City of Refuge

Name

City of Refuge

Legal name

City of Refuge, Inc.

Website

https://cityofrefugeatl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Temporary Shelters (624221), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO), Primary Care for Underserved Populations (e.g., migrant, homeless, refugee clinics) (HLAFAGAN)

Keywords

• Homeless services
• Workforce training programs
• Transitional housing services
• Youth education programs
• Reentry support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute one-time or recurring monthly gifts through the City Lights monthly giving program. Donors can give at various levels ($25, $75, $150 per month) targeting specific services like housing, meals, childcare, and job training.
2. Major Gifts and Capital Campaign: Major gifts and capital campaign contributions. The Breaking Barriers. Building Momentum. campaign raised $35 million for Transformation Center, affordable housing, education expansion, and campus improvements.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsors and partners provide financial support, in-kind donations, volunteer groups, and job placement opportunities for program graduates.
4. In-Kind Donations: Food, clothing, and other in-kind donations from corporate partners like PMI Foods are used to support residents and community members.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

City of Refuge delivers free, integrated human services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness, poverty, and crisis through four interconnected program areas: Health & Wellness, Housing, Job Training, and Youth Development. Services are delivered on a single campus in Atlanta's 30314 zip code and include transitional and affordable housing, vocational certifications, medical/mental healthcare, tuition-free K-12 education, preschool and after-school programs, meals, case management, and reentry support. All services are provided free of charge to eligible beneficiaries and funded through donations, grants, corporate partnerships, and fundraising events.

Product overview

City of Refuge is a faith-based nonprofit organization offering a holistic, one-stop-shop approach to helping individuals and families transition out of crisis through four interconnected program areas: Health & Wellness, Housing, Job Training, and Youth Development. The organization operates a 200,000+ square foot campus in Atlanta's 30314 zip code and has expanded to include the Transformation Center (a 37,000 sq ft facility combining affordable housing, healthcare, banking, and entrepreneurship services), City School Atlanta (K-12 tuition-free school), and the Workforce Innovation Hub (vocational training in cybersecurity, automotive, welding, culinary arts, and more). City Lights provides monthly donor engagement, while the Trust First book by CEO Bruce Deel extends the organization's mission reach. Annual events like the Golf Classic and The Gathering support fundraising efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• City Lights: Monthly giving community program where donors contribute recurring monthly donations to support the organization's mission.
• The 180º Kitchen
• Eden Village
• The 345
• City Kids Preschool
• City Kids
• City Youth
• The Workforce Innovation Hub
• TYRO Reentry Program
• COR Kitchen
• The Transformation Center

Products and services

• Health & Wellness Program Integrated physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health services for residents and community members, including three daily meals (COR Kitchen, 365 days/year), Mercy Care Clinic for medical/dental/vision/mental health, Noble Clay fitness coaching, and Go Church for spiritual growth.
• Housing Program Transitional and affordable housing portfolio including Eden Village (40 units for single women and women with children), The 345 (men's housing for veterans, ages 18-25, and reentering citizens), The Burbank Homes (6 affordable single-family homes), Welcome Home Houses (transitional housing for women), and 25 affordable housing units in the Transformation Center.
• Workforce Innovation Hub (Job Training) Free vocational training and job placement including Cybersecurity (35 weeks), NAPA Automotive Technician Training (16 weeks), Welding (10 weeks), Forklift Certification (4 days), Culinary Arts, Solar Panel Installation (4 weeks), and Hospitality/Guest Experience, plus monthly on-campus job fairs.
• Youth Development Program Year-round education and enrichment from birth through 12th grade including City Kids Preschool (6 weeks to 5 years), City Kids after-school/summer camp (K-6th grade), City Youth (7th-12th grade), and City School Atlanta tuition-free accredited Christian K-12 school, plus the J17 Scholarship Fund for college-bound students.
• Transformation Center 37,000-square-foot facility two minutes from the main campus featuring 25 units of affordable housing, a medical/mental health clinic, a grocery store/fresh food market, on-site banking, and a small business and entrepreneurship hub.
• City Lights Monthly Giving Program Recurring monthly donor community program at giving levels of $25, $75, and $150 per month, targeting support for housing, meals, childcare, and job training, with donor benefits such as behind-the-scenes updates and campus recognition.
• Trust First (Book by Bruce Deel)

