Southerners On New Ground

What Southerners On New Ground does

Southerners On New Ground (SONG) is a regional, member-based nonprofit organization founded in 1993 and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, that builds grassroots power among LGBTQ+ people of color, immigrant people, and working-class people across the Southern United States. It is co-led by Co-Directors Carlin Rushing and Jade, with co-founders Mandy Carter and Mab Segrest, and operates through at least 10 regional chapters across cities including Durham, Nashville, Birmingham, New Orleans, Richmond, Orlando, Columbus, Knoxville, and Albany.

SONG delivers its work through an interconnected portfolio of programs rather than proprietary technology. Core programs include the Free From Fear Campaign (a regional campaign across 9 sites addressing housing/land liberation, protection of queer/trans people, and militarization), the Lorde's Werq Black Leadership Development Cohort, Murph's Kindred Fellowship Program, the Squad Up Skill Up Slay Organizing School, the Data Center Organizing School, the Firekeepers' Practice Space for conflict transformation, and the Won't You Be My Gaybor neighbor-organizing drive. It also produces The Porch podcast and hosts the annual Gaycation membership gathering. The organization explicitly states it has no proprietary technology products; its infrastructure is relational, based on its "kinship network" across chapters, convenings, and training cohorts.

Revenue is generated from three streams: recurring membership dues (monthly, yearly, and a Handy Dandy In-Kind tier for those unable to pay), donations processed through online campaigns, and event registration fees (e.g., Gaycation at $45/adult and $25/youth, with scholarships and "solidarity" tiers ensuring no one is turned away). Go-to-market is community-led: members are recruited via the website, regional chapters, community events, social media (@ignitekindred on Instagram and Facebook), email newsletter, word-of-mouth, and The Porch podcast. There are no disclosed investors, funding rounds, or institutional anchors; the organization is independent and member-driven.

Name

Southerners On New Ground

Legal name

Southerners on New Ground

Website

https://southernersonnewground.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Organizing and Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

LGBTQ+ Rights & Advocacy Organizations (BPAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

Keywords

• Grassroots community organizing
• LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit
• Leadership development programs
• Political education training
• Mutual aid disaster response

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: SONG collects annual and monthly membership dues from individuals. Membership types include Monthly Member, Yearly Member, and Handy Dandy In-Kind Membership for those unable to pay monetary dues.
2. Donations: The organization accepts online contributions through its website and hosts donation campaigns. Donations are processed through third-party payment services and comply with campaign finance laws.
3. Event Registration Fees: SONG charges registration fees for events such as Gaycation ($45 per person, $25 for youth 17 and under) to cover childcare, member travel, supplies and materials. Scholarships are available and no one is turned away due to lack of funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Southerners on New Ground (SONG) is a regional, membership-based nonprofit that organizes LGBTQ+ Southerners — particularly Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people, immigrant communities, and rural and working-class Southerners — through grassroots campaigns, leadership development fellowships, political education schools, annual gatherings, mutual aid, and disaster response. Its deliverables include the Free From Fear Campaign, Murph's Kindred Fellowship Program, the Lorde's Werq cohort, organizing schools, the Gaycation gathering, and The Porch podcast.

Product overview

Southerners On New Ground (SONG) is a regional LGBTQ+ organizing nonprofit that operates as a unified membership-based organization rather than a software platform. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected organizing programs including leadership development initiatives (Murph's Kindred Fellowship Program, Lorde's Werq Black Leadership Development Cohort), campaign programs (Free From Fear Campaign with 9 regional sites), training programs (Squad Up Skill Up Slay Organizing School, Data Center Organizing School), annual gatherings (Gaycation), media content (The Porch podcast), and community-building tools (Firekeepers' Practice Space for conflict transformation, Won't You Be My Gaybor neighbor organizing). These programs work together to build collective power among Southern LGBTQ+ people through grassroots organizing, political education, and regional solidarity building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lorde's Werq: Black Leadership Development Cohort - a regional cohort of Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming leaders from across the Southeast
• Murph's Kindred Fellowship Program
• Free From Fear Campaign
• The Porch
• Squad Up, Skill Up, Slay
• Gaycation

