Urban Alliance

What Urban Alliance does

Urban Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating under the legal name The Urban Alliance Foundation, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Washington, DC. Its core function is youth workforce development: the organization recruits rising high school juniors and seniors in Baltimore, Washington DC, Chicago, and Detroit, places them in paid professional internships with a network of 200+ employer partners, and surrounds the placement with workforce readiness training, mentoring, and an alumni network that now spans 6,000+ graduates over 25 years of operation.

The product portfolio is a multi-program platform anchored by the flagship High School Internship Program for seniors and a pre-internship 11th Grade Workforce Readiness Program. Adjacent offerings include the Real Estate Pre-Apprenticeship Program (Property Management Pathway), the Obama Youth Jobs Corps (developed with the Obama Foundation), the Teacher Training Institute for educators integrating workforce readiness into classrooms, and an Alumni Network providing post-program career support. A 2024 $4.2 million partnership with Bank of America and NPower added a dedicated tech training and tech internship pathway. There is no proprietary technology platform; program delivery runs through direct school and community referral channels combined with employer-hosted internship placements.

Urban Alliance does not sell a product or charge participants; revenue is generated entirely through philanthropic giving — individual donations, foundation grants, and corporate sponsorships. Major inflows include a $10 million investment from MacKenzie Scott in 2024, the $4.2 million Bank of America / NPower partnership, and prior rounds of $1M (2018) and $10M (2022). The go-to-market motion is community-led: schools and community organizations refer students, employers host paid interns, and donors fund program operations. The organization employs 11–50 staff and operates from a single national/Greater DC office at 1025 Vermont Ave NW in Washington, DC following a March 2026 relocation, with regional leadership in Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit.

Name

Urban Alliance

Legal name

The Urban Alliance Foundation

Website

https://theurbanalliance.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urban Alliance is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit founded in 1999 that provides paid internships, workforce readiness training, and mentoring to under-resourced high school youth in Baltimore, Washington DC, Chicago, and Detroit through a network of 200+ employer partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Workforce Development

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth & Young Adult Workforce Programs (Out-of-School Youth) (EDAAAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workforce Readiness, Career Pathways & Youth Employment Nonprofits (BPAGADAF)

Keywords

• Youth workforce development
• Paid internship programs
• Job skills training
• Career mentorship services
• High school programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Individual Donations: Urban Alliance operates as a nonprofit organization primarily funded through donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Major investments include a $10 million investment from MacKenzie Scott and a $4.2 million partnership with Bank of America and NPower for tech training programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urban Alliance is a youth workforce development nonprofit that delivers paid high school internships, pre-internship workforce readiness training, and mentoring to under-resourced students in Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Detroit. Programs are free to participants and delivered through a network of 200+ employer partners, with supplemental offerings in real estate pre-apprenticeship, tech training, teacher professional development, and alumni support.

Product overview

Urban Alliance is a workforce development organization offering a multi-program platform for youth career preparation. The core offering consists of the High School Internship Program (flagship paid internship for seniors), the 11th Grade Workforce Readiness Program (pre-internship preparation), the Real Estate Pre-Apprenticeship Program, the Obama Youth Jobs Corps, and the Teacher Training Institute. These programs are connected through the Alumni Network for continued post-program support. The organization operates across Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Detroit in partnership with over 200 employers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Obama Youth Jobs Corps: Program exposing young adults to early career opportunities through paid internships, mentorship, and professional development

