Search Nonprofits

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. We work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all. The Center's work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from ending mass incarceration to preserving Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism. Part think tank, part advocacy group, part cutting-edge communications hub, we start with rigorous research. We craft innovative policies. And we fight for them — in Congress and the states, the courts, and in the court of public opinion.

UnidosUS (formerly NCLR)—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations, UnidosUS reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. To achieve its mission, UnidosUS conducts applied research, policy analysis, and advocacy, providing a Latino perspective in five key areas—assets/investments, civil rights/immigration, education, employment and economic status, and health. In addition, it provides capacity-building assistance to its Affiliates who work at the state and local level to advance opportunities for individuals and families.

The mission of MADD is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. Due to the efforts of volunteers and staff tirelessly working to achieve MADD's mission, some 300,000 Americans are alive who would have otherwise been killed had drunk driving been allowed to continue at the epidemic levels of 1980. Although drunk driving deaths have decreased by more than half since MADD's founding, drunk driving remains the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. Each year, over 10,000 are killed in drunk driving crashes. Underage drinking remains the No. 1 youth drug problem, killing more young people that all other illicit drugs combined.

Vaga Lume Association is a Brazilian non-profit organization founded in 2001 grounded in the belief that investing in people is the best way to transform a reality. Its mission is to create opportunities for cultural exchange by reading, writing and orality, valuing the empowerment of people and rural communities of the Brazilian Legal Amazon region. Vaga Lume works in 160 rural communities (indigenous, riverside, roadside, rural settlement people or quilombolas - Brazilian with African descent) of 23 municipalities in the Brazilian Legal Amazon region, which encompasses nine federal states (Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins), occupies 59% of the Brazilian territory and has 20 million people (12% of the Brazilian population). Despite the fact that education and culture are basic social rights, protected by the Brazilian Constitution and under human rights international treaties ratified by Brazil, its access and implementation in the Amazon region are very limited. It is one of the poverty zones in Brazil - with a GDP per capita 30% lower than the national value - where 42% of the population survives with less than US$ 5.00 a day. Due to the outstanding impact of Vaga Lume's work in the region, the organization is recognized by many international and national awards such as the Juscelino Kubitschek Award of Merit for Regional Development in Latin America and the Caribbean given by the Inter-American Development Bank (2009); the Millennium Development Goals Award, conferred by the United Nations and the Brazilian government (2005); the Vivaleitura Award, from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education (2008); and the Chico Mendes Environment Award, given by the Ministry of Environment (2006 and 2008). In 2011, Vaga Lume received its most important recognition: the 4th place at the Intercultural Innovation Award, conferred by United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group. As an awardee, in 2012, Vaga Lume was welcomed to the World Intercultural Facility for Innovation (WIFI), a network formed by the UNAOC, the BMW Group and the ten 2011 winners. Through this network, the UNAOC and the BMW Group challenged all winners to replicate and scale up their actions to promote intercultural dialogue and offered training, consultancy and institutional support to assist organizations to accomplish such results.

We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to: (1) Reshape the attitudes of society so that people with disabilities can more fully participate in and contribute to society, and (2) Empower people with disabilities to achieve as much of the American Dream as their abilities and efforts permit. RespectAbility was founded to correct and prevent the current disparity of justice for people with disabilities. We are a stronger community when we live up to our values -- when we are welcoming, diverse, moral, and respect one another. People with disabilities and their families have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else, even if they face different challenges. Together we can build a more just and inclusive community where our children, parents, grandparents, and other family and friends with and without disabilities have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Our mission is to provide opportunities for higher education without regard to race, religion, or nation of birth. We currently have 47 ECE Scholars enrolled in 6 partner universities in Nashville, TN. Criteria for our scholarships include a B average, a documented financial need, a definite career goal, and a legal status of undocumented or DACA as these students are not eligible for student loans, federal aid, and cannot attend any state colleges as an in state resident. We provide each scholar with two mentors, one an older student at their university and the other an established individual in their career goal to offer guidance, support, and guaranteed professional success post college. We believe that we are granting our scholars an equal chance to achieve their American Dream and become productive members of society through a college degree.

