San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School (SJCC+CS) is a San Jose-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing paid job training, climate-resilience workforce programs, and a free WASC-accredited charter high school for opportunity youth and re-engagement learners aged 17.5-27 across Silicon Valley.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersSan Jose, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School does
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School (SJCC+CS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 by then-San Jose City Council members Susan Hammer and Shirley Lewis, operating from its Berger Drive headquarters and a secondary Senter Road campus, both in San Jose, California. The organization runs two integrated service arms. The Workforce Development arm offers paid job training to young adults aged 18-27, primarily through the core Corpsmember Program and the city-partnered Resilience Corps, and deploys corpsmembers across four field-service lines: Natural Resource Management (NRM, ~50,000 crew hours/year), Zero Waste Silicon Valley (tire, e-waste, and glass recycling, 6.59M lbs of waste diverted in the most recent year), Community Housing Solutions (corpsmember-built tiny homes on wheels, 90% permanent-housing transition rate), and the Trail Safety Team (e-bike patrols with Smart Trail Counting on San Jose's urban trail system). The Education arm operates a WASC-accredited tuition-free charter high school authorized by East Side Union High School District, serving re-engagement learners aged 17.5-27 with an accelerated 150-credit diploma pathway, Edgenuity-powered online credit recovery, SPED/IEP/504/RSP support, and wraparound services including mental health counseling and a free community food market.
SJCC+CS has no proprietary technology platform; its stack is composed entirely of third-party SaaS integrations (Paycom for HR/recruitment, Infinite Campus for student information, Edgenuity for credit recovery, EveryAction and Network for Good for donations, Google Forms for transcript requests). The organization monetizes through a hybrid nonprofit revenue model: earned revenue from B2B crew service contracts with public agencies (City of San Jose PRNS, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Santa Clara County Parks, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, and ~8 additional South Bay municipalities); California charter school per-pupil funding through ESUHSD; government and foundation grants (AmeriCorps, Prop 68, CalRecycle); individual donations and monthly memberships; tiered corporate event sponsorship ($1,500 Recruit to $15,000 Graduate); and a nascent tiny-home sales/rental line through the Youth Housing Promise program. Corporate sponsors include PG&E, Wells Fargo, Kaiser Permanente, Adobe, Heffernan Insurance, Paycom, California Bank of Commerce, and Western States Oil Company.
The organization is governed by a Board of Directors with civic, corporate, and community-sector representation, and is led by CEO Dorsey Moore with three Vice Presidents (Education, Administration, Social Enterprise) and a Controller. Resilience Corps wages are $20.85/hour (roughly 80% of San Jose's living wage for other corpsmembers). Geographic operations are concentrated in Silicon Valley / South Bay / Santa Clara County, with limited nationwide deployment via AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team activations. Disclosed cumulative outcomes include 3,396 diplomas awarded, 3,156 certifications earned in a single recent year, 816 corpsmembers served in the most recent year, and the East Side Union High School District diversion rate moved from 6% to 64% under the Zero Waste East Side partnership.
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School
- Legal name
- San Jose Conservation Corps + Charter School
- Website
- https://sjcccs.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School (SJCC+CS) is a San Jose-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing paid job training, climate-resilience workforce programs, and a free WASC-accredited charter high school for opportunity youth and re-engagement learners aged 17.5-27 across Silicon Valley.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Workforce Development and Vocational Training Services
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Educational Services (61)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Charter Alternative & At-Risk Schools (Continuation, Credit Recovery, Juvenile) (EDAJACAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Youth & Young Adult Workforce Programs (Out-of-School Youth) (EDAAAOAD), Charter Career & Technical Education (CTE) Schools (EDAJACAK)
Keywords
Where San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Jose
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Crew services (earned revenue): B2B contracts with public agencies for landscaping, trail maintenance, litter abatement, special events waste management, waste characterization, illegally dumped tire pile pickup, and neighborhood cleanup staffing. Sponsors/clients receive a dedicated crew of corpsmembers and a skilled supervisor.
- Individual donations: Tax-deductible charitable contributions from community members, processed through EveryAction online giving forms. Includes one-time gifts and monthly memberships.