Products and services

• Murph's Kindred Fellowship Program A year-long organizing learning and praxis opportunity for SONG members that grows base-building skills and cultivates Black, Immigrant, Rural, Transgender, gender non-conforming, and working class leadership through local chapter work.
• Lorde's Werq: Black Leadership Development Cohort A regional leadership development cohort for Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming leaders providing a 10-week summer organizing assignment focused on community violence alternatives, civic engagement, and political education.
• Free From Fear Campaign A regional campaign program spanning 9 sites across the South addressing life and death issues for LGBTQ+ people, including housing and land liberation, protecting queer and trans kindred, and confronting militarization in communities.
• Squad Up, Skill Up, Slay: Organizing School A seasonal organizing training program providing in-person and virtual skill-building trainings covering basebuilding, political education, community organizing, communications, and electoral work for local SONG chapters and crews.
• The Porch (SONG's Podcast) SONG's official podcast featuring the organization's vision, members, and sense of community building, produced as part of SONG's media and storytelling efforts.
• Gaycation: Solidarity School Edition SONG's annual membership gathering providing a regional space for outdoor recreation, relationship building across generations, skill sharing, and political education to strengthen collective capacity to respond to political violence.
• Firekeepers' Practice Space A conflict transformation skills practice space for SONG members and staff to practice working through feelings, emotions, conflict, and conflict avoidance in SONG spaces.
• Won't You Be My Gaybor A neighbor-to-neighbor door knocking organizing drive across the South aimed at building relationships and community defense networks by encouraging Southerners to get to know their neighbors.
• Data Center Organizing School A training program for SONG members and leaders to learn strategies and tactics for stopping data centers, sharpen political analysis on this issue, and develop action plans for their local communities.
• Strategic Almanac SONG's strategic planning document containing the organization's political analysis, theory of change, and programmatic vision for transformation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 839 wellness calls made to members after hurricanes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Memphis Community Against PollutionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026KeShaun Pearson of Memphis Community Against Pollution co-hosts SONG's Data Center Political Education Call series to discuss stopping data centers.
• MediaJusticeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Jacinta González of MediaJustice co-hosts SONG's Data Center Political Education Call series, bringing expertise on digital justice issues.
• Movement for Black Lives (M4BL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024SONG works in coalition and alliance with the Movement for Black Lives. SONG's Lorde's Werq cohort sends members to the M4BL Black National Convention. The partnership focuses on Black liberation and aligns with SONG's Free From Fear campaign work.
• Pink SlippercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Pink Slipper is a New Orleans-based community organization including many SONG members that focuses on hurricane preparedness. They created a collectively developed emergency preparedness resource workbook called 'PINK SLIPPER: Protecting Each Other Through Hurricanes & Other Calamities.'
• Fountain Heights FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by SONG member Dominique Villanueva in Birmingham, AL, Fountain Heights Farms ensures access to fresh produce through the We All Eat Food CSA and Free Market Stands. The cooperative served 467 BIPOC members.
• National Black Food and Justice AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSONG member Dominique Villanueva works with this alliance for land justice, sustainable agriculture, and community resilience.
• Healthy Teen NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeb Coffy, member of SONG's F3 Cohort, has organized under this organization focusing on adolescent health and wellbeing.
• Queer Trans ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMari Tomlinson serves as a Field & Relations Fellow with this organization while also working as a campaign organizer with SONG.
• Peer Support SpaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMari Tomlinson works at this peer support organization in Central Florida while also organizing with SONG. Deb Coffy also organizes under this organization.
• Autistic People of Color FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOluwatobi Odugunwa does mutual aid work via this organization while serving as a SONG F3 Fellow.
• Trans Aid NashvilleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOluwatobi Odugunwa does mutual aid work via this organization while serving as a SONG F3 Fellow.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GLAAD: National LGBTQ+ media and storytelling advocacy organization. Overlaps with SONG's The Porch podcast and storytelling work but operates at a much larger national scale and primarily through media narrative influence.
• Human Rights Campaign (HRC): Largest U.S. LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy organization operating across federal, state, and corporate engagement. Operates broadly in the same space as SONG but does not specialize in the kinship-driven, BIPOC-led Southern rural community model that defines SONG.
• Lambda Legal: Nationally recognized LGBTQ+ legal organization pursuing impact litigation. Overlaps with SONG's Free From Fear campaign on systemic issues but uses litigation rather than grassroots organizing as its core modality.
• Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC): Long-standing Southern civil rights legal and advocacy organization with broad issue coverage including LGBTQ+ rights and disaster response. Operates in overlapping Southern geographies with a different (legal-advocacy) delivery model than SONG's grassroots model.

Direct peers

• Equality Federation: Federation of state-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations running campaigns, leadership programs, and donor support infrastructure across U.S. regions. Highly comparable as a peer in building and coordinating a state/regional LGBTQ+ advocacy network.
• SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective: Southern-rooted, BIPOC-led organizing network that uses a membership-based model centered on kinship and collective care. Closely parallels SONG's structure, regional chapter approach, and intersectional framework.
• National LGBTQ Task Force: National LGBTQ+ advocacy and policy organization with a similar grassroots-to-federal organizing orientation. Directly comparable as a peer in mission and use of training, convenings, and coalition-driven advocacy for LGBTQ+ communities.
• National Black Justice Coalition: Black LGBTQ+ civil rights organization advancing policy, leadership, and community organizing for Black LGBTQ+/same-gender-loving communities. Directly comparable in Black LGBTQ+ leadership pipeline and Southern policy focus.
• Movement for Black Lives (M4BL): Coalition of Black-led organizations advancing Black liberation through campaigns, leadership development, and convenings. SONG explicitly sends members to M4BL's Black National Convention, making this a strategic and operational peer in Black-led intersectional organizing.

Emerging players

• Transgender Law Center: Leading trans-led national organization providing legal advocacy, leadership development, and movement building for trans communities. Overlaps with SONG's trans-inclusive organizing and leadership development work, though its primary modality is legal rather than grassroots chapters.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ignitekindred
• Instagraminstagram.com/ignitekindred
• Xx.com/ignitekindred
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southerners-on-new-ground

Compliance1 record

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 Southerners On New Ground