Wide Angle Youth Media

What Wide Angle Youth Media does

Wide Angle Youth Media is a Baltimore-based 501(c)-style nonprofit media arts education organization founded in 2000 by Gin Ferrara, operating for 25 years and engaging over 7,275 youth across the city. The organization serves youth ages 10-26 through free hands-on educational programs in video, photography, graphic design, and animation, supplemented by media workshops for younger participants ages 6-14. Programs are anchored at Wide Angle's headquarters at 2507 N. Howard Street with expanded space at the Miller's Court building (2601 N. Howard Street), featuring a 2,000-square-foot professional production studio, two media labs, creative workspaces, and a podcast studio. Multiple former program participants have transitioned into staff roles including Design Manager, Producer, and Journeyworker positions, evidencing a self-replenishing talent pipeline.

The organization's commercial arm, Wide Angle Studios, functions as a fee-for-service creative agency offering video, photography, and design services to enterprise clients, nonprofits, cultural institutions, and government agencies. Wide Angle Productions operates as a social-enterprise sub-brand providing media and communications services for nonprofits while creating paid employment for youth ages 18-24. The facility is also available for studio rentals to external creators. Educational programs are provided free of charge to youth participants; creative services are priced on a project basis with disclosed budget tiers ranging from under $5,000 to $100,000+. Revenue is generated through four streams: donations and grants (foundations, corporate partners, individual giving), creative services revenue from Wide Angle Studios, studio rental income, and merchandise sales featuring student-created designs.

Wide Angle has established partnerships with NBCUniversal (Creative Impact Lab), Comcast (Bmore Connected campaign and Project UP $35M commitment), The Estée Lauder Companies (WRITING CHANGE Initiative), Maryland State Arts Council (Folklife Apprenticeship films), Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore Beat, and Visit Baltimore, among others. Quantified outcomes include 19.1 million+ cumulative audience views for produced media, 88% of spring 2025 high school seniors matriculating to higher education (versus 45% citywide), and 22,000+ hours of paid youth work experience delivered in FY25 alone.

Name

Wide Angle Youth Media

Legal name

Wide Angle Youth Media

Website

https://wideanglemedia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wide Angle Youth Media is a Baltimore nonprofit founded in 2000 that provides free media arts education (video, photography, graphic design, animation) to youth ages 10-26 while operating Wide Angle Studios, a fee-for-service creative agency producing work for nonprofits, enterprises, and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Media Arts Education

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment) (EDAGALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN), Arts, Music & Creative Skills Education Channels (MPABAKAI)

Keywords

• Youth media education
• Video production services
• Photography training programs
• Graphic design education
• Creative studio rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Charitable donations from individuals and grants from foundations and corporate partners to support youth education programs
2. Creative Services Revenue: Fee-for-service video, photography, and design services through Wide Angle Studios professional creative agency
3. Studio Rentals: Rental income from 2,000-square-foot production studio, media labs, and creative workspaces
4. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise featuring designs created by Wide Angle Studios

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wide Angle Youth Media is a Baltimore nonprofit that delivers free media arts education (video, photography, graphic design, animation, podcasting) to youth ages 10-26 through in-house and partner-school programs. It supplements this mission with Wide Angle Studios, a fee-for-service creative agency offering professional video, photography, and design services to external clients, and rents out its 2,000-square-foot production studio, media labs, and podcast studio to outside creators.

Product overview

Wide Angle Youth Media operates as a dual-purpose organization combining a media arts education platform with an in-house creative studio. The Educational Programs serve as the core platform, offering hands-on training in video, photography, graphic design, and animation for youth ages 10-26. Wide Angle Studios (Creative Services) functions as the professional production arm, delivering fee-for-service video, photography, and design work to external clients. Studio Rentals provide access to the organization's physical infrastructure including a 2,000-square-foot production studio and podcast facilities. The Media Workshops serve younger participants ages 6-14 with introductory programming. Wide Angle Productions (WAP) serves as the social enterprise sub-brand linking the education mission with workforce development for youth ages 18-24.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Educational Programs Free hands-on digital media education programs for youth ages 10-26, offering instruction in video, photography, graphic design, and animation to support academic and career readiness. Programs are delivered at Wide Angle's Baltimore facilities and at partner schools including Mount Royal Elementary and Baltimore Design School.
• Wide Angle Studios (Creative Services) Full-service creative agency and production house offering professional video, photography, and design services for external clients. Recent projects include NBCUniversal's Creative Impact Lab, Baltimore Beat/BMA Freddie Gray anniversary campaign, Maryland State Arts Council Folklife films, Bmore Connected with Comcast and Baltimore City, and Visit Baltimore's B-side of Baltimore.
• Studio Rentals
• Media Workshops
• Wide Angle Productions (WAP)

