What Seeding Success does

Seeding Success is a 501(c)(3) collective-impact backbone organization headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, founded in January 2013 during the merger of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools. The organization works to improve cradle-to-career outcomes for children and families in Shelby County by aligning the strategy, policy, and funding of more than 100 cross-sector partner organizations (and, through the More for Memphis coalition, 300+ partners) across education, early childhood, community schools, out-of-school time, reentry, and economic mobility. Its product surface is built around four flagship programs — First 8 Memphis (prenatal-to-age-8 early childhood system), More for Memphis (multi-sector coalition across six focus areas), the Shelby County Community Schools Partnership (Full-Service Community Schools model in Frayser, North Memphis, and Millington), and Beyond the Classroom (K-12 out-of-school coordination) — complemented by professional-development offerings (Data Use & Literacy, Continuous Improvement 101, Results-Based Facilitation, Myers-Briggs) and a downloadable Continuous Improvement Toolkit of Lean/PDSA templates. The technology stack is modest but distinctive: a master data-sharing agreement with Memphis-Shelby County Schools powers Tableau-based student dashboards (with consent managed through PowerSchool), while the continuous-improvement toolkit provides standardized process-improvement artifacts to partners.

Seeding Success functions on a diversified nonprofit revenue model spanning federal grants (e.g., $15M U.S. Department of Education Full-Service Community Schools grant plus $15M local match, a $999K Bureau of Justice Assistance Returning Neighbors grant), state and local public funding, private philanthropy (Blue Meridian Partners, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and a developing fee-for-service consulting arm packaging system-operator, portfolio delivery management, and infrastructure-build capabilities for out-of-region school systems and cross-sector customers. Training and data-dashboard access are provided at no cost to signed partners across three tiers (Contracted, Affiliate, Community), with donations accepted via PayPal and a top-of-funnel marketing motion anchored in a weekly policy newsletter, social media, quarterly partnership meetings, and public-policy advocacy. The organization reports facilitating more than $320M into local schools and communities since 2019 and held StriveTogether's Proof Point (2018) and Systems Transformation (2025) designations.

Governance is provided by a Board of Directors chaired by Michael Fulton, with day-to-day operations led by founder/CEO Mark Sturgis (statewide/national focus since November 2024) and President Jamilica Burke (local partnerships, More for Memphis implementation), supported by directors across Continuous Improvement, Performance Analytics, Public Policy & Analysis, Engagement, and Communications. The organization is private (not investor-owned), with no subsidiaries, acquisitions beyond the 2017 PeopleFirst Partnership consolidation, and no parent entity.

Name

Seeding Success

Legal name

Seeding Success

Website

https://seeding-success.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Seeding Success is a Memphis-based 501(c)(3) collective-impact backbone organization that convenes 300+ cross-sector partners to improve cradle-to-career outcomes for children and families in Shelby County through data infrastructure, continuous-improvement training, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Impact Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC), Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL), Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

Keywords

• Collective impact backbone
• Early childhood education
• Community schools partnership
• Continuous improvement training
• Education policy advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Memphis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grant Writing and Administration: Seeding Success acts as a hub for grant writing, helping Memphis and Shelby County organizations pursue funding opportunities. The organization has helped bring more than $320 million into local schools and communities since 2019.
2. Fee-for-Service Training: Training provided at no cost to partners including Data Use & Literacy Training, Continuous Improvement 101, Results-Based Facilitation, and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator training. Training is free for Seeding Success partners.
3. Public Funding and Contracts: Government grants and contracts including $15M Full-Service Community Schools grant, $999K Returning Neighbors grant, and public contracts for Pre-K expansion.
4. Private Philanthropy: Funding from foundations and donors including Blue Meridian Partners Place Matters grant and other institutional philanthropy to support initiatives like More for Memphis.
5. Earned Income (Fee-for-Service): Developing a disciplined fee-for-service strategy translating S2 capabilities into sellable offers including system operator/backbone roles, portfolio delivery management, and infrastructure builds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Seeding Success operates as a collective impact backbone organization that convenes, develops, and advocates for cradle-to-career educational and economic mobility outcomes in Memphis and Shelby County. Its core deliverables include early childhood and K-12 programs (First 8 Memphis, More for Memphis, Community Schools Partnership, Beyond the Classroom), free partner training programs (Data Use & Literacy, Continuous Improvement 101, Results-Based Facilitation), and a Continuous Improvement Toolkit of PDSA-based templates, supported by Tableau data dashboards made available through a master data-sharing agreement with Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Product overview

