PowerSwitch Action
PowerSwitch Action is a U.S. national nonprofit headquartered in Oakland that runs a 21-affiliate grassroots organizing network advancing multiracial feminist democracy, worker power, housing justice, and opposition to AI workplace surveillance, funded entirely by individual donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What PowerSwitch Action does
PowerSwitch Action is a U.S. national nonprofit (501(c)) organization headquartered in Oakland, California, that operates as a network of 21 dynamic grassroots affiliate organizations working across U.S. cities. Its mission is to build people power and people's institutions to advance multiracial feminist democracy and people-centered economies, primarily through local organizing, coalition building, policy campaigns, and popular education. The organization centers the leadership of working people and communities most affected by economic and racial injustice, and explicitly contests corporate greed, inadequate worker protections, housing instability, and algorithmic/AI surveillance in the workplace.
PowerSwitch Action's core products are research reports, policy briefs, and popular-education toolkits rather than commercial technology. Recent publications include 'Uber's Inequality Machine' (June 2025, a data-driven report based on a survey of 2,500+ gig drivers examining AI-driven pay manipulation, co-produced with Gig Workers Rising), 'The Privacy Trap' (October 2025, a policy brief on 'privacy-preserving' AI worker surveillance), the 'Stop the AI Surveillance Pipeline!' educational toolkit, and an annual 'Year in Review.' Underlying technology is essentially standard nonprofit infrastructure: a content website (powerswitchaction.org), email newsletter distribution, social media presence, and the EveryAction SaaS platform for donation processing. The organization explicitly does not develop proprietary technology.
The business model is donations-based: PowerSwitch Action raises funds exclusively through individual contributions at tiered suggested amounts ($5, $25, $50, $100, $250, and custom), accepts one-time, monthly, and yearly gifts, and relies on its national brand and affiliate-network visibility to attract donors. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market motion is community-led: recruiting and retaining member affiliates, developing leaders through organizing programs, and winning policy campaigns through collective affiliate action. End-users are working people and working families; institutional counterparts are the 21 affiliate grassroots organizations, peer advocacy networks, and policy stakeholders. The firm employs 11–50 staff based in Oakland.
PowerSwitch Action firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PowerSwitch Action
- Legal name
- PowerSwitch Action
- Website
- https://powerswitchaction.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PowerSwitch Action is a U.S. national nonprofit headquartered in Oakland that runs a 21-affiliate grassroots organizing network advancing multiracial feminist democracy, worker power, housing justice, and opposition to AI workplace surveillance, funded entirely by individual donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PowerSwitch Action industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Organizing and Advocacy
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)
Keywords
Where PowerSwitch Action is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
PowerSwitch Action business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations: PowerSwitch Action raises funds through individual donations. The organization accepts one-time, monthly, and yearly contributions at various suggested amounts ($5, $25, $50, $100, $250 and other custom amounts). They use the EveryAction platform for donation processing.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
PowerSwitch Action product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PowerSwitch Action is a national nonprofit network of 21 grassroots affiliate organizations that builds people power to advance multiracial feminist democracy and people-centered economies. It coordinates local organizing, coalition building, policy campaigns, popular education, and leadership development for working families across U.S. cities.
Product overview
PowerSwitch Action operates as a network of 21 grassroots organizations offering educational resources, research reports, and policy toolkits focused on technology justice, worker power, and housing. The portfolio includes the Stop the AI Surveillance Pipeline educational toolkit, annual reports, and research publications examining algorithmic management and worker surveillance in the platform economy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Stop the AI Surveillance Pipeline! A popular education toolkit that provides communities with guidance on resisting AI surveillance practices, targeted at grassroots organizers and community members.
- Uber's Inequality Machine Research report documenting how AI-driven pay algorithms manipulate driver compensation and create financial hardship, based on a survey of more than 2,500 Uber drivers.
- The Privacy Trap Policy brief exposing harms of 'privacy-preserving' AI technologies in worker surveillance, proposing design principles and legislative protections for workers in the digital age.
- 2025 Year in Review Annual report documenting PowerSwitch Action's activities, campaigns, victories, and strategic direction for the year ahead.
Quantifiable outcome
- Won campaigns that improved millions of people's lives over 20 years
Companies that use PowerSwitch Action
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
PowerSwitch Action technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
PowerSwitch Action partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Gig Workers Risingkey partnerCo-authored the report 'Uber's Inequality Machine' with Gig Workers Rising, a campaign organization fighting for the rights of gig workers. The partnership combined PowerSwitch Action's research capacity with Gig Workers Rising's direct worker organizing experience to document how Uber's AI-driven pay harms drivers.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
PowerSwitch Action competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Roosevelt Institute: Progressive think tank producing research on corporate power and worker rights. Comparable in research-driven policy work targeting corporate accountability and economic democracy themes.
- Demos: Progressive think tank and advocacy organization working on economic and racial justice through research and policy. Comparable in research-driven advocacy and multiracial democracy framing.
Direct peers
- Working Families Party: Multiracial, multigenerational party organizing working people around economic justice issues. Closely comparable in targeting working people, cross-racial coalition building, and policy-driven approach.
- National Domestic Workers Alliance: Alliance of 70+ affiliates organizing domestic workers and pushing policy for care economy and worker protections. Closely comparable as affiliate-network model with worker-justice and care-economy focus.
- Center for Popular Democracy: National network of progressive community organizations working on economic and racial justice. Directly comparable affiliate-network model targeting similar working-class constituencies and policy campaigns.
- People's Action: National network of 40+ state and local grassroots organizations building power for working people. Most direct comparable as a multi-issue organizing network with affiliate structure and progressive policy focus.
- Movement for Black Lives: Coalition of 50+ Black-led organizations building Black liberation movement infrastructure. Comparable multi-racial organizing network model with affiliate structure and policy advocacy focus.
Broad incumbents
- Faith in Action: One of the largest national progressive faith-based organizing networks with affiliates in 1,000+ congregations. Comparable in scale and grassroots-network model, though anchored in faith community rather than multiracial feminist framework.
- Community Change: National organization supporting grassroots organizing for low-income communities of color on economic justice. Comparable in grassroots capacity-building and donor-funded infrastructure support model.
- MoveOn: Large progressive digital organizing and advocacy organization with millions of members. Comparable progressive policy-advocacy focus though more digital-led and less locally rooted than PowerSwitch Action's affiliate model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
PowerSwitch Action social profiles
Digital presencePowerSwitch Action financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PowerSwitch Action leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
PowerSwitch Action funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PowerSwitch Action 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 PowerSwitch Action
What does PowerSwitch Action do?
PowerSwitch Action is a national nonprofit network of 21 grassroots affiliate organizations that builds people power to advance multiracial feminist democracy and people-centered economies. It coordinates local organizing, coalition building, policy campaigns, popular education, and leadership development for working families across U.S. cities.
Is PowerSwitch Action a public or private company?
PowerSwitch Action is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was PowerSwitch Action founded?
PowerSwitch Action was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is PowerSwitch Action based?
PowerSwitch Action is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does PowerSwitch Action make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations.
Who are PowerSwitch Action's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Roosevelt Institute and Demos. Direct peers are Working Families Party, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Center for Popular Democracy, People's Action and Movement for Black Lives. Broad incumbents are Faith in Action, Community Change and MoveOn.
Does PowerSwitch Action have an API?
No public API is recorded for PowerSwitch Action.
What industry is PowerSwitch Action in?
PowerSwitch Action's product category is Community Organizing and Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAO, Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders, with a secondary code of BPAGADAI, Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8600.