iCouldBe.org
iCouldBe.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a free, secure e-mentoring platform that pairs U.S. high school students with professional adult mentors through structured online activities, funded by donations, foundation grants, and corporate partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What iCouldBe.org does
iCouldBe.org Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2000 and headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. Its operating mission is to provide high school students with an online community of professional adult mentors, addressing the dropout crisis and gaps in college and career access among U.S. youth—citing a need population of more than 16 million U.S. kids without mentors.
The organization runs a single core product, the iCouldBe E-Mentoring Platform, delivered as a secure, asynchronous, password-protected online community. Communication between mentees (students aged 13+) and adult mentors (21+) is text-based, filtered for personally identifiable information, and governed by strict anti-contact policies. The platform is overlaid with a gamified multi-year curriculum organized into themed 'quests' covering self-efficacy, social-emotional development, curiosity, problem-solving, and college/career aspiration. Two proprietary additions augment the core platform: the 2022 Connections Mapping Tool, which lets students visualize growing support networks, and the 2020 Virtual Mentoring Portal, built in six weeks during COVID-19 with MENTOR, the Gates Foundation, and AT&T to help other nonprofits shift mentoring online.
iCouldBe is free for all participants—students, schools, and volunteer mentors. It is funded through a diversified mix of individual donations, corporate partnerships (AT&T as the longest and largest at >$1.3M cumulative plus Comcast, Adobe, Salesforce, E*TRADE), foundation grants (ASA, Schultz Family Foundation, Christensen Institute), and AmeriCorps. Distribution runs through two channels: (i) school partnerships where the program is embedded one class per week in classrooms led by trained teachers, and (ii) corporate partner employee volunteer pipelines, supplemented by an individual self-serve mentor waitlist. As of latest disclosure, iCouldBe has served 27,500+ mentees across 288 communities in 36 states, D.C., and Canada, delivering 330,000 mentoring hours (12.7 hours per mentee on average) and holds a Charity Navigator 4-star rating and Candid Platinum Transparency seal.
iCouldBe.org firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- iCouldBe.org
- Legal name
- iCouldBe.org Inc.
- Website
- https://icouldbe.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- iCouldBe.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a free, secure e-mentoring platform that pairs U.S. high school students with professional adult mentors through structured online activities, funded by donations, foundation grants, and corporate partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
iCouldBe.org industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth E-Mentoring Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Mentoring, Coaching, Alumni Networking & Peer Support Platforms (EDAFAMAN)
Keywords
Where iCouldBe.org is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
iCouldBe.org business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the mission. Donations can be made online, by mail, or through Donor-Advised Funds.
- Corporate Partnerships: Financial support and employee volunteer programs from corporate partners including AT&T, Comcast, Adobe, Salesforce, and others. Companies engage employees as mentors while providing financial contributions.
- Foundation Grants: Grant funding from foundations including American Student Assistance (ASA), Schultz Family Foundation, Christensen Institute, and others. ASA provided a three-year grant funding youth advisory board, paid internship program, and alumni program.
- AmeriCorps Funding: Grant funding through AmeriCorps supporting volunteer mentors. AmeriCorps volunteers receive benefits in exchange for service hours.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free program for mentees |
| Freemium | Others | Free volunteer mentor program |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
iCouldBe.org product offering
Product offeringCore offering
iCouldBe operates an online e-mentoring platform that pairs high school students (ages 13+) with adult professional mentors (21+) for weekly, asynchronous, text-based mentoring sessions over the school year. The platform delivers a structured, gamified multi-year curriculum covering social-emotional development, self-efficacy, and college/career planning, with safety filters, identity verification, and real-time participation tracking. The program is free to students, mentors, and partner schools, distributed through classroom embedding, corporate partner engagement, and individual volunteer recruitment.
Product overview
iCouldBe is a single unified e-mentoring platform that connects high school students with professional adult mentors through structured online activities. The core platform centers on a secure, asynchronous, text-based mentoring environment with built-in safety monitoring and identity verification. The platform's primary modules include the Connections Mapping Tool (a proprietary student-facing feature launched in 2022 that enables students to visualize and build their personal support networks), and the Virtual Mentoring Portal (a separate free, secure platform launched in 2020 in partnership with MENTOR and AT&T during COVID-19 for youth organizations). The platform also includes a gamified multi-year curriculum, automated notifications, and background-check-integrated mentor onboarding.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- iCouldBe E-Mentoring Platform The primary online mentoring platform that virtually connects high school students with professional adult mentors through structured, interactive activities grouped into themed 'quests' focused on social-emotional development, self-efficacy, self-direction, curiosity, problem-solving, and college/career aspirational development. All communication is asynchronous, text-based, and within a secure, password-protected, monitored online community. Free for students, mentors, and partner schools.
- Virtual Mentoring Portal A free, secure virtual mentoring platform developed in partnership with MENTOR, the Gates Foundation, and AT&T during COVID-19 to help youth organizations maintain relationships between adult mentors and youth during physical distancing. Launched in six weeks in 2020 and supported 1,500 mentoring matches through 2021.
Quantifiable outcome
- Research studies in 2010 and 2013 prove iCouldBe's curriculum effectiveness in raising self-efficacy, career identity, and career-related motivation and ambition.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use iCouldBe.org
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
iCouldBe.org technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
iCouldBe.org partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Georgetown University Business for ImpactminorNew Strategies advanced training program for iCouldBe leadership.
- MENTOR New YorkminorProvided guidance and support for developing iCouldBe's Youth Advisory Board through a three-part series on creating a mentee-driven youth board.
- MENTOR (The National Mentoring Partnership)coreStrategic partnership for e-mentoring initiative and research on youth inequity during COVID-19. Joint development of Virtual Mentoring Portal. MENTOR to work with strategic partners including Johns Hopkins University and iCouldBe.
- Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreResearch partnership for e-mentoring initiative. Johns Hopkins published research on COVID-19 support efforts with secondary analysis showing iCouldBe increases student self-efficacy.
- Christensen InstitutecoreResearch partnership featuring iCouldBe's network-mapping curriculum and connections mapping tool. Julia Freeland Fisher featured iCouldBe in research on student relationship mapping and social capital development.
- CricketTogetherminorLaunched free Virtual Mentoring Portal during COVID-19 to help nonprofits maintain relationships between adult and youth.
- DataKindminorVolunteer data scientists helped uncover the ABCs of Successful Online Mentoring through DataDive event. COO Wendy Siegelman presented on defining successful mentoring relationships.
- SAPminorCollaborated at Linked Learning Conference panel on gamified multi-year curriculum.
- CEB (now Gartner)minorPartnership to mentor at-risk students through corporate employee engagement.
- Monster.comminorPartnership to create iSucceed program for career guidance and mentoring.
- America's Promise AllianceminorAlliance partner for youth development initiatives.
- The Learning CollectiveminorFounder Adam Aberman now CEO of The Learning Collective. Strategic partnership in education technology and assessment.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
iCouldBe.org competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- iMentor: iMentor runs a near-identical model: pairs low-income high school students with professional adult mentors through a school-embedded, multi-year e-mentoring program. It is the closest 1:1 comparable to iCouldBe in mission, target student, and school-partnership GTM.
- Mentor Collective: Operates an online mentoring platform primarily partnering with colleges to support first-generation and at-risk students. Comparable to iCouldBe in virtual mentoring delivery but focused on post-secondary rather than K-12 mentees.
- Reading Partners: National nonprofit delivering volunteer-powered, school-based literacy tutoring and mentoring for K-12 students. Comparable to iCouldBe in channel (school-embedded), volunteer mentor model, and target underserved-student population.
Broad incumbents
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: The largest and most established youth mentoring nonprofit in the US, BBBS matches volunteer adults with youth primarily through in-person, relationship-based mentoring. Overlaps with iCouldBe on outcome measurement and youth-mentor matching but operates an in-person rather than virtual model.
- MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership: Industry-umbrella organization that advances youth mentoring through research, advocacy, and resource-building for the broader mentoring field. iCouldBe partnered with MENTOR on the Virtual Mentoring Portal during COVID-19, making it a direct strategic peer in the e-mentoring ecosystem.
- Year Up: Workforce-development nonprofit providing mentorship, training, and corporate placement for opportunity youth transitioning into professional careers. Overlaps with iCouldBe on the career-readiness, mentor-network, and dropout-prevention missions but with a paid-program, employer-funded model.
- EVERFI: K-12 EdTech platform delivering social-emotional, financial literacy, and career-readiness courses through school districts. Compares to iCouldBe on SEL/career-readiness outcomes and K-12 school distribution, but delivers curriculum via licensed software rather than human mentors.
Emerging players
- Tutor.com: Online 1:1 tutoring platform connecting K-12 and college students with on-demand tutors via a virtual environment backed by safety and progress tracking. Comparable to iCouldBe in online K-12 support delivery, asynchronous/synchronous matching, and school-channel distribution, with a tutor (not professional mentor) unit of service.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
iCouldBe.org social profiles
Digital presenceiCouldBe.org compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
iCouldBe.org financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
iCouldBe.org leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
iCouldBe.org funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
iCouldBe.org 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 iCouldBe.org
What does iCouldBe.org do?
iCouldBe operates an online e-mentoring platform that pairs high school students (ages 13+) with adult professional mentors (21+) for weekly, asynchronous, text-based mentoring sessions over the school year. The platform delivers a structured, gamified multi-year curriculum covering social-emotional development, self-efficacy, and college/career planning, with safety filters, identity verification, and real-time participation tracking. The program is free to students, mentors, and partner schools, distributed through classroom embedding, corporate partner engagement, and individual volunteer recruitment.
Is iCouldBe.org a public or private company?
iCouldBe.org is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was iCouldBe.org founded?
iCouldBe.org was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is iCouldBe.org based?
iCouldBe.org is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does iCouldBe.org make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate Partnerships, foundation Grants and ameriCorps Funding.
Who are iCouldBe.org's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are iMentor, Mentor Collective and Reading Partners. Broad incumbents are Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, Year Up and EVERFI. Tutor.com is listed as an emerging player.
Does iCouldBe.org have an API?
No public API is recorded for iCouldBe.org.
What industry is iCouldBe.org in?
iCouldBe.org's product category is Youth E-Mentoring Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJALAL, Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs, with a secondary code of EDAFAMAN, Mentoring, Coaching, Alumni Networking & Peer Support Platforms. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.