Texas Center for Justice and Equity
Texas Center for Justice and Equity is a Texas-based nonprofit founded in 2000 that works to end mass incarceration through interactive county-level data dashboards, policy advocacy, coalition building, and community organizing, primarily serving Black and Brown communities, system-involved adults, and youth across the state's four largest urban counties.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Texas Center for Justice and Equity does
Texas Center for Justice and Equity (TCJE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2000 as the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition and headquartered in Austin, Texas. It rebranded in September 2021 to its current name to emphasize a vision of justice and equity rather than to define itself by the criminal justice system. TCJE works to end mass incarceration and foster safer Texas communities through policy advocacy, coalition building, community organizing, and direct educational resources. Its primary beneficiary populations are Black and Brown communities, system-involved adults, and youth affected by the school-to-prison pipeline, with secondary engagement of Texas legislators, county commissioners, and local officials. TCJE maintains organized regional staff across Texas's four largest urban counties: Harris (since 2014), Travis (since 2016), Dallas (since 2019), and Bexar (since 2020).
The organization's core products are a portfolio of interactive, web-based county-level data dashboards built in partnership with January Advisors using the ShinyApps platform, with funding and technical support from the Microsoft Cities Team. These include the Harris County Data Dashboard (800,000+ criminal court cases, launched 2018), the Dallas County Data Dashboard (113,000 cases, launched 2019), the Bexar County Data Dashboard (400,000 cases, launched April 2020), the Austin-area Drug Enforcement Visualization (launched October 2021), the Bexar County Probation Dashboard (2010-2022 data, launched 2023), and the Harris County Indigent Defense Dashboard (debuted March 2025). Supporting products include a publications library of reports and policy guides, judicial accountability scorecards produced with Harvard, "Know Your Rights" materials for system-involved adults, and advocacy campaigns including Finish the 5 (youth justice), Perception Equals Potential (P.E.P.), and the Change Your Perception Initiative (CYPI) travel program for BIPOC scholars.
TCJE's business model is donation-based nonprofit funding. Revenue streams include individual contributions, recurring giving-day campaigns (Amplify Austin, North Texas Giving Day, Big Give San Antonio), and foundation grants, the most prominent disclosed being a $2 million MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge grant over three years for Harris County jail population reduction. TCJE does not charge for its products or services; all dashboards, publications, and educational materials are distributed free via texascje.org and through a coalition network that includes ACLU of Texas, Civil Rights Corps, Texas Organizing Project, Austin Justice Coalition, Texas Fair Defense Project, Urban Institute, Harvard, and Rice University's Baker Institute, among more than 20 named partners. The organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors and has no parent company, institutional investors, or public listing.
Texas Center for Justice and Equity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Texas Center for Justice and Equity
- Legal name
- Texas Center for Justice and Equity
- Website
- https://texascje.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Texas Center for Justice and Equity is a Texas-based nonprofit founded in 2000 that works to end mass incarceration through interactive county-level data dashboards, policy advocacy, coalition building, and community organizing, primarily serving Black and Brown communities, system-involved adults, and youth across the state's four largest urban counties.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Texas Center for Justice and Equity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Criminal Justice Advocacy
- NAICS
- Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Parole Offices and Probation Offices (92215), Individual and Family Services (6241)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Criminal Justice Reform & Legal System Advocacy (BPAGAFAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE), Equity, Inclusion & Civil Rights Reporting (Disparities, Access, Outcomes) (EDADAIAH), Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM), Judicial Oversight, Sentencing & Parole Boards (BPAIAFAK)
Keywords
Where Texas Center for Justice and Equity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Texas Center for Justice and Equity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Donations and Contributions: The organization relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters to fund operations and programs. They run fundraising campaigns including Amplify Austin and North Texas Giving Day.