Quantifiable outcome

• 607 people placed into jobs in 2025
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• PMI Foods (Parker Migliorini International)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Corporate partner that donated over 3,700 pounds of high-protein food products including chicken breast fillets, pork sausage links, butter, and garlic toast to feed community members during Memorial Day weekend.
• Mercy Care CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-site partner providing medical, dental, vision, and mental health services including individual therapy, peer support recovery sessions, psychiatric care, medication management, and substance abuse counseling for residents.
• Go ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-site partner fostering a welcoming community for residents through opportunities for worship, fellowship, discipleship, and spiritual growth. Weekly services, worship nights, and meaningful relationships.
• House of CherithcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-site partner providing safe housing and supportive services where women can recover from trauma of sexual exploitation. Offers individual and group therapy including anger management, trigger identification, relapse prevention, and conflict resolution.
• Noble ClaysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-site partner offering world-class fitness coaching for residents and the community in an inclusive environment where everyone can build strength, improve health, and reach personal goals.
• NAPA Auto PartscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAPA Automotive Technician Training program offered at City of Refuge. Provides 16-week comprehensive training in automobile mechanics with certifications. Program has placed numerous graduates in automotive careers.
• MARTAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor employer partner hiring program graduates from automotive technician training. Multiple graduates including Silas, Travis, and Dondrea have been hired full-time at MARTA after completing their programs.
• Chick-fil-AcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChick-fil-A Vine City operator Quincy Springs has hired multiple program graduates including Christionn 'Tionn' as Hospitality Captain. CEO Dan Cathy has publicly endorsed the organization's work in the book 'Trust First'.
• NCR VoyixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology employer partner that hired program graduate Keenan as a full-time employee in incident response and vulnerability management after he completed the Cybersecurity program.
• Peachtree Road United MethodistsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to build The Welcome Home Houses, three supportive transitional houses for women as part of the affordable housing initiative.
• City School AtlantacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-site accredited Christian school providing tuition-free private school education for K-12th grade students from the surrounding community. Part of the holistic youth development approach.
• CapgeminisupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal IT services and consulting company that hired program graduate Rodrigo as a web developer after he completed the Tech Transformation Academy Web Developer Course.
• TYRO ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReentry program serving men and women reentering communities from incarceration, helping them develop in leadership, relationship building, character building, communication, parenting, life-skills, continuing education, and career planning.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hope Atlanta (formerly Atlanta Mission): Atlanta-based faith-informed nonprofit providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, meals, and case management to people experiencing homelessness. Directly comparable in geography, mission, and service mix to City of Refuge, and competes for similar donor and employer-partner relationships in metro Atlanta.
• Salvation Army of Metropolitan Atlanta: Faith-based organization operating shelters, food programs, addiction recovery, and workforce services across the Atlanta metro area. Directly comparable holistic service model, comparable funding mix (donations, thrift revenue, government grants), and overlapping client population in Atlanta's homeless and reentry communities.
• Union Rescue Mission (Los Angeles): Faith-based nonprofit on Skid Row providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, job training, and recovery programs under a similar holistic one-campus model. Closely comparable in mission, faith orientation, integrated services, and capital-campaign-driven campus expansion strategy.
• Denver Rescue Mission: Faith-based nonprofit offering shelter, meals, addiction recovery, and workforce development in Denver. Comparable in mission, faith-based positioning, comprehensive service array, and use of capital campaigns to fund campus expansion.
• The Bowery Mission: New York City faith-based nonprofit providing shelter, meals, workforce training, and case management with a long operating history. Comparable in holistic faith-driven service model, transitional-to-permanent housing pipeline, and emphasis on employer-led workforce placement.
• Buckner International: Dallas-based faith-based nonprofit serving at-risk children, families, and seniors through residential programs, foster care, and community services. Comparable in faith orientation, multi-site integrated services, and operating a tuition-free K-12 school component parallel to City School Atlanta.
• Catholic Charities Atlanta: Faith-based social services organization serving metro Atlanta with housing, refugee resettlement, and family support services. Comparable as a faith-rooted, multi-program Atlanta nonprofit competing for similar donor and government funding streams.

Regional players

• Goodwill of North Georgia: Workforce development nonprofit operating across North Georgia including Atlanta's Westside, providing job training and placement. Comparable on the workforce training and employer placement side of City of Refuge's offering, operating in the same labor market and serving similar populations.
• Atlanta Habitat for Humanity: Affordable housing nonprofit operating in metro Atlanta, with a focus on the Westside neighborhood. Directly comparable on the affordable housing construction and homeownership side of City of Refuge's Transformation Center housing development, and competes for similar institutional funders.
• Atlanta Community Food Bank: Large regional food bank distributing meals across metro Atlanta. Comparable on the food service and food security mission (City of Refuge served 315,380 meals in 2025) and overlapping donor and corporate partner networks in Atlanta.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cityofrefugeatl
• Instagraminstagram.com/cityofrefugeatl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cityofrefugeatl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-of-refuge
• Xx.com/cityofrefugeatl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 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 City of Refuge