Our Mission

A Platform for Opportunity, Equality, and Inclusion

Project Access for All is the first and only open-source national platform advancing access, inclusion, and systemic change through the leadership of a wide network of changemakers — including cultural institutions, artists, athletes, entertainers, educators, community organizers, mutual aid networks, technologists, caregivers, funders, policymakers, and the disability community itself.

Our mission is to provide a shared space for direct engagement, collaborative action, and long-term impact — with the goal of advancing opportunity, equity, and belonging across every community.

We are rooted in disability justice, guided by mutual respect, and driven by core values of:

  • Access and inclusion

  • Equity and interdependence

  • Collaboration across sectors

  • Visibility, dignity, and leadership by disabled people

After more than a decade of national service, the Project Access platform is now being reimagined and rebuilt — a relaunch grounded in resilience, updated tools, and renewed community leadership. This next phase reflects not only where we’ve been, but where we’re going together.

Disability Unite: A Platform for Collective Creativity and Power

Disability Unite is an initiative of Project Access for All.

Disability Unite strives for full inclusiveness of the diverse disability community to enable community mobilization and a singular voice. It uses a brand created solely for this platform so as to not highlight any one individual or organization above another and focuses on areas that we all agree upon.

Each of our Community Partners shows incredible dedication and support to the disability community and the disability rights cause. We encourage and support each other, and invite all people and groups around the world to join us in spreading a message of equality and inclusion.

While the platform is called "Disability Unite," we acknowledge and respect that the disability community represents a broad cross-section of groups, communities, and individuals identified by race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religion, age, or disability status. Each individual or group will have different opinions and has the unconditional right to advocate in whatever way they prefer.

Project Access NYC: A Local Model With Global Potential

Project Access NYC, launched in 2011 with the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, is our flagship local model. It fosters collaboration among:

  • Cultural institutions

  • Arts organizations

  • Disability advocacy groups

  • Service providers

Our aim is to honor the incredible work already being done in these spaces and to build permanent infrastructure for shared learning, mutual aid, innovation, and co-creation.

Together, our national and local networks co-create models, share learnings, and mobilize change that reaches across neighborhoods, cities, and the country as a whole. New York City serves as a living laboratory for accessibility innovation — and a launching pad for national transformation.

A Forum for Action, A Constellation of Changemakers

Project Access for All is more than a directory or toolkit — it is a forum for direct action and shared leadership.

We invite participation from:

  • Artists and performers – musicians, dancers, actors, poets, visual artists

  • Cultural institutions – museums, theaters, archives, libraries, galleries

  • Disability rights advocates – organizers, peer leaders, policy influencers

  • Athletes and adaptive sports organizations

  • Entertainers and influencers – comedians, content creators, media leaders

  • Educators and researchers – across classrooms and community centers

  • Caregivers and healthcare providers – from home-based to institutional support

  • Public officials and policy makers – local, state, and federal

  • Government and civic agencies – parks, transportation, cultural affairs

  • Technologists and designers – building accessible tools and environments

  • Media makers and journalists – shaping narrative and access to knowledge

  • Philanthropic leaders and funders – investing in long-term equity

  • Youth and intergenerational leaders – bridging past, present, and future

  • Faith and spiritual leaders – grounding justice in dignity and compassion

  • Mutual aid networks and movement builders – across housing, food, climate, and racial justice

  • Social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders – building systems that work

  • Disabled creators and advocates at every level — because nothing about us without us

By offering open-source tools and a shared platform, Project Access for All enables people and institutions to find each other, initiate projects of mutual responsibility, and drive systemic change — together.

Rooted in Justice, Powered by Community

Our work is grounded in:

  • Disability justice

  • Cross-movement solidarity

  • Leadership from lived experience

  • Creative, civic, and cultural power

We aim to create not just physical or programmatic access, but deep structural change that uplifts disabled voices — especially those who exist at the intersections of multiple systems of oppression.

This is how we build power.
This is how we build trust.
This is how we build a future rooted in care, dignity, and interdependence.

Join Us

Whether you are an artist, athlete, educator, government leader, storyteller, caregiver, or activist — you have a place in this movement.

Explore the platform.
Connect with others.
Start a project.
Bring your vision.

We invite cultural leaders, nonprofit innovators, public agencies, and philanthropic partners to join us in shaping the future of equitable, accessible cultural life.

We walk in the footsteps of giants like Edith Prentiss, who helped found Project Access for All, and Judy Heumann, who collaborated with Project Access initiatives to advance visibility, dignity, and leadership for people with disabilities worldwide. We honor their legacies by continuing their work in coalition, with care and urgency.

Project Access for All is here to amplify your work — and grow our collective capacity to imagine, create, and sustain a world that welcomes everyone.

Learn more in Our History