Raise Your Hand Texas
Raise Your Hand Texas is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit founded in 2006 that advocates for Texas public education through policy research, grassroots training, and civic engagement programs serving the state's 1,200+ school districts, educators, families, and community leaders.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Raise Your Hand Texas does
Raise Your Hand Texas is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit public education advocacy organization headquartered in Austin, Texas, founded in 2006 by Charles Butt and a group of Texas business and community leaders. The organization's mission is to build a civic culture in which Texans vote, engage lawmakers, and act together to champion public education. It serves Texas's 1,200+ public school districts and approximately 5.4 million students, alongside parents, educators, business owners, and community leaders, by advocating for two core policy issues: increased school funding and reform of the state's STAAR-centric assessment and accountability system.
The organization's core programs operate under the Education Advocacy Academy umbrella and include the Community Leaders Fellowship (an 18-month fellowship equipping 7-10 person teams aligned with local school districts), the annual Advocacy Summit (a three-day training event held at The Campus on Lake Austin in partnership with the Holdsworth Center, charging $1,000 per attendee), and the Digital Learning Platform for advocacy training. Supporting initiatives include the Measure What Matters campaign (which engaged 15,600+ Texans on assessment reform), the Legacy Education Fund endowment proposal (briefed to legislative offices in late 2025), the IntersectEd Podcast, Statewide Advocacy Map, Public Education Candidate Forums, #TxEd Town Halls, and Advocacy Core Teams. A statewide field network of Regional Advocacy Directors covers Texas regions from the Panhandle to South Texas and from El Paso to the Gulf Coast.
As a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization (Tax Exemption Number: 20-8119071), Raise Your Hand Texas is funded primarily through contributions from individuals, foundations, and organizations supporting public education advocacy. Its go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: it mobilizes advocates through grassroots organizing, candidate forums, town halls, and the annual Advocacy Summit, with most services delivered free to participants. The organization does not develop or sell technology products beyond the Digital Learning Platform, and its revenue model is grant-and-contribution-based rather than transactional.
Raise Your Hand Texas firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Raise Your Hand Texas
- Legal name
- Raise Your Hand Texas
- Website
- https://raiseyourhandtexas.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Raise Your Hand Texas is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit founded in 2006 that advocates for Texas public education through policy research, grassroots training, and civic engagement programs serving the state's 1,200+ school districts, educators, families, and community leaders.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Raise Your Hand Texas industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Education Advocacy
- NAICS
- Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)
Keywords
Where Raise Your Hand Texas is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Raise Your Hand Texas business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Contributions and Grants: As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization (Tax Exemption Number: 20-8119071), Raise Your Hand Texas is funded primarily through contributions from individuals, foundations, and organizations that support public education advocacy.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Advocacy Summit registration |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Raise Your Hand Texas product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Raise Your Hand Texas is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit public education advocacy organization that trains community leaders, runs grassroots advocacy campaigns, and lobbies the Texas Legislature for school funding reform and accountability system overhaul. It offers fellowship programs, advocacy summits, training academies, and policy initiatives that mobilize parents, educators, and community members to influence public education policy.
Product overview
Raise Your Hand Texas is a public education advocacy organization offering a platform of programs and tools focused on strengthening Texas public schools. The core offerings include the Education Advocacy Academy (which houses the Community Leaders Fellowship and Advocacy Summit), the Measure What Matters campaign for accountability reform, and the proposed Legacy Education Fund endowment. Supporting products include the Intersect Ed Podcast, Digital Learning Platform, Statewide Advocacy Map, Public Education Candidate Forums, #TxEd Town Halls, Get Out the Vote campaign, and Advocacy Core Teams. These products work together as a comprehensive advocacy ecosystem designed to unite communities and influence state education policy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Community Leaders Fellowship: An 18-month program designed to equip teams aligned with local independent school districts with skills to effectively advocate for public education in their own communities.
- Advocacy Summit
- IntersectEd Podcast
Products and services
- Community Leaders Fellowship A fellowship program that selects and trains community leaders across Texas in education advocacy, organizing, and policy engagement. Designed for civic-minded individuals seeking to influence public education in their local communities.
- Advocacy Summit An annual paid convening of education advocates, parents, educators, and community leaders featuring keynote speakers, policy briefings, and strategy sessions to coordinate public education advocacy across Texas.
- Education Advocacy Academy An overarching structured training platform that provides advocates with curriculum on Texas public education policy, organizing tactics, and legislative engagement methods, delivered through in-person and digital formats.
- Measure What Matters Campaign A signature public advocacy campaign that mobilizes parents, educators, and community members to press for overhaul of the Texas public school accountability system, including assessment and rating reforms.
- Statewide Advocacy Map An interactive digital tool that visualizes Raise Your Hand Texas' regional advocacy presence and campaign activity across the state, helping users identify local advocacy contacts and engagement opportunities.
- Intersect Ed Podcast A podcast that explores intersections between education policy, advocacy, and community perspectives in Texas, featuring interviews with educators, policymakers, and advocates.
