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Instituto Power
Phoenix, AZ · EIN 832870376 · Form 990 · FY2020 · NTEE W24 · Public & Societal Benefit · Small ($100K-$1M) · www.institutopower.io
revenue
$802K
expenses
$698K
net assets
$234K
employees
5
program ratio
82%
mission · from form 990

Instituto's mission is to build sustained political power of low-income and communities of color in Arizona.

profile · synthesized from sources

Instituto Power builds political power for low-income and communities of color in Arizona by training emerging leaders, candidates, and campaign staff. The organization offers free, accessible training programs on campaign skills such as fundraising, messaging, compliance, and co-governance, with a focus on values-aligned, intersectional leadership. It also runs a talent pipeline and fellowship program to place leaders in governance roles across school boards, city councils, and state legislatures.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2020

what they reported doing

Program narrative the organization filed with the IRS. Ordered by program spending.

  1. #1 primary $132K
    A seven-month fellowship program that takes emerging leaders and provides them with the knowledge, skills, and access to support that will allow them to create sustainable, scaleable campaigns and programs for 2020. This program offers communities of practice, relevant coaching, training and development to the next generation of leaders.
named programs · 5 · from sources

what they call their work

Advocacy Trainings
Training leaders to advocate on key ballot measures and issues, such as abortion rights (Prop 139), with a focus on engaging underrepresented communities.
Co-Governance Fellowship
Professional development program for newly elected officials focused on shared decision-making with communities most impacted by oppressive systems, building a network of value-aligned leaders.
Harvest Candidate & Staff Training
Free training series equipping aspiring and current candidates and campaign staff with skills in fundraising, messaging, compliance, election math, and storytelling to run successful campaigns at school board, municipal, and state levels.
Harvest Praxis in Action Online Library
Free, accessible digital library with campaign resources including slide decks, worksheets, and toolkits on fundraising, communications, compliance, and voter outreach.
Talent Pipeline
Program that identifies and connects skilled Arizona leaders with opportunities in the progressive ecosystem, including campaign roles, boards, and commissions.
activities · 5 groups

what they do

  • Political Campaign Training Programs 12 activities
    • Campaign resource library and online learning materials
      Maintains a free online library, "Harvest Praxis in Action Online Library," with campaign learning materials including slide decks, worksheets, and guides on fundraising, communications, compliance, election math, and campaign planning, accessible to candidates and campaign staff.
    • Candidate and Campaign Staff Training
      Instituto Power provides free trainings to emerging political candidates and campaign staff on various aspects of running a campaign, including fundraising, communications, compliance, election math, direct voter contact, and power mapping. These trainings are offered through series like the Harvest Candidate and Staff Training Series, which trained over 80 candidates and staff for school board, municipal, and state legislative levels in 2024, and have reached 110 leaders through the Harvest series and 134 leaders in total.
    • Free political campaign training programs
      Offers free, comprehensive training programs for emerging political candidates and campaign staff in Arizona, covering campaign fundamentals such as election types, phases, roles, and power-building strategies. In 2024, over 80 candidates and staff were trained through the Harvest Candidate & Staff Training Series.
    • Online Campaign Resource Library
      Instituto Power maintains a free online library, "Harvest Praxis in Action Online Library," which provides a collection of campaign resources including slide decks, worksheets, and guides on fundraising, communications, compliance, and win number calculation for candidates and campaign staff.
    • Training on campaign compliance and ethics
      Offers training on legal and ethical aspects of running a campaign, including ballot access, campaign finance setup, and compliance with election laws.
    • Training on campaign fundraising and budgeting
      Offers training on campaign fundraising methods, strategies to maximize donations, budgeting, and crafting effective fundraising appeals.
    • Training on campaign messaging and stump speeches
      Provides training on developing effective campaign messaging and communication tactics, including crafting and delivering compelling stump speeches.
    • Training on campaign support systems and network mobilization
      Trains candidates on building campaign support structures such as "kitchen cabinets," mapping personal networks, and learning from experienced candidates to strengthen campaign infrastructure.
    • Training on direct voter contact and volunteer management
      Offers training on direct voter contact strategies, including campaign tactics, use of voter databases, and volunteer management, to enhance grassroots outreach effectiveness.
    • Training on election math and campaign data analysis
      Provides training on election math, including calculating win numbers, analyzing campaign data, and identifying target voter universes to support data-driven campaign planning.
    • Training on personal storytelling and narrative development for organizing
      Offers training to help individuals craft personal political narratives by identifying pivotal life experiences, structuring speeches, and practicing delivery with feedback, emphasizing inclusive and intersectional storytelling through a race/class lens and Black Feminist frameworks.
    • Training on power mapping and coalition building
      Provides training on power mapping for political campaigns, including how to create influence maps, engage voters, build coalitions, and leverage community leaders to expand campaign reach.
  • Abortion Rights Ballot Advocacy 2 activities
    • Advocacy training on ballot initiatives
      Trained 151 community members and leaders across Arizona on Prop 139, a 2024 abortion rights ballot measure, contributing to its successful passage.
    • Community Advocacy Training and Organizing
      Instituto Power organizes advocacy activities and trains community members and leaders on specific ballot measures, such as training 151 individuals across Arizona on Prop 139 (an abortion rights ballot measure) in 2024, which subsequently passed.
  • Nonpartisan Voter Information Tools 2 activities
    • Local Elected Office Identification Tool
      Instituto Power provides a tool to help individuals identify local elected offices they can run for in the current election cycle.
    • Online tool for identifying local elected offices to run for
      Provides a digital tool that helps individuals identify local elected offices they are eligible to run for in the current election cycle, supporting civic participation and candidate recruitment.
  • Civic Education & Leadership Training 1 activity
    • Issue-specific political training on Arizona policy areas
      Provides training on key political issues in Arizona—education, heat, policing, and immigration—including tools for framing these issues to build community connection and drive political action.
  • Uncategorized 2 activities
    • Co-Governance Fellowship for Elected Officials
      Instituto Power offers a Co-Governance Fellowship specifically for newly elected officials in Arizona to support their transition and effectiveness in their roles.
    • Co-Governance Fellowship for newly elected officials
      Identifies and trains emerging political leaders and supports newly elected officials in Arizona through the Co-Governance Fellowship, building long-term governance capacity.
financials · form 990 · fy2020
revenue
Total revenue$802K
Contributions & grants$802K100%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$698K
Program expenses82%
Admin / overhead18%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$223K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$239K
Cash$239K
Investments$0
Liabilities$5K
Net assets$234K
Liquid reserves4.1 mo
1 years on record · 2020–2020
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2020

who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
Luis Avila Chairman 10 $24K
board members · 2
  • Jacob Jones Martinez — Treasurer
  • Monica Montanez — Secretary
relationships · 5

who they work with

  • Agave Strategy Partner — Collaborates on training for crafting personal stories in political organizing.
  • Arizona Government — Engages with Arizona's election system by informing candidates about candidate filing deadlines and local offices.
  • Harvest Candidate and Staff Training Series Partner — Co-hosts candidate and staff training programs focused on fundraising and political skills
  • O'odham Government — Recognizes founding on O'odham land and affirms ongoing relationship with O'odham communities.
  • Pee Posh Government — Recognizes founding on Pee Posh land and affirms shared stewardship and space with O'odham peoples.