- Corporate event sponsorship: Tiered sponsorship of the annual Corps Picnic (and prior Annual Luncheon) with multiple sponsor levels ranging from $1,500 (Recruit) up to $15,000 (Graduate). Sponsors receive logo placement, table placement, social media mentions, and verbal recognition.
- Public charter school funding: Free public charter high school with rolling enrollment; funded through California charter school per-pupil funding and authorizer East Side Union High School District. No tuition charged to students.
- Tiny home sales and rental program (Youth Housing Promise): Built-by-corpsmembers tiny homes on wheels placed in host family backyards; host families receive $500/month passive rental income and pay below-market rents to matched SJCC+CS students. Sales available to public agencies.
- Government and foundation grants: 501(c)(3) nonprofit reliant on public and private grant funding. Includes AmeriCorps education awards, Prop 68 statewide conservation bond funding (over $400,000 allocated in 2019), and partner agency project funding.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Resilience Corps pay rate |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Charter School enrollment |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Hired crew services (B2B) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Youth Housing Promise (tiny home on wheels) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Annual Luncheon / Corps Picnic sponsorship tiers |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School product offering
Product offeringCore offering
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School provides paid job training for opportunity youth ages 18-27 across natural resource management, zero waste/recycling, trail safety, and tiny home construction; a tuition-free WASC-accredited charter high school for ages 17.5-27 with accelerated 150-credit diploma and credit recovery; and supportive transitional housing through built-by-corpsmembers tiny homes on wheels. Services are delivered as field crews to public agencies under B2B contracts and as direct-enrollment programs for individual youth.
Product overview
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School (SJCC+CS) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) operating a unified, multi-program service portfolio rather than a single software product. Its offering combines a Workforce Development arm with an Education arm under one organizational mission ("service to self, service to community, service to environment"). The Workforce Development arm encompasses the core Job Training Program (Corpsmember Program) and the Resilience Corps sub-program, which together feed three field-services lines: Natural Resource Management, Zero Waste Silicon Valley, and Community Housing Solutions (Tiny Homes). A fourth field-service line, the Trail Safety Team, operates on San Jose's urban trails. The Education arm is the SJCC+CS Charter School, a WASC-accredited free public high school, supported by the Credit Recovery Program, Student Support Services, and the Alumni Network. All programs share common infrastructure (the Berger Drive campus at 1560 Berger Dr, San Jose, CA 95112; the Senter Road campus at 2650 Senter Rd, San Jose, CA 95111; the SJCC+CS Charter School website at sjcccs.org) and are connected operationally through Paycom (HR/applicant tracking), Infinite Campus (student information system), Edgenuity (online credit recovery), and EveryAction (donations/event registration).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Resilience Corps: Paid job training program for unemployed and underemployed young adults, partnering with City of San Jose on climate-smart and resilience projects, including Food Security Program partnering with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
- Zero Waste Silicon Valley (ZWSV)
- Community Housing Solutions (CHS)
- Trail Safety Team
- Youth Housing Promise
Products and services
- San Jose Conservation Corps Job Training Program (Corpsmember Program) Paid job training program for young adults aged 18-27 with no prior experience or minimum education requirements. Corpsmembers earn industry-recognized certifications, gain technical and soft skills, and graduate with placement in career-track jobs or educational programs. Open year-round; last year 816 corpsmembers were transformed through the program and 3,156 certifications were earned.
- Resilience Corps Climate-resilience job training program paying corpsmembers a competitive $20.85/hour. Focuses on wildfire prevention, water conservation, native habitat restoration, park and trail maintenance, watershed protection, tree planting, and the Food Security Program delivering food to ~400,000 people per month via Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
- Natural Resource Management (NRM) Crew Hire Service B2B crew hire service for public agencies completing approximately 50,000 hours per year of public-service projects including neighborhood cleanups, fuel-break construction, trail/fence/picnic construction, park renovation, irrigation, tree planting/pruning, concrete sidewalk repair, weatherization, energy-efficiency upgrades, and solar photovoltaic installation across the South Bay.
- Zero Waste Silicon Valley (ZWSV) Recycling Service Multi-channel recycling and zero-waste service offering tire recycling, e-waste recycling (R2-certified via partners ERI and CEWS), glass recycling through the City of Sunnyvale, and the Zero Waste East Side partnership with ESUHSD. Last year, 6,591,822 pounds of waste were diverted from landfills.
