What TakingITGlobal does

TakingITGlobal is a Canadian non-profit organization founded in 1999 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It designs and delivers youth engagement programs that empower young people (primarily ages 15-30) to understand and act on local and global challenges, operating across 150+ countries with a cumulative platform reach of more than 50 million users since its 2000 launch. The organization operates three program pillars: Youth Action & Social Innovation (grants and fellowships such as #RisingYouth up to $1,500, Sprout Ideas Fellowship, and Youth Leadership Fund); Connected Learning (notably Connected North, which delivers live, HD two-way video learning to 220 remote Indigenous K-12 schools across Canada); and Creativity & Digital Skills (including Create to Learn, Code to Learn, Your Voice is Power, and Commit2Act). Additional products include the Whose.land Indigenous lands education app, Global Encounters live cross-border video conferences, Global Gallery artistic platform, and the TIGed educator professional development network serving 17,000+ teachers across 163 countries. Underlying technology is primarily a portfolio of web platforms, mobile applications, and HD video conferencing infrastructure, with no disclosed AI/ML components.

The organization's business model is non-profit and grant-funded rather than commercial. Revenue derives from Government of Canada program grants (including #RisingYouth Community Service Grants, Connected North, and various youth empowerment initiatives), institutional funders, and donations accepted through the CanadaHelps platform. Pricing for end users is effectively freemium: programs are free for youth and educators, with grants (up to $1,500) and fellowships flowing outward to participants rather than being monetized from them. The most recent disclosed operating scale is fiscal year 2023-24 expenses of $8,617,144 CAD. Distribution is multi-modal: direct-to-consumer self-serve web platforms (tigweb.org, commit2act.org, createtolearn.ca, etc.), the TIGed educator network as an indirect channel, direct partnership with 220 Connected North schools, and donations via CanadaHelps. Strategic positioning emphasizes Indigenous education equity and global citizenship, evidenced by partnerships with Centre for Global Education, Whose.land co-creation, and the 2025 HundrED Global Collection recognition of Connected North.

Name

TakingITGlobal

Legal name

TakingITGlobal

Website

https://tigweb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TakingITGlobal is a Toronto-based non-profit, founded in 1999, that delivers youth engagement programs across 150+ countries through Connected Learning, Youth Action & Social Innovation, and Digital Skills pillars, serving youth, educators, and remote Indigenous communities with grant-funded, free-to-user programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education and Civic Engagement Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment) (EDAGALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD), Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN), Teacher-Led Classroom Platforms (Lesson Delivery, Centers, Whiteboard) (EDACANAH)

Keywords

• Youth engagement programs
• Virtual learning platforms
• Educator professional development
• Digital skills training
• Indigenous education support

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization accepts donations through CanadaHelps platform and relies on charitable contributions to fund youth programs, grants, and operational costs.
2. Program Grants and Government Funding: Significant funding through program grants including #RisingYouth Community Service Grants ($7,768,250 granted to youth projects), Connected North, and various youth empowerment initiatives. Grants from government and institutional funders support specific program delivery.
3. Fiscal Year 2023-24 Expenses: Organization reported fiscal year 2023-24 expenses of $8,617,144 across programs, indicating scale of operations funded through diversified grant and donation sources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

TakingITGlobal designs and delivers youth engagement programs that empower young people to understand and act on local and global challenges. Its offerings span three integrated program pillars: Youth Action & Social Innovation (grants, fellowships, action tracking), Connected Learning (live interactive virtual learning for remote Indigenous communities and cross-cultural video exchanges), and Creativity & Digital Skills (coding, music remixing, and digital creativity training for youth and educators). Programs are delivered through web platforms, mobile apps, high-definition video technology, and a global network of 17,000+ educators.

Product overview

TakingITGlobal is a non-profit youth engagement organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs across three core pillars: Youth Action & Social Innovation, Connected Learning, and Creativity & Digital Skills. The flagship TIGweb.org online community platform serves as the central hub, complemented by program-specific offerings including Connected North (live interactive video learning for remote Indigenous communities), Global Encounters (virtual cross-cultural exchanges), Your Voice is Power (coding through music remixing), and Commit2Act (action commitment tracking). Teacher-facing programs include TIGed with accredited professional development courses, Create to Learn, and Code to Learn. Youth empowerment programs include Sprout Ideas Fellowship, Youth Leadership Fund, #RisingYouth grants, and Youth Movements. The organization also operates Whose.land (Indigenous land education app) and Future Pathways Navigator (post-secondary guidance resource).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Connected North: Fostering student engagement and enhanced education outcomes in remote Indigenous communities through live, interactive virtual learning experiences.
• Commit2Act
• Your Voice is Power
• Create to Learn
• Code to Learn
• Sprout Ideas Fellowship
• Youth Leadership Fund
• Global Encounters
• Global Gallery
• Whose.land
• Innovative Teaching for Social Impact
• Future Pathways Navigator