The Children's Radio Foundation (CRF) uses radio training and broadcast to create opportunities for youth dialogue, participation, leadership, and active citizenship. Through giving youth the tools and skills to produce radio, young people are mobilized to engage in productive dialogue about the issues they face, and work together to improve their lives and communities. With 74 youth radio projects across six African countries, CRF works with radio stations and CBOs to create local platforms for discussion, information sharing, social engagement, and action. Our reporters take on issues that resonate with youth in their community, including but not limited to children's rights, sexual reproductive health and rights, power dynamics in teenage relationships, gender norms and stereotypes, HIV and AIDS-related issues, climate change, and the environment. Speaking in local languages and in a youth-friendly style, they interview community members, host debates, and bring out local perspectives. Their reporting projects, broadcasts, and outreach activities are geared to generate discussion about issues facing youth.

Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) was created in 2001 in response to the HIV crisis in western Kenya. It is built on a partnership between Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and the Moi University School of Medicine in Eldoret, Kenya, and a consortium of North American academic health centers, led by Indiana University. The partners joined forces to create one of Africa's largest, most comprehensive and effective HIV/AIDS management and control systems. AMPATH is a formal partner with the United States government through a $75 million grant from USAID and has continually expanded its successful HIV approach to into a more comprehensive primary health care system. With a tri-partite mission of care, education, and research, AMPATH provides healthcare services to a population of 3.5 million people in western Kenya and focuses on improving the health and wellbeing of the entire population-leaving no one behind.

Hearts of Epilepsy Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing effective tools and programs to improve the quality of life for children and families living with epilepsy. As your Advocate, we developed a deep appreciation for the need for further ongoing collaboration to address epilepsy and specific needs within our community. We've learned that many who are living with epilepsy, lives are impacted by various aspects; involving the fear of seizures, the dangerous side effects, which can lead a person to abandon normal activities; such as, cooking, cleaning, or pursuing long-term goals. Use of life-management, such as living day-to-day life is always a journey. Learning to live a normal life with epilepsy can be a struggle, but with the right treatments and care, it doesn't have to control your life. Epilepsy affects more than three million Americans directly, and sixty-five million worldwide.

The Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology for the Environment (CREATE!) was established in 2008 to help rural populations in the developing world prepare for water, food, and fuel shortages resulting from the impact of climate change on their communities. CREATE! operates on the principle that all people have a right to water, food, shelter, energy, and the means to earn a living. We work with village populations to meet these needs through a culturally respectful, participatory process grounded in our belief that people must have a stake in their development and contribute towards solving their own problems. The cooperative groups in our beneficiary villages have already demonstrated the validity of this approach. CREATE! currently operates in Senegal. Senegal is representative of many Sub-Saharan African countries that are hardest hit by the increasingly disastrous effects of global climate change. CREATE! responds to the inter-connected crises generated by climate change with strategies that decrease dependence on fossil fuels, conserve natural resources, and increase the use of appropriate technologies. Our programs produce sustainable, human needs-based development at the village level while forging resilient and vibrant communities across rural Senegal. CREATE! seeks to face these challenges and assist rural Senegalese residents with small-scale, accessible, and "appropriate" technologies - technologies that are adapted to, and fit, their local conditions - and with human needs-based strategies that can both better their lives and build their capacity to meet these inter-connected challenges. CREATE! works in six villages in two regions of Senegal. One region is in the rural north of Senegal, centered around Linguere in the Louga Region, where CREATE! implements programs in the village of Ouarkhokh. The other region is in the central-west of Senegal, centered around Gossas in the Fatick Region. CREATE! implements program activities in five villages in this region. The total beneficiary population of the six villages is approximately 12,000 people, comprised of both agricultural and pastoral peoples. The average per capita annual income of the population in these villages is approximately $350 a year. In each of these villages, CREATE! staff work closely with local and traditional authorities, including village chiefs and imams, in addition to other community leaders, families, and public schools. CREATE! values the expertise and input of community members and strives to incorporate their knowledge and participation into each stage of our programs. As a registered NGO in Senegal, CREATE! works with government officials from the regional office of the Department of Water and Forestry. CREATE! also respects the Senegalese government's strategic development goals for rural communities. Although CREATE!'s administrative office is located in the United States, CREATE! relies on local Senegalese staff and volunteers to plan and implement successful development interventions. Barry Wheeler, CREATE! Founder and Executive Director, has spent the past 27 years working to alleviate suffering and to provide basic human needs for rural villagers, displaced persons, and refugees in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. After serving in the Peace Corps for six years as an Improved Cook Stove and Appropriate Technology volunteer, trainer, and technical advisor in Togo, Barry earned a Master's degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University. Barry has served as Country Director for the American Refugee Committee's programs in Uganda, Sudan, and Rwanda; as a consultant for UNICEF and UNHCR; and as a team leader and training coordinator in local capacity building, renewable and appropriate technology, and sustainable rural development. CREATE! Chief Operations Officer Louise Ruhr has more than 30 years of private sector and nonprofit management experience and has spent the past eight years working with international NGOs, including the American Refugee Committee, to support women's cooperative groups in Rwanda and Senegal. CREATE! Country Director Omar Ndiaye Seck oversees program activities and conducts site visits in CREATE! communities. He also manages CREATE!'s finances and staff in Senegal. Omar closely collaborates with local and traditional authorities, community volunteers, and CREATE! staff to achieve both organizational and village goals.

A Catalyst for the Disability Employment Movement, the National Organization on Disability (NOD) is a private, non-profit organization that promotes the full participation of America’s 56 million people with disabilities in all aspects of life. Today, NOD focuses on increasing employment opportunities for the 79 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities who are not employed. With programs on the ground, NOD is demonstrating new employment practices and models of service delivery, evaluating results, and sharing successful approaches for widespread replication. We are conducting research on disability employment issues, including the field’s most widely used polls on employment trends and the quality of life for people with disabilities. And our subject matter experts in disability and employment provide consulting services to public agencies and employers seeking to harness the unique talents that people with disabilities can bring to the workforce. To achieve our goals, we work in partnership with employers, schools, the military, service providers, researchers, and disability advocates. Our current employment programs are benefiting high school students with disabilities transitioning into the workforce, seriously injured service members, employers seeking to become more disability friendly, and state governments engaged in policy reform.

Project1808 promotes sustainable community development in Kabala, Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone by aiding young students in their efforts to identify and address the root causes of poverty, public and environmental health challenges, and other community-identified concerns. Among our project's specific aims are the following: Fostering academic excellence and nurturing a resilient knowledge base through student mentoring, tutoring, internships, and teacher training programs. Stimulating curiosity, creativity, and innovation through student generated projects that enhance knowledge and encourage students to implement their ideas in ways that benefit their communities. Facilitating local and global partnerships for knowledge exchange, training for students, teachers and community members, student mentoring, and resources to sustain the community knowledge base Our Model Project1808 Model for sustainable development At the core of our sustainable community model is an investment in disadvantaged youth, schools, and their communities to form the building blocks as LEGOs of healthy communities in Sierra Leone and Africa. Through specific GLocal (Global and Local) partnerships, we practice the concept of thinking globally and acting locally, enhancing the exchange of knowledge, increasing the cultural competency, and expanding the worldview of all of our participants. Project1808 is committed to optimizing partnerships between educational institutions locally, within Africa and overseas, particularly with the involvement of other African countries. We want to bring back hope to youths (and whole communities) whose lives, homes, families, schools, infrastructure, institutions were destroyed by 11 years of war in Sierra Leone.