PolicyLink promotes a just society by addressing injustice and its causes, especially as these injustices impact communities of color and low-income communities. To do so, the organization provides legal representation, analysis, and strategies to community-based coalitions working toward equity in economic development and criminal justice. This scope of work also includes advancing policies related to inequitable fines and fees, police accountability and alternatives, and the needs of boys and men of color.

The work of PolicyLink also includes research, data resources, and policy recommendations that are codified in online toolkits and other resources that local leaders can adapt to their own economic and political contexts. Such resources aim to restore the common good by recognizing that all people—with access to opportunity—can participate, prosper, and achieve their full potential.