The Oral Lee Brown Foundation

What The Oral Lee Brown Foundation does

The Oral Lee Brown Foundation is a California-based non-profit corporation founded in 1987 by Oral Lee Brown, headquartered in Oakland at 9901 MacArthur Boulevard. The foundation's core mission is providing college scholarships, mentoring, tutoring, and supplemental educational programming — including STEM, computer training, and coding — to underprivileged children in the Oakland area, with a particular focus on the East Oakland flatlands near Brookfield Elementary School. The foundation adopts entire cohorts (termed "phases") of students from elementary school through college graduation; to date it has supported 136 students across 8 phases since 1987, with founder Oral Lee Brown personally depositing $10,000 annually toward each student's college education.

The foundation's core products are long-term scholarship programs, mentoring and tutoring services (including SAT/ACT prep), STEM programs, and computer/coding instruction, delivered through Saturday School (launched September 2005), monthly meetings, school visits, and recreational activities. Its business model is donation-driven: the foundation solicits contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations, supported by an annual scholarship gala (now in its 39th year, scheduled for 2026 with 320+ attendees), walk-a-thons, and a small online merchandise store selling branded t-shirts, water bottles, and caps at $10-$21 per item. The organization operates with 1-10 employees and is governed by a Board of Directors that includes Phase 1 and Phase 3 alumni.

The foundation's go-to-market is community-led, anchored in the Oakland-Bay Area ecosystem with relationships across more than 40 corporate sponsors (Wells Fargo, Bank of the West, San Francisco Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland Athletics, Clorox, Safeway Foundation, and others), local schools, and earned media coverage on MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, CNN, ABC, and in People, Glamour, Ebony, and Essence magazines. It is recognized through awards including the 2013 Jefferson Awards Gold Award and the U.S. Department of Education's John Stanford Education Heroes Award. The foundation is not a technology organization: it has no AI/ML capabilities, no APIs or software products, and its competitive moat rests on brand, founder relationships, and community ecosystem rather than technology.

Name

The Oral Lee Brown Foundation

Legal name

The Oral Lee Brown Foundation

Website

https://oralleebrownfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Oral Lee Brown Foundation is a 1987-founded Oakland nonprofit that provides college scholarships, mentoring, tutoring, and STEM/coding instruction to underprivileged children in the Oakland area, having supported 136 students across 8 phases through a donation-funded model and annual gala-driven fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

After-School Academic Support Programs (Centers & Clubs) (EDAJALAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Title I & Compensatory Education Programs (EDAJAGAJ), K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA)

Keywords

• Educational scholarships
• Student mentoring programs
• Tutoring services
• Stem education access
• College readiness support

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation relies primarily on donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations to fund its scholarship programs and operational costs. Donations are solicited through the website, events, and direct outreach to sponsors.
2. Merchandise Sales: The foundation sells branded merchandise including t-shirts, water bottles, and baseball caps to generate additional revenue and promote awareness.
3. Event Revenue: Annual scholarship galas and banquets serve as both fundraising events and community engagement opportunities, with ticket sales contributing to operational funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Oral Lee Brown Foundation adopts cohorts of underprivileged children from Oakland-area elementary schools and provides them with comprehensive educational support from first grade through college graduation. Core offerings include college scholarships (with annual $10,000 deposits per student covering tuition, housing, and living expenses), one-on-one mentoring, after-school and Saturday tutoring with CAHSEE/SAT/ACT test preparation, STEM programs, and computer training and coding instruction.

