What SEAMAAC does

SEAMAAC is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1984 by refugees that delivers direct social services to immigrants and refugees across the Greater Philadelphia region. The organization operates across multiple program verticals: Health & Social Services, Education (including the Urban Arts Entrepreneurship Program), Community Development, Hunger Relief, English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, and Digital Navigation. Its delivery model is built on a predominantly bilingual and multilingual staff — over 80% bilingual — enabling service to 18 linguistic communities. The organization runs multiple physical program sites in Philadelphia and partners with municipal and institutional actors including Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and Comcast (Cares Day).

The revenue model is characteristic of a community-based social services nonprofit: a mix of individual donations, foundation grants, government contracts, and corporate partnerships, with no fee-for-service revenue stream. Programmatic scale is significant — the Hunger Relief Program, launched in 2020, distributed over 1.4 million pounds of food and served tens of thousands of families before being paused effective January 3, 2025 amid funding constraints and a deteriorating political environment for immigrant-serving organizations. The Hunger Relief Program launch was the largest single programmatic scaling event in SEAMAAC's recent history; its pause is the largest single retrenchment, and the remaining 2025 Red Cards multilingual expansion and continuation of ESL, Digital Navigation, Urban Arts, and Community Development constitute the organization's current operating footprint.

SEAMAAC's competitive position rests on long-incumbent refugee-led credibility (over 40 years of operation), deep linguistic capacity, and place-based density in Greater Philadelphia that allows shared staff and sites to be leveraged across programs. The strategic question going forward is whether the remaining program portfolio — and the donor base supporting it — can stabilize after the Hunger Relief pause, or whether further retrenchment is likely given the broader funding and political environment.

Name

SEAMAAC

Legal name

SEAMAAC

Website

https://seamaac.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SEAMAAC is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1984 by refugees that delivers health, education, ESL, digital navigation, community development, and hunger relief services to immigrants and refugees across 18 linguistic communities in Greater Philadelphia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community and Social Services for Immigrants and Refugees

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Assistance (624), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Migrant Integration Enterprises (Livelihoods, Services) (BPAGALAN), Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment) (BPADAHAI), Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH), Refugee & Humanitarian Newcomer Orientation (Resettlement Support) (EDAAADAI), Immigrant & Refugee Workforce Integration Programs (EDAAAOAJ)

Keywords

• Immigrant social services
• Refugee assistance programs
• Community health services
• Hunger relief programs
• ESL education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

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. Donations and Grants: SEAMAAC operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded through donations, grants, and potentially government funding programs to support its community services including hunger relief, education, health services, and community development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SEAMAAC is a refugee-founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers direct community services to immigrants and refugees in Greater Philadelphia. Its core offerings include Health & Social Services, Education (Urban Arts Entrepreneurship Program), Community Development, Civic Engagement, ESL and Digital Navigation, and Hunger Relief (food pantry and grocery delivery). All programs are delivered through a multilingual staff serving up to 18 distinct linguistic communities.

Product overview

SEAMAAC is a community services organization, not a technology company. It operates as a multi-program social services agency offering a unified set of community support services including Health & Social Services, Education programs (including the Urban Arts Entrepreneurship Program), Community Development (including Mifflin Square Park engagement and the South 7th Street Commercial Corridor improvement project), Hunger Relief (food pantry and grocery delivery services), and ESL and Digital Navigation services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Urban Arts Entrepreneurship Program: After school and summer arts program for Philadelphia youth, formerly known as Hip Hop Heritage, offering breakdancing, deejaying, music production and visual arts classes.
• SoPhiE Food Truck
• Wyss Wellness Center

