvest, DA Accountability, and Stop Pepper Spraying Our Kids!, and supplemented by publications such as the Healing Centered Youth Organizing Framework, Resentencing Toolkit, and annual reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Healing A program for Oakland youth and community members that uses culturally relevant healing practices — including intergenerational healing circles and trauma support — to build resilience as resistance. Designed for participants impacted by community violence and systemic trauma.
• DetermiNation Men's Group A brotherhood circle focused on cultural healing and social justice for Black men, providing leadership development, wellness support, and participation stipends. Designed for Black men aged 15–42 who are currently or formerly incarcerated or at risk of incarceration.
• Leaders In Training (L.I.T.) A youth organizing and social-justice leadership program for high-school-aged Oakland youth from neighborhoods directly impacted by violence and mass incarceration. Participants organize for shifts in both local culture (from hopelessness to peace and unity) and public policy to create safer communities.
• Participatory Defense A program that supports families and people with incarcerated loved ones through advocacy, case campaign support, and navigation of the criminal-justice system. Designed for impacted families and individuals facing prosecution or sentencing in Alameda County.
• Heal-R-Town Monthly intergenerational healing-circle events focused on sharing a range of healing practices using a popular education model. Designed for Oakland community members, particularly families and youth impacted by violence and incarceration.
• That's Oakland, Baby! A recurring community block-party series celebrating Oakland's culture, civic engagement, and creative energy to promote community unity and connection. Free public events designed for Oakland residents across neighborhoods, particularly East and West Oakland.
• Decarcerate & Reinvest Campaign An ongoing policy advocacy campaign focused on reimagining youth justice and investing in sustainable community wellness, including replacing youth incarceration with health- and community-based approaches. Targets Alameda County policymakers and juvenile-justice stakeholders.
• DA Accountability Campaign A campaign advocating for District Attorney accountability and criminal-justice reform, including ending the practice of prosecuting youth as adults. Coordinated through a coalition table of 15+ criminal-legal-reform organizations.
• Stop Pepper Spraying Our Kids! Campaign A campaign addressing the use of pepper spray against youth in juvenile facilities and advocating for systemic change in juvenile-hall practices. Targets Alameda County juvenile justice officials and policymakers.

Quantifiable outcome

• DaJon Ford case: youth charged as adult for 4 years was released after UPM organizing, given pathway to clean record instead of potential 10+ years incarceration
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Youth TogethercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration on 'Solidarity Is Power' mural project at Oakland International High School, powered by California Stop The Hate funding. Youth Together and UPM organized the mural effort that channeled youth vision into artistic expression.
• Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPM and CURYJ partnered with YWFC and EBC to release a Resentencing Toolkit and roadmap for families and people with incarcerated loved ones.
• Justice Reinvestment Coalition of Alameda CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPM leads the DA Accountability Table within this coalition of community organizations dedicated to police reform and justice system equity. Coalition works on criminal justice reform, Prop 47 implementation, and policy advocacy.
• Silicon Valley De-BugminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMethodology partnership - UPM followed the Participatory Defense approach pioneered by De-Bug in their DaJon Ford case support work.
• Culture Keepers PlatformminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPM highlighted as a 'Culture Hub' on the Culture Keepers website showcasing Bay Area artists and culture makers offering sustenance and healing.
• Alliance for Boys & Men of ColorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPM is a member of this statewide network dedicated to improving education, safety, and health outcomes for boys and men of color in California. Staff hold leadership roles in Sons & Brothers Summer Leadership Camp.
• Revive Oakland CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPM was a member of the Steering Committee for the coalition's Campaign for Quality Jobs with the Oakland Army Base redevelopment. Won landmark Community Jobs Agreement including local hire and living wage provisions.
• Lift Up Oakland CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPM joined this coalition to help pass Measure FF raising Oakland's minimum wage from $9 to $12.25 per hour. Measure passed with 81.7% of the vote, giving 48,000 workers a raise.
• Oakland United CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPM is the only youth organization at the coalition strategy table working to secure community benefits from Coliseum Complex redevelopment, including affordable housing, job access, youth services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Akonadi Foundation: Bay Area racial-justice funder that awarded UPM a grant (likely $50,000–$150,000) from its $1.4M Arc Toward Justice fund. A direct upstream funder rather than a peer, but an important comparable funder for benchmarking philanthropic context.
• Justice Reinvestment Coalition of Alameda County: The broader coalition of community organizations (15+) in which UPM convenes the DA Accountability Table. Includes many of UPM's direct counterparts (CURYJ, Ella Baker Center, etc.) and is a structural ecosystem rather than a competitor.

Direct peers

• Forward Together: Bay Area nonprofit advancing family justice and community-based approaches to safety, incarceration, and immigrant rights. Comparable organizing-plus-policy model with overlapping coalition space.
• Silicon Valley De-Bug: Pioneer of the Participatory Defense methodology that UPM adopted for the DaJon Ford case. De-Bug works directly with families and incarcerated individuals to influence court outcomes — a near-identical service model with the same target population and theory of change.
• Ella Baker Center for Human Rights: Oakland-based nonprofit advancing racial and economic justice for formerly incarcerated people and communities of color through organizing, advocacy, and reentry services. Closely comparable mission, geography, and advocacy model to UPM.
• Youth Justice Coalition (LA): Los Angeles-based youth-led organization working to end youth incarceration and build a youth-justice alternative. Strong functional peer — same theory of change (youth organizing plus system reform), different metro.
• Anti Police-Terror Project: Oakland-based group advancing police accountability, community safety alternatives, and racial justice organizing. Operates in the same geography and policy domain (criminal justice reform, violence prevention) as UPM, with overlapping coalition partners.
• Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ): Oakland-based nonprofit serving system-involved and at-risk youth through healing, leadership development, and policy advocacy. CURYJ is an active UPM partner on the Resentencing Toolkit and addresses an overlapping population with a similar youth-justice-and-healing frame.

Emerging players

• California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance: Statewide California coalition advancing immigrant youth rights and ending youth incarceration — including campaigning against transfer of youth to adult court. A younger, emerging organization working on a closely adjacent issue area to UPM's core juvenile-justice work.

Broad incumbents

• Alliance for Boys & Men of Color: Statewide California network (UPM holds a leadership role in Sons & Brothers) focused on improving outcomes for boys and men of color. Operates at a larger, statewide scale than UPM and convenes many of UPM's direct peers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/urbanpeacemovement
• Instagraminstagram.com/urbanpeace510
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urban-peace-movement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Urban Peace Movement