THE FUTURE OF PROGRESSIVE
POWER IS MULTI-ENTITY
NLA and TCS are leading the way.
NLA and TCS are leading the way.
To protect democracy and achieve transformative change, social justice organizations must engage in the full range of strategies and tactics required to build and exercise power.
Today, the boldest organizations in the progressive movement are multi-entity.
Innovative leaders are building 501(c)(4)s, for-profit corporate structures, political action committees, and other legal entities in addition to 501(c)(3)s to build power, increase impact and independence, and win policy battles.
NLA runs capacity-building programs focused exclusively on supporting progressive organizations that use multiple legal entities.
We help them build the strategic, operational, and adaptive capacity they need to build power.
Multi-entity work is hard.
To run a multi-entity organization, leaders must navigate complex legal, compliance, and operational challenges.
Opening New Legal Structures
501(c)(3)s
501(c)(4)s
501(c)(5)s
501(c)(6)s
PACs
C-Corps
S-Corps
LLCs
Complying With
Tax law
Nonprofit law
IRS rules
FEC rules
Federal law
State law
Local rules
Building
Multi-entity Boards
New systems
New knowledge
Hiring
Legal counsel
Accountants
Staff
Raising and Managing Money
Primary purpose money
PAC money
Political activity money
A two-year, holistic capacity-building program specifically designed to meet the unique needs of multi-entity organizations.
State-based cohorts, networks, and education programs focused on building legal, compliance, and operations capacity to execute bold work safely.
Multi-entity informed support and partnership for philanthropy, intermediaries, organizations, and state partners.
“NLA has been the single most helpful anchor of support we have had as an organization. The coaches at NLA have made our operations overhaul easy to understand, and it feels manageable with their support.”
Irene Godinez, Co-Executive Director, Poder NC
EMPOWER & PROTECT PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
“NLA really made our work on local and state campaigns possible. As a new organization doing everything for the first time, we had little experience with the technicalities and legalities of the work we were doing. The legal and accounting support NLA provided allowed us to be on the ground knocking on doors and talking to voters.”
Aris Correa, Advocacy Director, Rural Arizona Action
AZ EMPOWER & PROTECT PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
“[Developing multi-entities] has made it possible to engage in the full range of power-building strategies that our communities need. But the financial, compliance, and legal aspects of this structure are incredibly complex. Working with NLA has allowed our experimentation to be creative and safe.”
Sendolo Diaminah, Co-Director, Carolina Federation (NC)
NLA ACCELERATOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
“Working with a team that understands the complexity of managing work, money, and staff across multiple organizations was a blessing. This work requires specialized know-how. NLA was a valued thought partner that really understood our needs and challenges.”
Emily Timm, Co-Executive Director, Workers Defense Action Fund (TX)
NLA ACCELERATOR PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
In 2022 and 2023, NLA’s core programs supported 36 organizations as they unlocked their power-building potential.
Our programs serve organizations that center the experiences and voices of marginalized groups at the intersection of race, gender, and class.
of groups in our programs organized BIPOC communities
were lead by leaders of color and/or women
NLA’s core work covers 10 states and is growing.
NLA offers training in 30 states and Puerto Rico.
Provide Capacity-Building Support
Build Collective Multi-Entity Wisdom
Build Shared Infrastructure
We offer multi-entity informed programs, training, tools, and resources to build organizational capacity.
We provided training that builds multi-entity knowledge in social justice movements.
“The webinars are a real highlight of NLA's work in my opinion. The content is so helpful, immediately applicable, and honestly not offered anywhere else that I can find.”
WEBINAR PARTICIPANT
Compliance
Building a Culture of
Compliance
Utilizing Corporate Structures
An Overview of For-Profit
Corporate Structures
Financial Management
Sustainable Multi-Entity
Financial Planning
Multi-Entity Financial Forecasting
Human Resources
What Is Values-Based HR?
