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RIGHT TO THE CITY ALLIANCE
BROOKLYN, NY · EIN 943462187 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE R20 · Civil Rights & Advocacy · Large ($10M-$50M) · righttothecity.org
revenue
$14.4M
expenses
$15.8M
net assets
$29.8M
employees
78
volunteers
220
program ratio
80%
mission · from form 990

THE ORGANIZATION IS A NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF RACIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS THAT, THROUGH SHARED PRINCIPLES, ARE BUILDING A NATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR RACIAL JUSTICE, URBAN JUSTICE, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND DEMOCRACY.

profile · synthesized from sources

Right to the City Alliance is a national coalition advancing racial, economic, and environmental justice through shared principles and collective action. The organization builds power among grassroots groups to challenge displacement, housing injustice, and systemic inequities in urban communities. It supports organizing, political education, and policy advocacy to advance a vision of urban justice, human rights, and democracy.

named programs · 6 · from sources

What they call their work

Beyond Recovery
Policy and advocacy campaign responding to the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing and economic justice.
Green New Deal Network
Initiative linking climate justice and housing justice, promoting equitable urban development and community stewardship.
Homes for All
Coalition campaign advocating for universal access to safe, affordable, and permanently supported housing as a human right.
Language Justice: A Toolkit For Organizers
Resource providing guidance on inclusive communication practices to support multilingual organizing and equity in movement spaces.
Renter Nation
National campaign to unite renters across the U.S. in demanding housing justice, policy change, and tenant rights.
Rooted & Ready Eviction Defense Training Series
Political education and organizing training to equip communities with tools for eviction defense and tenant power-building.
activities · 4 groups

What they do

  • Housing Policy Advocacy & Tenant Organizing 5 activities
    • Advocating to protect renters during eviction crises
      Advocates for the extension of federal eviction moratoriums, documents the end of the federal eviction ban, and highlights growing tenant organizing efforts in response to eviction crises, including supporting public statements and post-election organizing strategies.
    • Leading the Homes For All campaign for housing justice
      Leads the "Homes For All" campaign to advocate for universal access to affordable housing, rent control, and social housing policies through tenant organizing and public advocacy.
    • Producing research reports on housing and climate justice
      Produces and publishes research reports analyzing housing justice, renter organizing, anti-displacement, and the intersection of housing and climate justice, including titles such as “Rise of Renter Nation,” “Communities Over Commodities,” “Beyond Recovery,” and “We Call These Projects Home.”
    • Supporting a national network of housing justice organizations
      Supports a national alliance of over 90 community-based member organizations across 26 states and 45 cities working on racial, economic, gender, and environmental justice, with a focus on renters’ rights and local housing justice agendas.
    • Supporting tenant-led direct actions and rent strikes
      Organized and supported nationwide rent strikes, rallies calling for cancellation of rent and mortgage payments, and tenant-led actions to resist exploitative rental practices and assert housing rights during the pandemic.
  • Political Leadership Training for Underrepresented Groups 1 activity
    • Conducting political and capacity-building trainings for organizers
      Provides political training and builds capacity for local organizations through programs like Rooted & Ready, which conducts eviction defense training, and by training a new generation of transformative organizers.
  • Immigrant Rights Education & Legal Preparedness 1 activity
    • Developing toolkits and resources for language and organizing justice
      Develops practical resources for grassroots organizing, including a toolkit on language justice and a multilingual glossary of terms to support transformative, multilingual advocacy.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Building a national movement for racial, urban, and housing justice
      Builds a multiracial, multicultural, intergenerational alliance of alliances to advance racial, gender, housing, climate justice, and Indigenous sovereignty through a network of justice organizations. Facilitates translocal committees and regional hubs that enable member organizations to develop shared campaigns to halt evictions and prevent displacement.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$14.37M
Contributions & grants$13.02M91%
Program service revenue$576K4%
Investment income$775K5%
Other revenue$-2K
expenses
Total expenses$15.83M
Program expenses80%
Admin / overhead15%
Fundraising5%
Salaries & benefits$7.79M
Grants paid out$2.60M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$30.56M
Cash$19.72M
Investments$0
Liabilities$801K
Net assets$29.76M
Liquid reserves14.9 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -33.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 6
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
DAWN PHILLIPS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $157K
MARK SWIER DIR OF FINANCE/ADMIN 40 $152K
PAIGE KUMM DIR OF ORG. STRATEGY 40 $148K
KHALIDA SMALLS DIR OF ORGANIZING 40 $143K
LORRAINE DEGUZMAN DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT 40 $134K
KAMAU WALTON ASSOC. DIR OF COMMUNICATIONS 40 $134K
board members · 11
  • ADRIAN MADRIZ — DIRECTOR
  • ALISON JOHNSON — VICE CHAIR
  • ALLYSON PUTT — DIRECTOR
  • CESIAH GUADARRAMA TREJO — DIRECTOR
  • DARIUS GORDON — DIRECTOR
  • DENISE MATTHEWS-TURNER — DIRECTOR
  • LUPE ARREOLA — SECRETARY
  • MARIA ZAMUDIO — DIRECTOR
  • PAMBANA UISHI — TREASURER
  • RYAN ACUFF — DIRECTOR
  • TOMAS RIVERA — CHAIR
relationships · 86