Quantifiable outcome

• 88% of seniors in Wide Angle's spring high school programs moved on to higher education in 2025, compared to 45% citywide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Visit BaltimoreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Visit Baltimore partnered with Wide Angle Youth Media as part of B-side of Baltimore citywide storytelling campaign.
• U.S. Soccer FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Wide Angle was selected to produce a World Cup PSA for U.S. Soccer Foundation promoting youth coaches' influence on kids.
• Baltimore City Office of Information TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023City agency partnered with Wide Angle and Comcast on Bmore Connected campaign to raise awareness about Affordable Connectivity Program.
• NBCUniversalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNBCUniversal's Creative Impact Lab partnership provides hands-on training, mentorship, and professional experience to youth apprentices while producing high-quality video content for mission-driven organizations. Content is distributed across NBCUniversal, Comcast, and The Estée Lauder Companies' platforms.
• Maryland State Arts CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWide Angle's video production team creates short films documenting MSAC's Folklife Apprenticeships, an artist mentoring program that sustains longstanding cultural traditions in Maryland.
• Creative AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Cultural Tapestries film series - co-hosting folklife apprenticeship film screenings at Creative Alliance venue.
• Baltimore BeatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWide Angle partnered with Baltimore Beat to create brand, editorial design, and social campaign system for the 10th anniversary of the Freddie Gray uprising, featured in BMA exhibits.
• Baltimore Museum of ArtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign work for Baltimore Beat uprising anniversary was featured in BMA exhibits at flagship museum and Lexington Market location.
• Urban ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVideo production documenting Urban Arts' game development programs for NBCUniversal Creative Impact Lab project.
• Mission: LaunchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVideo production highlighting Mission: Launch's workforce programs for returning citizens for NBCUniversal Creative Impact Lab project.
• LGBT TechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVideo production showcasing LGBT Tech's advocacy and educational efforts for NBCUniversal Creative Impact Lab project.
• Maryland NonprofitsminorOthersLong-term membership organization providing legal assistance, policy support, foundation directory access, and nonprofit administration workshops for over 20 years.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reel Works: Brooklyn-based nonprofit providing free filmmaking and media arts education to NYC youth, with a parallel professional production studio. Directly mirrors Wide Angle's dual education-plus-creative-services model.
• Spy Hop Productions: Salt Lake City youth media arts nonprofit offering free programs in film, audio, and design for teens, with in-house production capabilities. Closest operating analog by mission and structure.
• Scribe Video Center: Philadelphia nonprofit teaching video production and media literacy to youth and adults, with community-based documentary programs. Comparable mission and apprenticeship-style training model.
• Educational Video Center: NYC-based youth media arts organization producing documentary work with teens and providing professional development for educators. Strong comparable on youth documentary production and media arts pedagogy.
• Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV): New York nonprofit offering media arts education, production facilities, and youth programs alongside community documentary work. Comparable scope spanning youth education, rentals, and professional production.
• Appalshop: Appalachian community-based media arts and cultural organization combining youth education, professional film production, and cultural documentation. Comparable dual mission and long operating history.
• BRIC Arts Media: Brooklyn nonprofit presenting arts, media, and performance programming with community education components. Comparable urban-based arts/media nonprofit with education and production programming.
• Global Action Project: NYC youth media justice organization training young people in documentary filmmaking and storytelling for social change. Comparable youth-led media arts mission with professional production output.

Broad incumbents

• Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC): San Francisco-based nonprofit media arts organization with youth programs, professional production services, and facility rentals. Larger-scale, broader-incumbent peer covering similar youth education and production services.

Others

• National Association for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC): Industry membership and advocacy organization for nonprofit media arts organizations. Provides policy, funding, and peer-network support relevant to Wide Angle's operating context, though it does not deliver direct youth programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wideangleym
• YouTubevimeo.com/wideanglemedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/wideangleyouthmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wideangleyouthmedia
• Instagraminstagram.com/wideangleyouthmedia
• TikToktiktok.com/@wideangleyouthmedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Wide Angle Youth Media