What The Seed Foundation does

The SEED Foundation is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1998 (firmographics cite 1997) and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It operates the nation's first and longest-running network of public college-preparatory boarding schools, serving low-income, first-generation, college-bound students from underserved communities. The organization partners with states, districts, and communities to design, develop, and launch tuition-free public boarding schools built on its "24-Hour Learning" model, which integrates rigorous academics with a residential program covering grades 6-12 depending on campus. The network comprises four schools: SEED DC (est. 1998), SEED Maryland (est. 2008), SEED Miami (est. 2014), and SEED LA (est. 2022), the latter being California's first STEM-focused public boarding school.

Beyond secondary education, SEED delivers a "to, through, and beyond" college mission via its College Transition & Success (CTS) program, which provides intrusive advising, right-fit college matching, and ongoing support through college completion. Supporting frameworks include a proprietary College Matching Tier System and an Institutional Supports Evaluation (ISE) methodology that evaluate colleges on graduation rates, financial aid, and campus support. Additional programs include the SEED Graduate Institute, the SEED Foundation Scholarship ($12,000 over four years), Graduate Ambassadors, financial education workshops, and the SEED Spark e-newsletter.

As a nonprofit, SEED does not charge tuition; its schools are public and funded through state and district partnerships, while the Foundation relies on donations and charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations, supplemented by government/public funding and a fee-for-service expansion consulting model for communities seeking to establish new schools. Go-to-market is dual: event-driven partnerships with government entities to launch schools, and direct-to-consumer, lottery-based student enrollment supported by community outreach. The organization employs 101-250 people and has graduated over 500 students, of whom approximately 80% are first-generation college-bound and approximately 92% are Pell Grant-eligible.

Name

The Seed Foundation

Legal name

The SEED Foundation

Website

https://seedfoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit operating the nation's first network of tuition-free public college-preparatory boarding schools, serving low-income, first-generation students across four campuses through a 24-hour learning model and college transition support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 College-Preparatory Boarding Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Public boarding schools
• College-preparatory education
• Nonprofit K-12 education
• College transition advising
• Boarding school network

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The SEED Foundation operates as a nonprofit organization that relies on donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations to support its operations and scholarship programs. The organization encourages donations through its website donation page and has a SEED Foundation Scholarship program providing $12,000 over four years ($3,000 annually) to graduates.
2. Government and Public Funding: SEED schools are public institutions, meaning they receive government funding. The schools are tuition-free public colleges preparatory boarding schools, funded through state and district partnerships.
3. Expansion Consulting Services: The SEED Foundation offers flexible, targeted services for communities committed to innovative education. Partners can select specific deliverables including community support, operational funding, private funding strategies, site selection, private financing, and leadership support. This represents a fee-for-service consulting model for expansion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Seed Foundation operates a network of tuition-free public college-preparatory boarding schools serving underserved K-12 students with a 24-hour learning environment that combines rigorous academics, residential life, and structured weekday/weekend programming. It also delivers a College Transition & Success (CTS) program that supports SEED students through college matching, advising, scholarship support, and post-secondary persistence. In addition, the foundation provides consulting and technical assistance to other states, districts, and communities seeking to replicate the SEED public boarding-school model.

Product overview

The SEED Foundation is a nonprofit organization operating the nation's first network of public college-preparatory boarding schools. The core offering consists of four schools (SEED DC, SEED Maryland, SEED Miami, and SEED LA) implementing a 24-Hour Learning Model that combines rigorous academics with residential programming. Supporting the to and through college mission, SEED offers the College Transition & Success (CTS) program as the primary advising module, which encompasses college matching, the SEED Graduate Institute, and the SEED Foundation Scholarship ($12,000 over four years). Additional modules include Financial Education Workshops, College Transition Programming, SEED Graduate Ambassadors, and the SEED Spark e-newsletter.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• College Transition & Success (CTS): A program that provides college matching, advising, and support services to SEED graduates through college completion.
• SEED Graduate Institute (SGI)
• 24-Hour Learning
• SEED College Matching Tier System
• Institutional Supports Evaluation (ISE)
• Right Fit College Matching

