Peer Power Foundation
Peer Power Foundation is a Memphis-based nonprofit that recruits and trains University of Memphis college students as Success Coaches to tutor and mentor K-12 students in 8 partner schools, operating across tutoring, test prep, workforce development, and college readiness programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersMemphis, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Peer Power Foundation does
Peer Power Foundation is a Memphis-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Charles McVean that operates a near-peer tutoring model in which high-performing college students, branded as Success Coaches, are placed inside K-12 public school classrooms to provide daily tutoring and mentoring. The organization currently deploys 114 Success Coaches across 57 classrooms in 8 Memphis-area schools (including KIPP Memphis, MASE, Power Center Academy, University High and Middle, and St. Benedict at Auburndale), serving more than 10,000 students daily and over 25,000 students cumulatively since inception, with nearly 1.5 million cumulative tutoring hours.
The core service architecture is the Memphis Model — formalized in 2015 as a tri-party partnership between Peer Power, the University of Memphis, and Memphis-Shelby County Schools — which provides a structural pipeline of qualified undergraduate tutors. The product portfolio extends beyond the in-school tutoring program into a multi-program suite: ACT Boot Camp, Summer Bridge Camp, Young Wall Street (financial literacy), Summer Career Exploration (with forklift certification), Earn & Learn (youth workforce, ages 14-24), UM Connect (high school-to-college bridge), Gandhi-King Scholars, and ACT University. The Peer Power Institute, established in 2018 at the University of Memphis, provides research, program evaluation, and data analysis infrastructure. Operations are supported by third-party tools including Google Sheets, Google Forms, Race Roster, and BoodleBox for fundraising; no proprietary software platform or AI-driven tutoring product is in evidence.
The business model is a nonprofit funding stack: grants from government (TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development YEP), corporate and community foundations (Truist, Regions, Irvin Lansky, Children's Foundation of Memphis), and corporate partners constitute the dominant revenue stream, with cumulative grant awards exceeding $2.7 million. Individual donations supplement via website and the annual Big River Crossing Race fundraising event. School district partnerships function as service contracts rather than fee-bearing revenue. Per-student unit economics are $750/year for the in-school program, with summer programs offering defined per-seat sponsorship opportunities at $750-$1,000 per student. The current annual budget approaches $3.2 million, inclusive of tutor payments and third-party evaluations.
Peer Power Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Peer Power Foundation
- Legal name
- THE PEER POWER FOUNDATION INC.
- Website
- https://peerpowerfoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Peer Power Foundation is a Memphis-based nonprofit that recruits and trains University of Memphis college students as Success Coaches to tutor and mentor K-12 students in 8 partner schools, operating across tutoring, test prep, workforce development, and college readiness programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Peer Power Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Education and Tutoring Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (6117)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC), Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO)
Keywords
Where Peer Power Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Memphis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Peer Power Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: The organization accepts donations from individuals through its website, mail, and various online platforms. The average annual cost per student is $750, funded primarily through charitable contributions.
- Grant Funding: Peer Power receives grants from government agencies (TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development YEP program), foundations (Truist Foundation, Regions Foundation, Irvin Lansky Foundation), and corporate partners. Over $2.7 million in grant awards have been secured.
- School District Contracts: The organization operates through partnerships with school districts including Memphis-Shelby County Schools, where services are provided to public school classrooms.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One time | ACT Boot Camp - $50/day |
| Freemium | One time | Summer Bridge Camp - Free |
| Freemium | One time | Young Wall Street - Free |
| Usage-based | One time | Summer Career Exploration - $15/hour stipend |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Per Student Cost - $750/year |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Peer Power Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Peer Power Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that recruits and trains high-performing college students ("Success Coaches") to provide in-school tutoring, mentoring, test preparation, and workforce development programming to K-12 students in Memphis-Shelby County Schools and partner charter schools. It also operates summer academic camps, ACT prep boot camps, career exploration, and financial literacy programs delivered on the University of Memphis campus.