- Community Housing Solutions (CHS) Tiny Homes Program Transitional housing program providing corpsmembers with safe, independent, dignified housing in 160 sq. ft. tiny homes built by corpsmembers themselves under a licensed contractor. Each unit includes a full kitchen, bathroom with shower, AC/heat, and storage. 90% of residents transition to permanent housing. Extended via the Youth Housing Promise with host families earning $500/month rental income; tiny homes also available for sale to public agencies.
- Trail Safety Team Patrol unit providing a visible security presence on San Jose's urban trails using electric bicycles and an online reporting matrix provided by the City of San Jose. The Trail Safety Strike Team (4-6 corpsmembers) fixes substantial trail hazards and provides repair activities within 48 hours. Awarded the 2025 California State Parks Merit Award for Underserved Communities.
- SJCC+CS Charter School Tuition-free WASC-accredited charter high school under the East Side Union High School District, serving students aged 17 1/2 to 27. Offers an accelerated credit-recovery diploma (150 credits) plus dual-enrollment classes at San José City College. Includes Edgenuity-powered online credit recovery, SPED/IEP/504/RSP services through El Dorado County Charter SELPA, independent studies, a wellness center, free community food market, discounted VTA Clipper cards, and one-on-one college/career counseling. 3,396 youth have earned their high school diploma at SJCC+CS.
- Hire Our Crews Service (General Crew Hire) B2B crew services for public agencies offering landscaping, trail maintenance, litter abatement, special events waste management, waste characterization studies, illegally dumped tire pile pickup, and staffing for neighborhood cleanups. Sponsors/clients receive a dedicated corpsmember crew plus a skilled supervisor. Project partners include City of Sunnyvale, City of San Jose PRNS, Santa Clara County Parks, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, California Conservation Corps, ESUHSD, and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
Quantifiable outcome
- 816 corpsmembers transformed their lives through opportunity and growth (last year)
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature3 records
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- City of San JoseflagshipThe Resilience Corps was established in partnership with the City of San Jose (2021–) to provide living-wage employment and work experience opportunities. City of San Jose PRNS also serves as a major crew services client and Trail Safety Team partner. Councilmember Michael Mulcahy recognized SJCC+CS as District 6 Community Heroes in 2025.
- East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD)flagshipESUHSD is the authorizer for the SJCC Charter School (operating since 2002). Also operates the collaborative Zero Waste East Side program with SJCC+CS, helping the district increase its diversion rate from 6% (June 2017) to 64% (October 2019).
- Santa Clara Valley Water DistrictcorePublic agency partner for environmental and community conservation projects, including watershed protection and water conservation projects.
- Santa Clara County Parks DepartmentcorePublic agency partner for trail maintenance, park renovation, and conservation projects. Hires SJCC+CS crews for environmental service work.
- Midpeninsula Regional Open Space DistrictcorePartner for fire prevention and conservation projects. In fall 2018, an SJCC+CS crew completed a week-long fire prevention project at Hawthorns Historical Complex at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. Midpeninsula staff provided daily educational sessions on astronomy, history, endangered species, and NRM careers.
- California Conservation CorpsflagshipFoundational model for the SJCC program (modeled after the 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps and established in 1987). Active project partner for conservation work and a member of the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team network. Board member Brenda Burks-Herrmann is a retired California Conservation Corps District Director.
- Second Harvest of Silicon ValleycoreFood security partner for the Resilience Corps Food Security Program, helping ensure 400,000 people a month who need a healthy meal can get one. Corpsmembers serve as food boxing corpsmembers.
- CalRecyclecoreRecycling program partner since 1990. SJCC+CS operates tire and e-waste recycling programs and a glass recycling partnership with the City of Sunnyvale. Leveraged Prop 68 to grow zero-waste efforts in disadvantaged communities.
- West Valley College (Park Management Program)minorEducational partner for the Trail Safety Team — West Valley College's Park Management Program prepares students for careers that align with SJCC+CS's NRM and Trail Safety work.
- Valley VerdeminorCommunity partner for volunteer events including the Global Youth Day compost celebration (April 21, 2023).
- PaycomcorePaycom provides the online recruitment / ATS application portal for corpsmember hiring (paycomonline.net). Also an Annual Luncheon and Corps Picnic sponsor.
