Coop Career

What Coop Career does

COOP Careers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2014 by Kalani Leifer, a former Teach For America high school history teacher, to address underemployment among first-generation and low-income college graduates who hold bachelor's degrees but lack the social capital, networks, and digital skills to access career-track roles. The organization operates a tuition-free, 16-week fellowship program delivering 200 hours of hybrid instruction (primarily virtual via Zoom with monthly in-person networking sessions) across three cohort-based tracks—Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, and Financial Services—covering technical ("Head"), soft ("Heart"), and job search ("Hustle") competencies, plus industry-recognized certifications (Google Data Analytics Certificate, Google AI Essentials, CFI Corporate Finance Foundations) and an applied learning capstone. Fellows are organized into cohorts of 16-20 supported by 4 alumni "captain" coaches drawn from roughly 500 active alumni volunteers, with the program operating across five major U.S. metropolitan areas (New York City, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami) and enrolling approximately 2,000 fellows annually across spring and fall cycles, contributing to a cumulative alumni base of over 10,000 (8,500+ having completed the program).

The fellowship model is fundamentally network-mediated: employer partnerships with firms including Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, TikTok, Meta, LinkedIn, Visa, Adyen, Blackstone Career Pathways, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bloomberg, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Publicis Media provide curriculum input, mock interviews, panel volunteering, open houses, and direct hiring pipelines, with alumni being 2.3x more likely to secure college-level roles than underemployed peers and achieving a median starting salary of approximately $53,000 (~$75,000 within five years). COOP does not operate proprietary technology products; its delivery stack consists of standard virtual meeting platforms, web/content properties (cooperativeers.org, shop.coopcareers.org), and partner-provided AI tooling integrated into alumni career services.

Revenue derives entirely from philanthropic sources—individual donors, foundation grants (including $1,000,000+ gifts from MacKenzie Scott, Tony and Sandra Tamer, the Carson Family Charitable Trust, the Raymond Debbane Family Foundation, Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer, and Vanguard Charitable, plus a $4.3M CD&R Foundation grant in 2023), and corporate partners, many of whom double as employer partners and alumni hirers. The fellowship is free and unpaid; 78%+ of expenses are directed to direct program costs. Governance is provided by a board chaired by Tony Tamer (H.I.G. Capital founder) and including Ken Chenault (General Catalyst), Ray Debbane (Invus), Scott Belsky (A24), Katherine Farley, Tanya Barnes (JPMorgan), Russ Carson, and Ghislain Gouraige (NewEdge Wealth), with the majority of HQ staff being COOP alumni themselves.

Name

Coop Career

Legal name

COOP Careers, Inc.

Website

https://coopcareers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

COOP Careers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that runs a tuition-free, 16-week career fellowship for first-generation and low-income college graduates across Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, and Financial Services tracks in five U.S. metros, funded by donations and corporate grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development Fellowship / Career Training Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Mentorship & Coaching (Career, Academic, Industry-Specific) (EDAMAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Readiness & Employability Skills (Resume, Interview, Networking) (EDAMAKAG), Alumni, Peer & Community Networking Programs (EDAMAKAM)

Keywords

• Workforce development fellowship
• Career training program
• First-generation college graduates
• Data analytics training
• Digital marketing training

Headquarters

HQ city

New City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: COOP is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization funded by individual donors, foundation grants, and corporate partnerships. The fellowship is free for all participants, funded entirely by supporters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

COOP Careers delivers a tuition-free, 16-week career accelerating fellowship for first-generation and low-income college graduates, comprising 200 hours of hybrid training across three tracks: Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, and Financial Services. The program is led by alumni near-peer coaches (captains) in cohorts of 16-20 fellows, includes industry-recognized certifications and a capstone project, and continues with alumni services such as job board access, employer referrals, and AI-powered career tools. The fellowship is delivered at no cost to participants and is funded by philanthropic donations, foundation grants, and corporate partnerships.

