YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School

What YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School does

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School (legal entity: Philadelphia Youth for Change, a 501(c)(3) tax ID 23-2728467) is a Pennsylvania-authorized charter school founded in 1991 to re-engage out-of-school young adults aged 17-20 in Philadelphia who lack a high school diploma. Operating from a new $25 million campus at 2309 N. Broad Street (opened January 2025), the school delivers a two-year program that combines rigorous academics with hands-on vocational training across five tracks (construction, healthcare, IT/business administration, child development/childcare, and customer service excellence), mandatory community service, and applied workforce experience through the student-run Stomping Grounds Social Justice Cafe. The second year, branded Postsecondary Career Development, pairs graduates with an Employment Specialist for monthly career-advancement work and connects them to a broad network of partner colleges and workforce intermediaries (Community College of Philadelphia, Thaddeus Stevens College, CareerLink, West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, PowerCorps, Congreso).

The business model is that of a publicly funded nonprofit charter school with no tuition charged to students. FY2023-2024 Total Revenue & Support of $9,189,006 is sourced from four streams: School District of Philadelphia per-pupil receipts ($4,028,007), government and other grants including AmeriCorps and HUD ($3,335,456), philanthropic contributions from foundations and corporate partners such as the William Penn Foundation, Comcast, Starbucks, and Saint-Gobain ($1,295,249), and miscellaneous revenue ($530,294). The organization operates as an affiliate of YouthBuild Global (headquartered in Washington, D.C.), which licenses the program model created by Dorothy Stoneman and connects it to a worldwide network spanning 20+ countries. Total expenses of $8,493,957 produced a net surplus of $695,049 in FY2023-2024, and the organization has graduated more than 3,700 students since inception while renovating 82 Philadelphia homes through its construction vocational track.

Name

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School

Legal name

Philadelphia Youth for Change

Website

https://youthbuildphilly.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School is a Pennsylvania-authorized 501(c)(3) charter school that re-engages out-of-school young adults (ages 17-20) in Philadelphia, combining a high school diploma with vocational training and postsecondary transition support across a two-year program at its North Broad Street campus.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Education and Workforce Training Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter Alternative & At-Risk Schools (Continuation, Credit Recovery, Juvenile) (EDAJACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Independent Charter Schools (Single-Site) (EDAJACAB)

Keywords

• Alternative education
• Vocational training
• Charter school services
• Youth workforce development
• Dropout recovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government and other grants: Government and other grants totaling $3,335,456 in fiscal year 2023-2024. Includes funding from AmeriCorps, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other federal/state/local grant sources.
2. School District per-pupil receipts: Receipts from the School District of Philadelphia of $4,028,007 in fiscal year 2023-2024, reflecting per-student funding for re-enrolled charter students.
3. Philanthropic contributions: Charitable contributions of $1,295,249 in fiscal year 2023-2024 from individual donors, foundations (e.g., William Penn Foundation), and corporate partners (e.g., Comcast, Starbucks).
4. Miscellaneous revenue: Miscellaneous revenue of $530,294 in fiscal year 2023-2024, including student-led social enterprise "Stomping Grounds Social Justice Cafe" and other ancillary income.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School operates a tuition-free, two-year alternative education program for out-of-school young adults aged 17-20 in Philadelphia, combining high school diploma coursework with hands-on vocational training tracks (construction, healthcare, IT/business administration, child development, customer service) and a second year of postsecondary transition support. Students gain academic credentials, industry-recognized vocational certifications, and workforce readiness through on-site training, community service, and a student-run social enterprise cafe.

