What The Immokalee Foundation does

The Immokalee Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1991 by philanthropist Parker Collier, headquartered in Naples, Florida, with program offices in Immokalee. It serves approximately 1,300 students annually from kindergarten through postsecondary education in the agricultural community of Immokalee, Florida, operating a cradle-to-career pipeline designed to interrupt intergenerational poverty through education and workforce readiness. Since inception, it has moved over 16,000 young people into the Southwest Florida workforce and maintains a 15,000+ alumni network.

The Foundation's core offering is the award-winning Career Pathways Program, launched in 2018, which organizes programming around four in-demand Southwest Florida career tracks: Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, Engineering & Construction Management, and Healthcare. Program components include the Immokalee Readers elementary literacy program (serving ~700 students), middle school career exploration via summer camps at Florida Gulf Coast University, high school immersion with paid internships, the Career Pathways Learning Lab (an 18-home subdivision built with BCB Homes), the Heavy Equipment Service Technician (HEST) program with iTECH, and the CCSO Public Safety Career Academy. Scholarship funding flows through a 24-year partnership with Take Stock in Children providing Florida Prepaid tuition scholarships, plus continued postsecondary support.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations, grants, corporate sponsorships, and special events including the annual Charity Classic Gala, Pro-Am Golf Tournament, and Women's Empowerment Luncheon. Major institutional funders include American Student Assistance, BMO, PNC Foundation, New York Life Foundation, Women's Foundation of Collier County, and The League Club. The Foundation holds Charity Navigator 4-Star and Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency ratings, has received 12 consecutive Take Stock in Children Gold Level of Excellence Awards, and earned the 2024 Florida Impact Award and 2024 Example of Excelencia recognition.

Name

The Immokalee Foundation

Legal name

The Immokalee Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://immokaleefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Immokalee Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1991 that delivers a cradle-to-career educational pipeline (K through postsecondary) to roughly 1,300 underserved youth annually in Immokalee, Florida, via its Career Pathways Program spanning literacy, career exploration, paid internships, scholarships, and hands-on construction training through the 18-home Learning Lab.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education and Career Readiness Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce & Career Transition Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

Keywords

• Youth education services
• Career pathway programs
• Mentorship and scholarships
• Literacy intervention programs
• Nonprofit educational programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Naples

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The Immokalee Foundation generates revenue through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants from foundations. The foundation receives funding from events like the Charity Classic Gala, Pro-Am Golf Tournament, and direct contributions from donors and corporate partners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Immokalee Foundation delivers a cradle-to-career educational program pipeline for youth in Immokalee, Florida, spanning elementary literacy (Immokalee Readers), middle school career exploration, and high school career immersion with four specialized pathways (Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, Engineering & Construction Management, and Healthcare). Its programs are supported by mentorship (100+ volunteer mentors), paid internships, the Career Pathways Learning Lab (18-home subdivision construction site), and Career Success Scholarships including Florida Prepaid tuition funding via Take Stock in Children.

