Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC)

In June 2026, the Northeast Ohio office of OOC was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) due to an ongoing investigation into allegations of voter fraud. As of June 15, 2026, there has been no statement released by the FBI about the raid. ^{3 4 5}

Background

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) is a policy-oriented group that advocates for left-of-center policies in Ohio, including bail reform and drug policy reform. ¹ OOC claims that it is “building a broad-based movement to end the criminalization of poverty.” ⁶ The group focuses particularly on “young people, low income people, and Black people,” in its organizing efforts, and partners with other left-of-center groups to advocate legislation. ⁷

OOC’s sister group, the Ohio Organizing Campaign, focuses on registering and mobilizing voters of the same demographics; the Ohio Organizing Campaign claims to operate independently while still being aligned in mission with its founding group, OOC. ^{8 2}

OOC claims it looks at policies and communications through a “Race-Class Narrative framework.” In 2019, the Foundation to Promote Open Society gave $400,000 to OOC to promote its “racial/class narrative work.” ^{1 9}

Activities

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative claims its primary areas of policy include criminal justice reform, education access, and expanding voting rights. ¹⁰

Instances of OOC’s work on criminal justice include advocating for the Ohio Fair Hiring Act in 2015, which was passed; the legislation banned questions on “all public job applications” that asked about the applicant’s criminal background. ⁶ In 2021, OOC and Building Freedom Ohio advocated for Issue 24 in Cleveland, which was passed; this legislation “established a new Community Police Commission in Cleveland, with sweeping powers to enact police discipline.” ⁶

In 2024, OOC helped build “the coalition behind the Ohio Voters Bill of Rights.” The coalition included the “Ohio Chapter of the NAACP, the Ohio Unity Coalition, and the A. Philip Randolph Institute.” ¹¹

Members and Partners

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative founded a social welfare and advocacy sister-group, the Ohio Organizing Campaign, which states its work includes “registering and mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Ohio voters…Black voters, young voters, and working-class voters anchored in Ohio’s urban centers.” ^{2 12}

Members of OOC include the AMOS Project, Building Freedom Ohio, The CEO Project, the Ohio Student Association, and the Ohio Baptist State Convention. ¹³

Partners of OOC include Faith in Action, the Center for Community Change, the Center for Popular Democracy, the Alliance for Youth Action, Policy Matters Ohio, We Make the Future, and the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. ¹³

Previously, members of OOC’s coalition included various labor organizations, including District 4 of the Communications Workers of America, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, the Iron Workers District Councils of Northern and Southern Ohio, and Service Employees International Union Local 1. ¹⁴

Funding

In 2022, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative’s revenue totaled $6,315,094. Its expenses were $5,539,263, and its assets totaled $6,902,750. ¹⁵

The OCC has received over $750,00 from the Ford Foundation, a large left-of-center grantmaking organization. ¹⁶

The Foundation to Promote Open Society has given over $2 million to OOC, including a $400,000 in 2019 earmarked for advancing “the Grantee’s racial/class narrative work.” ¹⁷ The Open Society Action Fund, previously the Open Society Policy Center, is an advocacy and social welfare group and part of the Open Society Foundations that has given over $2.5 million to the Ohio Organizing Campaign, a sister organization of OCC. ¹⁸

In 2022, OCC received over $1 million from Arabella Advisors-linked nonprofits including $800,000 from the Telescope Fund and $296,ooo from the New Venture Fund. ^{19 20} In 2020, OCC received $125,000 from Windward Fund; in 2018, it received $25,000 from the Hopewell Fund. ^{21 22}

In 2023, OCC received $300,000 from the Tides Foundation, $300,000 from Wellspring Fund, and $257,835 from the Alliance for Youth Organizing. ^{23 24 25} In 2022, OCC received $300,000 from NEO Philanthropy and $125,000 from the Marguerite Casey Foundation. ^{26 27} In 2021, the Voter Registration Project gave $100,000 to the OCC. ²⁸ In 2020 Faith in Action gave $51,800 to OCC. [mnote]  In 2019, OCC received $25,000 from the Whitman Institute. ²⁹ In 2018, OCC received $70,000 from the Solidago Foundation. ³⁰ In 2016, OCC received $100,000 from the National Employment Law Project. ³¹

Support from labor organizations include the Ohio state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, which gave $15,000 to OCC in 2021. ³² In 2016, OCC received 10,000 from the Communications Workers of America. ³³ In 2015, OCC received 25,000 from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. ³⁴ In 2010, OCC received $10,000 from Service Employees International Union Local 1. ³⁵

Federal Bureau of Investigation Raids

In June 2026, the Northeast Ohio office of OOC was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) due to an ongoing investigation into allegations of voter fraud. ^{3 4} FBI agents executed search warrants at the organization’s Cleveland office and seized computers and other materials as part of an investigation reportedly related to voter registration activities conducted during the 2024 election cycle. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation, stating only that search warrants are authorized by a judge. The Ohio Organizing Collaborative characterized the law enforcement actions as politically motivated. ^{36 3 5}

Leadership

Molly Shack is the executive director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. Shack was a co-founder of the Ohio Student Association, a partner of the OCC and part of the Alliance for Youth Organizing. ^{37 38}

Prentiss Haney is the strategic director of OCC. Before joining OCC, Haney was the executive director of the Ohio Student Association. Previously he worked for Organizing for America and co-founded the Midwest Culture Lab in 2017. ³⁹