Products and services

• Health & Social Services Department supporting immigrant and refugee families to improve the quality of their lives through access to health care, social services, community building, advocacy, and building bridges to health care and social service providers.
• Urban Arts Entrepreneurship Program After-school and summer arts program (formerly Hip Hop Heritage) for multi-racial, multi-ethnic Philadelphia youth offering breakdancing, deejaying, music production, visual arts, career development, college awareness, and financial literacy at Furness High School, Monday through Friday 2:30 to 5pm.
• Community Development Program encompassing Mifflin Square Park Engagement, Planning & Implementation and the South 7th Street Commercial Corridor Improvement project, focused on building community power and prosperity through physical improvements, community organizing, and supporting local businesses in South Philadelphia.
• Hunger Relief Program Food insecurity response program providing food pantry services, grocery delivery to homebound seniors and people with disabilities, and the Elders Grocery Initiative. Over its run, it delivered 32,266 meals to homebound seniors, served 164,305 grocery orders, 357,070 prepared meals, 176,380 Farms to Families grocery boxes, and distributed over 1.4 million pounds of food. Currently paused due to funding constraints.
• ESL and Digital Navigation English as a Second Language education combined with digital literacy support to help immigrants and refugees overcome language barriers and navigate technology.
• Civic Engagement Program supporting immigrant and refugee civic participation, advocacy, and integration in the United States.
• Growing Home Gardens Community gardens established in 2010 on the 700 block of Emily St and the 500 block of Mercy St in South Philadelphia, providing nutritional support and culturally relevant crops primarily for immigrant and refugee gardeners.
• SoPhiE Food Truck Mobile food service operation associated with SEAMAAC's community programs, serving culturally diverse cuisine at Mifflin Square Park and community events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Served 164,305 grocery orders to families in need
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ComcastminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Comcast Cares Day 2019 volunteer event at Mifflin Square Park and South 7th Street with CEO Brian Roberts participating.
• Philadelphia Parks & RecreationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on Mifflin Square Park Engagement, Planning & Implementation project for physical and operational changes to Mifflin Square Park with broad resident engagement.
• Councilman SquillacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on Mifflin Square Park redevelopment and South 7th Street Commercial Corridor improvement initiatives.
• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Growing Home Community Gardens project supporting primarily immigrant and refugee gardeners.
• Neighborhood Gardens TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Growing Home Community Gardens established in 2010 on the 700 block of Emily St and the 500 block of Mercy St in South Philadelphia.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HIAS Pennsylvania: Refugee resettlement and immigration services agency operating in Pennsylvania. Comparable to SEAMAAC as a refugee-founded and refugee-serving organization focused on resettlement, integration, and legal services in the same state.
• RefugeeOne: Chicago-based refugee resettlement agency providing direct services to newcomers across multiple programs. Comparable to SEAMAAC as a multi-program refugee services organization with similar service mix (resettlement, employment, youth, wellness).
• Nationalities Service Center: Philadelphia-based nonprofit providing legal, social, and interpretation services to immigrants and refugees. Directly comparable to SEAMAAC's mission, geography, and multi-service model serving the same Greater Philadelphia catchment.

Broad incumbents

• Bethany Christian Services: National refugee and foster care services organization with operations in multiple states. Comparable to SEAMAAC in refugee resettlement service delivery but broader portfolio including adoption and foster care.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): Global humanitarian organization with a Philadelphia office providing refugee resettlement, employment, and education services. Overlaps with SEAMAAC's core services but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS): National faith-based refugee resettlement and migration services organization. Comparable mission to SEAMAAC's refugee support work but operates at national scale across multiple states.
• Catholic Social Services (Archdiocese of Philadelphia): Large social services agency in Philadelphia providing refugee resettlement, immigration legal services, and community support. Comparable to SEAMAAC through overlap in refugee resettlement and case management but broader in scope and faith-affiliated.

Regional players

• Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia: Regional social services organization providing refugee resettlement, mental health, and family services in Philadelphia. Comparable to SEAMAAC through direct overlap in refugee resettlement and social services for vulnerable populations in the same metro.
• Esperanza (Philadelphia): Philadelphia-based Hispanic-focused nonprofit providing community development, education, and social services. Comparable to SEAMAAC through its Philadelphia footprint and multi-program community service model, though focused on Latino rather than refugee/immigrant communities broadly.

Others

• Philly Counts / Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs: City of Philadelphia government office coordinating immigrant and refugee services across the city. Comparable to SEAMAAC as a funder, convener, and referral partner in the Philadelphia immigrant services ecosystem, though operating as a government entity rather than a direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/seamaac
• Facebookfacebook.com/seamaac
• Instagraminstagram.com/seamaac
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seamaac

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 SEAMAAC