Overview
Worth Rises is a non-profit advocacy group that works to dismantle the prison industry and stop the exploitation of incarcerated people and their communities. It conducts research and public education, using a database of thousands of corporations that profit from the carceral system and harm scores to guide activists, investors, and the public, and pursues three pillars: narrative work, policy change, and corporate accountability. It distinguishes itself by applying financial and legal analysis to mass incarceration, led by founder Bianca Tylek, and by its focus on challenging the financial incentives behind the criminal justice system. Its goal is to reduce and eventually dismantle the prison industry by shifting policy, public opinion, and corporate practices toward justice and accountability.
Work here?Claim your company
Simplify's take
What believers are saying
- In 2026, Worth Rises said free communication reached 330,000 incarcerated people nationwide.
- New York became the sixth state to make prison calls free, saving $13 million annually.
- Its 2025 FCC advocacy still drives national prison-phone policy fights and media coverage.
What critics are saying
- On October 28, 2025, the FCC rolled back inmate communication rules, cutting promised relief.
- The rollback restored security recapture and facility fees, preserving telecom monopolies like Securus.
- A decisive federal preemption in 2027 would gut its signature prison-phone platform.
What makes Worth Rises unique
- Since 2017, Bianca Tylek combines finance, law, and abolition advocacy against carceral capitalism.
- Worth Rises pairs research databases with direct policy campaigns targeting telecom and prison labor.
- Its over 4,000-company harm database gives activists and investors actionable divestment targets.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?