- MacArthur Foundation Grant: Received a $2 million grant over three years from the MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge to help reduce Harris County's average daily jail population.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels13 records
Texas Center for Justice and Equity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Texas Center for Justice and Equity is a nonprofit advocacy organization that advances policy reform and community programs to end mass incarceration in Texas. It produces interactive county-level justice data dashboards, publishes research and policy reports, runs advocacy campaigns (such as Finish the 5 and Perception Equals Potential), and builds coalitions of community organizations, academics, and directly impacted individuals to drive legislative and local justice system reforms.
Product overview
Texas Center for Justice and Equity operates as a nonprofit advocacy organization offering a portfolio of interactive data dashboards and published research as its primary products/services. The core offerings include county-level justice data dashboards (Harris County, Bexar County, Dallas County, and probation-specific variants) created in partnership with January Advisors, which visualize disparities in criminal court cases overlaid with demographic information. Supporting products include the Publications Library containing reports on pretrial detention, indigent defense, drug policy, and youth justice; Know Your Rights educational materials for system-involved individuals; and judicial accountability scorecards. The organization also runs advocacy initiatives including the Finish the 5 youth justice campaign, the Perception Equals Potential (P.E.P.) school discipline initiative, and the Change Your Perception Initiative (CYPI) youth travel program in Dallas County.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Finish the 5: A campaign launched by TCJE demanding the closure of Texas Juvenile Justice Department's 5 state secure institutions by 2030, investment in community infrastructure, and policy reforms to divert children from the criminal punishment system.
- Perception Equals Potential (P.E.P.) Initiative
- Change Your Perception Initiative (CYPI)
- Statewide Leadership Council (SLC)
- Texas Women's Justice Coalition
- Convict Leasing and Labor Project
Products and services
- Harris County Data Dashboard Interactive dashboard overlaying data from 800,000+ Harris County criminal court cases with demographic information to expose case outcomes, bail differences, and judicial sentencing decisions.
- Dallas County Data Dashboard Interactive dashboard overlaying data from 113,000 Dallas County criminal court cases with demographic information to show disparities in arrests and bail amounts.
- Bexar County Data Dashboard Interactive dashboard overlaying data from 400,000 Bexar County criminal court cases with demographic information to expose justice system disparities.
- Bexar County Probation Dashboard Interactive dashboard allowing examination of probation implications for various charges over 2010-2022, broken down by misdemeanor/felony, demographics, and geographic regions.
- Harris County Indigent Defense Dashboard Interactive dashboard using Texas Ethics Commission and Harris County District Courts data to provide a judge-level view of how judicial campaign donations relate to case assignments and outcomes.
- Travis County Drug Enforcement Data Visualization Interactive scrolling data visualization showing how police saturation is tied to social vulnerability in Austin-area neighborhoods where drug possession arrests are most likely.
- Publications Library Digital library of reports, issue briefs, fact sheets, testimony, policy implementation guides, and legislative wrap-ups covering justice reform topics including pretrial detention, indigent defense, drug policy, and youth justice.
- Know Your Rights Materials Educational resources including Know Your Rights cards and presentations about police encounters and justice system involvement, provided to system-involved adults and their loved ones.
- Finish the 5 Campaign Youth justice advocacy campaign demanding closure of TJJD's 5 state secure institutions by 2030, investment in community infrastructure, and policy reforms to divert children from the criminal punishment system.
- Perception Equals Potential (P.E.P.) Initiative Dallas County initiative advancing community-based solutions to exclusionary discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline through mentoring, student engagement, mindfulness, peer-to-peer mental health support, and restorative justice.
- Change Your Perception Initiative (CYPI) Travel program for BIPOC scholars ages 16-17 from South and West Dallas communities providing civic engagement, restorative leadership, and cultural competence experiences including international travel.
- Educational Advocacy Services (EAS) Graduate student partnership program in Dallas County where social work students work with local schools to address and prevent school discipline issues through restorative practices.
- Statewide Leadership Council (SLC) Coalition helping formerly incarcerated and system-impacted people across Texas find their voices and become advocates, with regional chapters extending organizational reach.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 46,000 people assigned to probation in Bexar County from 2010-2022 tracked through dashboard
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Texas Center for Justice and Equity
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Texas Center for Justice and Equity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Texas Center for Justice and Equity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
23 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- The Wren CollectiveminorPartnership with The Wren Collective on capital defense issues in Harris County, co-hosting community town halls on improving indigent defense representation.