- EdgenuitycoreOnline credit recovery and A-G class delivery platform for the Charter School. Used for independent studies and supplemental class credits.
- El Dorado County Charter SELPAcoreSELPA partner providing Special Education Policy and services for the Charter School. SJCC+CS supports SPED students with IEPs, 504s, and RSP.
- Santa Clara County Office of EducationcoreCharter School community partner; also funded a Sofia Jaquez music video to encourage young adults' participation in environmental activism.
- City of San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood ServicescoreRecognized as Community Partnership Awardee at the 2022 Annual Luncheon. Primary partner for trail safety, park maintenance, and conservation project work.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Conservation Corps North Bay: CALCC-affiliated conservation corps in Marin/Sonoma providing paid work crews and workforce development to young adults across the North Bay — adjacent California conservation corps peer.
- Gateway Community Charters: California operator of independent charter schools focused on credit recovery, alternative education, and re-engagement learners — directly comparable to the SJCC+CS Charter School arm.
- Civicorps: Oakland-based urban conservation corps and charter school offering paid job training, a charter high school, and similar natural-resource/environmental crew services to Bay Area municipalities. Closest operational analog to SJCC+CS.
- Los Angeles Conservation Corps: Another CALCC-member urban conservation corps offering paid job training, environmental crew services, and youth development programs to opportunity youth — same core delivery model as SJCC+CS at larger LA scale.
- SIATech: California-based charter high school focused on credit recovery, dropout recovery, and re-engagement learners aged 16-24 with workforce pathways — closest direct peer to SJCC+CS's charter school arm.
- Sacramento Area Youth Speaks / Sacramento Conservation Corps: CALCC-affiliated urban conservation corps offering paid natural-resource crews and youth workforce development to opportunity youth in the Sacramento region — directly comparable program mix.
Broad incumbents
- YouthBuild USA: National network of opportunity-youth programs combining alternative education, construction job training, and leadership development. SJCC ran its own YouthBuild program from 1994-2013 and still channels AmeriCorps education awards.
- AmeriCorps NCCC: Federal national-service program combining paid stipends, disaster response, and conservation work for young adults — SJCC is an AmeriCorps member organization and Disaster Response Team participant.
- California Conservation Corps: State-run founding model for the SJCC program since 1987. Operates the same urban conservation corps + workforce development + disaster-response model at statewide scale; SJCC's board includes a retired CCC District Director.
Emerging players
- DignityMoves: California nonprofit building interim tiny-home communities to address homelessness. SJCC's Community Housing Solutions / Youth Housing Promise tiny-home program is structurally adjacent and serves an overlapping youth-housing insecurity problem.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks2 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School social profiles
Digital presenceSan Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance10 records
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles28 records
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School
What does San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School do?
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School provides paid job training for opportunity youth ages 18-27 across natural resource management, zero waste/recycling, trail safety, and tiny home construction; a tuition-free WASC-accredited charter high school for ages 17.5-27 with accelerated 150-credit diploma and credit recovery; and supportive transitional housing through built-by-corpsmembers tiny homes on wheels. Services are delivered as field crews to public agencies under B2B contracts and as direct-enrollment programs for individual youth.
Is San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School a public or private company?
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School founded?
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School was founded in 1987. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School based?
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School is headquartered in San Jose, United States, in the North America region.
How does San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Crew services (earned revenue) is the primary driver. The others are individual donations, corporate event sponsorship, public charter school funding, tiny home sales and rental program (Youth Housing Promise) and government and foundation grants.
Who are San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Conservation Corps North Bay, Gateway Community Charters, Civicorps, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, SIATech and Sacramento Area Youth Speaks / Sacramento Conservation Corps. Broad incumbents are YouthBuild USA, AmeriCorps NCCC and California Conservation Corps. DignityMoves is listed as an emerging player.
Does San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School have an API?
No public API is recorded for San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School.
What industry is San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School in?
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School's product category is Workforce Development and Vocational Training Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJACAE, Charter Alternative & At-Risk Schools (Continuation, Credit Recovery, Juvenile), with a secondary code of EDAAAOAD, Youth & Young Adult Workforce Programs (Out-of-School Youth). Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.