Products and services

• High School Internship Program Flagship paid internship program placing high school seniors with over 200 employer partners for professional work experience, mentoring, and career development, free of charge to student participants.
• 11th Grade Workforce Readiness Program Pre-internship program providing career exposure and job skills training to rising high school juniors before they enter the flagship internship program as seniors.
• Real Estate Pre-Apprenticeship Program (Property Management Pathway) Specialized workforce training program preparing young adults for careers in real estate and property management through pre-apprenticeship instruction.
• Obama Youth Jobs Corps Early career opportunity program exposing young adults to professional development through paid internships, mentorship, and career exposure, delivered in partnership with the Obama Foundation.
• Teacher Training Institute Professional development program for educators to integrate workforce readiness curriculum and career exposure into classroom instruction.
• Alumni Network Ongoing support network for program graduates providing continued career guidance, networking opportunities, and connection to economically-mobile career pathways.
• Tech Training Partnership (with Bank of America and NPower) $4.2 million partnership with Bank of America and NPower providing technology training and tech internship pathways to underrepresented young adults.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000+ students connected to paid high school internships over 25 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Bank of AmericamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Bank of America partnered with Urban Alliance and NPower on a $4.2 million initiative to provide tech training and a tech internship pathway to young adults. This partnership expands Urban Alliance's workforce development offerings to include technology skills training.
• NPowercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024NPower collaborated with Urban Alliance and Bank of America on the $4.2 million tech training partnership, providing technical skills curriculum and internship pathways for young adults.
• HyattcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHyatt is an employer partner hosting Urban Alliance student interns, providing paid professional work experience in the hospitality industry.
• Rocket Community FundcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRocket Community Fund is an employer partner hosting Urban Alliance student interns, providing professional work experience opportunities.
• United States Patent and Trademark OfficecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUSPTO is an employer partner hosting Urban Alliance student interns, providing professional work experience in a government agency setting.
• 200+ Employer PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUrban Alliance partners with over 200 employers across Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Detroit to host paid student interns. These employer partners provide professional work experience and help level the playing field for young people entering the workforce.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Year Up: Year Up is a leading youth workforce development nonprofit providing training, internships, and career pathways to young adults from under-resourced communities, with comparable paid-internship-plus-mentoring model and similar target population of opportunity youth.
• Per Scholas: Per Scholas provides tuition-free tech training and career pathways to under-resourced adults, closely comparable to Urban Alliance's tech training pathway via the Bank of America/NPower partnership, and competes for similar employer talent pipelines.
• NPower: NPower is a tech workforce development nonprofit serving under-resourced young adults and is both a partner and peer to Urban Alliance — they jointly launched the $4.2M tech training program and compete in adjacent markets with overlapping employer relationships.
• Genesys Works: Genesys Works provides paid corporate internships and workforce readiness training to high school students from under-resourced communities, with a nearly identical program model and target population as Urban Alliance's flagship High School Internship Program.
• Bottom Line: Bottom Line provides college and career coaching to students from under-resourced communities, comparable to Urban Alliance's mentoring and career pathway model with similar target demographics and employer-aligned outcomes focus.

Regional players

• Skills for Chicagoland's Future: Skills for Chicagoland's Future is a regional workforce intermediary that connects under-reserved job seekers to employer opportunities, directly comparable to Urban Alliance's Chicago operations and competing for the same employer and student pools in that market.

Emerging players

• iMentor: iMentor pairs under-resourced high school students with mentors for college and career success, comparable to Urban Alliance's mentoring component but with a more mentor-paired/virtual model rather than paid internship focus.
• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): NFTE provides entrepreneurship education to young people from under-resourced communities, comparable in target population and youth-development mission, but focused on entrepreneurship rather than paid corporate internships.
• After-School All-Stars: After-School All-Stars provides comprehensive after-school programs to under-resourced youth including career exposure and workforce readiness components, comparable in serving similar demographics but with a broader youth-development scope rather than a paid-internship core.

Broad incumbents

• Jobs for the Future (JFF): JFF is a national nonprofit driving transformation in education and workforce systems, comparable in mission to advance economic mobility for under-resourced populations but operating at a systems/policy level rather than direct-service internship delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/urbanalliance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCtFAaYjhb18PEBVzGwAlgBw
• Facebookfacebook.com/230053437005911
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urban-alliance
• Instagraminstagram.com/urbanalliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urban Alliance