Product overview

The Immokalee Foundation provides a comprehensive educational ecosystem from kindergarten through postsecondary education, focused on preparing youth in Immokalee for professional careers. The core offering is the award-winning Career Pathways Program, which consists of four specialized pathways (Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, Engineering & Construction Management, and Healthcare) supported by elementary literacy programs (Immokalee Readers), middle school career exploration, high school career immersion, summer camps, mentorship, internships, and the Career Pathways Learning Lab for hands-on construction experience. The foundation also operates the HEST (Heavy Equipment Service Technician) Program and the CCSO Public Safety Career Academy in partnership with local institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Career Pathways Program Comprehensive program preparing middle and high school students in Immokalee for well-paying, in-demand professional careers in Southwest Florida through four specialized pathways: Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, Engineering & Construction Management, and Healthcare.
• Immokalee Readers Elementary school literacy program providing after-school reading support to approximately 700 K-5 students in Immokalee to build foundational reading skills, with 97% of participants making academic gains.
• Career Exploration in Middle School Middle school program exposing students to a broad range of career paths through workshops, field trips, summer camps, and career interest and aptitude assessments, including instruction at Florida Gulf Coast University.
• Career Immersion in High School High school program in which students select a Career Pathway for in-depth study, participating in internships, workshops, networking opportunities, career panels, and mentorship.
• Career Pathways Learning Lab 18-home subdivision in Immokalee that serves as a hands-on professional career experience where students work with industry professionals learning about land development, home construction, marketing, and sales.
• Heavy Equipment Service Technician (HEST) Program Two-year program in collaboration with Immokalee Technical College (iTECH) providing students practical experience in servicing heavy-duty vehicles designed for earthwork operations and large construction tasks.
• Collier County Sheriff's Office Public Safety Career Academy Program in collaboration with the Collier County Sheriff's Office that exposes Education & Human Services Pathway students to the criminal justice system, concentrating on emergency dispatching with 232 hours of training to become a state-certified public safety telecommunicator.
• Career Success Scholarships Scholarship program providing postsecondary education funding, including Florida Prepaid tuition scholarships through the Take Stock in Children partnership, to cover tuition, textbooks, fees, and equipment for qualifying students.
• Mentor Program Program staffed by over 100 community volunteer mentors who conduct bi-weekly meetings with high school students, providing guidance toward postsecondary and career goals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of students graduate from high school (compared to 88% statewide)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Physicians Regional Healthcare SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Fourth consecutive year of partnership providing funding and hands-on experiential learning for Healthcare Pathway students. Physicians Regional covers Healthcare Summer Camp costs at FGCU and hosts student interns at Pine Ridge and Collier Boulevard hospitals. 54 students have participated in the internship program over four years.
• Take Stock in ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Partnership since 2001 with Take Stock in Children, the nation's premier college access program for underserved students. TSIC provides qualifying Immokalee Foundation students with Florida Prepaid tuition scholarships upon high school graduation. The Foundation is a proud TSIC affiliate and has received 12 consecutive Gold Level of Excellence Awards.
• Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for summer camps including Middle School STEM Camp, Healthcare Pathway Camp, Business Management & Entrepreneurship Pathway Camp, and Education & Human Services Pathway Camp. FGCU professors provide instruction and hands-on activities for Foundation students. This is a sixth-year partnership for STEM camps.
• Immokalee Technical College (iTECH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for the Heavy Equipment Service Technician (HEST) Program, a two-year program that provides students with practical experience in servicing heavy-duty vehicles. Also partners on the Career Pathways Learning Lab construction project.
• BCB HomescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Career Pathways Learning Lab, an 18-home subdivision construction project where students learn land development, home construction, marketing, and sales from industry professionals. Homes are sold at or below market rate.
• Legal Aid Service of Collier CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts Education & Human Services Pathway students as paid summer interns, providing hands-on legal experience for students aspiring to legal careers.
• Collier County Sheriff's OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Public Safety Career Academy that exposes Education & Human Services Pathway students to the criminal justice system, concentrating on emergency dispatching. Students complete 232 hours of training to become state-certified public safety telecommunicators.
• Collier County Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrong relationships with Collier County Public Schools to ensure Career Pathways program sustains and grows. Six of the top 10 students in Immokalee High School's Class of 2025 were products of the Immokalee Foundation out-of-school programs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• United Way of Collier County: Community foundation aggregating corporate and individual donations to fund local health, education, and financial-stability programs. Comparable regional fundraising footprint and competes for the same Naples/Collier County donor pool supporting TIF's work.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Collier County: Local chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America serving Collier County youth with after-school programming, tutoring, and teen career exploration. Direct regional peer in the same geography, competing for the same donor base and overlapping with TIF's elementary and middle school programs.

Direct peers

• College Possible: National nonprofit providing low-income high school students with college-access coaching, ACT prep, and postsecondary support. Closely aligned with TIF's high school and postsecondary model, focused on college enrollment and completion outcomes for underserved youth.
• iMentor: National nonprofit pairing low-income high school students with college-educated mentors and a structured curriculum to drive college graduation. Mirrors TIF's combination of career exploration, mentor matching, and college-readiness programming.
• Take Stock in Children: Florida-based nonprofit providing college-access scholarships, mentoring, and advocacy to underserved students. Direct peer and primary partner of The Immokalee Foundation; their model (scholarship + mentor) is embedded into TIF's high school and postsecondary programming.
• City Year: National youth-development nonprofit placing AmeriCorps members in schools to improve attendance, behavior, and course performance for at-risk students. Comparable in serving K–12 students from under-resourced communities, with a focus on the pipeline to postsecondary success.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit delivering one-on-one college-access and success coaching to students from low-income backgrounds, with strong postsecondary-completion metrics. Directly comparable to TIF's Career Success Scholarship and postsecondary support layer.
• Year Up: National workforce-development nonprofit providing young adults from low-income communities with skills training, internships, and corporate placement. Comparable career-pathways model and employer-partnership strategy, though Year Up serves older youth in urban markets.
• KIPP Foundation: National charter school network serving predominantly low-income K–12 students with a college-prep mission and strong alumni-outcomes orientation. Comparable cradle-to-career ethos and outcome-driven college-attendance narrative, though delivered through schools rather than out-of-school programs.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: National youth-mentoring nonprofit pairing adult volunteers with young people for long-term guidance. Comparable one-to-one volunteer mentor model that drives TIF's high school outcomes, with similar reliance on community mentor pipelines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/immokaleefound
• Facebookfacebook.com/theimmokaleefoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-immokalee-foundation

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Immokalee Foundation