On The Rise

What On The Rise does

On The Rise, Inc. is a Massachusetts-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax ID 04-3290689) operating a daytime community and Safe Haven program for women, transgender, and nonbinary people experiencing or recovering from homelessness. Founded around 1994-1995 and headquartered at 341 Broadway, Cambridge, MA, the organization runs two core service lines: Safe Haven, a drop-in daytime center open Monday through Saturday from 9:00am to 1:00pm that provides survival essentials (food, clothing, toiletries), advocacy, and relationship-based support; and Keep The Keys, a housing-recovery program focused on maintaining permanent housing placement. Sub-branded programs include Safe Haven and Keep The Keys. Reported impact metrics include 400+ people served annually, an average of 25 daily visits, 600+ people helped into housing cumulatively, and a 92% housing-retention rate among those placed.

The organization does not sell products or technology services; instead, it generates revenue through individual donations, planned giving (wills, IRA charitable transfers, stock gifts, life insurance), corporate sponsorships (including employer matching gifts), and two signature annual fundraising events: Prepare for Winter Dinner, which raises over $250,000 toward the annual budget, and Empty Bowls, supported by 30+ local restaurants and multiple local pottery studios. Operations are funded by Major-tier foundation partners (Chickering Foundation, Wagner Foundation) and a multi-tier corporate sponsor stack led by Mt. Auburn Hospital and Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. The organization is staffed by 11-50 employees supplemented by 160+ volunteers who handle cooking, on-site support, and event operations.

Go-to-market is community-led rather than commercial: services are delivered free of charge at the single Cambridge site to qualifying participants, while donor and volunteer acquisition is driven by a quarterly newsletter, the website, signature fundraising events, and direct community engagement. There is no proprietary technology platform, no app, and no AI/ML component to the service offering; competitive advantage stems from three decades of community trust, a volunteer-leveraged cost structure, and demonstrated housing-retention outcomes.

Name

On The Rise

Legal name

On The Rise, Inc.

Website

https://ontherise.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

On The Rise is a Cambridge, MA-based nonprofit operating a daytime Safe Haven and Keep The Keys housing-recovery program for women, transgender, and nonbinary people experiencing or recovering from homelessness, funded by donations, planned giving, and signature annual fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless and social services

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Homeless services nonprofit
• Daytime safe haven
• Housing retention program
• Gender affirming shelter
• Social services advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the organization's mission to serve homeless women, transgender, and nonbinary people. The organization's tax ID number is 04-3290689.
2. Annual Fundraising Events: Prepare for Winter Dinner is the premier annual fundraising event raising over $250,000 of the annual budget. Empty Bowls is another annual event where proceeds benefit Safe Haven and Keep The Keys programs.
3. Planned Giving: Future gifts through wills, retirement accounts, IRA charitable transfers, stock gifts, and life insurance policies that create lasting impact for generations.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Sponsorships from corporations for events and ongoing support, including matching gifts programs through employers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

On The Rise operates a daytime Safe Haven community for women, transgender, and nonbinary people experiencing or recovering from homelessness, providing survival essentials (food, clothing, toiletries), advocacy, and a supportive in-person space. Its Keep The Keys program specifically supports participants in maintaining permanent housing after placement, and the organization has helped 600+ people into housing with a 92% retention rate. All services are delivered free of charge at its Cambridge, MA facility.

Product overview

On The Rise is a social services non-profit organization providing daytime community and Safe Haven services for women, transgender, and nonbinary people experiencing or recovering from homelessness. The organization does not offer technology products; rather, it provides social service programs including Safe Haven (daytime shelter and community), Keep The Keys (housing assistance), advocacy services, and resource distribution (clothing, toiletries, meals). The organization serves approximately 400+ people annually with a 92% housing retention rate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Safe Haven: Daytime community and shelter program for women, transgender, and nonbinary people experiencing or recovering from homelessness.
• Keep The Keys

Products and services

• Safe Haven Daytime community and shelter program providing a safe space, survival essentials (food, clothing, toiletries), and advocacy for adult women, transgender, and nonbinary people moving through or recovering from homelessness. Operates as drop-in service Monday through Saturday 9am-1pm at the Cambridge, MA facility.
• Keep The Keys Housing recovery and retention program supporting people who have been placed into permanent housing, providing ongoing relationship-based support to help them remain stably housed.
• Advocacy and Survival Essentials Distribution Distribution of tangible survival essentials including food, clothing, and toiletries combined with one-on-one advocacy for participants navigating housing, healthcare, and other systems.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major.

• 1369 CoffeehousemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for Empty Bowls 2026 and Prepare for Winter Dinner, demonstrating long-term community partnership.
• First Street MarketmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for Empty Bowls 2026. Host venue for the annual event.
• Local Restaurants (Various)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerOver 30 local restaurants donate soup for the annual Empty Bowls event, including Field and Vine, Naco Taco, Puritan and Co, Sofra, and many others.
• Local Pottery Studios (Various)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerCeramic artists donate handcrafted bowls for the Empty Bowls event, including Feet of Clay, Mudflat Studios, Office for the Arts at Harvard, and others.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Pine Street Inn: Largest homeless services provider in New England, operating emergency shelters, outreach, and permanent housing across Boston. Comparable in mission and geography but operates at much larger scale and broader scope than On The Rise's niche.
• Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance: Statewide advocacy and network organization for Massachusetts homeless service providers. Comparable by geography and sector, but operates as an advocacy/coalition body rather than a direct-service provider.
• Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program: Major Boston-area nonprofit delivering health care, behavioral health, and case management to people experiencing homelessness. Comparable target population and Boston-area geography, but operates a clinical care model rather than housing-focused services.

Direct peers

• Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Boston-based nonprofit serving homeless and at-risk youth with shelter, drop-in services, education, and housing. Comparable operating model (drop-in, essentials, relationship-based support) though focused on youth rather than adult women/nonbinary participants.
• Casa Myrna Vazquez: Boston-based nonprofit providing shelter, housing, and support services for survivors of domestic violence, with strong gender-responsive programming. Comparable in gender-focused mission, donor-funded model, and Boston-area service delivery.
• Heading Home: Greater Boston nonprofit providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent housing solutions for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Directly comparable in housing-retention mission and Cambridge/Massachusetts service area.
• Rosie's Place: Founded in Boston in 1974, Rosie's Place is one of the longest-running drop-in shelters for women in the U.S. Closely comparable in mission (women-focused, free, holistic services, donor-funded) and comparable in scale and operating model.
• The Women's Lunch Place: Boston-based daytime drop-in and shelter organization serving women experiencing poverty and homelessness. Highly comparable operating model: daytime-only services, free meals and essentials, relationship-based support, and donor-funded operations in Greater Boston.

Others

• MassEquality: Massachusetts LGBTQ+ advocacy organization working on legal, policy, and community support. Not a direct service peer, but shares the gender-diverse population focus and the Greater Boston operating geography; represents an ecosystem/adjacent organization rather than a competitor.

Regional players

• Y2Y Harvard Square: Student-run overnight shelter in Cambridge, MA for young adults experiencing homelessness. Comparable by geography and target population overlap, but operates a different model (overnight student volunteer-run) and serves young adults rather than On The Rise's women/trans/nonbinary adult focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OnTheRiseInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/OnTheRiseCambridge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/on-the-rise

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 On The Rise