What The Brookwood Community does

The Brookwood Community is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit residential and vocational community founded in 1983 (residential since 1985) and headquartered on a 485-acre campus in Brookshire, Texas, just west of Houston. It serves more than 230 adults with disabilities, referred to as Citizens, comprising over 100 Residential Citizens living on campus and approximately 130 Day Citizens who commute from their homes. Brookwood operates without government funding, relying instead on tuition, enterprise revenue, and charitable donations (which underwrite roughly 20% of its annual operating budget), and awards over $1.1 million in scholarship support each year with 33% of Citizens receiving financial assistance.

The organization runs an integrated social enterprise model spanning nine vocational work programs: Horticulture (210,000 plants annually across 48-49 greenhouses, including 50,000 poinsettias), Ceramics, Stone Casting, Packaging, Specialty Shop, Soap Making, Shipping and Receiving, The Brookwood Café, and Retail. These enterprises produce handcrafted goods sold through the Brookwood Gift & Garden Center, an online store (brookwoodstore.org), corporate gifting (Brookwood B2B), wholesale plant sales, catering, weddings, and special events. Supplemental programs include the Brookwood Art Gallery, Campus Tours, Lunch & Learn workshops, and the Stephen C. Beasley Center for Learning, which hosts The Brookwood Way Conference for replication of Brookwood's model to external organizations. Two satellite Day Program locations in Richmond (at Gallery Furniture) and The Woodlands (at The Woodlands United Methodist Church) extend geographic reach across Greater Houston.

The Brookwood Community employs 251-500 staff and operates a Board-governed leadership structure. Founder Yvonne Tuttle Streit, motivated by her daughter Vicki's disabilities, established the community after studying Bethel in Germany; she has since transitioned to Executive Director Emeritus. Go-to-market is event- and community-led, with awareness generated through campus tours, workshops, fundraising events, and a network of 40+ community partners including churches, banks, retailers, sports franchises, and media outlets. Pricing is pay-as-you-go across workshops and events, with multi-year contracts available for corporate gifting and annual donation campaigns (the 2025 'I Believe in Brookwood' campaign targeted $2 million).

Name

The Brookwood Community

Legal name

The Brookwood Community Inc.

Website

https://brookwoodcommunity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Brookwood Community is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Brookshire, Texas providing residential care, day programs, and vocational social enterprises (horticulture, ceramics, café, retail) for 230+ adults with disabilities, operating without government funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Residential and Vocational Services

NAICS

Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (72131), RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps (7212), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civic Education & Community Engagement (Voting, Local Government) (EDAAAFAC), Tree Care & Arborist Services (BPABADAD)

Keywords

• Disability residential services
• Vocational training programs
• Social enterprise operations
• Horticulture nursery sales
• Community-based care

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookshire

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Revenue: Brookwood operates multiple social enterprises including Horticulture (growing 210,000 plants annually), Ceramics, Stone Casting, Packaging, Specialty Shop, Soap Making, Café, and Retail operations. Citizens produce and sell handmade products including ceramics, gourmet food items, stone cast pieces, soaps, and plants.
2. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from residential and day program tuition. Brookwood provides scholarship assistance to qualifying families and awards over $1.1 million in scholarship support each year. 33% of Citizens receive financial assistance.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Donors provide approximately 20% of annual operating budget. Sources include individual donors, civic and religious groups, organizations, foundations, and corporations. The annual 'I Believe in Brookwood' campaign targets $2,000,000.
4. Café and Catering Services: The Brookwood Café serves lunch Monday-Saturday 11am-2pm. Catering services available for events, weddings, corporate functions.
5. Special Events: Revenue from fundraising events including Biennial Brookwood Benefit Lunch, Biennial Works of Heart Gala, and Bike to Brookwood cycling event.
6. Corporate Orders: Custom corporate gifts including branded logo products, gourmet food gifts, engraved wood gifts, and luxury lifestyle gifts with volume pricing and custom branding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Brookwood Community is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides residential, vocational, and day programs for adults with disabilities (referred to as "Citizens") on a 485-acre campus in Brookshire, Texas. The organization funds its mission through a network of social enterprises — including horticulture, ceramics, stone casting, soap making, packaging, a specialty retail shop, and a café — where Citizens produce and sell goods and services to the public.