Product overview

The Oral Lee Brown Foundation is a non-profit educational support organization offering a portfolio of programs for underprivileged children in the Oakland area. The core offerings include scholarship disbursement, mentoring and tutoring services, STEM programs, and computer training and coding instruction. The foundation supports students through Saturday School, monthly meetings, school visits, and recreational activities. Additional offerings include an annual scholarship gala and a merchandise store selling branded items to support fundraising. The organization operates through adoption of student cohorts (phases) from elementary through college, providing comprehensive support services including academic monitoring, test preparation (CAHSEE & SAT/ACT), and financial assistance for higher education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scholarship Programs College scholarship disbursement and financial assistance to underprivileged children adopted by the foundation, with annual $10,000 deposits per student covering tuition, housing, and living expenses.
• Mentoring and Tutoring Services After-school tutoring programs providing academic support and CAHSEE and SAT/ACT test preparation, plus ongoing personal mentorship to adopted students from elementary school through college.
• STEM Programs Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics educational programs offered to supported students as part of the foundation's educational enrichment services.
• Computer Training and Coding Computer literacy and coding instruction provided to supported students as part of the foundation's educational enrichment curriculum.
• Saturday School Program Saturday academic enrichment program launched in September 2005 that allows the foundation to accept students from different grade levels and serve a larger number of students through weekend academic programming.
• Annual Scholarship Gala Annual fundraising gala celebrating student achievements and raising awareness for the foundation's mission, with over 320 attendees and notable keynote speakers.
• OLBF Merchandise Store Online store selling branded merchandise including T-shirts ($20), water bottles ($10), and baseball caps ($21) to support foundation fundraising efforts and awareness.

Quantifiable outcome

• 136 students from low-income families have received support for college
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Nationwide RealtycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwned by founder Oral Lee Brown, this real estate brokerage serves as a core organizational partner and major sponsor.
• Oakland Berkeley Association of Realtors (OBAR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal real estate association that co-sponsored the 2016 Walk-a-thon and provides ongoing organizational support.
• KTVU 2minorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal television station that featured a video special on the Oral Lee Brown Foundation.
• Brookfield Elementary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOakland elementary school where the foundation adopted its first class in 1987, marking the beginning of the program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• UNCF (United Negro College Fund): UNCF is a large national scholarship and education advocacy organization supporting African American students through college. Comparable to OLBF in providing scholarships and educational support to underprivileged minority students, but operates at national scale with a much broader institutional infrastructure.
• KIPP Foundation (KIPP Public Schools): KIPP operates a national network of charter schools serving low-income K-12 students with a college-prep focus and through-college alumni support. Comparable mission of breaking poverty cycles through K-12 education, though KIPP delivers via charter schools rather than a nonprofit scholarship-and-mentoring model.

Direct peers

• Jackie Robinson Foundation: JRF provides multi-year scholarships, mentoring, and leadership development to underprivileged minority students from first grade through college and career. Closely mirrors OLBF's cohort-style, longitudinal student support model with strong mentorship component.
• QuestBridge: QuestBridge connects high-achieving, low-income students with selective colleges through full scholarships and programming. Comparable to OLBF in targeting first-generation, low-income students for college access, but does so via a national college-matching platform rather than a single-city cohort model.
• College Track: College Track is a nonprofit that provides comprehensive college-access programming to underserved high school students, including academic support, mentoring, and scholarships. Highly comparable to OLBF in targeting low-income students with wraparound college-prep services and being headquartered in the Bay Area (Oakland/East Palo Alto).
• Bottom Line: Bottom Line provides high school and college students from low-income backgrounds with near-peer coaching, advising, and scholarships through college graduation. Closely parallel to OLBF's longitudinal, one-on-one college-completion model focused on degree attainment.

Regional players

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland: Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland provides after-school academic support, mentoring, and STEM programming to Oakland youth from low-income backgrounds. Comparable in serving Oakland youth with after-school tutoring and enrichment, though broader in scope (ages 6-18) and not a scholarship provider.
• Oakland Public Education Fund: The Oakland Public Education Fund mobilizes resources for Oakland public schools through grants and community partnerships. Comparable in supporting Oakland K-12 education and student outcomes, but functions as an intermediary funder rather than a direct student-services provider.
• Eastside Preparatory School: Eastside Prep is an Oakland-based private middle school serving underserved East Oakland students with a college-prep curriculum. Comparable in addressing educational inequity for East Oakland children from low-income families, though structured as a school rather than an extracurricular scholarship/mentoring program.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area: BBBS Bay Area provides one-on-one mentoring relationships for youth in the Bay Area, particularly those facing adversity. Comparable to OLBF in providing long-term mentoring relationships to underserved youth in the same geographic region, but with a broader mentoring-not-scholarship focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oralfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oral-lee-brown-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Oral Lee Brown Foundation