Teens in Public Service

What Teens in Public Service does

Teens in Public Service (TIPS) is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 that runs the only paid summer internship program in the Puget Sound region placing high school students (ages 15-19) exclusively at vetted nonprofit organizations. The core product is a 6-8 week summer internship during which interns work 20-30 hours per week earning Seattle minimum wage (up to $21.30/hour in 2026, capped at roughly $3,300 per intern), supplemented by three mandatory program events — Intern Orientation (May), Leadership Day (July), and Celebration of Service (August) — that deliver professional development, networking, and recognition. A secondary offering, the Youth Action Committee (YAC), extends engagement to alumni during the school year with project-based work. Technology is minimal: the program operates through a Squarespace-hosted website (teensinpublicservice.org) and uses Submittable as a third-party application management platform, with no proprietary software, API, or integrations.

The business model is philanthropic rather than commercial. TIPS raises operating funds through three streams: individual donations (suggested tiers include $100 for Leadership Day sponsorship, $3,500 for one intern's summer salary, and $5,000 to fully sponsor an intern), corporate sponsorships (event sponsorships, internship event sponsorships, individual intern sponsorships, and workplace visits), and institutional grant funding (current partners include Seattle Foundation, Boeing Company, and anonymous funders, alongside corporate supporters such as Amazon, Gates Foundation, DLA Piper, KeyBank, Perkins Coie, and Ryan Swanson). An Annual Fall Luncheon serves as the flagship fundraising event — the 2023 edition raised over $245,000 alone. The customer base is two-sided: high school students seeking paid summer employment, leadership development, and community service experience, and roughly 300 nonprofit host organizations across human services, arts, environment, advocacy, and youth services that receive summer staffing capacity. Geographic scope is regional, focused on the Puget Sound region with King County as the historical base and Kitsap County added in 2025.

The organization is small (1-10 employees) but operationally mature after 30 years, having placed over 1,200 interns across 300+ nonprofit partners. Leadership was substantially refreshed in 2023-2024 with the appointment of Hans Juhl as Board Chair (December 2023), Meghan Barnes as Interim Executive Director (December 2023), and Geoff Ball as permanent Executive Director (July 2024), followed by Erin Escobar joining as Program & Development Associate in September 2024. The 2025 program year marked an inflection: TIPS hosted its largest cohort ever at 100 students while expanding geographically into Kitsap County. Direct applications open in November via Submittable for the following summer, with matching to host nonprofits driven by student skills, interests, location, and availability. Outreach relies on community partnerships with feeder organizations such as Rainier Scholars, Summer Search, Community for Youth, Treehouse, Young Executives of Color, and more recently Canopy Neurodiversity Foundation.

Name

Teens in Public Service

Legal name

Teens In Public Service

Website

https://teensinpublicservice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Teens in Public Service is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 that places high school students ages 15-19 in paid summer internships at vetted nonprofit organizations across the Puget Sound region, combining workforce development with community service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Workforce Development and Nonprofit Internship Services

NAICS

Apprenticeship Training (611513)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs (BPACANAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth & Young Adult Workforce Programs (Out-of-School Youth) (EDAAAOAD)

Keywords

• Youth workforce development
• Paid summer internships
• Nonprofit internship programs
• Youth leadership development
• Community service programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

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 from Individuals: Individual donors contribute to support TIPS internship programs. Suggested donation amounts include $100 to sponsor one intern for Leadership Day, $3,500 to sponsor one intern's summer salary, and $5,000 to fully sponsor one intern for the summer.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors support TIPS through event sponsorships (Annual Fall Luncheon), sponsoring specific internship events (Orientation, Leadership Day, Celebration of Service), sponsoring individual interns at nonprofit partners, hosting workplace visits, and company events with TIPS as beneficiary.
3. Grant Funding: TIPS receives grant funding from local and national organizations. Current grant partners include Seattle Foundation, Boeing Company, and anonymous funders. TIPS has fostered grant partnerships since 1997.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Teens in Public Service (TIPS) operates a paid summer internship program that places high school students ages 15-19 at vetted nonprofit partner organizations throughout the Puget Sound region for 6-8 weeks during summer. Interns earn Seattle minimum wage (up to $21.30/hour in 2026, totaling up to $3,300) working up to 160 hours at their placement. The program supplements placements with mandatory professional development events (Orientation, Leadership Day, Celebration of Service) and the Youth Action Committee (YAC) for alumni engagement.

