What Persevere does

Persevere is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2019 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that delivers technology education and wraparound reentry support to justice-impacted individuals. Its core curriculum is a year-long full-stack web development program built on the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js), adapted to operate inside correctional facilities without internet access, and is supplemented by an AI Pathways track, a Project Management curriculum, and a transitional post-release program (Persevere Plus). The organization reports under 3% recidivism among participants versus a national average of approximately 60%, with roughly 50% of Arizona-program graduates employed in the technology industry and another 30% in other fields, at starting salaries of $55,000–$65,000 per year.

Persevere delivers programs through formal partnerships with state departments of correction across at least seven states (Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Nebraska, Georgia, and Massachusetts), operating in multiple facilities per state and supplemented by community-based programs including the EPIC Youth track for ages 16–24 and the Families First reunification program. Employer placement channels include Banyan Labs, Vant4ge (a public safety technology company founded by Persevere's founder Sean Hosman), and the Next Chapter Project, which placed graduate Mark Clark in an engineering apprenticeship at Gusto. The organization is authorized as a postsecondary educational institution by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

The revenue model is grant-and-philanthropy driven rather than commercial. The largest disclosed inflow is a $15.4 million Economic Development Administration grant awarded in October 2022 to support workforce development. Additional funding sources include individual donations (with $25 recurring campaigns), corporate partnerships, a Catalyst membership program, Cy Pres awards, and employer-sponsored training contracts. Pricing is not applicable in a traditional sense; Persevere does not sell a product but delivers subsidized educational services funded by federal, state, philanthropic, and corporate sources.

Name

Persevere

Legal name

Persevere

Website

https://perseverenow.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Persevere is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers MERN-stack coding, AI, and project management curricula to justice-impacted individuals inside correctional facilities across at least seven U.S. states, paired with wraparound reentry and employer placement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Educational Services (61), Educational Support Services (6117), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Reentry, Rehabilitation & Reintegration Programs (Education, Vocational, Case Management) (BPAKANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Juvenile Justice Education Programs (Detention & Correctional Education) (EDAJAEAB), Court/Community School Programs (Diversion, Probation-Linked, Community Day Schools) (EDAJAEAI), Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE)

Keywords

• Prison coding education
• Reentry workforce development
• Justice-impacted employment services
• In-facility tech training
• Nonprofit second chance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal and State Grants: Persevere receives significant grant funding from government sources, including a $15.4 million Economic Development Administration grant to support workforce development initiatives connecting local workforce efforts with broader economic growth.
2. Donations and Philanthropic Contributions: The organization raises funds through individual donations (e.g., $25 donation campaigns), corporate partnerships, and a Catalyst membership program. Donations are used to fund educational programs, supplies, and wraparound support services.
3. Employer-sponsored Training and Placement Fees: Persevere places graduates with employer partners (e.g., Banyan Labs, Vant4ge) and provides on-the-job training programs. Revenue may be generated through employer partnerships and workforce development contracts.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Persevere delivers year-long, in-facility technology education — including a MERN-stack full-stack web development program, an AI Pathways track, and project management curriculum — to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. Programs are paired with wraparound reentry support (case management, housing, family reunification, employer placement) and are authorized as a postsecondary institution by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

Product overview

Persevere is a workforce development nonprofit offering a portfolio of technology education programs for justice-impacted individuals. The core offerings include a year-long Full Stack Web Development Program (MERN stack), AI Pathways curriculum, and Project Management training. These are supplemented by Persevere Plus (post-release transitional learning), wraparound services including Families First (family reunification), and EPIC Youth (for at-risk youth). Persevere also provides downloadable resources including the Inclusive Guide to Fair Chance Hiring and the High-Performance Reentry Planner. The organization operates across correctional facilities in multiple states, achieving sub-3% recidivism rates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full Stack Web Development Program Year-long coding program teaching the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, preparing graduates for junior web developer roles paying $50,000–$65,000 annually.
• AI Pathways AI-focused curriculum track that enables graduates to build AI-powered applications, including companion apps for social impact.
• Project Management Curriculum

