Field Trip Factory

What Field Trip Factory does

Field Trip Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity founded in 1999 and headquartered in Chicago that operates a two-sided marketplace connecting educators with field trip hosts and venues for experiential learning. The organization serves three core constituencies: educators and teachers searching for and booking field trips, hosts and venues listing experiential learning opportunities, and the students who ultimately participate. Its website at fieldtripfoundation.org exposes two primary modules, a Search + Book interface with configurable geographic radius search (25 to 150 miles) for educators and a List a Field Trip module for hosts, supported by end-to-end services covering Experience Design + Development, Booking + Logistics Coordination, and Outreach + Partnerships.

The platform is built on a modern tech stack delivering real-time availability checking, automated reservation workflows, and analytics intended to improve field trip programs for both hosts and attendees. The organization does not charge users for bookings; instead, revenue is generated through charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations, supplemented by long-term sponsor relationships, consistent with a nonprofit rather than transactional marketplace model. The organization has facilitated over 140,000 learning experiences and reports impacting 3.5 million students over its 25+ year operating history, with a self-reported 4.7 out of 5 average educator rating. No management team, founders, board members, awards, patents, or named donor relationships are disclosed in available materials, and no AI/ML capabilities, mobile apps, or geographic footprint claims beyond regional radius search are documented.

Name

Field Trip Factory

Legal name

Field Trip Foundation

Website

https://fieldtripfactory.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Field Trip Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a two-sided marketplace that connects educators with hosts and venues to book experiential learning field trips, supported by donation-funded program design, logistics, and outreach services for K-12 students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experiential Learning Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

School Group & Curriculum-Led Trips (THAKAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual Field Trips & Experiential Learning Environments (Museums, Geography, History) (EDAFAJAG)

Keywords

• Experiential learning marketplace
• Field trip booking platform
• Education experience coordination
• School trip facilitation
• Nonprofit education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Field Trip Foundation generates revenue through charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The organization also develops long-term sponsor relationships for funding support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Field Trip Foundation operates a nonprofit online marketplace platform that connects educators with field trip hosts and venues, enabling discovery, booking, and coordination of experiential learning opportunities. The organization also provides end-to-end program creation, logistics coordination, and community outreach services to support K-12 schools and host organizations at no cost to educators.

Product overview

Field Trip Foundation is a nonprofit experiential learning platform offering a unified ecosystem of field trip services. The core platform consists of Search + Book (educator-facing discovery and reservation system), List a Field Trip (host/venue listing module), and integrated operational services including Booking + Logistics Coordination (reservation management and day-of execution), Experience Design + Development (end-to-end program creation), and Outreach + Partnerships (educator connection and sponsor development). The platform is powered by a modern tech stack delivering real-time availability and automated workflows. With over 140,000+ learning experiences facilitated and 3.5 million students impacted, the platform serves both educators seeking field trips and hosts/venues offering experiential learning opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Search + Book A field trip discovery and reservation platform that enables educators to search for experiential learning opportunities within configurable radius distances (25/50/100/150 miles) and book learning experiences directly through the website.
• List a Field Trip A platform module that allows hosts and venues to list field trip opportunities, enabling location support and expanding the network of available learning experiences accessible to educators.
• Booking + Logistics Coordination End-to-end field trip management service covering reservation systems, scheduling coordination, field trip leader assignments, day-of execution assistance, and location support for hosts and educators.
• Experience Design + Development Program creation service providing ideation, content development, technical implementation, project management, and operational execution for delivering field trip experiences tailored to educator requirements.
• Outreach + Partnerships Strategic outreach and community engagement service that connects educators with field trip opportunities through sponsor relationship development and long-term community partnership cultivation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.5 million students impacted
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Explorica: Explorica is an educational travel platform focused on K-12 student trips with strong curriculum integration and teacher-friendly booking tools. It overlaps with Field Trip Foundation's educator-facing marketplace model, particularly around discovery, booking, and curriculum-linked experiences.
• WorldStrides: WorldStrides is a leading provider of educational travel and experiential learning programs for K-12 students, offering curriculum-linked trips domestically and abroad. It directly competes with Field Trip Foundation for school group experiential learning dollars, though it skews toward multi-day travel rather than local day trips.
• Brightspark Travel: Brightspark Travel organizes student group trips and field experiences for K-12 schools with curriculum-aligned itineraries. It is a direct competitor to Field Trip Foundation in the school group experiential learning and field trip space.
• FieldTripDirectory: FieldTripDirectory is a searchable directory connecting teachers with field trip venues and experiences, often free to use. It directly mirrors Field Trip Foundation's educator-facing discovery and listing model and competes for the same teacher-driven traffic.

Emerging players

• Outschool: Outschool is an online marketplace for small-group classes and experiential learning sessions for kids, increasingly expanding into in-person and hybrid offerings. While primarily virtual, it competes with Field Trip Foundation for teacher and parent attention in the experiential learning category.
• KiwiCo: KiwiCo delivers hands-on educational kits and experiences for children, with growing investment in field-trip-style programming. It is adjacent to Field Trip Foundation's experiential learning value proposition and targets the same educator and parent demographic.
• Crayola Experience: Crayola Experience centers operate as branded educational field trip destinations offering hands-on creative learning experiences. They represent a host-venue model that Field Trip Foundation helps connect to educators, while also potentially competing as standalone branded destinations.
• Walking Classroom: Walking Classroom is a nonprofit that delivers standards-aligned educational content via audio walks and movement-based learning experiences. It shares Field Trip Foundation's nonprofit DNA and mission of connecting physical activity with curriculum engagement for K-12 students.

Broad incumbents

• EF Educational Tours: EF Educational Tours is a major incumbent in the school group travel market, providing curriculum-aligned international and domestic trips for K-12 students. It competes with Field Trip Foundation's experiential learning mission but operates at a much larger scale and with a strong travel-tour focus.
• Discovery Education: Discovery Education provides digital curriculum content, virtual field trips, and supplemental resources to K-12 classrooms. It overlaps with Field Trip Foundation's experiential learning mission and offers a virtual field trip product that could compete for experiential learning budget within schools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Field Trip Factory