HR-Related Liabilities
Year-End Salary
Adjustments & Expectations
Performance Conversations & Critical Feedback
Political Activity
The Compliance Side
of Advocacy
Mobilizing Multi-Entity Resources
Building Base Power
Multi-Entity Membership Models
501(c)(3) and (c)(4)
Membership Programs
Using Your 501(c)(4) to
Engage Your Membership
501(c)(3)/(c)(4) Fundraising & Dues
Data for Building Power
How to Engage Your
Members for Endorsements
Monthly subscribers to
NLA’s community resources
roundup newsletter
Groups served through
NLA’s free Technical
Assistance Program
Total states served
with trainings
We helped build a multi-entity field by releasing:
This report offered philanthropy a roadmap for how to better support multi-entity organizations on the front lines of social change.
“I couldn't stop taking notes — your guide is inspirational and instructional, challenging us to build power and systems that serve people and communities! Thank you for this.”
LESLIE BARNES, BOLDER ADVOCACY, NLA PARTNER
We were honored to present the report at:
We worked with networks and state ecosystems to develop shared movement infrastructure to:
Our movement’s most innovative organizations are experimenting with creative legal structures to:
“The infrastructure that we needed to set up to do compliant electoral work was pretty extensive — I don’t know how we would have done it without NLA’s help. Their support made a huge difference in the work we could do that year.”
BECKY BELCORE
NAKASEC ACTION FUND
Building Shared Infrastructure to Support Community Power: NAKASEC Action Fund
No network has proven more effective at building power in Asian American communities than NAKASEC and its family of organizations.
In 2022 and 2023, NLA collaborated with NAKASEC Action Fund to build shared 501(c)(4) infrastructure, scaling and refining a national model to serve state affiliates in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virgina to engage in 501(c)(4) power-building work.
With a skilled operational team, they built shared financial and compliance infrastructure required to run critical campaigns at scale. Their work engaged often neglected yet high-propensity voting communities.
NAKASEC demonstrates what is possible when we invest in multi-entity infrastructure!
Empower & Protect Arizona has provided state law education and technical assistance to more than 28 organizations in Arizona’s multi-entity ecosystem since 2019.
“The Empower and Protect program we built with NLA has become a model for supporting 501(c)(4)s that we hope to build on and grow. NLA was an amazing partner to the [program], collaborating with us to make sure Arizona organizing groups are ready to do the hard work it takes to build power.”
MONTSERRAT ARREDONDO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ARIZONA WINS
Joining Forces for a Stronger Movement
In 2020 and 2022, Arizona Wins, One Arizona, and NLA ran Arizona Empower & Protect (E&P)—a state-based education and capacity-building program specifically designed to support multi-entity organizations in building operational capacity they need to do bold work safely.
We delivered tailored compliance, financial, and operational technical assistance (TA) to keep Arizona 501(c)(3)s safe and to ensure 501(c)(4)s have access to the compliance and finance resources they needed to reduce both costs and risk.
Expertise in multi-entity work is what sets us apart.
But deep collaboration and community are what make our work come to life.
“NLA does important work supporting multi-entity infrastructure and innovation for the power-building sector! They are key capacity builders and we’re proud to be partners with them.”
Alex Tom, Resilient Strategies
NLA PARTNER
Our funders
are critical partners
in our work.
NLA collaborates with our separate but affiliated 501(c)(3), The Capacity Shop.
TCS is an education and resource center that generates and shares knowledge about multi-entity work.
The work of TCS is non-partisan and includes:
We research and document how multi-entity organizations build power.
We offer multi-entity focused learning communities, training, resources, and tools.
We advise organizations, intermediaries, consultants, and funders that support multi-entity power-building work.
Our team would love to talk to you about our work and learn how we can build a partnership.
To achieve the change we want to see in the world, the entire progressive ecosystem must transform to better support multi-entity work.
Read our Theory of Change, and reach out to us if you like what you see.
Deborah Barron
Executive Director
deborah@newleftaccelerator.org