Oasis Center

What Oasis Center does

Oasis Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1969 and headquartered at 1704 Charlotte Avenue, Suite 200, Nashville, Tennessee. The organization delivers integrated youth services across Middle Tennessee, operating 20+ programs that span 24/7 crisis intervention (hotline 615-327-4455), emergency shelter, street outreach, transitional and permanent supportive housing (including 19 units at Fisk Court Apartments operated with Urban Housing Solutions), the Oasis College Connection college access program (Nashville's largest, serving ~1,500 students annually), workforce development via Oasis Transitions, mental health counseling, LGBTQ+ programming (Just Us, Becoming Us, Students of Stonewall), arts (Underground Art Studio), and youth civic leadership (Mayor's Youth Council, founded 1999). In 2025 the organization reported 2,819 youth supported and more than 3,500 youth and families engaged annually, with a relationship-centered philosophy that positions youth as stakeholders rather than passive recipients.

The underlying technology is modest and primarily communications-oriented: a WordPress-based website, Vimeo-hosted storytelling videos, email newsletter, and Instagram presence. There is no proprietary platform, no public API, no disclosed AI/ML components, and no software product. Service delivery runs through three primary physical nodes — the Youth Opportunity Center headquarters, the VOICE Center (opened 2024) co-located with the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, and Fisk Court Apartments — supplemented by embedded presence in Metro Nashville Public Schools and Nashville State Community College campuses, street outreach, and the crisis hotline.

The revenue model is a diversified nonprofit funding stack with no fees charged to end users. Income derives from federal grants (HHS/FYSB, HUD, DOL — including the $1.7M/year Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program), Tennessee state agency grants (DCS, DMHAS, OCJP), Metro Nashville government, foundation/corporate/civic/faith-based giving (including Cummins, Nissan Foundation, UBS, State Farm, Together Credit Union, United Way), individual donations, and event-based fundraising (annual "Only in Nashville" fundraiser, virtual campaigns). GTM is community-led and event-driven, not sales-driven: youth are reached via direct service, school partnerships, civic events, and word-of-mouth, with marketing primarily through the website, email, social media, and earned media.

Name

Oasis Center

Legal name

Oasis Center Inc.

Website

https://oasiscenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Oasis Center is a Nashville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1969, operating 20+ integrated youth programs — including 24/7 crisis services, housing, college access, and LGBTQ+ support — serving more than 3,500 youth and families annually across Middle Tennessee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Social Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

Keywords

• Youth crisis intervention
• College access programs
• Youth homelessness services
• LGBTQ+ youth programs
• Community youth development

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Government grants: Major public funding from federal agencies (US Department of Labor-Employment and Training Administration; US Department of Health and Human Services-Family and Youth Services Bureau; US Department of Housing and Urban Development), state agencies (Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; Tennessee Department of Children's Services; Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs), and local government (Metropolitan Government of Nashville/Davidson County). Active federal grants include 90YO2482-01-00 (Outreach), 90CY7420-01-00 (Emergency Shelter), and 90CY7607-01-00 (Prevention) from FYSB/ACF/HHS.
2. Individual donations: Donations from community members used to support general operations and specific programs. Donor names may be publicly recognized unless anonymity is requested. Donor personal information is kept confidential and never sold or traded.
3. Foundation, corporate, civic, and faith-based giving: Funding from foundations, churches, corporate and civic groups, and United Way. Includes corporate partners (e.g., Cummins provided a grant for Rapid Rehousing holiday party gifts; Predators sponsored mountain bike team uniforms).
4. Special fundraising events: Annual fundraiser ("Only in Nashville") and other community events. During COVID-19, a virtual campaign raised $90,000 in 90 hours.
5. Federal Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP): $1.7M annual federal grant brought to Nashville through YHDP to serve youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, the largest opportunity in Nashville's history to address youth homelessness.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Oasis Center is a Nashville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers a portfolio of free youth development programs to young people and families in Middle Tennessee. Its offering includes 24/7 crisis intervention, emergency shelter and housing support, college access mentoring, workforce development, LGBTQ+ affirming programs, arts and cycling programs, and civic engagement, all delivered through a Youth Opportunity Center, partner sites, schools, and a 24/7 crisis hotline.

