Prevention Works

What Prevention Works does

Prevention Works, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1995 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and operating as a HubOne Organization. It develops and delivers research-based prevention education programs to youth and families in the Kalamazoo County area, addressing substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, social emotional development, family life skills, parenting, and adolescent health. Its core products are delivered through structured curricula: DRIVE (a six-session, 50-minute-per-session middle-school program aligned with the Michigan Model for Health Education), three family skills-building programs (Celebrate Families for ages 5-9, Celebrating Families for families affected by parental substance use, and Strengthening Families for ages 10-14), virtual programming, and topic-specific Community Reports. Delivery is staffed by 15+ full-time employees and a 75+ part-time Health EmPOWERment Team of program facilitators, with all direct-service staff certified as Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists or Certified Health Education Specialists.

The organization also serves as the backbone for the Kalamazoo County Substance Abuse Task Force (150+ members), coordinates community networks for collective impact, and has driven policy initiatives including a Social Host Ordinance in Portage and the Red Med Box medication disposal program across 6 local law enforcement agencies (collecting 45,000+ lbs of medication). Its distribution is entirely local — school districts (Kalamazoo, Portage, Comstock, Gull Lake, Galesburg-Augusta, Vicksburg, Parchment), healthcare partners (Bronson, Borgess), and municipal governments form the channel; programs are free to participating families with meals, transportation, and incentives provided. There is no software platform, mobile app, or third-party AI/ML integration.

Revenue is generated through donations and grants from a diversified set of funders (Stryker Johnston, Arcus, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Borgess, Bronson foundations, plus SAMHSA-aligned federal engagement). Pricing to end users is non-existent — all family programs are free — so the operating model is donation/grant-funded non-profit service delivery rather than a transactional business. The firm is privately held with no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, and no M&A activity. CEO Danielle Sielatycki has led the organization since 1997.

Name

Prevention Works

Legal name

Prevention Works, Inc.

Website

https://prevention-works.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Prevention Works is a Kalamazoo, Michigan-based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1995 that delivers research-based substance abuse, violence, and family-skills prevention education programs to youth and families, primarily through local school districts and a 75+ member Health EmPOWERment Team of facilitators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Prevention Education Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM), Family Engagement & Home–School Partnership Programs (EDACALAB)

Keywords

• Substance abuse prevention
• Youth prevention education
• Family life skills
• Community health programs
• Violence prevention education

Headquarters

HQ city

Kalamazoo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Prevention Works is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates primarily through donations. The organization accepts non-refundable donations and likely receives grant funding from community foundations and government sources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Prevention Works develops and delivers research-based prevention education programs for youth and families in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The portfolio includes DRIVE, a six-session middle-school prevention curriculum, plus three distinct family skills-building programs (Celebrate Families Program, Celebrating Families, and Strengthening Families Program). Programs are delivered by trained facilitators through school partnerships, community centers, and a virtual programming channel, addressing substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, social emotional development, parenting, and adolescent health. All family programs are offered free of charge to participants, funded through donations, grants, and foundation support.

Product overview

Prevention Works is a non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) offering a portfolio of research-based prevention education programs for youth and families in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The core offerings include DRIVE (a 6-session middle-school prevention curriculum), three family programs (Celebrate Families, Celebrating Families CF!, and Strengthening Families with 8, 16, and 7 sessions respectively), and community coalition coordination through the Kalamazoo County Substance Abuse Task Force. These programs are delivered primarily through the Health EmPOWERment Team of 75+ facilitators and are complemented by community reports on substance abuse trends. The organization also provides virtual programming options. Prevention Works operates as a direct service non-profit rather than a technology platform, with programs focused on substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, social emotional development, family life skills, parenting, and adolescent health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DRIVE
• Celebrate Families Program (CFP)
• Celebrating Families (CF!) Program
• Strengthening Families Program (SFP)

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered moderate and core.

• Stryker Johnston FoundationmoderateOthersFoundation partner supporting prevention works efforts in the community
• Arcus FoundationmoderateOthersFoundation partner supporting prevention and community initiatives
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan FoundationmoderateOthersHealthcare foundation supporting community health initiatives
• Borgess FoundationmoderateOthersHealthcare foundation supporting health programs
• Bronson Health FoundationmoderateOthersHealthcare foundation supporting community health initiatives
• Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner for mental health and substance abuse prevention coordination in Kalamazoo County
• Kalamazoo County Health and Community ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment health agency partner for community health initiatives
• SAMHSAmoderateOthersFederal agency supporting substance abuse and mental health services
• Kalamazoo Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary school partner for delivering prevention education programs to students
• Portage Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool partner for delivering prevention education programs to students
• Western Michigan UniversitymoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing academic expertise and collaboration
• City of KalamazoomoderateOthersMunicipal government partner for community initiatives
• City of PortagemoderateOthersMunicipal government partner for community initiatives, including passing Social Host Ordinance
• Kalamazoo Department of Public SafetycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaw enforcement partner for Task Force activities and prevention initiatives
• Bronson HealthcaremoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare system partner for health education programs
• Upjohn InstitutemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute partner for data and evaluation
• HubOnemoderateOthersParent organization providing operational support and website hosting

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Partnership to End Addiction: National nonprofit focused on supporting families impacted by substance use and youth substance abuse prevention. Comparable mission overlap around family-focused prevention, though operating at national scale through media, helplines, and policy advocacy.
• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA): National nonprofit membership organization representing more than 5,000 community anti-drug coalitions. Highly comparable to Prevention Works as a coalition-builder focused on youth substance abuse prevention at the community level, though operating at a national scale rather than single county.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth-development nonprofit offering after-school and summer programs including substance abuse prevention and SEL curricula. Comparable as a youth-focused non-profit delivering prevention programming through community and school channels with a mix of grants and donations.
• Community Education Centers: Multi-state operator of residential and community-based prevention, education, and intervention programs for at-risk youth and families. Comparable in mission (youth/family prevention services) and non-profit or social-service orientation, though operating at substantially larger scale across multiple states.

Others

• Search Institute: Research nonprofit studying developmental assets in youth. Comparable as a developer of youth-development frameworks that Prevention Works' programs align with, and as a non-profit that supplies research and measurement tools to community prevention providers.
• Strengthening Families Program (Iowa State University): Academic origin of the Strengthening Families Program that Prevention Works delivers. Comparable as the upstream developer of one of Prevention Works' core curricula and a benchmark for evidence-based family-skills programming.
• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Community Outreach: Federal agency producing youth drug-prevention curricula such as 'Operation Prevention.' Comparable as a provider of free evidence-based prevention content to schools, though not a peer non-profit; relevant as an upstream/downstream ecosystem participant.
• County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute): Academic-community partnership providing county-level health data and prevention-strategy frameworks. Comparable as a data-and-evaluation resource underpinning Prevention Works' data/coalition work through partners like the Upjohn Institute.

Direct peers

• Robert Crown Center for Health Education: Regional nonprofit delivering school-based health and prevention education programs for youth and families. Closely comparable to Prevention Works in mission (substance abuse prevention, SEL, family life skills), delivery model (school-based curricula), and non-profit funding structure.
• Prevention First: Illinois-based statewide nonprofit providing substance abuse prevention training, curricula, and technical assistance to schools and coalitions. Comparable in evidence-based curriculum delivery, school-district channel, and non-profit funding model, though operating across an entire state rather than a single county.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pwkzoo
• Instagraminstagram.com/preventionworks
• Xx.com/pwkzoo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Prevention Works