Product overview

COOP Careers offers a tuition-free, 16-week career accelerating fellowship for first-generation and low-income college graduates. The fellowship operates across three tracks: Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, and Financial Services. Fellows meet in cohorts of 16-20 peers, led by alumni captains, for 200 hours of hybrid instruction covering Head (hard skills), Heart (soft skills), and Hustle (job search skills) competencies. The program includes industry-recognized certifications (Google Data Analytics Certificate, Google AI Essentials, CFI Corporate Finance Foundations), an applied learning capstone project, and ongoing alumni services including job board access, employer events, and AI-powered career tools. Alumni join a network of over 8,500 members with continued support for up to 8 months post-completion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COOP Careers Fellowship - Data Analytics Track A 16-week intensive fellowship track teaching data analytics skills including Excel, SQL, Tableau, and R programming, preparing fellows for entry-level data analyst positions.
• COOP Careers Fellowship - Digital Marketing Track A 16-week fellowship track covering SEO, SEM, paid social, media planning and buying, and strategy, preparing fellows for entry-level digital marketing roles.
• COOP Careers Fellowship - Financial Services Track A 16-week fellowship track providing comprehensive training in financial services fundamentals, regulatory environments, statistics, Tableau, and data-driven presentations for careers in finance.
• Captain Program Alumni volunteer leadership opportunity where former fellows facilitate workshops, support cohort career development, and prepare current fellows for program touch points and job expectations.
• Alumni Services Ongoing career support, alumni job board access, exclusive partner events, AI-powered career tools, free career coaching, and social work resources for program graduates.
• COOP Swag Store Online merchandise store offering COOP branded items for alumni and supporters.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.3x more likely to find college-level roles within 12 months
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• BarclaysflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBarclays is a featured employer partner that has hired COOP alumni and hosts Talent Showcase events. They provide support through panels, mock interviews, workshops, and open houses.
• MetacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeta is an employer partner providing volunteer support and hiring COOP alumni.
• TikTokcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTikTok is an employer partner that has hired COOP alumni and participates in COOP recruiting events.
• VisacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisa is an employer partner providing volunteer support for panels and workshops.
• SalesforcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSalesforce is an employer partner that has hired COOP alumni.
• AdyencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdyen is an employer partner providing volunteer support through panels and workshops.
• Blackstone Career PathwayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlackstone Career Pathways is an employer partner providing volunteer support.
• Bottom LinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBottom Line is a community partner helping refer applicants to the COOP program.
• Noble SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNoble Schools is a community partner that refers applicants to the COOP program.
• Oakland PromisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOakland Promise is a community partner that refers applicants to the COOP program.
• IPG MediabrandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPG Mediabrands is a $10,000-$24,999 funder and employer partner providing volunteer support.
• HavascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHavas is an $10,000-$24,999 funder and employer partner providing volunteer support.
• VaynerMediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVaynerMedia is a $10,000-$24,999 funder and employer partner that has hired COOP alumni.
• KeplercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKepler is a $10,000-$24,999 funder providing training opportunities for COOP fellows.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Year Up: Year Up is a workforce development nonprofit providing intensive career training and corporate internships to young adults from low-income communities, with a similar tuition-free, employer-partnered model and similar target demographics.
• Per Scholas: Per Scholas provides tuition-free technology training and career development to adults from low-income or underemployed backgrounds, with strong employer partnerships and multi-city presence—directly comparable to COOP's tech-adjacent Data Analytics track.
• The Knowledge House: The Knowledge House is a NYC-based nonprofit providing free tech training (data analytics, web development, cybersecurity) and career support to young adults from low-income communities, closely mirroring COOP's urban tech-skills training and job placement mission.
• Bottom Line: Bottom Line is a nonprofit that supports first-generation-to-college students from low-income backgrounds through degree completion and career access, and is already a documented community partner of COOP Careers.
• NPower: NPower offers free technology training and job placement for veterans and young adults from underserved communities, overlapping with COOP's Data Analytics curriculum, employer pipeline, and low-income / first-career target population.
• Pursuit: Pursuit (formerly Opportunity@Work) is a NYC-based nonprofit providing long-term software engineering training and career support to low-income adults, comparable in cohort-based training intensity and employer-partner placement focus.

Emerging players

• Resilient Coders: Resilient Coders provides free web development bootcamp training for opportunity youth in Boston, with employer partnerships for entry-level tech roles—similar to COOP's tuition-free, employer-mediated model but in a more focused software engineering niche.
• Break Through Tech: Break Through Tech, hosted by Cornell Tech, runs skills-based programs and industry-sponsored projects to launch women and underrepresented students into tech careers, overlapping with COOP's employer-mediated tech talent pipeline.
• Braven: Braven is a career-accelerator nonprofit for first-generation and students from under-resourced backgrounds that combines an online course with coaching and employer matching—highly comparable to COOP's career-readiness and employer placement model.

Broad incumbents

• Generation USA: Generation is a global nonprofit providing free, employer-aligned training and job placement across multiple professions (tech, healthcare, finance), with similar mission of moving underemployed adults into careers and overlapping with COOP's Financial Services and Data Analytics tracks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coop-careers-inc
• TikToktiktok.com/@coopcareers
• Xx.com/coop_cx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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 Coop Career