Seeding Success is a cradle-to-career partnership organization that offers a suite of programs and training services focused on improving educational and economic outcomes in Memphis and Shelby County. The core offerings include: First 8 Memphis (early childhood system from prenatal to age 8), More for Memphis (multi-sector collaborative addressing economic mobility), Community Schools Partnership (full-service community schools model), and Beyond the Classroom (K-12 out-of-school support). Supporting these programs are professional development offerings including Data Use & Literacy Training, Continuous Improvement 101, and Results-Based Facilitation training programs, along with the Continuous Improvement Toolkit—a downloadable resource library of PDSA cycle templates and guides. Data access is provided through Tableau dashboards for authorized partner organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• More for Memphis: A collaboration of more than 300 community partners working to improve social and economic mobility in Memphis and Shelby County, formerly known as Place Matters: Memphis
• First 8 Memphis
• Shelby County Community Schools Partnership

Products and services

• First 8 Memphis Early childhood initiative (prenatal to age 8) aligning home visitations, quality childcare, prekindergarten, K-3rd grade social services, and summer learning supports into an integrated system for children and families in Shelby County.
• More for Memphis Collaborative initiative of 300+ community partners working to improve social and economic mobility through addressing systemic inequities across six focus areas: Arts and Culture, Community Development, Economic Development, Education and Youth, Health and Well-being, and Justice and Safety.
• Shelby County Community Schools Partnership Partnership implementing the Full-Service Community Schools model, providing early childhood care, needs assessment, expanded learning opportunities, mental and physical healthcare, and college/career pathways in Frayser, North Memphis, and Millington schools.
• Beyond the Classroom K-12 initiative creating a coordinated system of student-centered support by strengthening connections between school districts and out-of-school time providers, with shared data and collaborative strategies to improve student outcomes.
• Data Use & Literacy Training Training covering FERPA requirements and ethical standards for accessing and using student-level data from Memphis-Shelby County Schools, required for organizations to access Seeding Success data dashboards.
• Continuous Improvement 101 Introductory training on Continuous Improvement concepts and tools using Lean methodology, including eight self-paced online modules and a half-day virtual workshop on the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle.
• Results-Based Facilitation Training program for facilitating productive group meetings and collaborative work toward common results, part of Seeding Success's professional development offerings for partners.
• Continuous Improvement Toolkit Downloadable collection of templates and step-by-step guides organized around the PDSA cycle, including A3 Project Charter, Fishbone Diagram, Process Map, Run Chart, Root Cause Analysis, SWOT Analysis, and additional Lean/continuous improvement tools for partner organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% enrollment capacity in First 8 Memphis pre-K classrooms
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• StriveTogether: National cradle-to-career network that supports place-based collective impact organizations like Seeding Success. Seeding Success is a member network achieving StriveTogether's highest designation, making them both peers in the cradle-to-career methodology and a national umbrella/funder-adjacent counterpart.
• Communities In Schools of Tennessee at Memphis: Direct partner of Seeding Success that delivers school-based student support services (case management, dropout prevention) in Memphis schools. Operates the same integrated student supports model in the same geography, serving overlapping student populations.
• Say Yes to Education: National nonprofit implementing cradle-to-career and postsecondary access supports in partner cities, with a similar combination of scholarships, student supports, and community-wide collective impact structures that closely parallel Seeding Success's model.
• Baltimore's Promise: Cradle-to-career backbone organization in Baltimore convening cross-sector partners around shared child and youth outcome indicators. Closely matches Seeding Success's collective impact structure, data-driven approach, and citywide scope.
• Cincinnati Children's Cradle to Career: StriveTogether-affiliated cradle-to-career network in Cincinnati. Implements the same continuous improvement and shared outcome indicators model with backbone-style convening of education and social service partners in a single metro area.
• Boston Opportunity Agenda: Cross-sector collective impact organization in Boston tracking cradle-to-career outcome indicators across education partners. Functionally analogous backbone model with shared accountability dashboards serving a different metro.
• Porter-Leath: Direct partner of Seeding Success in the First 8 Memphis backbone; Memphis-based early childhood services provider delivering home visitation, preschool, and family support. Operates overlapping programs in the same Shelby County geography and shares Seeding Success's target demographic.

Regional players

• United Way of the Mid-South: Regional funder and convener in the same Memphis geography; Seeding Success was anchored at United Way of the Mid-South until 2015 before becoming independent. Both organizations convene cross-sector partners and fund human-services programs in Memphis/Shelby County.

Emerging players

• Promise Neighborhoods Institute: Federally affiliated initiative supporting place-based cradle-to-career pipelines in distressed communities, mirroring Seeding Success's community schools and family wraparound approach. Comparable on program design but operates through federal grant mechanisms across multiple cities.

Others

• Blue Meridian Partners: National place-based philanthropy investor that has funded Seeding Success through a Place Matters grant and other investments. Functions as a strategic funder/ecosystem partner rather than direct operator, but shapes the capital environment for organizations like Seeding Success.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/seedingsuccess1
• Facebookfacebook.com/seedingsuccess1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seeding-success-memphis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Seeding Success