Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester

What Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester does

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, operating one-to-one youth mentoring programs across five Upstate New York counties (Ontario, Monroe, Yates, Livingston, and Wayne). Founded through a 1978 United Way-facilitated merger of two predecessor agencies and affiliated with the national BBBS network in 1983, the organization matches adult volunteers ("Bigs") with youth ("Littles") in community-based, school-based, and workplace mentoring settings. Its core service is professionally-supported mentoring, augmented by events such as Bowl for Kids' Sake and Cornhole for Kids' Sake, and a portfolio of digital channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, quarterly newsletter, blog) for volunteer recruitment and donor engagement.

The organization's primary technology asset is Matchforce, a proprietary performance management tool developed at the national level that tracks interactions between mentors and youth and feeds data back into agency decisions and staff support. The organization reports outcome metrics — 100% on-track high school graduation, 98.5% increased educational expectations, and 93.5% improvement in social competence — anchored in the science-based mentoring model validated by Public/Private Ventures research. It is governed by a board chaired by Chris Huels and led by CEO Dr. Ghislaine Radegonde-Eison, with program management led by Eddie Lewis (joined 2024).

The business model is donations-and-grants-based: services are provided at no cost to eligible youth and families, with revenue derived from individual donors, corporate sponsors, foundation grants (including a documented $30,000 grant from Rochester Area Community Foundation in 2023), and event fundraising. The organization operates from a single Rochester headquarters (1 South Washington Street) with 11–50 employees and serves 300+ youth annually. Recent strategic activity has been incremental — new board members, a new program manager, website accessibility upgrades — rather than expansionary, suggesting a steady-state operating posture within the existing five-county footprint.

Name

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester

Legal name

Big Brothers Big Sisters Of Greater Rochester

Website

https://beabig.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of BBBS of America that delivers one-to-one youth mentoring programs to 300+ children annually across five Upstate New York counties, funded by donations, grants, and fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mentoring Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

Keywords

• Youth mentoring services
• Nonprofit mentoring programs
• Volunteer mentorship
• Youth development programs
• Community-based mentoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Financial support from individual donors, corporate sponsors, and community supporters to maintain and grow mentoring programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester delivers free one-to-one youth mentoring by matching adult volunteers (Bigs) with children and youth (Littles) from underserved communities. Programs are delivered through community-based, school-based, and workplace-based mentoring relationships across Ontario, Monroe, Yates, Livingston, and Wayne counties in Upstate New York.

Product overview

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester operates as a single unified service offering one-to-one youth mentoring programs. The organization delivers community-based, school-based, and workplace mentoring through professionally-supported match relationships. Its primary service is one-to-one mentoring, supplemented by a proprietary performance management tool called Matchforce that enables staff to track match interactions and continuously improve services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• One-to-One Mentoring Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% high school graduation rate while enrolled
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered support and core.

• UserWaysupportTechnology or IntegrationPartnered with UserWay, a leading web accessibility consultant, to implement accessibility technology that brings the website into conformance with WCAG and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated with the national organization BBBS of America since 1983. Receives ongoing training and consulting from BBBS National Office. BBBS is the nation's oldest and largest youth mentoring organization founded in 1904.
• United WaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Way facilitated the merger of Rochester Community Involvement and Volunteers in Partnership in 1978, forming Community Partners for Youth, Inc., the predecessor organization.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National network providing youth development programming with a similar affiliate model to BBBS. Compares as the broader incumbent in youth services that competes for the same philanthropic pool at the national level.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: National umbrella and brand owner for all BBBS affiliates including Greater Rochester. Directly comparable because Rochester operates as a licensed affiliate under its standards, training, and Matchforce system.

Direct peers

• Boys & Girls Club of Rochester: Local Rochester nonprofit serving children and youth with programming focused on academic success, healthy lifestyles, and character leadership. Competes directly for the same donor dollars, volunteer hours, and youth population in the same five-county footprint.
• Girls Inc. of Rochester: Local Rochester affiliate of a national youth development nonprofit serving girls with mentoring, education, and life skills programming. Direct competitor for funding, volunteers, and youth participants in the same five-county region.
• YMCA of Greater Rochester: Regional nonprofit serving youth and families through after-school, mentoring-adjacent, and youth development programs across the same Upstate New York geography. Competes for funding, volunteers, and youth participants.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City: Another independently-operated BBBS affiliate serving youth in New York State. Operates the same one-to-one mentoring model with the same Matchforce technology for an urban youth population, making it the closest direct functional peer.

Others

• United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes: Coordinating funder and convener for many Rochester human-services nonprofits; historically facilitated BBBSR's 1978 merger and continues to serve as a major institutional donor and grantmaker in the same ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Mentoring Partnership of New York: Statewide organization that promotes and supports quality youth mentoring across New York, including affiliates like BBBSR. Comparable as an ecosystem player shaping mentor recruitment, training standards, and public funding for mentoring.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BigBrothersBigSistersofGreater
• Facebookfacebook.com/BBBSR.NY
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bbbsroc
• Instagraminstagram.com/bbbs.roc
• Xx.com/bbbsr

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester