Business for Good Foundation

What Business for Good Foundation does

The Business for Good Foundation (legal name: The Business for Good Foundation, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation founded in 2020 by Ed and Lisa Mitzen and headquartered at 605 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, New York. It deploys charitable donations through grants, in-kind services, and capacity-building support to nonprofits, small businesses, and community organizations across four focus areas: Workforce Development (anchored by the GROW program at Hudson Valley Community College), Housing Attainability, Economic Mobility, and Small Business Growth. Primary geographic concentration is New York's Capital Region (Saratoga Springs and Albany), with a stated intent to expand national impact, evidenced by grants to institutions such as Howard University.

The foundation's core 'products' are programmatic rather than technological: the GROW workforce development initiative, a structured BFGF Grant Portal (hosted via grantinterface.com), and a portfolio of direct, in-kind investments including donated and renovated headquarters space (Albany Black Chamber of Commerce), branded delivery vehicles (Blooms by Marie, Allie B's), equipment, branding, websites, and operational support for SMB grantees. The technology stack is light: a Wix-hosted marketing site, standard social channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube), an email newsletter, and the third-party grant application portal. There is no proprietary AI, data platform, or software product.

Its business model is donation-funded grantmaking. Revenue derives from charitable contributions by individuals and institutional partners, channeled into four focus areas via two annual grant application windows and rolling sponsorship review by a Giving & Grants Committee. Pricing is non-commercial: qualifying organizations receive grants whose size is determined by committee review rather than a published fee schedule. The foundation is governed by a board that includes senior representatives from Goldman Sachs, Knox Lane, and M&T Bank, and is led operationally by Executive Director Maire Masterson. Audited financials are filed with the New York State Attorney General; specific revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Business for Good Foundation

Legal name

The Business for Good Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://bfg.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Business for Good Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that awards grants and in-kind support to nonprofits, small businesses, and community organizations in New York's Capital Region across workforce development, housing attainability, economic mobility, and small business growth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Community development grants
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Workforce development programs
• Small business grants
• Economic mobility services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saratoga Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The foundation receives donations from individual and institutional partners which fund its grant-making activities across workforce development, housing attainability, economic mobility, and small business growth focus areas.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Business for Good Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit grantmaking organization that provides financial grants, in-kind services (marketing, branding, equipment, physical space), and operational support to nonprofits, mission-driven organizations, small businesses, and entrepreneurs across four focus areas: Workforce Development (including the GROW program), Housing Attainability, Economic Mobility, and Small Business Growth.

Product overview

Business for Good Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit grant-making organization rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of grant programs across four focus areas: Workforce Development (including the GROW program), Housing Attainability, Economic Mobility, and Small Business Growth. The foundation operates a grant application portal for processing funding requests. There is no commercial software product or platform being offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GROW Program: Generating Resilient Opportunities for America's Workforce - a workforce development program focused on building a robust and resilient workforce through expanding programs to 24 to 30-plus demographic, adding more teachers and trainers, adapting to the new AI economy, and promoting the Capital Region.

Products and services

• GROW Program Generating Resilient Opportunities for America's Workforce — a workforce development initiative focused on creating jobs and building a resilient workforce in the Capital Region, targeting manufacturing and trade careers with specialized training. Aimed at becoming a national job creation model.
• Housing Attainability Grants Grant funding and support for organizations working to address housing affordability challenges and expand housing solutions in underserved communities.
• Economic Mobility Grants Grant funding and support for organizations breaking down economic obstacles and helping create financial independence for community members, including financial literacy programs and wealth-building initiatives.
• Small Business Growth Grants Grant funding and resources for entrepreneurs and small businesses, providing essential resources and partnerships for business development, including branding, marketing, equipment, and operational guidance.
• Workforce Development Grants Programs and funding supporting workforce training, trade education, and career development initiatives in the Capital Region, including grants to organizations running workforce training programs.
• BFGF Grant Portal Online portal system used by the foundation for grant applications, eligibility assessments, pre-application forms, and grant submission management. Applications accepted during designated windows (Window 1 closed Feb 2026, Window 2 opens July 2026).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 documented case studies of successful grantees across workforce, economic mobility, housing, and small business focus areas
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Albany Black Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation donated headquarters space within downtown Albany's historic University Club with a full renovation. The partnership supports the ABCC's mission to strengthen and grow Black and minority-owned businesses in the Capital Region.
• Fundisha CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Teach Brother Teach fellowship program created by S. Neal Currie Jr to address scarcity of Black male teachers. BFGF provides marketing collateral, event support, and branding including logo design.
• Palace TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupport for the Palace Theatre's Community Engagement Initiative providing local theatre/dance/step/film groups access to practice and perform at the venue.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation: Major national private foundation focused on child welfare, workforce, and community economic development. Comparable multi-vertical approach and community investment philosophy.
• Blue Meridian Partners: National philanthropic strategic investor scaling proven poverty-fighting initiatives. Adjacent to BFGF's stated ambition to scale GROW into a national model, with comparable 'more-than-money' investee support ethos.
• Ballmer Group: Large philanthropic organization focused on economic mobility for children and families in the U.S. Overlapping focus on workforce, small business, and upward mobility aligns with BFGF's portfolio.
• Kresge Foundation: Large national private foundation working across place-based initiatives, economic opportunity, and community development. Comparable mission and program areas, with substantially larger scale and national reach.

Direct peers

• Surdna Foundation: Private foundation with overlapping focus on economic equity, small business support, and community-driven change. Comparable funding model and thematic alignment to BFGF's focus areas.
• Enterprise Community Partners: National nonprofit deploying capital and expertise across housing, workforce, and small business. Directly comparable to BFGF on housing attainability and economic mobility focus areas.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National CDFI-adjacent community development organization funding workforce, housing, and small business initiatives in underserved geographies. Directly comparable to BFGF's place-based, multi-vertical community investment model.
• Robin Hood Foundation: Place-based poverty-fighting foundation combining grants with capacity-building services for nonprofits. Directly comparable to BFGF's hybrid capital-plus-services approach targeting economic mobility.
• Living Cities: Collaborative of foundations and financial institutions investing in urban economic mobility, workforce, and inclusive economic growth. Comparable multi-vertical place-based investment model to BFGF's GROW program direction.
• Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region: Directly comparable community foundation serving the same Albany/Capital Region geography with comparable grantmaking, donor-advised funds, and focus on local nonprofits. Most analogous peer by mission, scope, and footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@businessforgoodfoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/businessforgoodfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/businessforgoodfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/bfgfoundation

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Business for Good Foundation