WISE (Women in Sports and Events, Inc.)

What WISE (Women in Sports and Events, Inc.) does

WISE (Women in Sports and Events, Inc.) is a New York-based nonprofit professional development organization founded in 1993 to advance women working in the business of sports. The organization serves a community of 6,700+ members across 20+ local chapters throughout North America, spanning early-career, midcareer, and executive-level professionals. WISE delivers a multi-surface offering that combines structured leadership programs (Career Accelerator, Emerging Leaders, and the Executive Leadership Institute co-developed with Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth), a digital mentoring platform (WISE Within), a private member community (WISE Connect), a dedicated sports-industry job board, signature events (WISE Women of the Year, WISE/R Symposium, WISE Multiplier Summit, Speed Mentoring Roundtables), and the Graduate Scholars Award program.

The underlying technology stack consists of three digital surfaces — the WISE Within mentoring platform for goal-focused one-on-one mentor pairings, WISE Connect as a private community network, and the WISE Job Board for employment listings — layered on a member portal (ams.wiseworks.org) and a learning management environment (learning.wiseworks.org). There are no disclosed AI capabilities, APIs, or proprietary algorithms; the platforms function as engagement infrastructure rather than intelligence layers.

WISE's revenue is generated through three streams: annual membership dues (recurring, but pricing is not publicly disclosed), charitable donations and contributions from individuals and organizations, and corporate sponsorships anchored by a partner council that includes all five major North American professional sports leagues (NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MLS) plus AEG, the Chicago Bulls, the New York Yankees, and FanDuel. The organization operates as a community-led go-to-market model, with growth driven by word-of-mouth, industry recognition, employer-sponsored memberships, and event-based acquisition rather than paid marketing.

Name

WISE (Women in Sports and Events, Inc.)

Legal name

Women in Sports and Events, Inc.

Website

https://WISEworks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WISE (Women in Sports and Events, Inc.) is a nonprofit professional development organization founded in 1993 that serves 6,700+ women professionals across 20+ chapters in North America through leadership programs, mentoring, networking, and signature industry events in the sports business sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Development Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAKAKAK

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Sports Management & Promotion Services

Keywords

• Professional women's networks
• Leadership development programs
• Sports industry mentoring
• Career advancement resources
• Membership-based associations

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees providing access to professional development resources, networking events, mentoring platforms, local chapters, and member-exclusive content.
2. Donations and Contributions: Charitable donations and support from individuals and organizations to fund WISE's mission of advancing women in sports.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Support from major sports leagues and organizations including NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MLS, AEG, Chicago Bulls, New York Yankees, and FanDuel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

WISE is a membership-based nonprofit professional development organization serving women in the sports industry. It delivers tiered leadership programs (Career Accelerator, Emerging Leaders, Executive Leadership Institute with Tuck School of Business), digital mentoring and community platforms (WISE Within, WISE Connect), a sports-industry job board, scholarship awards, and operates 20+ local chapters across North America supporting 6,700+ members.

Product overview

WISE (Women in Sports and Events, Inc.) is a membership-based professional development organization serving the sports industry with a multi-pronged platform approach. The core offering consists of leadership development programs (WISE Career Accelerator for early career professionals, WISE Emerging Leaders for midcareer professionals, and WISE Executive Leadership Institute with Tuck faculty), mentoring services (WISE Within digital mentoring platform and Speed Mentoring Roundtables), community networking (WISE Connect digital community and Local Chapter Events), and signature events (WISE Women of the Year Award, WISE/R Symposium, and WISE Multiplier Summit). Additional offerings include the Graduate Scholars Award Program and WISE Job Board career resources. The organization operates across 20+ chapters throughout North America and serves 6,700+ members with programming at various career stages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WISE Within: A modern digital mentoring platform that enables members to begin and build one-on-one, goal-focused mentoring relationships with experienced professionals in the sports industry.
• WISE Connect
• WISE Career Accelerator Program
• WISE Emerging Leaders Program
• WISE Executive Leadership Institute (WELI)
• WISE Women of the Year
• WISE/R Symposium
• WISE Multiplier Summit

