Central Ohio Professional Education Council

What Central Ohio Professional Education Council does

Central Ohio Professional Education Council (COPEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2004 and headquartered in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area, delivering free financial wellness education to local businesses, organizations, and community members. Its programming covers budgeting, credit and debt management, retirement planning, Social Security, Medicare, estate planning, tax preparation, investment basics, and long-term care, delivered through workshops, Lunch & Learns, company health fairs, the Retirement Decisions Workshop series, the Financial Wellness Fridays Lecture Series, and a daily Financial Wellness Webcast. All programming is provided at no cost to participants, with no product or service sales involved.

COPEC's core technology is a financial education content and workshop delivery platform, including a website (copeceducation.org), email newsletter, blog, and Zoom/webinar infrastructure for public workshops. The substantive "technology" is its network of 48 credentialed expert speakers — Certified Financial Planners, CPAs, and attorneys — who donate their time. Three affiliated firms anchor the organization: Retirement Strategies, Ltd. (a registered investment adviser and founding partner since 2004), RS Tax & Accounting Services, Inc. (providing tax and accounting expertise and board representation), and Golowin Legal, LLC (estate planning and elder law). The board is staffed by partners from these firms, including President & Board Chairman James Lindner and Secretary Jerry Snyder.

COPEC's business model is non-commercial. As a 501(c)(3), it operates without direct product or service sales; daily webcasts and workshops are underwritten by Retirement Strategies, Ltd. The go-to-market motion is event-driven and community-led: programming is delivered through employer-sponsored workplace financial wellness initiatives, association partnerships, and public webinars/retreats, targeting two primary segments — Central Ohio businesses seeking employee financial education and individual employees/community members seeking free financial literacy resources. Distribution channels include direct employer partnerships, customized Company Financial Education Series at semi-monthly/monthly/quarterly cadence, association and group programs, and public workshops/webinars. No funding rounds, acquisitions, or revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

Central Ohio Professional Education Council

Legal name

Central Ohio Professional Education Council

Website

https://copeceducation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

COPEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2004 that delivers free financial wellness education — including workshops, webinars, and a daily webcast on budgeting, retirement, Social Security, Medicare, estate planning, and tax preparation — to Central Ohio businesses, associations, and community members, funded through donations and pro bono support from three affiliated firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, COPEC operates through donations and grants. The organization states that all programs are at no cost to the public and without direct product or service sales. Daily webcasts and workshops are hosted through the support of Retirement Strategies, Ltd.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Central Ohio Professional Education Council (COPEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that delivers free financial wellness education to the Central Ohio community. The council organizes workshops, seminars, lecture series, and webcasts covering retirement, estate planning, investments, taxes, and healthcare, delivered through workplace programs, public events, and association channels.

Product overview

COPEC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that operates as a free financial wellness education platform for Central Ohio, offering various educational programs without product or service sales. The core offerings include Financial Wellness Programs (budgeting, credit, debt management), Retirement Decisions Workshops (pension, Social Security, retirement planning), and the Financial Wellness Fridays Lecture Series. These are supplemented by Company Financial Education Series for employers, Company Health Fair Financial Wellness Support, Financial Planning Round Table Discussions, a daily Financial Wellness Webcast through the Retirement Strategies Portal, blog articles and resources, and newsletter subscription. All programming is provided at no cost to the public.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Wellness Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving Central Ohio since 2004 with 145 wellness programs and 275+ bookings

Segments3 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.

• Retirement Strategies, Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Retirement Strategies, Ltd. is a registered investment adviser and one of the founding affiliated companies of COPEC. The company provides hundreds of hours of management and expert financial advice each year to the community at no cost. Daily webcasts, workshops, and the 15-minute complimentary meeting resource are hosted through Retirement Strategies' generous support and donation.
• RS Tax & Accounting Services, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004RS Tax & Accounting Services, Inc. is an affiliated company of COPEC providing board representation and direction. The company contributes to COPEC's educational outreach mission by offering tax and accounting expertise through the organization's programs.
• Golowin Legal, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Golowin Legal, LLC is an affiliated company of COPEC providing board representation. The law firm specializes in estate planning and elder law, contributing legal expertise to COPEC's financial education programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Financial Finesse: Provider of employer-sponsored financial wellness programs covering budgeting, retirement, and benefits education. Closest direct peer because both deliver curated, expert-led financial education to employees through workplace channels.
• My Secure Advantage: Financial wellness provider for employers offering education, coaching, and resources on budgeting, retirement, and benefits. Directly comparable workplace delivery model and audience to COPEC.
• Enrich (Enrich Financial Wellness): Financial wellness platform for employers offering education across budgeting, debt, retirement, and benefits. Competes for the same workplace Lunch & Learn / wellness budget COPEC serves, but with a paid SaaS model.

Emerging players

• SmartAsset: Consumer financial education and matching platform covering retirement, taxes, and investing. Adjacent in topic coverage and audience (financial literacy seekers) but delivers content digitally rather than via workshops.
• Origin (financial wellness): Employer-focused financial wellness platform covering student loans, retirement, and budgeting education. Competes for HR wellness budget allocated by the same Central Ohio employers COPEC serves.
• NerdWallet: Consumer financial education and comparison platform with content on credit, retirement, and investing. Comparable educational mission but distributed through digital media rather than community workshops.

Broad incumbents

• Dave Ramsey (Ramsey Solutions): National financial education powerhouse offering Financial Peace University, workplace wellness programs, and curricula. Highly comparable product category (financial education delivered in workplaces and communities) but operates at vastly larger national scale.
• Prudential Financial Wellness: Large incumbent insurer offering employer financial wellness programs including workshops, counseling, and digital tools. Overlaps with COPEC's retirement and benefits education curriculum at much greater scale.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/COPECOhio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/copec

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 Central Ohio Professional Education Council