Pico California Project

What Pico California Project does

PICO California is a 501c(3) nonprofit (EIN 87-2249221) and the largest faith-based community organizing network in California, coordinating nine affiliated federations that span San Diego, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, East Bay, the Central Valley, Sacramento, the Central Coast, and San Jose. Founded in 1994 and operating for more than 30 years, the organization unites people of faith to build grassroots power across four integrated issue areas: a Moral Economy addressing economic exclusion and wealth extraction; Home is Sacred (housing justice); Restorative Justice (policing and incarceration reform); and Immigrant Justice. Its core methodology relies on house meetings, congregational networks, and relational organizing, supplemented by one of the largest Rapid Response Networks in the country for immigration enforcement defense.

The organization delivers services and campaigns through programs including the Faith in Housing affordable housing initiative, the Rapid Response Networks for immigrant accompaniment, the Restorative Justice advocacy portfolio, and a Learning Center that provides organizer training via courses, webinars, and the 'Organizing Essentials' five-article series. It does not develop proprietary technology products; its "platform" is the federated organizing infrastructure itself — clergy and lay leaders, volunteer networks, and physical presence across every major California region.

PICO California's revenue model is donation-based, raising funds through monthly recurring gifts and one-time contributions via the ActBlue platform and through its network of faith congregations. It charges no fees for services and has no programmatic revenue streams. Customer segments are not commercial buyers but rather faith congregations, working families, immigrant communities, renters, and communities affected by the criminal legal system. The organization is non-partisan, does not endorse candidates, and is governed by an executive director (Joseph Tomás McKellar) and a board.

Name

Pico California Project

Legal name

PICO California

Website

https://picocalifornia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PICO California is a 501c(3) nonprofit operating a statewide federation of nine faith-based community organizing groups across California, serving working families, immigrant communities, renters, and justice-impacted populations through campaigns on economic, housing, immigrant, and restorative justice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Organizing Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

Keywords

• Faith-based community organizing
• Grassroots advocacy services
• Immigrant justice organizing
• Affordable housing advocacy
• Restorative justice campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: PICO California is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 87-2249221) that raises funds through individual donations, monthly giving, and one-time contributions from supporters. The organization solicits donations via its website (actblue platform) and through its network of faith congregations and community members. No fee-for-service or programmatic revenue streams are described.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

PICO California is a 501(c)(3) faith-based community organizing network that mobilizes nine federations of congregations across California to pursue racial, economic, and immigrant justice. It delivers its work through grassroots community organizing, leadership training, policy advocacy campaigns, rapid-response accompaniment for immigrants, and an affordable-housing development program (Faith in Housing). The organization is funded primarily by donations from faith congregations, individual donors, and recurring contributors.

Product overview

PICO California is a movement of faith in action that operates as a network of nine federations across California, united to build power and fight for justice. The organization offers community organizing services as its core product, with specific programs including Rapid Response Networks for immigrant defense, a Learning Center with educational resources, a Faith in Housing Program for affordable housing development, a Moral Economy Initiative for economic justice, and Restorative Justice Advocacy for police reform. These programs work together to address issues of immigrant justice, housing, economic equity, and criminal justice reform across the state.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rapid Response Networks: Trained volunteers who respond to immigration enforcement activity, provide accompaniment at court dates and check-ins, and mobilize community defense efforts
• Faith in Housing
• CRISES Act
• House Meetings
• Faith in Housing

Products and services

• Faith-Based Community Organizing Services Core organizing service through which PICO California mobilizes faith congregations and individual community members across nine federations to advocate for racial, economic, and immigrant justice. Intended for working families, immigrants, and communities of color in California.
• Rapid Response Networks Networked rapid-response accompaniment service that mobilizes trained volunteers to support immigrant community members facing immigration enforcement, detention, or deportation. Intended for immigrant families and communities across California.
• Faith in Housing Program Affordable-housing development and preservation program that engages faith congregations and community members in planning, developing, and preserving affordable housing in their neighborhoods. Intended for lower-income renters and communities of color in California.
• Learning Center Training and leadership-development program that equips congregation leaders and community members with organizing, civic engagement, and advocacy skills. Intended for faith-community leaders and volunteer organizers in PICO California's federations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Protected hundreds of thousands of families from eviction through California's COVID-19 Rent Relief Program and tenant protection expansions.
• +6 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA): CHIRLA is a California-based immigrant rights organization providing direct legal services, advocacy, and community organizing. It is the most direct peer for PICO California's immigrant justice work, including the Rapid Response Network's accompaniment and Know Your Rights activities.
• California Calls: California Calls is a statewide coalition of base-building community organizations working on equitable budget and tax policy. PICO California is a member organization, and the coalition competes for many of the same progressive donor dollars and policy campaigns on Moral Economy issues.
• Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE): LAANE is a Los Angeles-based advocacy and organizing organization that drives economic justice campaigns on wages, worker protections, and corporate accountability. Multiple PICO California federations (LA Voice, PACT) operate in the same LA geography on overlapping economic-justice issues.
• Faith in Action (formerly PICO National Network): Faith in Action is the national federation of which PICO California is a regional affiliate. It uses the identical house-meeting, clergy-led organizing methodology across dozens of state and local affiliates, making it the most direct methodological and structural peer for PICO California.
• Make the Road New York / Make the Road States: Make the Road is a multi-state community organizing network combining direct services, organizing, and policy advocacy on immigrant rights, housing, worker justice, and education. It is the closest large-scale peer to PICO California outside the West Coast, offering a useful comparison for federation design and impact.
• National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON): NDLON is a national network of day laborer and immigrant worker organizations actively involved in rapid response to immigration enforcement and worker justice campaigns. It is a direct peer for PICO California's Rapid Response Network and immigrant justice programs.
• InnerCity Struggle (ICS): InnerCity Struggle is a Los Angeles-based community organizing nonprofit that builds power among working-class residents of color on housing, education, criminal justice, and immigrant rights. It employs the same relational organizing model and shares PICO California's issue portfolio, with PACT being a sister federation.

Regional players

• Texas Organizing Project (TOP): Texas Organizing Project is a similarly structured, multi-issue grassroots organizing network that uses relational house-meeting methodology to build power among low-income communities of color. It is the closest state-level analogue to PICO California, operating in a different geography with comparable scale and issue mix.

Broad incumbents

• Center for Community Change (Community Change): Community Change is a national organizing and advocacy group supporting low-income communities of color, providing both direct organizing and infrastructure grants to state/local affiliates. It is a broader-incumbent peer that often funds or partners with community organizing networks like PICO California.

Emerging players

• Esperanza United: Esperanza United (formerly Hispanic Federation) is a national Hispanic advocacy organization with California operations, focused on immigrant rights, economic empowerment, and community organizing. It is an emerging peer with overlapping constituencies and an expanding California footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/picocalifornia
• Instagraminstagram.com/picocalifornia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pico-california-project

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Pico California Project