Products and services

• SEED DC (The SEED School of Washington, D.C.) The SEED Foundation's flagship and original public college-preparatory boarding school in Washington, D.C., serving underserved students in grades K-12 with a 24-hour learning environment that combines rigorous academics, residential life, and weekday/weekend programming. Operations are fully funded by the D.C. government at no cost to families.
• SEED MD (The SEED School of Maryland) The SEED Foundation's Maryland public college-preparatory boarding school, serving students in grades 6-12 with a 24-hour learning environment that integrates academics, residential life, and intensive college-prep support. State-funded and tuition-free for families.
• SEED Miami (The SEED School of Miami) The SEED Foundation's Florida public college-preparatory boarding school, serving students in grades 6-12 with a 24-hour learning environment. Operated in partnership with Florida public-funding mechanisms and tuition-free to families.
• SEED LA (The SEED School of Los Angeles) The SEED Foundation's newest California public college-preparatory boarding school, serving underserved students in grades 6-12 with the SEED 24-hour learning environment. Operated tuition-free for families with state and local public funding.
• SEED Houston (The SEED School of Houston) The SEED Foundation's fifth public college-preparatory boarding school, planned to open in Houston, Texas in fall 2026 to serve underserved Texas students using SEED's 24-hour learning environment model.
• College Transition & Success (CTS) Program An extended SEED service that supports SEED students through college enrollment and graduation, including college advising, college matching, financial aid and scholarship packaging, and persistence coaching across all four years of college.
• College Matching Service A specialized service that helps SEED students get into top-tier colleges through a proprietary College Matching Tier System that uses data analysis to determine institutional compatibility and likelihood of student success at specific colleges.
• SEED Expansion & Replication Consulting A consulting and technical-assistance offering through which The Seed Foundation helps other states, school districts, and communities plan, design, fund, and launch public college-preparatory boarding schools using SEED's 25-plus-year operational playbook.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 graduates since first graduating classes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Niarchos FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through the Niarchos Foundation Greece Classics Program enabling SEED DC students to explore ancient Greece and its modern culture. Students visited historic sights in Athens, Delphi, and Epivadaros and learned about ancient Greek theater.
• Globe Scholarship Program and Blue MissionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for SEED Miami students to participate in service learning trips, including building a well for a rural community in the Dominican Republic.
• Onda SolidariacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian community organization partnership enabling SEED MD students to travel to Brazil for experiential learning and service. Students visited Christ the Redeemer, soccer games, and connected with children at Onda Solidaria's afterschool program in Vila dos Sonhos.
• LA MetrocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership offering SEED LA students exposure to STEM and urban infrastructure careers. Students tackle real-world engineering challenges, applying classroom theory to sustainable architecture and collaborative problem-solving.
• Grant Cardone Foundation / 10X Entrepreneurship ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership enabling SEED students to compete in entrepreneurship programs, including students pitching business ideas at the 10X Kids Pitch Off and winning $22,000 to start their own businesses.
• Miami Heat FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiami Heat Foundation helped produce the SEED Miami Story video and invited SEED Miami students to court-side events with gifts during Christmas.
• Harvard Advanced Leadership InitiativeminorOthersFeatured in Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative article on 'College Attainment: A Right and a Right-Fit Approach for Underrepresented Students'.
• Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDual enrollment partnership allowing SEED MD students to earn college credits before graduation, with students earning up to 30 college credits through CCBC courses.
• Educating Students TogetherminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for SEED LA to host monthly family workshops on paying for college, helping families feel confident in the college application and financing process.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cristo Rey Network: Cristo Rey Network operates Catholic-inspired, college-preparatory high schools for students from low-income families, with a distinctive corporate work-study funding model. Same target population and college-graduation outcome framing as SEED, organized as a national nonprofit network.
• KIPP Foundation: KIPP is the largest U.S. nonprofit charter network focused on college-prep education for underserved students. It shares SEED's to-and-through college mission for low-income communities but operates a daytime-only, multi-grade charter model across 200+ schools nationally.
• Christina Seix Academy: Christina Seix Academy is a nonprofit boarding school in Trenton, NJ serving underserved K-8 students. It is SEED's most direct boarding-model peer and notably is the current employer of Rob Connor, SEED's incoming CEO.
• Achievement First: Achievement First is a nonprofit charter school network operating college-prep public schools in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. Comparable to SEED in mission (college access for underserved students) and in delivering through a multi-school nonprofit governance model.
• Uncommon Schools: Uncommon Schools is a nonprofit charter management organization running college-preparatory public schools in underserved Northeast communities. Same college-access mission and nonprofit network structure as SEED, with comparable fundraising-and-public-funding revenue model.
• Prep for Prep: Prep for Prep is a New York nonprofit that places high-achieving underserved students into selective boarding and independent schools and supports them through college completion. Directly comparable to SEED on first-generation, college-bound target population and through-college advising mission, though executed via partner-school placement rather than operating its own campuses.
• YES Prep Public Schools: YES Prep is a Houston-based nonprofit public charter system focused on college readiness for low-income students, with strong outcomes reporting. Comparable mission, public-school operational posture, and to-and-through college advising focus as SEED.
• SEEDS (Durham, NC): SEEDS is a nonprofit residential high school serving at-risk adolescents in Durham, NC. It is one of the closest U.S. peers to SEED because it operates a residential, year-round educational model for vulnerable youth, though smaller and private rather than public.

Broad incumbents

• Success Academy Charter Schools: Success Academy is the largest charter school network in NYC, a much larger and broader operator focused on K-12 college-prep for underserved students. Comparable to SEED in serving low-income communities via public charter schools, but is a regional, daytime-only operator rather than a national boarding-network.

Others

• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS): NAIS is the trade association for U.S. private, pre-K through grade 12 independent schools, including boarding schools. While not operating a direct competitor, NAIS provides governance, accreditation, and best-practice infrastructure relevant to SEED's boarding-school operations and expansion playbook.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/theseedfdn
• Xx.com/TheSEEDFdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries4 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 The Seed Foundation