Product overview

Oasis Center is a Nashville-based nonprofit organization that operates a platform of integrated youth services rather than a single unified product. The offering is organized around core crisis and housing programs (24/7 Crisis Services, Emergency Shelter, Outreach Center, Crisis to Housing, Rapid Rehousing, Oasis Prevention) and a parallel set of educational, workforce, arts, identity-based, and civic engagement programs (Oasis College Connection, Oasis Transitions, Oasis Bike Workshop, Oasis Mountain Bike Team, Underground Art Studio, International Teen Outreach Program (ITOP), Just Us, Becoming Us, Students of Stonewall, Mayor's Youth Council, REAL, Clinical Counseling Services, WeCity/WeCity Week, Building Bridges, Maptivists, Nashville PASSAGE, Wyman's TOP, Action & Advocacy, WeGo Youth Action Team, and GEAR UP Nashville). Together these programs form a comprehensive youth development portfolio serving more than 3,500 youth and families annually across Middle Tennessee, with programs complementing one another across crisis response, college access, workforce readiness, the arts, LGBTQ+ support, and youth voice/leadership initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Oasis College Connection (OCC): Nashville's largest college access program for low-income, New American, and first-generation college students, serving around 1,500 young people annually.
• Oasis Transitions
• Oasis Bike Workshop
• Just Us
• REAL (Reaching Excellence As Leaders)
• Mayor's Youth Council (MYC)
• Youth Opportunity Center

Products and services

• 24/7 Crisis Services Around-the-clock crisis intervention hotline (615-327-4455) providing immediate assistance for young people in crisis in Middle Tennessee.
• Emergency Shelter Safe shelter for youth experiencing homelessness where they can heal, work toward long-term solutions, and build community.
• Outreach Center Street outreach and drop-in services for young people experiencing homelessness, providing food, snack packs, winter supplies, shelter referrals, and wellness checks.
• Crisis to Housing (C2H) Crisis-to-housing service providing a safe, warm place for young people experiencing homelessness during extreme weather and connecting them with ongoing housing support.
• Rapid Rehousing Program helping families move into new homes through case management, life and employment skills, art activities, and holiday support such as clothing donations through grants from Cummins.
• Oasis Prevention Prevention services for youth and families, including the "Could Be Fun" hands-on hobby exploration workshop focused on self-care and creativity in free time.
• Oasis College Connection (OCC) Nashville's largest college access program serving around 1,500 low-income, New American, and first-generation college students annually, with FAFSA assistance, course registration, mentoring at Nashville State Community College campuses, and TN Promise support.
• Oasis Transitions Workforce readiness and employment program placing youth in paid internships and supporting hospitality training, including oversight of the Mayor's Office Opportunity NOW summer youth employment initiative's South Central Zone.
• Fisk Court Permanent Supportive Housing Permanent supportive housing in partnership with Urban Housing Solutions providing 19 units for youth experiencing homelessness adjacent to Oasis Center, with Oasis delivering case management, life and employment skills, and wraparound services.
• Oasis Bike Workshop Year-round earn-a-bike program founded in 2009 where young people learn to build and maintain their own bike, which they keep at the end of the workshop; includes in-school workshops at Metro schools.
• Oasis Mountain Bike Team

