Be A Leader Foundation

What Be A Leader Foundation does

Be A Leader Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2002 and headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. It operates a pipeline of college-access and college-success programs targeting historically underserved middle-school, high-school, and college students in Arizona, with a particular focus on first-generation college-goers. The Foundation delivers its services through three programmatic areas — College Access, Postsecondary Transition, and College Success — and runs a portfolio of eight college-access programs plus the Arizona Meta Network for School Improvement, which collectively serve over 14,000 students annually. Delivery is concentrated through school-district partnerships (Mesa Public Schools, Phoenix Union High School District, Tolleson Union High School District, and four AZ GEAR UP districts) and supplemented by institutional collaborations with Arizona State University, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AZ GEAR UP, and VantageScore.

The Foundation's service model is entirely free to participants and relies on grant funding and donations rather than tuition or fees. Documented outcomes include a 78% postsecondary enrollment rate among participants, a 74% persistence or degree-completion rate, and alumni placement at over 400 postsecondary institutions nationwide. Its flagship brand asset is the annual Taking Steps Towards College Success Summit, which hosted over 1,000 students at the 2025 (17th annual) event. There is no proprietary technology platform; the Foundation's digital footprint is a standard WordPress website, email newsletter, and social channels, and there is no evidence of AI, ML, or API-based products in its stack. The organization is led by President and CEO Melissa Trujillo, with Marissa Martin as Director of Advancement Initiatives and Laila Sarah as Director of Postsecondary Transition Programs.

Financially, Be A Leader Foundation is privately funded through charitable contributions. Its largest known grant is a $250,000 unrestricted award from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust in 2021 (part of the 'Now Is the Moment' initiative), and a $75,000 grant from OneAZ Credit Union was received in 2026. The organization does not disclose revenue, and there is no parent company, subsidiary, or M&A activity. Its strategic priorities are expanding the pipeline of college-going programs, scaling impact through a systems approach with school districts, and broadening postsecondary success opportunities — all pursued within the Arizona market.

Name

Be A Leader Foundation

Legal name

Be A Leader Foundation

Website

https://bealeader.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Be A Leader Foundation is a Phoenix-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a pipeline of free college-access, transition, and success programs for historically underserved Arizona students from middle school through college, serving over 14,000 youth annually through school-district partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

Keywords

• College access programs
• Leadership development
• Scholarship resources
• College mentorship
• Postsecondary transition

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Be A Leader Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates a Pipeline of free college-access programs serving historically underserved students from middle school through college. The Foundation delivers structured leadership programming, mentorship, FAFSA and scholarship application support, and postsecondary transition services through partnerships with Arizona school districts, postsecondary institutions, and philanthropic partners.

Product overview

Be A Leader Foundation is a non-profit educational organization offering a Pipeline of comprehensive college-access programs designed to increase the number of students who are prepared for and succeed in higher education. The organization operates three main programmatic areas: College Access Programs (serving middle and high school students with structured leadership programming and college preparation), College Success Programs (supporting college persistence and degree completion), and Postsecondary Transition Programs (including the AZ Meta Network for School Improvement and AZ GEAR UP partnerships that help build school district capacity for postsecondary enrollment). The Foundation also provides Student Resources including financial education tools like Know the Score (developed with VantageScore), high school timelines, SAT/ACT resources, scholarship information, and hosts the annual Taking Steps Towards College Success Summit. The organization has grown from its 2006 launch with 32 eighth graders to impacting thousands of students annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• College Access Programs
• College Success Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 78% college enrollment rate among program participants
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Arizona State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Arizona State University for the AZ Meta Network for School Improvement initiative supporting postsecondary access for underserved students.
• Mesa Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school district in the AZ Meta Network for School Improvement supporting 23 high schools across three districts.
• Phoenix Union High School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school district in the AZ Meta Network for School Improvement supporting postsecondary enrollment for underserved students.
• Tolleson Union High School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school district in the AZ Meta Network for School Improvement serving students with high minority and low-income populations.
• AZ GEAR UPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to integrate strategies for postsecondary access and enrollment for underserved students through professional development and supported FAFSA dashboards.
• VantageScoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop 'Know the Score' financial education resources helping students understand and build credit.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• College Possible: National nonprofit delivering near-peer coaching and college-access programming to low-income and first-generation high school students. Directly comparable mission, target population, and intensive cohort-based delivery model.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit providing one-on-one college access and success advising to first-generation students from low-income communities, with an explicit college-completion focus — closely mirrors Be A Leader's middle-school-through-degree pipeline.
• QuestBridge: National nonprofit connecting high-achieving, low-income students with selective colleges via matching, scholarships, and a support community. Comparable target demographic (first-generation, low-income) and postsecondary transition focus.
• iMentor: Nonprofit pairing low-income high school students with college-educated mentors for college-success outcomes. Highly relevant because Be A Leader's model similarly uses sustained mentoring as a core delivery mechanism for college success.
• College Advising Corps: Places recent college graduates as full-time college advisors in underserved high schools to expand college access. Comparable mission and school-embedded delivery model.
• ScholarMatch: Nonprofit providing low-income students with scholarship guidance, mentorship, and college advising — overlapping the same first-generation, low-income target population and college-application focus.
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund: Large national organization supporting Hispanic American students with scholarships, college readiness, and career services. Comparable target demographic (large portion of Arizona's underserved students) and postsecondary access mission.

Broad incumbents

• National College Attainment Network (NCAN): National membership and advocacy organization for the college-access and success field. Comparable in serving the same ecosystem, but functions as a convening/policy body rather than a direct service provider.

Regional players

• Helios Education Foundation: Arizona-based education philanthropy focused on postsecondary access and completion across the state. Directly comparable Arizona footprint, education mission, and grantmaking approach, but operates as a funder rather than a direct service provider.
• Arizona Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation managing charitable funds and grantmaking across Arizona. Comparable as an Arizona-anchored nonprofit intermediary, but with a broader giving mandate and not a direct college-access service provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BeALeaderFound
• Facebookfacebook.com/BeALeaderFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/be-a-leader-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Be A Leader Foundation