Products and services

• TIGweb.org Online Community Award-winning online community platform launched in 2000 providing resources, forums, and tools for youth worldwide to learn about and engage with global issues. Has been accessed by more than 50 million people since launch.
• Connected North Live, interactive virtual learning experiences delivered via high-definition video to K-12 classrooms in 220 remote Indigenous communities across Canada, fostering student engagement and enhanced education outcomes with culturally grounded content.
• Global Encounters Live video conferences delivered in partnership with the Centre for Global Education, connecting students from across the world to explore global issues and engage with global experts.
• Your Voice is Power Learning experience and coding competition where students learn about activism, music, computer science, and social justice by remixing songs from Indigenous artists on the EarSketch coding platform.
• Create to Learn Free, self-paced training videos for youth to build digital skills and foster creativity and entrepreneurship, with lesson plans for educators to integrate sessions across the curriculum.
• Code to Learn Free professional learning program for Canadians on coding with young people.
• Commit2Act Mobile app and web platform enabling youth to sign on to commitments aligned with social issues, track their progress, and connect with a like-minded global community of changemakers.
• TakingITGlobal for Educators (TIGed) Professional development platform providing accredited courses, resources, and a virtual classroom community for educators to foster global citizenship education and connect classrooms to global issues.
• Sprout Ideas Fellowship 10-month guided skill-building experience offering #RisingYouth Alumni training, mentorship, seed grants, and an opportunity to fundraise in support of a volunteer-led project.
• Youth Leadership Fund Samuel Connected North Youth Leadership Fund supporting emerging Indigenous youth leaders in creating meaningful change within and beyond their communities.
• #RisingYouth Community Service Grants Community Service Grants program offering up to $1,500 for young Canadians to develop and launch community improvement projects, with more than $7.7 million granted to youth-led service projects.
• Whose.land Learning resource and mobile app (iOS and Android) highlighting Indigenous Nations, territories, and communities with educational videos, lesson plans, and land acknowledgment resources; TakingITGlobal is a partner in its creation.
• Innovative Teaching for Social Impact Free, self-guided online course helping educators integrate design thinking, project-based learning, ISTE standards, and Sustainable Development Goals into their classrooms.
• Future Pathways Navigator Free, open education resource launched in 2025 providing information and guidance on post-secondary schools in Canada for students in remote communities who lack access to guidance counselors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of teachers feel Connected North sessions help engage students and contribute to attendance and motivation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, former, historical, supporting and minor.

• Centre for Global EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with the Centre for Global Education on Global Encounters program, bringing the world to classrooms through live video conferences exploring global issues and youth potential to shape a better future.
• Smithsonian InstitutionformerStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched Shout citizen science and environmental education program in partnership with Smithsonian and Microsoft (2010-2013), reaching 11,000+ students and teachers from 94 countries.
• MicrosoftformerTechnology or IntegrationPartnered with Smithsonian and Microsoft for Shout program (2010-2013), leveraging technology for citizen science and environmental education delivery.
• Leadership Lab at Toronto Metropolitan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted program evaluation examining effectiveness of Connected North's device provision program in contributing to closing the digital divide for Indigenous youth.
• Whose.landcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTakingITGlobal is a partner in creation of Whose.land, a learning resource and mobile app highlighting Indigenous Nations, territories, and communities with educational content and land acknowledgement resources. Available on Apple App Store and Google Play.
• ISTE (International Society of Technology in Education)historicalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ISTE in 2005 to consult with students across the globe on their experiences in education and develop recommendations shared with educators through the Student Voices Project.
• MacArthur FoundationhistoricalStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributed survey of online civic engagement tools for youth for MacArthur Foundation's Series on Digital Media and Learning published by MIT Press.
• Statistics CanadasupportingOthersReferenced as data source for statistics on educational inequities and high-school completion rates for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit learners in remote communities.
• CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission)supportingOthersReferenced as data source for connectivity challenges affecting rural, remote, and Indigenous regions and access to digital learning.
• Queen’s Park / MPP Donna SkellyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOntario’s first female speaker MPP Donna Skelly acknowledged Connected North program at Queen’s Park on May 14th, participating in Q&A with students from remote Northern Ontario schools.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TakingITGlobal peers - Digital Promise: Digital Promise is a US-based non-profit advancing edtech innovation and equitable access to learning technologies. It is comparable to TakingITGlobal's Connected North program delivering technology-enabled learning to underserved communities.
• iEARN (International Education and Resource Network): iEARN is a global non-profit network enabling K-12 students to collaborate on community and global issues across 140+ countries. It is the closest direct peer to TakingITGlobal's global youth engagement and educator networking model.
• Ashoka (Youth Venture / Changemaker Schools): Ashoka runs Youth Venture and Changemaker Schools programs that fund and develop young social entrepreneurs globally. It directly parallels TakingITGlobal's Sprout Ideas Fellowship and #RisingYouth grant programs.
• NetHope: NetHope partners with NGOs to deliver connectivity, capacity building, and digital learning in underserved regions. It shares TakingITGlobal's focus on bridging the digital divide for remote and marginalized learners.
• ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival: ImagineNATIVE is a leading Indigenous media and arts organization in Canada. It is comparable to TakingITGlobal's Whose.land, Global Gallery, and Your Voice is Power programs centered on Indigenous storytelling and education.
• Right To Play: Right To Play is a Canadian-founded global non-profit using play and education to empower children in disadvantaged communities. It is comparable to TakingITGlobal's youth empowerment programs across Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• WE Charity / WE Movement (defunct): WE Charity was a major Canadian youth-focused global development organization (now dissolved). It provides historical peer context as a similarly positioned Canadian-rooted youth empowerment non-profit.

Broad incumbents

• Khan Academy: Khan Academy provides free, high-quality digital learning content globally and complements Create to Learn's free digital skills training mission. Both serve learners in low-resource contexts at no cost.
• Room to Read: Room to Read is a large global non-profit focused on literacy and girls' education in low-income countries. It shares TakingITGlobal's mission of educational equity with significantly larger operational scale.
• ClassDojo: ClassDojo is a global classroom community platform reaching millions of teachers and students across most countries. It operates at much larger scale but shares TakingITGlobal's model of free educator and classroom engagement tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/takingitglobal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/takeitglobal
• Facebookfacebook.com/takingitglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/takingitglobal
• Instagraminstagram.com/takingitglobal
• Pinterestpinterest.com/takingitglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

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 TakingITGlobal