Yampa Valley Partnership for Students, Stewardship, & Sustainability

What Yampa Valley Partnership for Students, Stewardship, & Sustainability does

Yampa Valley Partnership for Students, Stewardship, & Sustainability (YVPS3) is a Colorado-based nonprofit collaborative founded circa 2023 that connects K-12 students in the Yampa Valley region with career-connected learning opportunities through a multi-stakeholder partnership model. The organization serves high school students across four rural school districts (Soroco, Steamboat Springs, Hayden, and Moffat County) in partnership with two higher education institutions (Colorado Northwestern Community College and Colorado Mountain College) and 125 industry partners. Its core offerings include the Career Connections work-based learning platform (hosted on Schoolinks), a paid Summer Internship Program ($20/hour, up to 40 hours/week) with a pre-internship boot camp and mentor matching, career exploration resources linked to O*NET, and educator-facing resources for integrating work-based learning into classrooms.

YVPS3 does not operate proprietary technology. Its platform infrastructure depends on third-party services, principally Schoolinks for the Career Connections opportunity board and partner intake, and Google Forms for internship applications. Website operations use standard web technologies (cookies, server logs). The technology layer is therefore a thin orchestration layer on top of community relationships and human coordination rather than a technology product in the conventional sense.

The business model is nonprofit and grant-funded. The organization reports $1.7 million in collaborative funding raised and an additional $2,912,774 grant from Opportunity Now Colorado dated March 19, 2024. There are no fees for students, educators, or industry partners to participate in Career Connections; the Summer Internship Program pays students rather than charging them. Revenue mechanics are therefore anchor on institutional funders (foundations, government programs, collaborative contributions) rather than transactional or subscription pricing. Customer segments are horizontal across K-12 students (primary), educators, industry partners, and parents, with the four school districts and two higher education institutions serving as the institutional delivery backbone.

Name

Yampa Valley Partnership for Students, Stewardship, & Sustainability

Legal name

Yampa Valley Partnership for Students, Stewardship, and Sustainability

Website

https://yvps3.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Yampa Valley Partnership for Students, Stewardship, & Sustainability (YVPS3) is a Colorado nonprofit collaborative that connects K-12 students across four Yampa Valley school districts with work-based learning, paid summer internships, and career pathways through partnerships with two higher education institutions and 125 industry employers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education and Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMAKAJ

Leadership, Service Learning & Volunteer-to-Career Pathways

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/College & Career Enrichment (Mentorship, Internships, Portfolio)

Keywords

• Work-based learning programs
• Career-connected education
• K-12 internship programs
• Rural education partnerships
• Student career exploration

Headquarters

HQ city

Craig

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Collaborative Funding and Grants: YVPS3 operates as a non-profit organization funded through collaborative funding and grants. The organization has raised $1,700,000 in collaborative funding to support regional educational programs and work-based learning opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

YVPS3 is a rural education collaborative that connects four K-12 school districts, two higher education institutions, and 125 industry partners to deliver career-connected learning for high school students in the Yampa Valley region of Colorado. The organization operates the Career Connections platform (powered by Schoolinks) to coordinate work-based learning opportunities including internships, job shadows, career panels, and site tours, and it complements this with a paid Summer Internship Program ($20/hour) and career exploration resources.

Product overview

YVPS3 operates as a rural education collaborative focused on connecting students with career pathways. The core offering centers on the Career Connections platform (powered by Schoolinks), which facilitates work-based learning across four regional high schools (Soroco, Hayden, Moffat County, and Steamboat Springs). This platform is complemented by the Summer Internship Program offering paid placements at $20/hour, Career Exploration resources linking to O*NET, and direct industry partner engagement for work-based learning activities including career panels, job shadows, site tours, and internships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Career Connections: Region-wide initiative designed to expand work-based learning (WBL) opportunities across the Yampa Valley through a platform that ensures equitable access to pathway-aligned experiences for students in all participating school districts.