Products and services

• WISE Career Accelerator Program Professional development program for early career professionals providing exposure to fundamental practices that transform and elevate how members perform and collaborate.
• WISE Emerging Leaders Program Professional development program for midcareer professionals focusing on developing practices required to execute long-term strategy, build influence, lead teams and manage complexity.
• WISE Executive Leadership Institute (WELI) Gold standard leadership training program combining the academic rigor of Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth's world-class faculty with the real lived experiences of peer executives.
• Graduate Scholars Award Program Award program supporting graduate-level education for WISE members pursuing advancement in the sports industry.
• WISE Within Mentor Program Modern digital platform enabling members to begin and build one-on-one, goal-focused mentoring relationships with experienced industry professionals in sports.
• WISE Connect Private digital community platform enabling WISE members to meet like-minded professionals and grow their professional network.
• WISE Job Board Career resources platform connecting WISE members with job opportunities in the sports industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,700+ members across North America demonstrating community scale and reach
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NHL (National Hockey League)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor professional sports league partnership supporting WISE's mission. NHL is part of the WISE partner council providing visibility and support for women in hockey-related careers and business operations.
• NBA (National Basketball Association)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor professional sports league partnership. NBA supports WISE's programming and provides visibility for women in basketball and broader sports business careers.
• MLB (Major League Baseball)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor professional baseball league partnership supporting women in baseball operations and sports business through WISE programming and visibility.
• NFL (National Football League)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor professional football league partnership providing support for women's professional development and career advancement in football operations and sports business.
• MLS (Major League Soccer)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor professional soccer league partnership supporting WISE's mission and providing visibility for women in soccer business operations.
• AEGcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal sports and entertainment venue operator partnership supporting WISE through sponsorship and providing professional development opportunities in venue management and entertainment operations.
• Chicago BullsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNBA team partnership supporting WISE's mission and providing visibility for women in professional basketball operations and team business management.
• New York YankeesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMLB team partnership supporting WISE programming and providing career development visibility in professional baseball operations.
• FanDuelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSports betting and gaming company partnership supporting WISE's mission with visibility for women in emerging sports technology and gaming sectors.
• Tuck School of Business at DartmouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for the Executive Leadership Institute (WELI) combining Tuck's world-class faculty with peer executive experiences for gold-standard leadership training.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Catalyst: Catalyst is a long-established global nonprofit supporting women in business through research, leadership programs, and employer partnerships — comparable to WISE's executive leadership and corporate sponsorship model but at much larger scale.
• NAACP: NAACP and similar advocacy nonprofits operate on comparable mission-driven nonprofit structures with sponsorship, donor, and event-based revenue — though focused on racial equity rather than gender equity in sports.
• Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program: The Aspen Institute's Sports & Society Program convenes leaders across sports for dialogue and policy work, including women's leadership — overlapping with WISE's industry thought-leadership programming (e.g., WISE Multiplier Summit) though broader in scope.

Direct peers

• Ellevate Network: Ellevate Network is a large membership-based professional community for women, offering mentoring, events, and career resources — directly analogous to WISE's career-stage programming and digital community model, though broader than sports.
• Forte Foundation: Forte Foundation runs leadership and career programs aimed at women in business, with strong corporate sponsorship and educational institution partnerships — closely mirroring WISE's programming and corporate-backed funding approach.
• Women's Sports Foundation: Founded by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a comparable nonprofit dedicated to advancing women's participation in sports through advocacy, research, and leadership programs — making it the closest mission-aligned peer to WISE in the women's sports nonprofit space.
• Women Leaders in College Sports: Women Leaders in College Sports is a membership association advancing women in collegiate athletics administration — directly comparable to WISE in offering programming, networking, and mentoring for women in sports business, with overlap at the collegiate/intercollegiate segment.
• The Women's Forum of New York: The Women's Forum of New York is a membership-driven organization advancing women leaders through events, awards, and mentoring — sharing WISE's signature events, awards-based brand-building, and New York City footprint.
• Women in Sports Tech (WiST): WiST is a nonprofit community advancing women across the sports technology ecosystem through programming and networking, overlapping directly with WISE's mission to support women working in the sports industry.

Emerging players

• iRela8: iRela8 is a community and platform connecting women in the sports business for networking and career support — directly comparable to WISE's networking and mentoring mission but emerging as a digital-first alternative.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WISESFbayarea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 WISE (Women in Sports and Events, Inc.)