The Stepfamily Foundation

What The Stepfamily Foundation does

The Stepfamily Foundation, Inc. is a private not-for-profit organization founded in 1975 in New York City by Dr. Jeannette Lofas, Ph.D., LCSW, and currently headquartered at 334 Division Street, Sag Harbor, NY. The organization provides counseling services for stepfamilies and blended families covering blending, divorce, remarriage, mediation, co-parenting, custody change, pre- and post-nuptials, and parenting agreements, delivered via telephone and in-person sessions with affordable rates and a free 30-minute consultation. Its treatment model is differentiated from standard psychotherapy: rather than a feelings-based, client-discovered approach, the foundation emphasizes actionable information, management, and the couple as the focal unit, and reports an 84% success rate in counseling broken stepfamilies.

The foundation monetizes through three primary streams: (1) counseling services for adults and children; (2) a two-day Stepfamily Certification Seminar for counselors, coaches, and clergy priced at $1,200 per registrant, taught directly by Dr. Lofas, which has produced a globally distributed network of certified practitioners in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Israel, Latin America, and Africa; and (3) educational content including five published books (Stepparenting, Family Rules, Living In Step, He's OK She's OK, and the How to Be a Stepparent audiobook) sold through Amazon and other retailers, and $80 Leader's/Participant's manuals that enable third parties to run their own stepfamily support groups. The organization has no technology platform, no app, and no AI components; its moat is built on the founder's personal brand, 30+ years of research, the published content library, and the credentialed affiliate ecosystem. Dr. Lofas received the National Parents' Day Award from President Clinton in 1995, and the organization remains active with ongoing counseling, certification seminars, podcasts, YouTube content, and a blog.

Name

The Stepfamily Foundation

Legal name

The Stepfamily Foundation Inc.

Website

https://stepfamily.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Stepfamily Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1975 that provides counseling for stepfamilies, blended families, divorce, and remarriage, plus a $1,200 professional certification seminar and published books and training manuals for counselors and clergy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sag Harbor

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. Counseling Services: Provides counseling for stepfamilies, blended families, divorce, remarriage, and related issues. Offers affordable rates with free 30-minute consultations. Services available for adults and children.
2. Certification Seminars: Professional certification seminars for counselors and coaches who want to become Stepfamily Foundation certified. Registration fee of $1200. Individual certification sessions with Dr. Jeannette Lofas also available.
3. Books and Publications: Sells books on stepparenting and stepfamilies through Amazon and other retailers. Titles include Stepparenting, Family Rules, Living In Step, He's OK She's OK, and How to Be a Stepparent (audiobook).
4. Support Group Materials: Sells Leader's Manual (116 pages) and Participant's Manual (110 pages) for professionals who want to start their own stepfamily support groups. Priced at $80 for both manuals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Stepfamily Foundation provides counseling services for stepfamilies, blended families, divorce, and remarriage, delivered by phone and in-person with affordable rates and a free 30-minute consultation. It also runs a professional certification seminar for counselors and coaches ($1200 registration) and sells educational books, manuals, an audiobook, podcasts, and videos focused on stepfamily dynamics.

