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Non-profit

Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC)

Website:

www.blackphxoc.org
Location:

Phoenix, AZ
Tax ID:

84-2633423
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $502,501
Expenses: $353,522
Assets: $751,434
Type:

Activist group
Formation:

2019
Co-Founders:

Parris Wallace

Devon Johnson
Budget (2023):

Revenue: $410,980
Expenses: $425,625
Total Assets: $736,860 20

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Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) is a left-of-center activist organization in Phoenix, Arizona that originated during the Black Lives Matter protests at the end of 2019. It is focused on “building Black power” and partners with several Black activist groups including the One Arizona coalition and the Movement for Black Lives. 1

Background

The Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) is a Black activist organization located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is focused on “building Black power” in Arizona for the “young, radical, queer, poor, families, formerly incarcerated, non-binary black folx, directly impacted by unjust systems.” 2 3

BPOC was founded at the end of 2019 by Parris Wallace and her partner in response to the alleged lack of Black activist organizations in the Phoenix area. 1 In 2020, BPOC conducted protests and rallies supporting defunding the police and offered bail resources to people who were arrested at Black Lives Matter events. 3

It joined protests calling for abolishing the police and investigating police misconduct against Black people in October 2020 along with BLM Pheonix Metro, the Mass Liberation Project, and the Puente Human Rights Movement. 4

Work Areas and Activism

Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) supports abortion access and the decriminalization of sex work. It is a founding member of the Arizona Reproductive Justice Coalition, funded by pro-abortion advocacy group National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH). 5 6

In March 2022, Arizona’s Reproductive Rights Coalition released a statement condemning former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) for signing legislation supporting an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy. BPOC is a member of the coalition along with the American Civil Liberties  Union, NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona, and Planned Parenthood of Arizona. 7

BPOC organizes and participates in political education events and campaigns in support of “Disability and Reproductive Justice, abolition, and black queer feminism.” 8

BPOC established the “Why I Didn’t Call” campaign to “educate the community about the history of oppressive systems” and identify alternatives to the police. 9

BPOC participates in the Facing Race national conference which convened in November 2024, along with BLM Pheonix Metro, Poder in Action, and One Arizona. 10 Facing Race is a national conference hosted by Race Forward  for racial activists and organizers to “build power and strategies to advance racial justice.” 11 It is sponsored by corporate and non-profit organizations including the American Medical Association, the Kresge Foundation,  the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Service Employees International Union, the Transgender Law Center, NEO Philanthropy, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, and the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. 12

In March 2020, BPOC established the Mutual Aid Phoenix program to support the redistribution of resources, prioritizing “folks who are sick, disabled, quarantined without pay, elderly, undocumented, queer, Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color.” 13

Partnerships

Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) is a member of the One Arizona coalition along with the Arizona Center for Empowerment, Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy, Chispa, Corazon Arizona, Mi Familia Vota, New American Leaders, Poder in Action, Planned Parenthood, Progress Arizona, Promise Arizona, Puente Human Rights Movement, and Wingbeat 88. 14 One Arizona is a voter mobilization group that focuses on left-of-center issues including “immigrant rights, voting rights, education equity, racial economic & restorative justice and climate justice.” 15

BPOC is a member of the Movement for Black Lives 16 and a founding member of the Empower Alliance for Reproductive Justice along with BLM Pheonix Metro and Black Political Cultivation Arizona. 17

BPOC is a member of the Phoenix Civilian Oversight Coalition along with several left activist groups including Poder in Action, Puente Human Rights Movement, BLM Pheonix Metro,  and White People Against White Supremacy. It formed in November 2019 to demand civilian oversight of the police department in response to alleged police brutality in Phoenix targeting Black people. 18 19

Funding

In 2023, Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) reported a revenue of $410,980 and expenses of $425,625. 20

BPOC donors include the Working Families Organization, the Groundswell Fund, Solidaire Network, Borealis Philanthropy, NEO Philanthropy, the Common Counsel Foundation, the Liberty Hill Foundation, 21 and Open Society Foundations. 22

Leadership

Parris Wallace launched the Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) in 2019 to “create a space for Black people.” Previously she was a community college organizer for the Black activist group Poder in Action. 23 In 2022, she became the Arizona state organizing director for the Working Families Party. 24

Devon Johnson is a co-founder of BPOC and leads the disability justice program. Johnson graduated from Arizona State University and began his career at Teach for America and the Phoenix elementary school system. In 2020, he joined BPOC. 25 In November 2024, he was a speaker at the Facing Race national racial activism conference organized by Race Forward in support of abolition and Black liberation. 26

Jasmine Snipes was an organizing director of BPOC from 2022 to 2024. Snipes held administrative assistant roles in the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate for approximately 10 years and was a communications coordinator for the Arizona Secretary of State in 2020. She was an operations lead for BLM Phoenix Metro and worked for the Anti-Defamation League for five years before joining BPOC. 27