- SA StandscoreTCJE joined SA Stands, a local collaborative in San Antonio committed to reducing jail populations and ceasing unnecessary collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
- PODERminorPartnership with PODER on restorative justice events and student rights advocacy in San Antonio ISD, including hosting convenings on school discipline and youth justice.
- IDRA (Intercultural Development Research Association)minorIDRA drafted and led coalition letter on school policing divestment in San Antonio ISD, calling for reallocation of funding towards restorative justice practices and community-based strategies.
- Restoring JusticecoreTCJE partners with Restoring Justice on monthly reports tracking indigent defense appointment rates in Harris County. Restoring Justice provides data on the quality of representation from court-appointed attorneys and advocates for the PDO-MAC system.
- Harvard UniversitycoreAcademic partnership with Harvard University researchers on individualized judicial scorecards for Harris County felony judges, producing reports showing racial disparities in pretrial detention rates.
- Fair Punishment Project (Justice Collaborative)minorPartnership with Fair Punishment Project on DA candidate questionnaires and candidate forums in San Antonio and Dallas to promote criminal justice reform candidates.
- Texas AppleseedminorTexas Appleseed collaborator on student rights discussion alongside TCJE staff, focusing on school-to-prison pipeline issues.
- Convict Leasing and Labor ProjectcoreJoint founding of Convict Leasing and Labor Project with Reginald Moore and Rice University to address the legacy of convict leasing in Sugar Land, including proper reburial of victims and historical designations.
- January AdvisorscoreTCJE partners with January Advisors to create interactive data dashboards tracking justice system disparities across multiple Texas counties. January Advisors developed the technical infrastructure for the Harris County, Bexar County, Dallas County, and Travis County data dashboards, as well as the Harris County Indigent Defense Dashboard and drug enforcement visualization tools.
- Microsoft Cities TeamcoreMicrosoft Cities Team provides funding support for TCJE's data dashboard initiatives, enabling the creation and maintenance of interactive tools that overlay criminal court case data with demographic information across Texas counties.
- Grassroots LeadershipcoreLongstanding partnership with Grassroots Leadership on Travis County advocacy, including joint data analysis of nearly 3,000 drug possession cases, pre-arrest diversion campaigns, and opposition to new jail construction.
- Texas Harm Reduction AlliancecorePartnership with Texas Harm Reduction Alliance on Travis County drug war data analysis, including collection and analysis of nearly 3,000 drug arrest cases and joint advocacy for harm reduction approaches.
- University of Texas School of Law Civil Rights CliniccorePartnership with UT Law Civil Rights Clinic on joint data analysis of Travis County drug arrests, contributing to the Ending the War on Drugs report and policy recommendations.
- ONE HoustonminorJoint report on school policing in Harris County with ONE Houston and ACLU of Texas, analyzing data on students impacted by school policing.
- Austin Justice CoalitioncorePartnership with Austin Justice Coalition on policing reform, mental health crisis responses, and advocating for independent organizations to receive citizen complaints about police misconduct.
- Rice University's Baker Institute for Public PolicycorePartnership with Rice University's Baker Institute on multiple reports including examination of Harris County's First Chance Intervention Program, analysis of kush possession and decriminalization, and report on substance abuse treatment availability.
- Texas Women's Justice CoalitioncoreTexas Women's Justice Coalition partners with TCJE on women's justice issues including testimony on incarcerated women's needs and conditions of confinement.
- Urban InstitutecoreUrban Institute researcher Ammar Khalid participates in TCJE webinars and research projects, including the Harris County Indigent Defense Dashboard launch that exposes relationships between judicial campaign donations and case outcomes.
- Texas Organizing ProjectcoreTexas Organizing Project (TOP) partners with TCJE on Right2Justice campaign, bail reform advocacy, pretrial detention reports, and expanding organizing work to Dallas and San Antonio.
