What The Jackie Robinson Foundation does

The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1973 by Rachel Robinson in New York City to address the higher education achievement gap for students of color. Its core product is a four-year scholarship program providing up to $35,000 per scholar, combined with mentoring, career guidance, internship placement, leadership development, and international study opportunities through the Rachel Robinson International Fellowship. Since inception, JRF has supported more than 1,700 scholars across 45 states and 260-316 colleges and universities, with a current annual cohort of approximately 242 scholars (roughly 60 new awards per year) and a reported 98% graduation rate against a 40.5% African American national rate.

JRF's service architecture pairs the central scholarship with several integrated components: an annual four-day Mentoring and Leadership Conference in New York City, the codified "42 Strategies for Success" mentoring curriculum, the Extra Innings graduate fellowship, and the JRF IMPACT digital community platform that extends mentoring resources to a broader population of Black college students. In 2022, JRF expanded into adjacent programming with the opening of the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City, which houses over 4,000 artifacts, 40,000 digital elements, and 137 feet of original documents and generates a secondary revenue stream through admissions, event rentals, and memberships. Distribution is community-led through eight regional Scholar Advisory Committees, an alumni network exceeding 2,200 members, and partnerships with Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and New York Mets.

The organization's revenue model is donation-dependent, drawing from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Cumulative grants disbursed exceed $95-121.5 million since 1973, with over 400 corporate, foundation, and individual supporters contributing over the foundation's lifetime. Recent large gifts include a $20 million transformational donation from Thomas Tull and Mark Walter in December 2025 and a $100,000 grant from the M&T Charitable Foundation in February 2024. Platinum-tier corporate supporters include BMO Capital Markets, Capital One, the LA Dodgers Foundation, and Wells Fargo, with founding museum donors including Citi, Boeing, BNY Mellon, Nike, and Anheuser-Busch.

Name

The Jackie Robinson Foundation

Legal name

Jackie Robinson Foundation

Website

https://jackierobinson.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing four-year college scholarships of up to $35,000 plus mentoring and leadership development to underrepresented minority students with financial need, supporting approximately 242 scholars annually with a 98% graduation rate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Philanthropy / Nonprofit Scholarship Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Education scholarships
• Minority student support
• Leadership development programs
• Mentorship and career services
• Nonprofit philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The Jackie Robinson Foundation generates revenue through charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Major recent donations include a $20 million gift from Thomas Tull and Mark Walter, and a $100,000 grant from M&T Charitable Foundation. The foundation has received support from over 400 corporations, foundations, and individuals since 1973.
2. Museum Operations: The Jackie Robinson Museum generates revenue through admissions, event rentals, group visits, school field trips, public programs, and membership programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Jackie Robinson Foundation provides four-year college and graduate school scholarships of up to $35,000 to high-achieving minority students with financial need, coupled with comprehensive mentoring, leadership development, internship placement, and international fellowship opportunities. It also operates the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City, preserving the legacy of Jackie Robinson through exhibits and educational programming. Supporting digital infrastructure includes the JRF IMPACT platform extending mentorship resources to a broader population of Black college students.

Product overview

The Jackie Robinson Foundation operates a unified nonprofit educational platform centered on its flagship JRF Scholarship Program, a four-year scholarship of up to $35,000 paired with comprehensive mentoring and leadership development. This core program is supported by several integrated components: the annual Mentoring and Leadership Conference (MLC), the Rachel Robinson International Fellowship for study abroad, and the Extra Innings Fellowship for graduate training. In 2022, the organization expanded with the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City. Additionally, JRF IMPACT is a digital community platform extending elements of the scholarship curriculum to a broader population of college students nationwide. Together, these offerings form a multi-tiered educational ecosystem addressing financial need, mentorship, and legacy preservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• JRF Scholarship Program Four-year scholarship program providing up to $35,000 in financial aid to high-achieving minority students with financial need, coupled with comprehensive support services including mentoring, career guidance, internship placement, leadership development, and international travel opportunities. Recipients are U.S. citizens graduating high school who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, financial need, and a commitment to community service.
• JRF IMPACT

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% college graduation rate for JRF Scholars vs 40.5% for African American students overall
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

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

• Major League Baseball (MLB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMLB hosts Jackie Robinson Day annually on April 15, supports JRF scholars, and invites them to games as part of a league-wide commemoration that began in 2004. MLB also sponsors the Breaking Barriers curriculum and various foundation initiatives.
• Los Angeles DodgerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Dodgers ownership group, led by Mark Walter, has been a major supporter since purchasing the team in 2012. They support 10 Jackie Robinson scholars and host them at games.
• New York YankeesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe New York Yankees support the Jackie Robinson Foundation as part of their community initiatives.
• New York MetsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe New York Mets support the Jackie Robinson Foundation through various partnership programs.
• UCLAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Jackie Robinson Foundation established an institutional tie with UCLA in 1978, which is Rachel Robinson's alma mater where she met Jackie Robinson.
• New York WaterwayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew York Waterway christened a 500-seat ferry named 'Jackie Robinson' in honor of the baseball legend and civil rights icon. The ferry began service on January 31, 2025.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Thurgood Marshall College Fund: TMCF provides scholarships, leadership development, and career opportunities to students at publicly-supported HBCUs and other institutions. Like JRF, it combines financial aid with mentoring and career placement, and serves as a comparable minority-focused scholarship and leadership pipeline.
• UNCF (United Negro College Fund): UNCF is the largest US provider of scholarships and financial support for African American students, operating with a similar college-scholarship-plus-support model targeting minority students. Both organizations combine financial aid, leadership development, and corporate partnerships, and compete for the same donor and applicant pool.
• Ron Brown Scholar Program: Ron Brown Scholars provides four-year merit-and-need-based scholarships plus mentoring, leadership development, and international travel for high-achieving African American high school seniors. Its program design, scholar profile, and four-year scholarship structure closely mirror JRF's approach.
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund: HSF is one of the largest US scholarship organizations serving Hispanic and underrepresented minority students with financial need, combining scholarships with career services and leadership development. It directly competes with JRF for underrepresented minority applicants and corporate sponsorships.
• Gates Scholarship: The Gates Scholarship covers the full cost of attendance not already met by other aid for high-achieving minority high school seniors with significant financial need. It is the most direct large-scale competitor for JRF's target scholar pool and offers a substantially larger per-scholar award.
• QuestBridge: QuestBridge connects high-achieving low-income students (many from underrepresented backgrounds) with top colleges through full scholarships. It competes for the same high-achieving minority applicants with financial need and offers a comparable comprehensive mentoring and college-matching model.
• Coca-Cola Scholars Program: Coca-Cola Scholars provides large four-year achievement-based scholarships plus leadership development to 150 high school seniors annually. While not race-targeted, it targets the same high-achieving senior profile and competes for the same applicant and donor mindshare.
• Posse Foundation: Posse identifies diverse cohorts of high-achieving students and supports them through college with leadership training and mentoring. It overlaps with JRF in mission (underrepresented students, leadership development) but uses a cohort-based model rather than individual scholarships.

Broad incumbents

• National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian): The NMAAHC is the Smithsonian's flagship African American heritage museum, offering a comparable mix of legacy preservation, educational programming, and visitor experiences to JRF's Jackie Robinson Museum. It sets the benchmark for African American museum programming and donor engagement that JRF competes with for cultural-tourism attention.

Emerging players

• National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME): NACME provides scholarships and support for underrepresented minority students pursuing engineering and computer science degrees. While narrowly STEM-focused, it competes for minority scholars with financial need and similar corporate-funded scholarship dollars.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jrfoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/jrf42

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Jackie Robinson Foundation