Product overview

The Stepfamily Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1975, providing counseling and educational services for stepfamilies. The core offerings include counseling services for stepfamilies/blended families, divorce, and remarriage; a professional certification seminar for counselors and coaches ($1200); and published books (Stepparenting, Family Rules, Living In Step, He's OK She's OK) along with an audiobook (How to be a Stepparent). Additional resources include support group materials (Leader's Manual and Participant's Manual for $80), podcasts, and videos. The organization is headquartered in Sag Harbor, NY with services delivered through phone counseling, in-person sessions, and digital content distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stepfamily Counseling Services Individual and family counseling for stepfamilies, blended families, divorce, remarriage, co-parenting, custody changes, mediation, pre- and post-nuptials, and parenting agreements; offered to adults and children at affordable rates with a free 30-minute consultation.
• Stepfamily Certification Seminar Two-day professional certification seminar led by Dr. Jeannette Lofas for counselors and coaches who want to become Stepfamily Foundation Certified; registration $1200 with individual certification sessions also available.
• Stepfamily Support Group Leader's Manual and Participant's Manual Print manual package for professionals who want to start their own stepfamily support groups: 116-page Leader's Manual and 110-page Participant's Manual sold together for $80, containing information, tools, and skill-building homework assignments.
• Stepparenting (Book) Third-edition book by Jeannette Lofas, Ph.D., LCSW, published by Citadel Press; described as the world's best-selling book on stepparenting and available in paperback and Kindle formats.
• Family Rules (Book) Book on the 21st Century Family published by Kensington Books, providing parenting skills for developing character, self-discipline, and self-esteem in children.
• Living In Step (Book) Book published by McGraw-Hill that examines the stepfamily from all points of view; available in Kindle and Paperback formats.
• He's OK, She's OK (Book) Book by Jeannette Lofas and Joan McMillian published by Tzedakah about differences between men and women; available in paperback and Kindle.
• How to Be a Stepparent (Audiobook) Audiobook narrated by Dr. Jeannette Lofas featuring actors and music, suitable for adults and children over ten; available on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play.

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% success rate in restoring broken stepfamilies

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Certified Counselors and Coaches NetworkcoreOthersGlobal network of Stepfamily Foundation certified counselors and coaches across USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Israel, Latin America, Africa. Professionals attend 2-day certification seminars with Dr. Jeannette Lofas.
• Goldberg & AssociatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partnership for parental alienation education. Firm provides free consultation services and educational conferences. Helps foundation followers with separation, divorce, and post-divorce relationship issues involving children.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterHelp: Large online counseling platform offering therapy across relationship and family topics. Comparable as a counseling delivery channel competing for the same end-customer dollars, though at vastly larger scale and via a digital subscription model.
• Talkspace: Public online therapy platform covering relationship and family concerns. Comparable as a scaled, technology-enabled alternative to the Stepfamily Foundation's telephone counseling and in-person seminar model.
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT): The largest US professional association for marriage and family therapists. Comparable as the dominant institutional body governing family-therapy practice and certification, against which the Stepfamily Foundation's niche certification competes.
• Focus on the Family: Large faith-based family counseling and media organization. Comparable in offering family counseling referrals, podcasts, books, and seminars, but operates at significantly broader scale and across the full family-life category rather than stepfamilies only.
• FamilyLife: Marriage and family ministry producing conferences, books, podcasts, and the Art of Marriage / HomeWord curricula. Comparable to the Stepfamily Foundation in combining family counseling-adjacent resources with educational content and group-based programs.

Direct peers

• National Council on Family Relations (NCFR): Multidisciplinary professional association focused on family research, education, and practice. Comparable to the Stepfamily Foundation as a family-focused nonprofit providing practitioner resources, content, and credentialing adjacent to family counseling.
• Smart Stepfamilies: Stepfamily-focused ministry and training organization led by author Ron Deal. Closely comparable to the Stepfamily Foundation in that it specifically targets blended-family audiences, trains pastors and counselors, and publishes books and curricula on stepfamily dynamics.

Regional players

• Kids in the Middle: St. Louis-based nonprofit providing counseling and groups for children and families experiencing divorce and separation. Comparable in mission and counseling service model for a narrower child-of-divorce segment within the same blended-family space.

Others

• National Fatherhood Initiative: Nonprofit providing fatherhood program resources, curricula, and training for community organizations. Comparable as a family-structure-focused nonprofit selling training materials and certifications to practitioners, similar to the Stepfamily Foundation's manuals and seminars.

Emerging players

• Rainbows International: Nonprofit providing peer-support programs for children and youth experiencing family loss, divorce, or other adversity. Comparable as a structured, curriculum-based support-group model that the Stepfamily Foundation's own manuals partially emulate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/StepfamilyFoundation/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/stepfamily
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stepfamily-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 The Stepfamily Foundation