Village of Wisdom

What Village of Wisdom does

Village of Wisdom is a Durham, North Carolina-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014 by William Jackson to help Black families navigate educational inequity and affirm the genius of Black children. The organization operates a portfolio of community-centered programs serving three primary personas: Black parents (Dreamship, a two-year parent leadership fellowship that includes a $12,000 yearly stipend), educators (That's Just Good Teaching, a two-year professional development fellowship pairing teachers with Black parents), and creatives (Culturally Organizing Our Liberation, a community-driven public art program). It also produces the annual Black Genius Fest on Durham's historic Parrish Street and develops proprietary research tools including the Culturally Affirming Climate Survey and the Black Genius Mobile Classroom installation.

Name

Village of Wisdom

Legal name

Village of Wisdom

Website

https://villageofwisdom.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Equity Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC), Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Education equity programs
• Parent leadership fellowship
• Culturally affirming teaching
• Community arts programs
• Black family empowerment

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Merchandise Sales: Village of Wisdom generates revenue through an e-commerce shop selling apparel and merchandise including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, caps, beanies, backpacks, and posters featuring Black Genius messaging. Products range from $20 to $55, with free shipping included in all prices.
2. Dreamship Fellowship (Stipend Model): While the Dreamship Parent Leadership Fellowship provides a $12,000 yearly stipend to fellows to support their participation and wellbeing, this represents a cost rather than revenue. The fellowship is funded through organizational partnerships and donor support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Village of Wisdom operates community-centered educational programs for Black families, educators, and creatives, including the Dreamship parent leadership fellowship, That's Just Good Teaching educator fellowship, and Culturally Organizing Our Liberation (COOL) arts program. The organization also develops proprietary research tools such as the Culturally Affirming Climate Survey and the Black Genius Mobile Classroom, hosts the annual Black Genius Fest cultural celebration, and sells Black Genius branded merchandise through an online shop.

Product overview

Village of Wisdom is a community-centered nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of programs for Black families, educators, and creatives. The core offerings include Dreamship (a two-year parent leadership fellowship), That's Just Good Teaching (a professional development fellowship for educators), and Culturally Organizing Our Liberation (a community-driven arts program). The organization also hosts Black Genius Fest, an annual immersive cultural celebration, and provides research tools including the Black Genius Mobile Classroom and Culturally Affirming Climate Survey. Additionally, the organization operates a merchandise shop selling apparel and accessories branded with Black Genius affirmations, including sweatshirts, t-shirts, sweatpants, headwear, bags, and posters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dreamship: A two-year parent leadership fellowship that takes parents on a journey of rest, community, and radical care to design better learning environments for children.
• Black Genius Fest
• Black Genius Mobile Classroom
• Culturally Organizing Our Liberation (COOL)
• That's Just Good Teaching
• Black Genius Research Division

Products and services

• Dreamship

Quantifiable outcome

• Created better learning environments, affirming the genius of thousands of children
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BUMP the TrianglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVillage of Wisdom partners with BUMP the Triangle for neighborhood showcases and community programming, including the second-annual Black Genius Neighborhood Showcase celebrating East Durham's history, culture, and creativity.
• Equity Before BirthminorOthersJoy Spencer serves as Executive Director of Equity Before Birth, a Black maternal health charity organization, while also being profiled as a Black Genius Protector within the Village of Wisdom community.
• DiscriminminorOthersListed as an organizational partner supporting Village of Wisdom's mission and programs.
• We AreminorOthersListed as an organizational partner supporting Village of Wisdom's mission and programs.
• BTC (Building The Future)minorOthersListed as an organizational partner supporting Village of Wisdom's mission and programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Communities In Schools: Large national nonprofit providing integrated student supports inside K-12 schools. Comparable in mission of supporting marginalized students inside schools but operates at much larger scale and is not culturally specific to Black communities.
• The Education Trust: National advocacy organization promoting high academic achievement for all students, especially low-income and students of color. Comparable in equity mission but operates as a broad policy/advocacy incumbent rather than a community-embedded direct service provider.

Direct peers

• Schott Foundation for Public Education: Foundation advocating for equitable public education for children, particularly in Black and brown communities. Comparable in grantmaking, advocacy, and parent-engagement orientation to VOW's equity-centered approach.
• National Black Child Development Institute: National nonprofit focused on improving outcomes for Black children through education, family engagement, and advocacy. Comparable in mission scope (Black child + family empowerment) and programming (community-based education equity), though operating at significantly greater scale.
• EmbraceRace: Nonprofit providing resources, research, and community for raising children in a race-conscious way. Comparable to VOW's parent-facing resources, culturally affirming content, and educator/parent community-building model.
• The Conscious Kid: Education equity nonprofit providing resources to support racial identity development and anti-racist parenting in children. Comparable to VOW's parenting empowerment and culturally affirming learning focus, with overlapping parent and educator audiences.
• Abolitionist Teaching Network: Network advancing abolitionist, liberatory pedagogy in K-12 classrooms. Directly comparable to VOW's mission of liberatory education and its educator-facing tools like the Culturally Affirming Climate Survey.
• Center for Black Educator Development: Nonprofit dedicated to increasing the number of Black educators and supporting culturally affirming instruction. Closely comparable to VOW's That's Just Good Teaching fellowship in its focus on Black educator pipelines and culturally responsive teaching.
• The Brotherhood Sister Sol: New York-based nonprofit providing education, mentorship, and liberation-centered programming for Black youth and families. Directly comparable to VOW's Black-centered, multi-stakeholder model that combines youth/family support with cultural and leadership development.

Emerging players

• Black Lives Matter at School: Coalition advocating for racial justice in K-12 schools through curriculum, policy, and community organizing. Comparable to VOW in racial-equity-in-education framing but operates primarily as a national organizing campaign rather than a direct-service nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VillageOfWisdom
• Facebookfacebook.com/villageofwisdom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/village-of-wisdom
• Instagraminstagram.com/villageofwisdom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Village of Wisdom