Who they work with

  • 9 To 5 Colorado Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Colorado
  • 90+ member organizations Network — Coalition of local and regional organizations working collectively under the Right to the City Alliance to advance housing justice.
  • Alternatives For Community & Environment Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Massachusetts
  • Autonomous Tenants Union Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Illinois
  • Baltimore Renters United Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Maryland
  • Bread For The City Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in District Of Columbia
  • Building & Strengthening Tenant Action (BASTA) Austin Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Texas
  • CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in New York
  • Casa Blue Partner — Technology or design partner that powers the Right to the City website.
  • Causa Justa::Just Cause Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in California
  • Center for Transforming Communities Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Tennessee
  • Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainble Economy (CAUSE) Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in California
  • Chainbreaker Collective Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in New Mexico
  • Chinatown CLT Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Massachusetts
  • Chinese Progressive Associaton Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Massachusetts
  • City Life / Vida Urbana Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Massachusetts
  • Citywide Tenant Union of Rochester Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in New York
  • Climate Justice Alliance Coalition — Collaborative alliance member in shared advocacy work
  • CoHFA Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Colorado
  • Community Alliance of Tenants Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Oregon
  • Community Justice Project Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Florida
  • Community Power Collective Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in California
  • Cooperation Jackson Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Mississippi
  • Detroit Peoples Platform Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Michigan
  • Direct Action for Rights and Equality Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Rhode Island
  • East Bay Permanent Real Estate Collective Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in California
  • El Centro Cultural de Mexico Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in California
  • Esperanza Peace & Justice Center Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Texas
  • Fair Development Roundtable Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in Maryland
  • For the Many Coalition — Member organization of Right To The City Alliance in New York
+ 56 more
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Frontline-Led Transformative Organizing
    methodology: frontline_leadership
    By centering leadership and strategy development in frontline communities most impacted by housing injustice, we produce transformative change, because those with lived experience are best positioned to define solutions and build authentic, effective movements.
  • Housing as a Structural and Human Right
    methodology: housing_as_a_human_right
    By advancing housing as a human right and opposing its commodification, we produce systemic change in urban development and public health outcomes, because framing housing as a right—not a commodity—enables transformative policy demands like rent control and social housing.
  • Political Education and Strategic Alignment
    methodology: political_education
    By using shared tools like the "Homes for All Greenbook" and multilingual glossaries, we align diverse organizations around common analysis and strategy, because political education fosters coherence and collective action across movements.
  • Tenant Power Building
    methodology: tenant_power_building
    By organizing tenants and marginalized communities into collective action, we produce structural policy changes (e.g. rent control, social housing) and challenge corporate control of housing, because sustained tenant power disrupts exploitative systems and shifts political will.
  • Translocal Alliance Building for Collective Power
    methodology: translocal_organizing
    By uniting local and regional housing justice groups through a translocal, multiracial alliance model, we amplify grassroots power and build national movement strength, because coordinated local action across geographies creates systemic leverage and shared strategic capacity.