Product overview
Peer Power Foundation operates as a nonprofit educational organization offering a portfolio of tutoring, mentoring, and workforce development programs. The core offering is the Success Coach Tutoring Program, which places high-performing college students as tutors and mentors in public school classrooms. This is complemented by intensive test preparation programs (ACT Boot Camp), summer academic camps (Summer Bridge Camp), career exploration and workforce development programs (Summer Career Exploration, Earn & Learn), financial literacy education (Young Wall Street), and college preparation initiatives (UM Connect, ACT University, Gandhi-King Scholars). The Peer Power Institute, housed at the University of Memphis, provides research, evaluation, and data infrastructure to support the organization's evidence-based practices. The organization also runs an annual fundraising event, the Big River Crossing Race. Programs are offered primarily in Memphis, TN schools including KIPP Memphis, MASE High School and Middle School, Power Center Academy, University High School and Middle School, and St. Benedict.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Success Coaches: High-performing college students trained to tutor and mentor in public school classrooms and mentor high school students.
- Peer Power Institute
Products and services
- Success Coach Tutoring Program In-school tutoring and mentoring program where 114 high-performing college students (Success Coaches) provide academic support in 57 public school classrooms across Memphis, TN, focusing on Math, Science, English, and U.S. History courses tested by the State of Tennessee.
- ACT Boot Camp Intensive four-day ACT preparation program with 80-minute sessions per subject; students attend at $50/day. Boot Camp students average a 2-3 point composite score increase.
- Summer Career Exploration Three-week summer workforce development program for youth workforce-eligible students. Participants earn a $15/hour stipend, receive forklift training certification, and explore career pathways with daily mentorship and professional skill development.
- Young Wall Street Summer Camp Free two-week investment bootcamp for high school students held at the University of Memphis. Students build their first investment portfolio and learn about stocks, saving, risk, and compound growth.
- Summer Bridge Camp Free three-week academic camp for rising 8th-10th graders combining project-based instruction with personal development programming, career exploration, and daily activities.
- Earn & Learn Program Workforce experience internship program connecting youth aged 14-24 with employers across diverse industries. Funded by Tennessee's Youth Employment Program (YEP), participants can earn up to $3,200 while gaining professional skills and industry credentials.
- Peer Power Institute Research and evaluation arm housed at the University of Memphis providing evidence-based educational practices, program development and evaluation, educational data collection and analysis, and partnership management with institutions including Johns Hopkins University and Stanford.
- UM Connect Bridge program connecting high school students with University of Memphis resources and pathways to higher education.
- Gandhi-King Scholars Program Bi-weekly educational initiative combining after-school cohort meetings and Saturday group sessions at the University of Memphis. Serves high school students (grades 10-12) with college preparation, leadership training, financial aid guidance, and community service.
- ACT University College preparation program providing ACT test preparation and college readiness support for high school students.
- Big River Crossing Race Annual fundraising and peer-to-peer race held at the Harrahan/Big River Crossing bridge in Memphis, with proceeds supporting Peer Power programs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5-Year College Graduation Rate of 83%
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Peer Power Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Peer Power Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature1 record
Peer Power Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.
- University of MemphiscoreFounding partner of the Memphis Model partnership with Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Hosts the Peer Power Institute on campus. Provides college student Success Coaches and serves as site for summer programs. Partnership managed through the College of Education.
- Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS)corePrimary school district partner for the Memphis Model. Peer Power Success Coaches are placed in MSCS classrooms to provide daily tutoring and mentoring support.
- Johns Hopkins University CenterkeyResearch partnership through the Partnership for Student Success. Collaborated on the Building Futures regional convening focused on youth voice, tutoring, mentoring, and student success.
- Stanford UniversityminorEducational research collaboration mentioned as part of Peer Power Institute's network of academic partners.
- Memphis GrizzliesminorCommunity partnership supporting youth development initiatives and community engagement events.
- Mentor NationalminorNational mentorship organization partnership supporting Peer Power's mentoring programs.
- KIPP Memphis Public SchoolskeyCharter school partnership where Peer Power provides Success Coaches in 21 classrooms serving Biology, English I & II, Algebra I & II, U.S. History. School achieved Level 5 TVAAS Composite Score.
- Power Center AcademykeyCharter school partnership with 25 Success Coaches serving 213 classrooms. Algebra I and Algebra II met double annual measurable objectives.
