College Summit

What College Summit does

PeerForward, formerly College Summit, is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the mid-1990s that operates peer-led education access programs for students from low-income communities. The organization's model is rooted in research showing that the best predictor of college enrollment is whether peers plan to attend college, and it operationalizes this by training Peer Leaders in partner high schools and colleges to recruit and coach their classmates through college applications, financial aid, and persistence. Programs are delivered at no cost to students.

The organization runs two core programmatic products. The PeerForward High School Program provides signature summer workshops, curriculum, training camps, and year-round coaching that equip Peer Leaders to help their peers explore postsecondary options. The PeerForward College Program trains and coaches college students who then support their peers in accessing academic resources, meeting financial aid requirements, and engaging with campus activities to improve degree completion rates. The organization does not develop proprietary technology; its intellectual property is its curriculum, training methodology, and community model.

The business model is nonprofit fundraising. PeerForward generates no revenue from students or schools; instead it is funded through donations and grants from a broad base of foundations, corporations, and individual philanthropists. Listed supporters include Carnegie Corporation of New York, Kresge Foundation, KKR, Bank of America, Deloitte, Dechert LLP, the NBA Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott. The organization reports cumulative impact of 700K+ students and $136M in annual financial aid unlocked for students at partner high schools.

Name

College Summit

Legal name

PeerForward

Website

https://collegesummit.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

PeerForward (formerly College Summit) is a US nonprofit that operates peer-led education access programs in partner high schools and colleges, training student Peer Leaders to help low-income peers apply to college, secure financial aid, and complete degrees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

Keywords

• College access programs
• Peer leadership training
• Education nonprofit services
• Postsecondary enrollment support
• Youth mentorship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit organization, PeerForward generates revenue through donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The organization lists numerous institutional funders including foundations, corporations, and individual philanthropists such as MacKenzie Scott.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

College Summit (operating as PeerForward) is an education-focused nonprofit that delivers signature summer workshops, structured curriculum, training camps, and year-round coaching in partner high schools to train Peer Leaders who help their peers apply to college, secure financial aid, and graduate. The organization also runs a college program that trains and coaches college students to support fellow students in accessing academic resources, meeting financial aid requirements, and engaging with campus activities to improve degree completion.

Product overview

PeerForward (formerly College Summit) is an education-focused nonprofit organization offering two core programmatic products: the High School Program and the College Program. The High School Program provides summer workshops, curriculum, training camps, and year-round coaching to equip Peer Leaders, while the College Program trains college students to support their peers. Together, these programs leverage positive peer influence to increase postsecondary enrollment and success for students from under-resourced communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PeerForward High School Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 700K+ students impacted through transformative workshops and action-driven campaigns
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bottom Line: College access and success nonprofit serving low-income, first-generation students from high school through college graduation. Operates a direct service model in partner high schools and colleges, making it a close functional peer to PeerForward.
• iMentor: College access nonprofit pairing low-income high school students with adult mentors to support college preparation and persistence. Comparable peer serving a similar beneficiary population through partnership with high schools, with a mentoring-based rather than peer-led model.
• OneGoal: Nonprofit delivering a three-year college access and persistence program to low-income high school students through partner schools. Comparable in targeting the same first-generation population and providing year-round coaching, with a strong outcomes-evidence narrative.
• College Advising Corps: Places recent college graduates as full-time advisers in underserved high schools to increase college access. Comparable peer serving the same beneficiary population through school-based delivery, though using recent grads rather than trained peer leaders.
• uAspire: Nonprofit focused on removing financial barriers to college for low-income students through advising and policy work. Comparable peer in the college access mission targeting first-generation students, with a stronger emphasis on financial aid-specific support.
• College Possible: National nonprofit providing college access and success coaching to low-income and first-generation students through near-peer AmeriCorps members. Directly comparable peer in mission, beneficiary population, and coaching-based delivery model.

Emerging players

• Year Up: Workforce development nonprofit providing young adults from low-income communities with training, stipends, and corporate internships. Adjacent peer targeting a similar beneficiary population with a longer duration of postsecondary support, focused on career outcomes rather than degree completion.

Broad incumbents

• TNTP (The New Teacher Project): National nonprofit focused on ending the injustice of educational inequity, working with schools and districts on talent and instructional improvement. Related as a larger education access/equity player that addresses similar upstream issues but with a broader district-level focus rather than direct student services.
• National College Attainment Network (NCAN): National membership organization for college access programs, providing advocacy, training, and resources across the sector. Related as a sector umbrella organization that PeerForward and its peers often engage with, but operates as a membership/advocacy body rather than a direct service provider.

Others

• Greenlight Fund: Nonprofit venture that identifies and scales high-impact organizations focused on economic mobility for low-income families. Comparable as an ecosystem actor — works alongside organizations like PeerForward to expand college and career access impact, though does not deliver direct services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/collegesummit
• Facebookfacebook.com/collegesummitnational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/college-summit

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 College Summit