Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region

What Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region does

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region (BBBSCR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1964 (originally as BBBS of Albany County; reorganized in 1997 via merger into its present form) and headquartered at 19 Dove Street, Suite 202, Albany, NY. The organization operates a regionally operated, locally funded model affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, serving approximately 500 youth annually across Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties. Its mission is to create and support professionally guided one-to-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and children ages 6-14 ("Littles"), with the latter able to remain in programs until age 18 or high school graduation.

BBBSCR's product surface consists of four core mentoring programs: Community-Based Mentoring (flexible one-to-one outings), Site-Based Mentoring (one-to-one matches at K-12 schools, colleges, and business campuses, twice monthly for nine months), the U-CAN Mentoring Program (court-based, partnering with Schenectady County Family Court and Albany County Family Court to serve youth on probation), and the OPWDD Mentoring Program (partnership with the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities serving children receiving OPWDD services). The Big Experience Program provides community and enrichment support to matches and families. The supporting technology stack is conventional nonprofit infrastructure: a WordPress website (bbbscr.org), Constant Contact for email, TFA Forms for enrollment, GiveSmart for fundraising, virtual orientation for prospective mentors, and background-screening systems for volunteer vetting. There is no proprietary technology or AI/ML component.

The revenue model combines three streams: individual donations through a structured monthly giving program (tiers from $5 to $200/month, framed as funding specific programmatic outputs such as match meetings, background screenings, training sessions, wellness calls, and one-year mentoring relationships); corporate and community fundraising events led by Bowl for Kids' Sake (which raised over $40,000 in 2026); and grant funding from foundations and government sources, with the current CEO historically associated with $1M+ in grant awards. Go-to-market is community-led: prospective mentors inquire online, complete virtual orientation, are interviewed and screened, and are matched by professional staff based on compatibility. Staff size is 1–10 employees, led by a four-person leadership team (CEO Keila dos Santos, Program Director Jessica Underhill, Director of Experience Cierra Daubitz, and Program Specialist Kira Feurstein). A persistent operational challenge is the supply/demand imbalance: nearly 200 youth currently await a match and the average wait time is 652 days.

Name

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region

Legal name

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region

Website

https://bbbscr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs professionally guided one-to-one mentoring between adult volunteers and youth ages 6-14 across four counties in New York's Capital Region, serving approximately 500 children annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mentoring Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

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

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAD

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDAJALAL

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/K–12 Educational Support Services (Tutoring & Counseling)

SECONDARYBPAGADAK

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Youth mentoring services
• One-to-one mentoring programs
• Nonprofit mentorship
• Volunteer mentor matching
• Court-based mentoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Albany

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 Donations: One-time and recurring monthly donations from individual supporters at various levels ($5, $10, $25, $100+). Monthly giving program allows donors to support specific programmatic needs on an ongoing basis.
2. Corporate/Community Fundraising Events: Annual fundraising events such as Bowl for Kids' Sake that raise significant funds to support mentoring matches. The 2026 event raised over $40,000.
3. Grant Funding: Grant funding from foundations and government sources. CEO Keila dos Santos previously secured $1M+ in grant funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BBBSCR creates and supports professionally guided one-to-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and youth ages 6-14 ("Littles") in New York's Capital Region. Core programs include Community-Based Mentoring (flexible outings), Site-Based Mentoring (at schools and business campuses), U-CAN Mentoring (court-based for youth on probation), OPWDD Mentoring (for children with developmental disabilities), and the Big Experience Program. Services are free to families and supported by individual donations, monthly giving, corporate fundraising events, and grants.

Product overview

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region offers a portfolio of professionally-guided one-to-one mentoring programs. The core offerings include Community-Based Mentoring (flexible one-on-one outings), Site-Based Mentoring (at schools and business campuses), U-CAN Mentoring Program (court-based for youth on probation), and OPWDD Mentoring Program (for children with developmental disabilities). The Big Experience Program provides community enrichment activities for matches and families. These programs are supported by monthly giving donation options and a structured enrollment process involving background screening and professional matching. On average, the organization supports mentoring relationships for approximately 500 youth each year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community-Based Mentoring

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% increased or maintained level of family connectedness among mentored youth
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Schenectady County Family CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through U-CAN Mentoring Program to provide young people on probation with weekly meetings with trained volunteer mentors for one hour over the course of a year. Designed to support youth as they navigate probation, build self-esteem, and develop skills and confidence.
• Albany County Family CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through U-CAN Mentoring Program to provide young people on probation with weekly meetings with trained volunteer mentors for one hour over the course of a year. Designed to support youth as they navigate probation, build self-esteem, and develop skills and confidence.
• New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide supportive, empowering mentoring relationships for children receiving OPWDD services. Program helps youth build connection, confidence, and social engagement through consistent, one-to-one mentoring relationships tailored to their needs.
• Local Businesses, Colleges, and School DistrictscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners for site-based mentoring programs offering one-on-one mentoring relationships in group or individual settings. Programs take place at K-12 schools, colleges, and business campuses twice a month for nine months of the year.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational affiliation providing access to best practices, resources, and the nation's largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network. BBBSCR is a regionally operated and locally-funded 501(c)3 organization affiliated with the national organization.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: The national umbrella organization under which BBBSCR affiliates. Comparable as the parent body providing brand, training, and shared resources; broader in scope as it operates nationally across 230+ affiliates and curates the core mentoring methodology.
• 4-H (National 4-H Council): A national youth development organization delivering mentoring-like programming through clubs and project-based learning. Comparable in mission to ignite youth potential but operates via a structured cooperative extension model rather than one-to-one volunteer mentor matches.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: The national network of facility-based youth development clubs serving at-risk youth, with overlapping focus on mentorship and pro-social development. Comparable in mission space and target population but delivers programming through clubhouses rather than one-to-one volunteer mentor matches.

Others

• VolunteerMatch: A national nonprofit platform connecting volunteers to nonprofit opportunities — comparable as an enabling infrastructure piece in the volunteer-driven mentoring ecosystem, though it does not directly deliver mentor pairing services.
• MENTOR (The National Mentoring Partnership): The national advocacy and capacity-building organization for the youth mentoring field. Comparable as a peer in the youth mentoring sector, though MENTOR operates as an industry convener/resource provider rather than a direct service mentor-matching agency.

Direct peers

• iMentor: A national nonprofit providing one-to-one youth mentoring with a focus on college readiness and career exposure — the same outcome domains BBBSCR cites. Comparable as a direct peer in technology-enabled, volunteer-based mentoring for adolescent outcomes.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mid-Hudson Valley: A neighboring New York State BBBS affiliate covering the Mid-Hudson region. Directly comparable as a same-brand, regionally-operated affiliate with overlapping service territory characteristics and identical mentoring methodology.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester: Another New York State BBBS affiliate based in Rochester running one-to-one youth mentoring programs. Directly comparable as a same-brand, regionally-operated affiliate serving upstate NY youth through community, site, and court-based mentoring.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City: A regional BBBS affiliate serving New York City's youth through one-to-one mentoring programs. Closest comparable peer: operates the same mentoring model, similar community-based, site-based, and court-based programs, with the same national affiliation under BBBSA.

Regional players

• Boys & Girls Club of the Capital Area (Albany): A regional youth development nonprofit operating in the same Albany, NY Capital Region. Comparable as a peer youth-services nonprofit serving similar demographics (low-income, BIPOC-majority) with mentoring-adjacent programming, though operating a facility-based club model rather than pure 1:1 mentoring.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BBBSCR

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region