- University Schools (University High & Middle)keyPart of Innovative School District partnership. 32 Success Coaches at University High, multiple coaches at University Middle. Both achieved TVAAS Level 5 growth ratings.
- All Star Training AcademykeyProvides forklift training certification for Summer Career Exploration Program participants. Industry training partner for workforce development.
- Start2Finish / Memphis Runners Track ClubminorPartnership for the Big River Crossing Race annual fundraising event, providing approximately 1000 runners to the event.
- Big River Crossing Race PartnersminorVarious Memphis organizations supporting the annual race including Memphis Chamber, NCR Museum, FedEx Institute of Technology.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Peer Power Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- City Year: National education nonprofit that places near-peer AmeriCorps members in public schools to provide attendance support, tutoring, and mentoring — directly comparable to Peer Power's Success Coach model, but operating at much larger scale across 25+ cities.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: The largest U.S. youth mentoring nonprofit, providing one-to-one mentoring to youth; comparable as a peer-mentoring nonprofit with measurable outcomes, though broader in scope (not exclusively K-12 academic) and national in scale.
- TNTP (The New Teacher Project): National nonprofit focused on teacher effectiveness and student achievement in under-resourced schools; comparable as an education outcomes-focused nonprofit working with public school systems, though concentrated on teacher pipeline rather than tutoring delivery.
Direct peers
- Saga Education: Nonprofit that recruits high-achieving college students and recent graduates to deliver intensive high-dosage math tutoring to high-need high school students, overlapping directly with Peer Power's near-peer, in-classroom tutoring approach.
- Reading Partners: Nonprofit mobilizing community volunteers to provide one-on-one literacy tutoring to K-12 students in under-resourced schools, a closely analogous volunteer-driven, evidence-based tutoring nonprofit model.
- College Possible: Nonprofit that pairs college access coaching with near-peer mentorship for low-income high school students aiming to enter college, mirroring Peer Power's college-readiness and ACT/graduation outcomes focus.
- iMentor: Youth mentoring nonprofit pairing high school students with college-educated adult mentors for college access support; comparable in mission (mentoring-driven college readiness) and in reliance on sustained mentor pairings.
- Match Education: Nonprofit that runs public schools and a high-dosage tutoring fellowship recruiting recent college graduates to tutor elementary students; directly comparable as a near-peer, evidence-driven tutoring nonprofit serving high-need populations.
- Year Up: National workforce-development nonprofit combining skills training, mentorship, and corporate partnerships for young adults; closely comparable to Peer Power's Earn & Learn and Summer Career Exploration programs in mission and youth-population focus.
Others
- KIPP Foundation: National charter school network that is both a Peer Power partner (KIPP Memphis) and a comparable education nonprofit operator with rigorous college-outcome tracking, providing a benchmark for outcome reporting and charter-school delivery models.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Peer Power Foundation social profiles
Digital presencePeer Power Foundation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Peer Power Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Peer Power Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Peer Power Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Peer Power Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Peer Power Foundation
What does Peer Power Foundation do?
Peer Power Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that recruits and trains high-performing college students ("Success Coaches") to provide in-school tutoring, mentoring, test preparation, and workforce development programming to K-12 students in Memphis-Shelby County Schools and partner charter schools. It also operates summer academic camps, ACT prep boot camps, career exploration, and financial literacy programs delivered on the University of Memphis campus.
Is Peer Power Foundation a public or private company?
Peer Power Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Peer Power Foundation founded?
Peer Power Foundation was founded in 2004. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Peer Power Foundation based?
Peer Power Foundation is headquartered in Memphis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Peer Power Foundation make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are grant Funding and school District Contracts.
Who are Peer Power Foundation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are City Year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and TNTP (The New Teacher Project). Direct peers are Saga Education, Reading Partners, College Possible, iMentor, Match Education and Year Up. KIPP Foundation is listed as an others.
Does Peer Power Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Peer Power Foundation.
What industry is Peer Power Foundation in?
Peer Power Foundation's product category is Youth Education and Tutoring Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJALAL, Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs, with a secondary code of BPAGADAD, Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 6117 and its SIC code is 8200.