- Civil Rights CorpscorePartnership with Civil Rights Corps on federal lawsuits challenging Harris County's bail system and Houston's probable cause hearing practices. TCJE provided data and intelligence-gathering support for litigation.
- Texas Fair Defense ProjectcorePartnership with Texas Fair Defense Project on pretrial reform efforts in Travis County and statewide indigent defense advocacy.
- ACLU of TexascorePartnership with ACLU of Texas on pretrial reform efforts and joint advocacy for policy changes at local and state levels.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Texas Center for Justice and Equity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Texas Fair Defense Project: Texas nonprofit focused on indigent defense and pretrial reform. A direct peer in scope and geography, and a confirmed TCJE partner on Travis County pretrial reform and statewide indigent defense advocacy.
- Texas Organizing Project: Texas-based community organizing nonprofit that partners with TCJE on the Right2Justice campaign, bail reform, and organizing expansion into Dallas and San Antonio. Comparable community-led advocacy model.
- ACLU of Texas: State-level civil liberties advocacy organization that partners with TCJE on pretrial reform, indigent defense, and policing issues. Directly comparable mission focus on criminal justice reform in Texas with overlapping coalition work.
- Austin Justice Coalition: Austin-based police reform and community accountability coalition. Direct peer on policing reform, mental health crisis response, and civilian oversight — and a TCJE partner.
- Grassroots Leadership: Texas-based advocacy organization opposing mass incarceration and privatization of the justice system. Long-standing TCJE partner on Travis County drug war data analysis and jail opposition.
- Texas Appleseed: Texas public policy nonprofit focused on justice, education, and immigration. Peer in advocacy scope and Texas focus; collaborator with TCJE on school-to-prison pipeline issues.
- Civil Rights Corps: National nonprofit litigating against systemic injustices in the criminal legal system. Direct peer in mission (ending mass incarceration) and partner on federal bail litigation in Harris County.
- Restoring Justice: Texas-based indigent defense advocacy organization. Direct peer working on public defender systems; TCJE partner that provides monthly indigent defense appointment rate data.
Regional players
- SA Stands: San Antonio collaborative committed to reducing jail populations and ending local-federal immigration enforcement collaboration. TCJE is a member of this Bexar County coalition.
Broad incumbents
- Sentencing Project: National research and advocacy organization working to reduce the use of incarceration. Operates in the same criminal justice reform category at national scale; comparable evidence-based advocacy approach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Texas Center for Justice and Equity social profiles
Digital presenceTexas Center for Justice and Equity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Texas Center for Justice and Equity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Texas Center for Justice and Equity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Texas Center for Justice and Equity 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 Texas Center for Justice and Equity
What does Texas Center for Justice and Equity do?
Texas Center for Justice and Equity is a nonprofit advocacy organization that advances policy reform and community programs to end mass incarceration in Texas. It produces interactive county-level justice data dashboards, publishes research and policy reports, runs advocacy campaigns (such as Finish the 5 and Perception Equals Potential), and builds coalitions of community organizations, academics, and directly impacted individuals to drive legislative and local justice system reforms.
Is Texas Center for Justice and Equity a public or private company?
Texas Center for Justice and Equity is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Texas Center for Justice and Equity founded?
Texas Center for Justice and Equity was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Texas Center for Justice and Equity based?
Texas Center for Justice and Equity is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Texas Center for Justice and Equity make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Contributions are the primary driver. The others are macArthur Foundation Grant.
Who are Texas Center for Justice and Equity's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Texas Fair Defense Project, Texas Organizing Project, ACLU of Texas, Austin Justice Coalition, Grassroots Leadership, Texas Appleseed, Civil Rights Corps and Restoring Justice. SA Stands is listed as a regional player. Sentencing Project is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Texas Center for Justice and Equity have an API?
No public API is recorded for Texas Center for Justice and Equity.
What industry is Texas Center for Justice and Equity in?
Texas Center for Justice and Equity's product category is Criminal Justice Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAFAI, Criminal Justice Reform & Legal System Advocacy, with a secondary code of BPAIAFAE, Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry). Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8300.