Quantifiable outcome

• Under 3% recidivism rate vs. national average of ~60% and Arizona's 40% rate
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vant4gecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2025Vant4ge, a public safety technology company, hired Persevere graduate Vincent M. Gordon Delemos as a QA Tester two months after his release from Wakulla Correctional Institution. CEO Sean Hosman of Vant4ge is also the founder of Persevere, creating a direct pipeline between the program and the employer.
• Refine 2 InspirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPersevere partnered with Refine 2 Inspire in writing resources funded through the Second Chance Grant in Arizona and the Bureau of Justice Administration. Together they developed the Inclusive Guide to Fair Chance Hiring and the High-Performance Reentry Planner — two transformative resources for employers and justice-impacted individuals navigating reentry.
• Banyan LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBanyan Labs provides on-the-job training (OJT) for Persevere graduates upon release. Multiple graduates transitioned from Persevere directly to employment at Banyan Labs as web developers. Banyan Labs also hosts the transitional coding bridge program developed by a Persevere graduate to bridge the gap between incarcerated learning and professional development environments.
• Next Chapter ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Next Chapter Project is a nonprofit incubated by Slack and sponsored by John Legend that partners with tech firms to provide apprenticeships. Persevere graduate Mark Clark was placed in an engineering apprenticeship with Gusto through this program. Next Chapter provides a pathway for Persevere graduates to access premium tech employer apprenticeships.
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSHRM featured Persevere's work with opportunity youth in a research report, highlighting the benefits of hiring opportunity youth for addressing workforce talent shortages and fulfilling social responsibility goals. This coverage raises Persevere's profile among HR professionals and employer organizations.
• AmazonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmazon engineers have served as professional mentors to Persevere graduates, providing guidance, technical feedback, and career affirmation. Mentors connected with graduates from 'the outside' to help them build confidence and technical skills.
• MicrosoftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering directors from Microsoft connected with Persevere graduates as professional mentors, providing guidance and affirming graduates' technical progress during the program.
• University of Illinois-ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Illinois-Chicago professors connected with Persevere graduates as professional mentors, contributing to the program's ecosystem of external professional support.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Checkr: Checkr is a background-check technology company that has built a fair-chance hiring product line, partnering with employers to enable hiring of individuals with criminal records. It is comparable to Persevere as a fair-chance-hiring ecosystem player, though it serves employers as a software vendor rather than training job candidates directly.
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): CEO is one of the largest U.S. reentry employment nonprofits, providing transitional work, job placement, and retention services to people returning from incarceration across multiple states. It is a broader incumbent that competes for the same government workforce-development contracts that fund Persevere's programs.
• Code for America: Code for America works on criminal justice reform through technology — notably the Clear My Record record-clearing platform — and broader government digital services. It is comparable to Persevere as a technology-and-justice-focused nonprofit but operates at a national advocacy and platform level rather than direct service delivery.

Direct peers

• The Last Mile: The Last Mile is a direct peer — it provides in-prison technology and coding education to incarcerated individuals and operates reentry employment programs across multiple U.S. state correctional systems. Its inside-prison curriculum, employer partner network, and focus on tech-industry placement make it the closest comparable to Persevere.
• Defy Ventures: Defy Ventures runs entrepreneurship and career-readiness programs for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, leveraging executive volunteers and corporate partners. While oriented to entrepreneurship rather than coding, it competes for the same DOC partnerships, philanthropic donors, and reentry-employment narrative as Persevere.
• Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison: Hudson Link provides college-level higher education and life-skills programming inside New York State correctional facilities, with strong post-release support and documented recidivism outcomes. It is the leading in-prison higher-education nonprofit and directly comparable to Persevere's in-prison education plus wraparound support model.
• Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP): PEP delivers business and entrepreneurship education to incarcerated men in Texas, followed by reentry support and employer matching. Its inside-prison curriculum, executive volunteer model, and documented post-release employment outcomes make it a strong direct peer to Persevere.

Emerging players

• 70 Million Jobs: 70 Million Jobs is a fair-chance employment platform and job-matching service connecting justice-impacted job seekers with employers willing to hire. It overlaps with Persevere's post-release employer placement mission and serves as a complementary channel for Persevere graduates seeking broader employer reach.
• Unlocked Futures: Unlocked Futures (formerly Petey Greene) provides tutoring and educational support to incarcerated individuals, with a growing focus on post-secondary pathways. It is comparable to Persevere as a reentry education nonprofit, though it focuses on academic support rather than direct technical-skills training.
• Televerde: Televerde employs incarcerated women inside its sales and marketing operations, providing workforce training, employment, and reentry support during and after incarceration. It overlaps with Persevere's wraparound employment model and shares the justice-impacted-women segment targeted by Persevere's Florida cohort at Lowell Correctional.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Perseverenow
• Facebookfacebook.com/perseverenow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/29286401
• Instagraminstagram.com/perseverenow/?hl=en

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Persevere