Quantifiable outcome
- 15,600+ Texans engaged in Measure What Matters feedback initiative on assessment and accountability
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Raise Your Hand Texas
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Raise Your Hand Texas technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Raise Your Hand Texas partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- The Holdsworth CentercoreThe Holdsworth Center hosts the annual Raise Your Hand Texas Advocacy Summit at The Campus on Lake Austin. The partnership provides a venue for three-day intensive advocacy training for school leaders, board members, parents, and community leaders.
- Texas Independent School DistrictscorePartnership with 31 Texas school districts in the inaugural Community Leaders Fellowship cohort. Districts range from 500 to 50,000 enrolled students and participate in an 18-month program designed to equip local teams with skills to advocate for public education in their communities.
- Texas Education AgencyminorThe organization engages with TEA on policy issues related to assessment and accountability systems, school funding, and accountability ratings. Regional Advocacy Directors work with local school communities on issues that interface with TEA policy.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Raise Your Hand Texas competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ExcelinEd (Foundation for Excellence in Education): Tallahassee-based education reform organization founded by Jeb Bush that focuses on state-level policy advocacy on school choice, accountability, and funding. Comparable as a state-focused education policy and advocacy shop, though oriented more toward school choice than traditional public school funding.
- EdVoice: California-based education advocacy nonprofit that mobilizes parents, educators, and community leaders to influence state education policy on funding and accountability. Directly comparable to Raise Your Hand Texas in mission (state-level public school advocacy), structure (501(c)(3)/c4 hybrid), and grassroots model, but operating in California rather than Texas.
- 50CAN: National network of state-level education advocacy campaigns focused on K-12 reform. Directly comparable as a state-anchored advocacy model that recruits local leaders to drive legislative change on school funding and accountability, though operating across multiple states rather than Texas exclusively.
- Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF): Austin-based state policy think tank that actively advocates on Texas education policy, including school choice and accountability. Comparable as a Texas-focused education policy advocacy organization headquartered in Austin, though ideologically distinct and focused on choice-oriented reform.
Regional players
- IDEA Public Schools: Large Texas-based public charter school network that engages in state-level education policy advocacy on funding equity and charter expansion. Comparable as a Texas-headquartered education organization that advocates at the state Capitol, though operating schools rather than a pure advocacy mission.
Others
- The Holdsworth Center: Texas-based leadership development organization for public school superintendents and senior leaders, and an active partner of Raise Your Hand Texas (hosts the annual Advocacy Summit). Comparable as a Texas education ecosystem organization serving the same school leader audience, though focused on leadership development rather than grassroots advocacy.
- Texas Association of School Boards (TASB): Member association representing Texas school board trustees that engages in legislative advocacy on public education issues. Comparable as a Texas-focused education advocacy organization serving school districts, though it operates as a member association rather than a grantmaking/advocacy nonprofit.
Emerging players
- Teach Plus: National nonprofit that trains and empowers teachers to advocate for policy change at the state and district level. Comparable in its teacher-advocate development model and state-policy focus, though its scope is national rather than Texas-only.
- Chiefs for Change: Bipartisan network of state and district education leaders advocating for K-12 policy reform. Comparable in its focus on equipping education leaders as advocates for state policy change, though its constituency is system leaders rather than community advocates.
Broad incumbents
- National Education Association (NEA): Largest U.S. teachers' union and education advocacy organization with state affiliates including Texas (TSTA). Comparable as a public education advocacy entity, though operating at vastly larger scale, with a union/collective bargaining mandate rather than a grantmaking/fellowship model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Raise Your Hand Texas social profiles
Digital presenceRaise Your Hand Texas financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Raise Your Hand Texas leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Raise Your Hand Texas funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Raise Your Hand Texas M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Raise Your Hand Texas
What does Raise Your Hand Texas do?
Raise Your Hand Texas is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit public education advocacy organization that trains community leaders, runs grassroots advocacy campaigns, and lobbies the Texas Legislature for school funding reform and accountability system overhaul. It offers fellowship programs, advocacy summits, training academies, and policy initiatives that mobilize parents, educators, and community members to influence public education policy.
Is Raise Your Hand Texas a public or private company?
Raise Your Hand Texas is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Raise Your Hand Texas founded?
Raise Your Hand Texas was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Raise Your Hand Texas based?
Raise Your Hand Texas is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Raise Your Hand Texas make money?
One revenue line is on record: contributions and Grants.
Who are Raise Your Hand Texas's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ExcelinEd (Foundation for Excellence in Education), EdVoice, 50CAN and Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). IDEA Public Schools is listed as a regional player. Others are The Holdsworth Center and Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Emerging players are Teach Plus and Chiefs for Change. National Education Association (NEA) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Raise Your Hand Texas have an API?
No public API is recorded for Raise Your Hand Texas.
What industry is Raise Your Hand Texas in?
Raise Your Hand Texas's product category is Public Education Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAE, College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 8133 and its SIC code is 8200.