Product overview

The Brookwood Community operates a unified social enterprise ecosystem focused on providing meaningful work, residential support, and community for adults with disabilities. The core offering is the Work Program Enterprises, which encompasses multiple vocational enterprises (Horticulture, Ceramics, Stone Casting, Packaging, Specialty Shop, Soap Making, Café, and Retail) that provide job training and employment for Citizens. These enterprises are complemented by revenue-generating operations including The Brookwood Café (gourmet dining), the Brookwood Gift & Garden Center (retail and nursery), the Brookwood Art Gallery, Catering Services, and Event Spaces. Educational programming includes The Brookwood Way Conference for external organizations. The organization also operates Residential and Day Programs for Citizens, Campus Tours for visitors, and a Corporate Orders Program for custom business gifting. All social enterprises work together to fund Brookwood's mission while providing vocational opportunities for adults with disabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brookwood Bubbles: Self-care products including bath salts, lotions, shower steamers, shower gel, and hand-poured candles made by Citizens in the Soap Shop.
• Shudde Bros.

Products and services

• Residential Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 210,000 plants grown annually including 50,000 poinsettias
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Allegiance BankminorOthersCommunity partner providing banking and financial services support to Brookwood.
• Amegy BankminorOthersCommunity partner providing banking and financial services support to Brookwood.
• Gallery FurniturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides donated retail space at Grand Parkway location for Brookwood's satellite Day Program serving Fort Bend and surrounding area citizens.
• The Woodlands United Methodist ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides donated space for Brookwood's satellite Day Program serving north Houston and The Woodlands area citizens.
• Chapelwood United Methodist ChurchminorOthersCommunity partner providing volunteer support and donations.
• Second Baptist ChurchminorOthersCommunity partner providing volunteer support and donations.
• St. Martin's Episcopal ChurchminorOthersCommunity partner providing volunteer support and donations.
• Kingsland BaptistminorOthersCommunity partner providing volunteer support and donations.
• Woodlands Methodist ChurchminorOthersCommunity partner providing venue space and donations for Day Program.
• Houston AstrosminorOthersCommunity partner providing promotional support and event participation.
• Houston TexansminorOthersCommunity partner providing promotional support and event participation.
• Houston Livestock Show and RodeominorOthersCommunity partner with booth presence at Rodeo. Citizens model at fashion show luncheon.
• Houston Grand OperaminorOthersCommunity partner providing volunteer support and donations.
• HEBminorOthersCommunity partner providing product donations and Good Neighbor Program support.
• WalmartminorOthersCommunity partner via Registry for Good program and donations.
• Chick-fil-AminorOthersCommunity partner providing volunteer support and donations.
• David Weekley HomesminorOthersCommunity partner providing volunteer support and donations.
• KHOU Great Day HoustonminorOthersMedia partner providing promotional coverage for Brookwood events and programs.
• Rotary Club of Cinco RanchminorOthersCommunity partner providing grants and volunteer support including grant for Center for Learning training and outreach.
• Brazos River Rotary ClubminorOthersGrant provider supporting Center for Learning training and outreach ministries including The Brookwood Way Conference.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• L'Arche USA: Federation of intentional residential communities for adults with intellectual disabilities. Closest model peer to Brookwood: combines faith-rooted community life, shared vocational work, and lifelong family-style housing for Citizens.
• Camphill Communities of North America: Anthroposophical intentional communities for people with developmental disabilities. Operates residential villages with on-site craft and agricultural enterprises that employ residents — a near-twin operating model to Brookwood's vocational social enterprises.
• Mosaic: National faith-based provider of residential, vocational, and behavioral services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Comparable mission and service mix at materially larger scale.
• ADEC (Aids for the Developmentally Challenged): Indiana-based nonprofit providing residential, day services, and employment supports to adults with developmental disabilities. Comparable community-based residential and vocational mission to Brookwood at smaller geographic scale.
• Benchmark Human Services: Multi-state provider of residential, day, and community employment services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Operates community-based group homes and vocational programs comparable to Brookwood's residential and day program offerings.
• Koinonia Farms: Faith-rooted intentional community providing residential and vocational programs for adults with disabilities alongside farm-based enterprises. Closely matches Brookwood's faith-centered, social-enterprise village model at smaller scale.

Broad incumbents

• Easterseals: Large national disability-services nonprofit operating across employment, residential, and therapy lines. Overlaps with Brookwood's vocational mission but at much broader scale and geographic footprint.
• The Arc: National advocacy and service organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Touches Brookwood's population but emphasizes advocacy, policy, and chapter-based services rather than operating residential villages.
• SourceAmerica (AbilityOne): Federal AbilityOne program administrator that creates employment for people with disabilities through government contracts. Comparable mission of meaningful work for adults with disabilities, though structured around federal procurement rather than social enterprises.
• Bethesda Lutheran Communities: Faith-affiliated national provider of residential and community-based supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Overlaps Brookwood's faith-centered residential and vocational mission across multiple states.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZhb1CpvaadEOD8m7UCDhxA/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrookwoodCommunity
• Instagraminstagram.com/brookwoodcommunity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries9 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 Brookwood Community