Products and services

• Career Connections A region-wide work-based learning (WBL) platform that ensures equitable access to pathway-aligned experiences for high school students across all four participating Yampa Valley school districts (Soroco, Hayden, Moffat County, and Steamboat Springs), helping students explore careers and build real-world skills through internships, job shadows, career panels, and site tours posted by industry partners.
• YVPS3 Summer Internship Program Paid summer internship program for high school students in the Yampa Valley, offering $20/hour compensation for up to 40 hours/week, featuring a pre-internship boot camp, an intern interview evening for mentor matching, YVPS3 staff support, and an end-of-summer celebration event. Applications are submitted via Google Forms.
• Career Exploration Career exploration resource for high school students helping them discover interests and explore in-demand careers, with links to My Next Move (O*NET) for career discovery.
• Educator Opportunities Resources and opportunities for K-12 educators across the four Yampa Valley school districts to connect students to future careers through work-based learning integration, including access to industry partners, classroom visits, and regional career-connected learning programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• 690 students served through S3 Pathways
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Steamboat Springs School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four K-12 school districts in the YVPS3 collaborative. Students from Steamboat Springs access career pathways and work-based learning opportunities. Dr. Tim Ridder serves as Director of Teaching and Learning and Board Treasurer.
• South Routt School District (Soroco)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four K-12 school districts in the YVPS3 collaborative. Jesse LaRose serves as Dean of Students and Board Chair.
• Hayden School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four K-12 school districts in the YVPS3 collaborative. Eric Owen serves as Superintendent and board member.
• Moffat County School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four K-12 school districts in the YVPS3 collaborative serving students in the Yampa Valley region.
• Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two higher education partners in the YVPS3 collaborative. CNCC received the 2022 Outstanding Postsecondary Program Award from Colorado Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association. Nick Cocozzella serves as Chief Operations Officer and Director of Secondary Partnerships and board member.
• Colorado Mountain CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two higher education partners in the YVPS3 collaborative. Dr. John Lawrence serves as Dean of STEM and board member. CMC offers concurrent enrollment and articulation agreements for students.
• Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRMYC partners with YVPS3 to offer the Building Trades Summer Program where interns construct a tiny home over 9 weeks. Mark Wertheimer serves as Chief Operating Officer and board member.
• Historic Hayden GranarymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization seeking interns for administrative and facilities management roles. Tammie Delaney serves as coordinator and board member.
• Wild Goose Coffee @ Hayden GranarymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal coffee shop offering restaurant marketing and management internships. Owner Tammie Delaney serves as board member.
• Community Agriculture Alliance / Yampa Valley FoodsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides the Agriculture and Food Systems Fellowship offering immersive introduction to Northwest Colorado's regional food system and agricultural landscape.
• Giovanni ConstructionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction company offering intern field coordinator positions supporting project managers and superintendents on assigned projects.
• Fox ConstructionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral contracting company seeking students with carpentry experience to work on residential builds to Colorado Mountain College projects.
• Rivertree ConstructionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction company offering residential construction management internships, with preference for bilingual students.
• Bear Park (Permaculture)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPermaculture design site offering internships in garden design, growing systems, and living plants including fruit trees, vegetable gardens, pollinator gardens, and aquaponics ponds.
• Colorado Car CareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAutomotive repair business offering beginner internships exploring automotive repair, maintenance, and business operations.
• Steamboat Springs School District Technology DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool district technology department offering IT internships processing devices, running wires, and camera repair/install.
• Town of Yampa (Municipal Services)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government offering municipal services internships covering town office administration and public works operations.
• SchoolinkscoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform provider for the Career Connections opportunity board. YVPS3 utilizes Schoolinks for partner intake forms and student access to work-based learning opportunities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NAF (National Academy Foundation): National nonprofit that builds career academies within high schools, connecting students to industry sectors. Highly comparable as a K-12 career-connected learning intermediary but operating at much larger national scale.
• Year Up: Workforce-development nonprofit offering paid internships, mentorship, and career pathways for young adults. Comparable mission of connecting underrepresented talent to employer demand, though focused on postsecondary youth rather than K-12.
• Jobs for the Future (JFF): National nonprofit advancing economic and racial equity through workforce and education transformation. Operates in the same K-12 to career-connected learning space as YVPS3 but at policy and systems level rather than direct service.
• Big Picture Learning: National nonprofit redesigning high school around workplace-based learning and individualized student interests. The internship-driven "ImBlizzard" model shares YVPS3's work-based learning ethos, though serving urban and suburban students.
• Generation USA: Global nonprofit providing skills training, mentorship, and employment placement for young adults. Comparable employer-connected career pathway model, though focused on adult learners seeking careers rather than K-12 students.

Direct peers

• Rural Schools Collaborative: National nonprofit focused specifically on rural place-based education and community-rooted school partnerships. The closest peer in terms of rural collaborative structure, though YVPS3 is more narrowly focused on CTE/career pathways.

Regional players

• Colorado Education Initiative (CEI): Colorado-based education intermediary that works with districts, higher education, and employers to expand student pathways. Directly comparable at the state level and a potential partner or competitor for Colorado CTE funding.

Emerging players

• iCouldBe: Nonprofit offering virtual mentoring for youth in underserved communities to explore career pathways. Overlaps on career-exploration mentorship for K-12 students, but operates nationally online rather than in a specific region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/yvps3
• Facebookfacebook.com/yvps3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yvps3

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Yampa Valley Partnership for Students, Stewardship, & Sustainability