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,819 youth found support at Oasis Center in 2025
• +7 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-developed the VOICE Center (Valuing Opportunities, Inclusion and Connectivity for Everyone), a one-stop service center providing MDHA Resident Services and nonprofit partner resources to residents of Napier Place and Sudekum Apartments. Oasis Center operates a micro drop-in space for youth ages 10-17 with afterschool education assistance, truancy prevention, arts/cultural enrichment, mentoring, and wraparound referrals. Grand opening attended by Mayor Freddie O'Connell and TN Department of Labor Deputy Commissioner Dewayne Scott.
• Urban Housing SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide 19 units of permanent supportive housing at Fisk Court Apartments for youth experiencing homelessness, adjacent to Oasis Center. Oasis delivers case management, life and employment skills development, and wraparound services to Fisk Court residents, including cooking classes, community dinners, and shared meals.
• Vanderbilt UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Vanderbilt's Longitudinal Study of Youth Safety and Well-Being through Oasis's Maptivist community mapping research and action team. Youth collect community input and develop a comprehensive dataset on youth experience in Nashville.
• CumminsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided a grant that funded gifts of clothing for children of families served by the Rapid Rehousing program at the 2024 holiday party.
• Nashville State Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts Oasis College Connection Resource Centers on its Main and Southeast campuses; co-hosted orientation with GEAR UP Nashville for incoming students on FAFSA assistance, course registration, parking pass/school ID issuance.
• GEAR UP NashvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosts orientation events for incoming Nashville State Community College students alongside Oasis College Connection, serving 41 first-time freshmen between two sessions.
• UBSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonated Just Us mobile library on wheels to support LGBTQ+ book collection. Also has board representation (Marek Kwasniewski).
• Nashville Tree FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonated trees to ITOP service project at Margaret Allen and JFK Middle Schools and provided planting instruction.
• Root NashvilleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonated magnolia and black gum trees for joint service project to beautify the Youth Opportunity Center.
• Cumberland River CompactminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided gloves, tools, and tree-planting instruction for Just Us/Becoming Us service project; also hosts WeCity Week youth leadership training camp at its Bridge Building event space.
• The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with SIGBI and five other LGBTQ+ agencies across the country; Students of Stonewall youth action and advocacy team helps develop a formal LGBTQ+ Safe Space designation for public venues and businesses. Includes virtual roundtable with SIGBI founder and co-owner of the Stonewall Inn Stacy Lentz.
• WeGo Public TransitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with the WeGo Youth Action Team (YAT) addressing barriers impacting youth mobility in Nashville; youth transit research and field visits.
• Education Trust of TennesseeminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommunity leader participant in WeCity Week youth leadership training camp dialogue on systems and systemic change.
• TN Disability CoalitionminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommunity leader participant in WeCity Week youth leadership training camp dialogue on systems and systemic change.
• Nashville Predators (NHL)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsored Oasis Mountain Bike Team uniforms (pink and black) for the MTB State Championships season.
• Hume-Fogg Academic High School and School for Science and Math at VanderbiltminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner schools supporting Oasis College Connection counseling and college access services.
• Riddim N SpiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Underground Art Studio at Oasis on Creating Justice program to design and paint a mural for an Art Wall at the restaurant's North Nashville property, with input from community residents.
• Frist Center for the Visual Arts (now Frist Art Museum)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerInvited Oasis staff and youth to participate in community art project creating beaded statement blankets featured in Nick Cave performance on April 6, 2018.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Martha O'Bryan Center: Nashville-based anti-poverty nonprofit offering youth education, college access, workforce, and family services — directly comparable to Oasis Center in mission, target population (low-income Nashville youth/families), and program mix.
• Monroe Harding: Nashville nonprofit serving youth experiencing foster care, homelessness, and trafficking with housing, education, and life-skills programs — directly comparable in target population (vulnerable Nashville youth), housing/crisis services, and college/career focus.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee: Regional youth-development nonprofit operating club-based after-school, college/career, and character programs across Middle Tennessee — directly comparable in target audience (TN youth), program mix, and reliance on corporate/foundation funding.
• YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee: Nashville-based nonprofit providing crisis services, housing, and youth programming including a Girls Inc. center — directly comparable in serving women, youth, and families through crisis, housing, and education programs in the same region.
• Room In The Inn: Nashville nonprofit providing shelter, meals, and recovery services to people experiencing homelessness — directly comparable on the housing/homelessness service line, including congregate and transitional programs for vulnerable Nashvillians.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee: Youth-mentoring nonprofit serving Middle Tennessee children and teens with one-to-one mentoring and education support — directly comparable in mission (youth development) and reliance on volunteers, individual giving, and corporate partners.

Emerging players

• tnAchieves: Statewide Tennessee college-access and scholarship nonprofit tied to TN Promise — comparable to Oasis College Connection in serving first-generation and low-income TN students with mentoring and college enrollment support.
• GLSEN: National LGBTQ+ youth education and advocacy organization — comparable to Oasis Center's Just Us, Becoming Us, and Students of Stonewall programs in serving LGBTQ+ youth, including safe-space designation and advocacy work.

Broad incumbents

• National Safe Place Alliance: National youth-safety network providing shelter, crisis intervention, and runaway/homeless youth services — broadly comparable to Oasis Center's crisis hotline, Emergency Shelter, and Runaway/Homeless Youth programming as a national umbrella.

Others

• Urban Housing Solutions: Nashville nonprofit housing developer operating Fisk Court (Oasis Center's supportive housing partner) — a close ecosystem partner and adjacent comparable in the youth homelessness housing infrastructure space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oasisnashville
• Facebookfacebook.com/oasiscenternashville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oasis-center

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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 Oasis Center