Wallin Education Partners

What Wallin Education Partners does

Wallin Education Partners is a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization founded in 1992 that delivers a comprehensive college-completion and career-readiness program combining multi-year financial aid, individualized advising, and career-connected learning for scholars from partner high schools. It operates a three-phase model (Begin, Belong, Become) spanning enrollment through graduation, and serves a scholar base that is 83% students of color and 72% first-generation; reported outcomes include a 91% six-year graduation rate for 4-Year Scholars (vs. a 61% national benchmark), 95% employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation, and 39% of alumni graduating with no debt.

The organization's programmatic surface spans a 4-Year Program (up to $16,000 in aid), a 2-Year Opportunity Pathway (up to $8,000), the Construction Pathway with Mortenson Construction, Ryan Companies, and Dunwoody College of Technology (up to $35,000), the HealthPartners Pathway for allied-health students, the Building Strong Families Pathway for social-work and family-studies majors, and UpTurnships (acquired July 2023) which adds paid internships and career coaching. Distribution runs through 80+ partner high schools, 12 partner community colleges, and accredited four-year institutions across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and HBCUs nationwide.

Wallin's revenue model is donation-driven: individual donor partners fund named scholars at $23,000 (or $5,750 over four years), general program-support gifts and grants supplement operations, and a multi-year 'Changing the Odds' capital campaign had raised $12.9M of a $15M goal as of disclosure (with a $250,000 matching grant from the Otto Bremer Trust). No proprietary technology platform is described; data and donor systems are supported by standard CRM/database tooling.

Name

Wallin Education Partners

Legal name

Wallin Education Partners

Website

https://wallinpartners.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wallin Education Partners is a St. Paul-based nonprofit founded in 1992 that provides multi-year scholarships, individualized advising, and college-to-career programming to first-generation and students of color in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, supported through individual donations, employer pathway partnerships, and capital campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (61), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

Keywords

• College scholarship programs
• Student advising services
• College access programs
• Nonprofit education services
• College-to-career programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Scholar Support (Donor Partners): Donor partners contribute $23,000 or $5,750 over four years to support individual scholars, including scholarship, advising, and support services. Nearly 5,000 graduations have been enabled through donor support.
2. Program Support Donations: General donations supporting overall program operations, including scholar program enhancements, recruitment, selection, college-to-career programming, and peer-mentoring.
3. Campaign Contributions (Changing the Odds): The organization ran a 'Changing the Odds' campaign that raised $12.9 million toward a $15 million goal, with a $250,000 matching grant from Otto Bremer Trust.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wallin Education Partners is a nonprofit organization that provides multi-year financial aid scholarships combined with individualized advising and college-to-career programming to low-income, first-generation students from partner high schools. Offerings include 4-year and 2-year scholarship pathways, specialized employer-linked pathways (Construction, HealthPartners, Building Strong Families), paid internships through UpTurnships, and donor partner sponsorship programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 4-Year Program Scholarship Multi-year scholarship for students from partner high schools pursuing four-year bachelor's degrees at accredited institutions in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, or HBCUs nationwide. Provides up to $16,000 in financial aid over four years, one-on-one advising, and access to career programming. Eligibility: graduating senior from partner high school, minimum 3.0 GPA, and AGI under $95,000 (up to $135,000 for families of 6+).
• 2-Year Program (Opportunity Pathway) Scholarship program for students from partner high schools pursuing two-year associate degrees or workforce training at 12 partner community colleges across Minnesota. Provides up to $8,000 over two years in financial aid. Eligibility: graduating senior from partner high school with minimum 2.0 GPA.
• Construction Pathway Specialized scholarship pathway for students pursuing construction project management degrees at Dunwoody College of Technology. Provides up to $35,000 in financial aid over two years and includes paid summer internships with pathway to employment at Mortenson Construction or Ryan Companies.
• HealthPartners Pathway

Quantifiable outcome

• 91% 6-year graduation rate for 4-Year Scholars (vs. 61% national average)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UpTurnshipscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023UpTurnships officially joined Wallin Education Partners on July 1, 2023. The merger combines Wallin's scholarship and advising with UpTurnships' paid internship and career development program, creating a comprehensive college-to-career support system.
• Mortenson ConstructioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Mortenson Construction partnered with Wallin and Dunwoody College of Technology in 2022 to create the Construction Pathway. Mortenson Scholar receives up to $30,000 in financial aid over two years and a full-time paid summer internship, with potential for full-time employment upon graduation.
• Ryan CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Ryan Companies partnered with Wallin and Dunwoody College of Technology for the Construction Pathway. Ryan Scholar receives up to $35,000 in financial aid over two years and a full-time paid summer internship, with pathway to full-time employment.
• Dunwoody College of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDunwoody College of Technology serves as the educational partner for the Construction Pathway, offering Construction Project Management degree. Students receive Wallin scholarship along with Dunwoody's Pathway to Career support.
• HealthPartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthPartners partnered with Wallin for the HealthPartners Pathway, offering up to $8,000 in scholarship over two years for Medical Assisting, Medical Lab Tech, or Dental Hygiene students. Includes paid internship and pathway to employment.
• Achieve Twin CitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner collaborating with Wallin in recruiting scholars and supporting college access initiatives.
• American Indian EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner supporting Wallin's mission to increase educational access for American Indian students.
• Partner Community CollegescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner12 partner community colleges across Minnesota including Anoka-Ramsey, Century College, Dakota County Technical College, Hennepin Technical College, Minneapolis College, Normandale, North Hennepin, Saint Paul College, and others.
• Partner 4-Year InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccredited 4-year public and private (not-for-profit) institutions in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and all HBCUs nationwide enable Wallin to provide in-person advising and support.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• College Possible: National nonprofit providing college access and success coaching for low-income students, with a coaching model and employer/college partnerships highly comparable to Wallin's scholar advising approach.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit delivering 1:1 college access and success advising to low-income, first-generation students, with a near-identical model of paired advising and outcomes focus (degree completion, grad school placement).
• I Have A Dream Foundation: National nonprofit that sponsors cohorts of students from low-income communities through college access, scholarships, and postsecondary support — closely aligned with Wallin's cohort-based, multi-year support model.
• QuestBridge: National nonprofit connecting high-achieving low-income students to selective colleges and scholarships; comparable target population (first-gen, students of color) and a full-pipeline college access model.
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund: Largest U.S. nonprofit supporting Hispanic American higher education through scholarships, mentoring, and career services — direct overlap with Wallin's demographic focus and service mix.
• American Indian College Fund: National nonprofit providing scholarships and support for American Indian and Alaska Native students, including those attending tribal colleges; relevant given Wallin's American Indian Education partnership work.
• uAspire: Nonprofit focused on college affordability, financial aid advising, and scholarships for low-income students — directly comparable to Wallin's scholarship plus advising bundle.
• Achieve Twin Cities: Local Twin Cities college and career readiness nonprofit; serves a similar Minneapolis-St. Paul low-income high school population and partners with many of the same schools Wallin recruits from.

Broad incumbents

• UNCF: Largest national minority education organization administering scholarships and college support for African American students; comparable scholarship + wraparound support model at far greater scale.
• EMCF Foundation: Large education-focused foundation funding college access, persistence, and career initiatives nationally; comparable mission and serves as both a funder and operator-adjacent player in the same space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WallinEducationPartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wallin-partners
• Xx.com/wallinpartners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Wallin Education Partners