References

  1.  “Who We Are.” Black Phoenix Organizing Collective.” Accessed February 20, 2025. https://blackphxoc.org/whoweare
  2. Facebook – Black Phoenix Organizing Collective. Posted August 13, 2019. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/blackphxoc/posts/we-are-officially-introducing-the-black-phoenix-organizing-collective-a-collecti/2461109550592899/
  3. Niki D’Andrea. “7 Valley Orgs at the Forefront of Reform.” Phoenix Magazine. June 8, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.phoenixmag.com/2020/06/08/7-valley-orgs-at-the-forefront-of-reform/
  4. Audrey Jensen, Jamie Landers and Madeline Ackley. “Protesters march through downtown Phoenix to decry deaths of Dion Johnson, Breonna Taylor.” AZ Central. October 3, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2020/10/03/protesters-march-city-hall-honor-dion-johnson-breonna-taylor/3609302001/
  5. “Reproductive & Birth Justice in AZ.” Black Phoenix Organizing Collective. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://blackphxoc.org/ourgoals
  6. “Arizona Reproductive Justice Coalition.” National Institute for Reproductive Health. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://nirhealth.org/partners/arizona-reproductive-justice-coalition/
  7. “Arizona’s Reproductive Rights Coalition Responds to Governor Ducey Signing Bills that Attack Abortion, Trans, and Voting Rights.” Reproductive Freedom for All. March 31, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://reproductivefreedomforall.org/news/arizonas-reproductive-rights-coalition-responds-to-governor-ducey-signing-bills-that-attack-abortion-trans-and-voting-rights/
  8. Black Phoenix Organizing Collective homepage. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://blackphxoc.org/
  9. “Why I Didn’t Call.” Black Phoenix Organizing Collective. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://blackphxoc.org/whyididntcall
  10. “Support the Racial Justice Work of Local Arizona-based Organizations.” Race Forward. November 14, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://facingrace.raceforward.org/about/blog/support-racial-justice-work-local-arizona-based-organizations
  11. “About Facing Race.” Race Forward. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://facingrace.raceforward.org/about
  12. “Sponsors.” Race Forward – Facing Race. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://facingrace.raceforward.org/sponsors
  13. Katelyn Reinhart. “Cronkite News: Mutual aid groups band together to help those in need during COVID-19.” Cronkite News. July 6, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://indianz.com/News/2020/07/06/cronkite-news-mutual-aid-groups-band-tog.asp
  14. “Our Coalition Partners.” ONE Arizona. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://onearizona.org/partners/
  15. “About Us.” ONE Arizona. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://onearizona.org/about/
  16. “Black Phoenix Organizing Collective.” M4BL. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://m4bl.org/resources/black-phoenix-organizing-collective/
  17.  “Organizations.” Empower Alliance for Reproductive Justice. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://sites.google.com/empowerrj.org/earj/organizations
  18. “UUs Join in Fight Against Police Violence in Phoenix.” UU the Vote. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://uuthevote.org/uus-join-in-fight-against-police-violence-in-phoenix/
  19. Ali Vetnar. “Phoenix City Council to vote on community oversight of police.” KTAR News. February 25, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://ktar.com/arizona-news/phoenix-city-council-to-vote-on-community-oversight-of-police/2991772/
  20. Black Phoenix Organizing Collective. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2023.
  21. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer search. Accessed February 19, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?sort=best&form%5B%5D=IRS990ScheduleI&q=84-2633423&submit=Apply
  22.  “Awarded Grants.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?grant_id=OR2021-80651
  23. “Crisis Is Opportunity – Talk with Parris Wallace.” Frantz Fanon Community Strategy Center at Prescott College Facebook live event. April 27, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/FrantzFanonCommunityStrategyCenter/videos/288675492152339
  24. Facebook – Desert Star Institute for Family Planning, Inc. Posted June 29, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/DesertStarFP.org/posts/402633885240510/
  25. LinkedIn – Devon Johnson. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-johnson-727519323/
  26. “Devon Johnson.” Race Forward – Our Power, Our Solutions. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://facingrace.raceforward.org/speaker/devon-johnson
  27. LinkedIn – Jasmine Snipes. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminesnipes/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: December 1, 2020

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2022 Dec Form 990 $502,501 $353,522 $751,434 $4,799 N $502,501 $0 $0 $50,000 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $657,412 $227,869 $600,794 $3,138 N $657,412 $0 $0 $44,100
    2020 Dec Form 990 $723,223 $580,279 $163,441 $5,688 N $723,223 $0 $0 $29,255 PDF

    Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC)

    3101 N CENTRAL AVE
    Phoenix, AZ 85012-2645