Product overview

Teens in Public Service (TIPS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a single integrated youth workforce development program. The core offering is the TIPS Summer Internship Program, which places high school students in paid summer internships at nonprofit partners across the Puget Sound region. The program is supplemented by the Youth Action Committee (YAC) for alumni engagement and three mandatory program events (Orientation, Leadership Day, and Celebration of Service) that provide professional development, leadership training, and community building. The organization does not offer technology products, SaaS platforms, or software services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TIPS Summer Internship Program A paid summer internship program that places high school students ages 15-19 at vetted nonprofit partner organizations throughout the Puget Sound region for 6-8 weeks during summer. Interns work 20-30 hours per week earning Seattle minimum wage (up to $21.30/hr in 2026, maximum $3,300 for the summer), gaining hands-on experience at nonprofit organizations, developing leadership and professional skills, and earning school credit.
• Youth Action Committee (YAC) A school-year program that invites recent intern alumni to support TIPS with projects of interest, provide feedback about programming updates and changes, and develop project management skills.
• Mandatory Program Events Three mandatory events for interns: Intern Orientation (May), Leadership Day (July), and Celebration of Service (August). Events provide professional development, networking, and recognition opportunities for participating interns.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,200+ high school students placed in paid summer internships over 30 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Canopy Neurodiversity FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to support neurodivergent teens (with ADD, ADHD, and/or autism) with the TIPS application process through additional support and resources.
• Rainier ScholarscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community partnership for outreach and recruitment. Founded in 2000, Rainier Scholars is a 12-year comprehensive college preparatory program that empowers today's leaders through rigorous academics, transformative opportunities, and holistic support.
• Summer SearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community partnership. Summer Search's mission is to break down systemic barriers and social inequality through education, mentorship, and engaging learning experiences. Works with high schoolers through college students.
• Community for YouthminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community partnership working in South Seattle to empower students through mentoring and community connections with adult mentors.
• TreehouseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community partnership providing educational, material, and financial supports for youth in Washington State foster care system.
• Young Executives of Color (YEOC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024University of Washington based program supporting high school students of color with college preparation, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.
• California College of the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Interaction Design students from California College of the Arts worked with TIPS on a Social Lab project to support TIPS' story-telling through visual design, including Annual Fall Luncheon collateral.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Year Up: Year Up is a national youth workforce development nonprofit providing training and corporate internships to young adults (typically 18-24). It is a broader incumbent serving an adjacent age band and a wider geographic footprint than TIPS, but addresses the same youth-workforce-development category.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Boys & Girls Clubs is a national youth-development nonprofit providing after-school and summer programming, including workforce readiness and internship pathways. A broad incumbent in the same youth-development category with greater scale and national brand.

Direct peers

• Genesys Works: Genesys Works provides high school students from underserved communities with year-long paid corporate internships and skills training. It is a direct functional peer to TIPS — same student-internship model — but with a national footprint and corporate (rather than nonprofit) placements.
• Cristo Rey Network: Cristo Rey runs a network of 38 Catholic high schools whose students participate in a corporate work-study internship program. Comparable to TIPS in combining high school education with paid work placements, though structured as a formal school model rather than a summer program.
• Bottom Line: Bottom Line provides college access and persistence support to low-income students, including career and internship preparation. Closely comparable mission to TIPS in supporting first-generation and underrepresented youth through workforce-readiness pathways.
• Summer Search: Summer Search provides mentoring and experiential summer opportunities (often internships/service) for high school students from low-income backgrounds. Functionally comparable to TIPS in combining youth workforce/leadership development with a summer-experience delivery model.
• Urban Alliance: Urban Alliance provides paid internships, mentoring, and professional development to high school students, primarily in DC and other East Coast cities. Closest direct functional peer to TIPS — same student-age band, paid internship model, nonprofit/corporate host placements.

Regional players

• Rainier Scholars: Rainier Scholars is a Seattle-based 12-year college preparatory program serving students of color. Listed as a TIPS community partner, it is comparable as a regional youth-development nonprofit targeting similar demographics in the same Puget Sound geography.
• Treehouse: Treehouse is a Washington State nonprofit supporting youth in foster care with educational and material resources, and is a TIPS community partner. Comparable as a regional youth-services nonprofit in the same geography, though focused on foster-care youth rather than workforce placements.
• Community for Youth: Community for Youth is a Seattle-based nonprofit providing mentoring and community connections for South Seattle students. Listed as a TIPS community partner, it is comparable as a regional youth-mentoring nonprofit serving overlapping demographics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Teens in Public Service