Orgs to Watch: Project Saltbox

This is how we protect our neighbors

Data nerds will change the world.

History has long proved this, and in Baltimore, Project Saltbox, is using federal procurement databases to protect their neighbors- and yours.

Project Salt Box is made up of a group of volunteers that formed after its members connected online over concerns about a surge in federal immigration enforcement. Using only publicly available information, they analyze procurement contracts, property records, and official DHS announcements to identify where ICE detention centers are being planned before those plans become permanent.

The team built an ICE Warehouse Tracker that communities nationwide have used to pressure local governments and business owners into backing out of proposed warehouse purchases for detention centers. They broke the story of a Hagerstown warehouse purchase before any major outlet, and their subscriber base has grown to tens of thousands. This is the kind of hyperlocal, data-driven accountability work that doesn’t fit neatly into a traditional grantmaking category but is doing exactly what the moment requires.

For funders thinking about where transparency infrastructure is being built right now, Project Salt Box is worth your attention. They operate entirely on volunteer power.

If you want to understand how to get resources to work like this at the speed the moment requires, reach out to The Abby Lab at hello@theabbylab.com.