Architectural Foundation of San Francisco

Name

Architectural Foundation of San Francisco

Legal name

Architectural Foundation of San Francisco

Website

https://afsf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Design Education Services

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Youth design education
• Architecture mentorship programs
• STEAM portfolio development
• Design competition programs
• Community design studios

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations support educational programming. The organization relies on generous supporters to offset program costs and events.
2. Program Tuition and Fees: Revenue from program enrollment fees including Saturday Design Studio ($500), Portfolio Workshops ($200-$1,000), and Summer Design Institute.
3. Event Revenue: Ticket sales and sponsorships for annual events including the Beaux Arts Ball, Awards Breakfast, and Golf Tournament generate revenue while promoting the organization's mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Architectural Foundation of San Francisco is a nonprofit educational organization that delivers architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) design education programs for youth. It offers multi-week summer institutes, recurring Saturday studios, design competitions, transitional-age youth workforce training, and portfolio development workshops, all delivered with mentorship from design professionals.

Product overview

The Architectural Foundation of San Francisco is a nonprofit educational organization offering a portfolio of design and architecture-focused programs for youth. The core offerings include the AFSF Summer Design Institute (virtual 3-week summer program with global participation), AFSF Saturday Design Studios (6-week Saturday sessions with weekly mentoring), and the Annual Architectural Design Competition for high school students. The Build San Francisco Institute provides half-day academic credit courses with professional software training (Autodesk Revit, 3DS Max, Fusion 360, SketchUp) and individual firm mentorships, while Build SF-MYEEP offers after-school internships with STEAM job-readiness training. Additional programs include AFSF Future Grads (summer internships at STEAM companies), AFSF Portfolio Workshops (college application portfolio preparation), Teacher Externship Program, Design Ideas Collective (global online design challenge), Build Marin, and Build San Francisco Studio. The organization also hosts the annual Beaux Arts Ball, Awards Breakfast, and Bridging the Gap Fitness Challenge. All programs now operate online and are open to youth globally. The Kirby Ward Fitzpatrick Prize recognizes excellence in small architectural practices. Since founding in 1990, AFSF programs have served over 53,000 students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Summer Design Institute A multi-week summer program for high school students that introduces architecture, engineering, and construction design through hands-on projects and instruction.
• Saturday Design Studios A recurring Saturday program for youth participants that delivers ongoing architecture and design studio instruction with mentorship from design professionals.
• Design Competition An annual team-based design competition for students that develops problem-solving and presentation skills around real design challenges.
• Build SF Institute A workforce training program targeting transitional-age youth that introduces architecture, engineering, and construction career pathways and applied building skills.
• Portfolio Workshops Targeted workshops that help students build design portfolios for college applications and scholarships.

Quantifiable outcome

• 53,000+ students served since founding in 1990
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• San Francisco Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Primary educational partner since AFSF's founding in 1990. SFUSD students participate in Build SF Institute, Saturday Design Studios, and other programs. AFSF programs evolved from summer career-development to after-school programs to half-day programs during school hours for academic credit.
• San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Build SF Institute and Build SF-MYEEP programs, providing funding and support for youth employment and education initiatives.
• Southeast Asian Development CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in the MYEEP opportunity, helping connect young people to AFSF's design education and internship programs.
• Community Youth Center of SFsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in the MYEEP program, facilitating youth participation in AFSF's STEAM education and mentorship initiatives.
• City Youth NowsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in the MYEEP program supporting youth access to AFSF's design education programs.
• San Francisco SymphonycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFSF partners with the SF Symphony for the Rhythms of the City program, combining music and architecture as focus of the Symphony's Adventures In Music school program reaching 16,000 elementary students.
• California College of the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides architecture students to make presentations during AIM classroom visits. Helped establish 20 workstations with professional BIM and design software at the AFSF studio.
• University of San FranciscosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Rhythms of the City program, contributing architectural students for classroom presentations.
• AutodeskcoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware partner providing access to professional-grade design tools including Revit, 3DS Max, Fusion 360, and SketchUp. Autodesk Corporation also sponsored the Build SF-American School of London collaboration project.
• San Francisco Police FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Future Grads program, a component of Mayor Lee's Summer Jobs+ Initiative, placing high school students in paid STEAM internships.
• sf.citi (San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology and Innovation)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Future Grads program, facilitating connections between youth and San Francisco-based STEAM companies.
• Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientists at JPL supported the Mars Metropolis Project by answering student questions about establishing habitats on Mars and pointing to relevant scientific resources.
• American School of LondonsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration partner in the Build SF-American School of London Intercontinental Design Challenge, enabling students to collaborate across an 8-hour time difference using cloud technology.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Chicago Architecture Center: Chicago nonprofit that runs youth and family design education programs, exhibitions, and tours focused on the built environment. Highly comparable programming model to AFSF, scaled to a different major metro design market.
• National Building Museum: Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit museum dedicated to the built environment, with extensive K-12 design education programs and youth design competitions. Similar education-first mission around architecture and engineering, though housed within a museum rather than a community-based nonprofit.
• BSA Foundation (Boston Society for Architecture): Boston-based architecture society foundation running youth and family design programs including school partnerships and design challenges. Comparable to AFSF as a regional architecture-society-affiliated education nonprofit serving a major design hub.
• ACE Mentor Program of America: National nonprofit that connects high school students with Architecture, Construction, and Engineering professionals through after-school mentoring programs. Directly comparable mission to AFSF, but operates at a national scale via affiliate chapters rather than a single-city model.
• Center for Architecture Foundation (NYC): NYC-based nonprofit foundation supporting architecture education and public programming for youth and the general public, affiliated with AIA New York. Comparable as a regional nonprofit offering K-12 design programs, exhibitions, and youth design competitions.

Emerging players

• SOM Foundation: Foundation associated with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill offering fellowships, research grants, and student prizes in architecture, urban design, and structural engineering. Comparable as an architecture-education funder, but focused on university-level students rather than K-12 pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• AIA Foundation: National foundation of the American Institute of Architects supporting architecture education, scholarships, and diversity initiatives across the U.S. Operates at the national industry level rather than as a single-region youth program provider like AFSF.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCGzxV5PjIeYOQBaESPRM9bA
• Facebookfacebook.com/BuildSF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/afsf
• Instagraminstagram.com/architectural_foundation_sf
• Xx.com/afsfkids

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Architectural Foundation of San Francisco