Product overview

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School offers a single, unified two-year educational program — the YouthBuild Philly Two-Year Program — structured as a platform with a Year 1 core (rigorous academics paired with hands-on vocational training and community service) and a Year 2 Postsecondary Career Development module that supports alumni through college and career transition. Within the Year 1 core, students select from multiple vocational tracks: Construction, Healthcare, Information Technology & Business Administration, Child Development & Childcare, and Customer Service Excellence Training (CSET, delivered in partnership with Starbucks). Applied workforce experience is reinforced through the Stomping Grounds Social Justice Cafe, a student-led social enterprise in West Philadelphia, and through bridge programs with partner colleges such as Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. The product is completed for graduates by the Alumni Records Request Service and ongoing Postsecondary Career Development counseling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully graduated over 3,700 students to date
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• North Philly Peace ParkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019YouthBuild Philly partnered with North Philly Peace Park in 2019 to install solar panels serving the park and the Sharswood community.
• StarbuckscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014In partnership with Starbucks, YouthBuild Philadelphia launched a Customer Service Excellence Training (CSET) program to prepare students for employment in the service and retail sectors.
• Saint-GobaincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Multinational building materials company Saint-Gobain broke ground with YouthBuild Philadelphia in 2010 on a renovation site at Greene St. in Germantown, transforming a long-vacant rundown house into a LEED Platinum-certified affordable home completed in 2012.
• Octavia Hill AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Students completed the renovation of three Octavia Hill Association homes in 1993, establishing an early housing-rehabilitation partnership that has supported YouthBuild's vocational training.
• Thaddeus Stevens College of TechnologycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2009YouthBuild Philadelphia partners with Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, PA to create a summer 'bridge' program that prepares YouthBuild students for full-time college and further technical training. Thaddeus Stevens is also listed as a college YouthBuild alumni apply to.
• School District of PhiladelphiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992The School District of Philadelphia provides a full-time teacher and re-enrolls YouthBuild students. In FY 2023-2024, the school received $4,028,007 in receipts from the school district.
• YouthBuild GlobalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouthBuild Philly is an affiliate of YouthBuild Global, a worldwide movement headquartered in Washington, D.C. The school operates on the YouthBuild model created by Dorothy Stoneman. Through this network, YouthBuild Philly connects to programs in 20+ countries that collectively serve opportunity youth; the global movement has helped over 210,000 young people and contributed 52 million+ hours of service.
• Community College of Philadelphia (CCP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed among 'Colleges We Work With' for YouthBuild alumni postsecondary transition; serves as a destination for Year 2 college enrollment and bridge programs.
• Orleans Technical CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed among 'Colleges We Work With' for YouthBuild alumni postsecondary transition.
• Northampton Community College (NCC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed among 'Colleges We Work With' for YouthBuild alumni postsecondary transition.
• College TogetherminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed among 'Colleges We Work With' for YouthBuild alumni postsecondary transition.
• Workshop UminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed among 'Colleges We Work With' for YouthBuild alumni postsecondary transition.
• United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New JerseyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonors can give to YouthBuild Philly through the United Way workplace campaign; YouthBuild's United Way Number is #14574. The 2-1-1 Call Center is also referenced as a resource for alumni.
• Pennsylvania Department of Education (ESSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouthBuild Philly is subject to Pennsylvania Department of Education oversight and references the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) among its policy documents.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Year Up: National workforce-development nonprofit serving opportunity youth (ages 18-24) with a year-long training program combining technical skill-building, professional coaching, and corporate internships. Highly comparable mission and population, with a Philadelphia-area presence (Year Up Greater Philadelphia).
• Per Scholas: National nonprofit providing tuition-free IT and cybersecurity training to adults from under-resourced communities, with a Philadelphia site. Direct functional peer in the vocational-training-for-opportunity-youth category, operating from a similar nonprofit, employer-partnered model.
• Camelot Education: Operator of alternative and dropout-recovery education programs nationwide, including in the Philadelphia region. Direct functional peer in dropout recovery and alternative education, with overlapping employer-of-record and district-contract dynamics.
• YouthBuild USA / YouthBuild Global: The national/international network that created and supports the YouthBuild model implemented by YouthBuild Philadelphia. Operates affiliated programs in 20+ countries serving 210,000+ young people; the closest direct peer and the source of the school's curriculum, brand, and alumni network.
• Communities In Schools of Philadelphia: Philadelphia affiliate of a national nonprofit that places site coordinators inside public schools to prevent dropout and connect students to wraparound supports. Comparable mission of re-engaging Philadelphia's opportunity youth, with strong district and corporate-funder overlap.
• Diploma Plus: National network supporting 'credit recovery' and dropout-recovery high school programs with a college-prep focus. Comparable student population (over-age, under-credited youth) and comparable nonprofit network model, although Diploma Plus is less vocational-heavy than YouthBuild.

Regional players

• Mastery Charter Schools: Major Philadelphia-based CMO operating neighborhood schools with a career-and-technical-education focus. Closely comparable market and student population, and the organization that scaled the anti-gun-violence initiative originally created by YB Philly's CEO at Simon Gratz High School.
• KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools: Regional charter management organization serving Philadelphia K-12 students from under-resourced communities. Overlaps with YB Philly in serving Philadelphia opportunity youth, though focused on K-12 college-prep rather than dropout recovery; CEO Le'Yondo Dunn's prior leadership team has direct KIPP Philadelphia lineage.

Emerging players

• Big Picture Learning: National nonprofit network supporting 'one student at a time' personalized, internship-anchored high schools. Comparable in alternative-education network structure, though it is more design-and-support than direct operator; relevant given YB Philly's own internship-anchored Year 2 model.

Broad incumbents

• Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Pennsylvania (and Goodwill Industries International): Major nonprofit workforce-development operator in Philadelphia offering job training, placement, and social enterprises for barriered adults. Comparable in scale and revenue mix (government contracts + retail/earned income) and shares social-enterprise DNA with YB Philly's Stomping Grounds Cafe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/youthbuildphl

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School