Center For Urban Pedagogy

What Center For Urban Pedagogy does

Center For Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a Brooklyn-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1997 and formally incorporated in 2001 that uses community-engaged design to make complex public policies, urban planning processes, and civic systems accessible to non-specialist audiences. CUP operates four interconnected program lines: (1) Community Education via the Making Policy Public program, which pairs community advocacy organizations with visual designers through an annual open call to produce free educational resources, distributed at 1,000 copies per title to community partners; (2) Youth Education through in-class (City Studies) and after-school (Urban Investigations) civic arts programs for NYC public high school students; (3) Fellowships and Trainings for emerging designers, teaching artists, and government workers (Design Justice as Practice, Design for Civic Change, Community Engaged Design Trainings); and (4) Envisioning Development Toolkits covering zoning, ULURP, and affordable housing land-use policy. CUP's primary constituencies are 150+ community organizations spanning tenant rights, immigration, criminal justice, health equity, LGBTQIA+ advocacy, and environmental justice; NYC public high school students (5,225+ served historically, 400 in 2025); and a talent network of 325+ designers and teaching artists.

The underlying "technology" is human-curated design practice — visual communication, print media, and art-based educational tools — rather than a proprietary software platform. CUP holds no patents or trademarks, has no mobile app or public API, and integrates no third-party software systems. Its content library of 130+ completed projects, distributed in multiple languages and reaching an estimated 300,000+ people cumulatively, constitutes the primary intangible asset. The organization is recognized with the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Award (2016), a National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michelle Obama (2015), and a Curry Stone Design Prize.

CUP's revenue model is a typical nonprofit blend: individual donations (online portal, monthly giving, and RoundUp.org automatic round-ups via Visa/Mastercard partnerships), foundation grants (e.g., multi-year Brooklyn Community Foundation Invest in Youth), one-time product sales through a dedicated e-commerce store (store-welcometocup.org), and corporate matching gifts (Boeing, Deutsche Bank, Google, Etsy, Ford Foundation, Penguin Random House, and others). There is no disclosed product pricing publicly listed, and Making Policy Public resources are provided at no cost to selected community organizations. CUP is governed by a volunteer board of directors, employs approximately 7 core staff members plus board members, and operates exclusively within New York City. The organization is led by Executive Director Pilar Finuccio (since 2023), succeeding Christine Gaspar (2010–2022) and founders Damon Rich and Rosten Woo (2001–2010).

Name

Center For Urban Pedagogy

Legal name

Center For Urban Pedagogy

Website

https://welcometocup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brooklyn-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that uses community-engaged visual design to create free educational resources explaining public policies and urban systems for NYC community organizations, public high school students, and design practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Civic Education & Community Engagement (Voting, Local Government) (EDAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB), Regional & Land Use Planning (BPAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Civic education programs
• Community engaged design
• Public policy education
• Urban pedagogy resources
• Nonprofit design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual contributions through online donations, monthly giving programs, and the RoundUp platform (partnered with Visa and Mastercard for automatic round-up donations). CUP emphasizes individual giving as essential to their operations.
2. Foundation Grants: Grants from foundations including Brooklyn Community Foundation's Invest in Youth program. Multi-year grants support youth education and general operations.
3. Product Sales: Sale of printed educational materials including toolkits, booklets, and posters through the CUP Store. Resources are available for purchase by advocates, organizers, teachers, and designers.
4. Corporate Matching Gifts: Corporate employee matching gift programs where employers match charitable contributions, with listed companies including Boeing, Deutsche Bank, Expedia, Etsy, Ford Foundation, Google, Penguin Random House, and more.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Center For Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that collaborates with community organizations, public high schools, visual designers, and artists to create accessible educational resources, workshops, and tools that explain complex public policies, urban planning processes, and civic systems. Core offerings include the Making Policy Public community education program, Youth Education (City Studies and Urban Investigations), fellowships and trainings in community-engaged design, and the Envisioning Development Toolkits on land use policy.

Product overview

CUP is a non-profit that functions as a single unified offering with multiple interconnected programs. The core offerings include: (1) Community Education through the Making Policy Public program, which creates educational resources via annual open calls pairing community organizations with designers; (2) Youth Education providing in-class (City Studies) and after-school (Urban Investigations) civic arts programs for NYC public high school students; (3) Fellowships and Training including Design Justice as Practice, Design for Civic Change, and Community Engaged Design Trainings; and (4) Envisioning Development Toolkits for land use policy education. Resources are distributed through the CUP Online Store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Making Policy Public Collaborative program that brings community advocates and visual designers together to create educational resources, workshops, and projects explaining public policies, processes, and systems affecting social justice; offered free to selected community organizations through an annual open call.
• Youth Education Programs Project-based civic arts programs for public high school students in New York City, including in-class programs (City Studies) and after-school programs (Urban Investigations) where students investigate social justice issues through research and art-making.
• Envisioning Development Toolkits

Quantifiable outcome

• 300,000+ people reached through educational projects
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Make the Road New York Youth Power ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2026Community organization fostering youth leadership pipeline for young people of color. Collaborating with designers Lunch Special (Tao Tao Holmes and Zai Thakoor) to create a project supporting immigrant youth to understand their rights around ICE and school police.
• Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2026Organization empowering low-to-moderate-income New Yorkers to create and sustain affordable housing through collective ownership. Collaborating with designers Jonell Joshua and Lyz Ward to create a project supporting tenants to understand how to take control of their buildings.
• Volunteers of Legal Service - Incarcerated Mothers Law ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2026Provides free family law services to mothers in and recently released from prison. Collaborating with designer Sofía Oropeza to create a project supporting incarcerated mothers to navigate the family legal system and reunify with their children.
• Safety Net Project, Urban Justice CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2026Ensures low-income and homeless communities have access to housing, food, and benefits. Collaborating with Sa'ada design practice (Sarah Saad) to create a project supporting unhoused people to understand their rights during sweeps.
• NYC Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitywide alliance working to advance community land trusts (CLTs) to address root causes of homelessness and displacement. Launched in 2012, NYCCLI has fostered the growth of more than 20 CLTs.
• Center for Justice InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on National Court Support Toolkit - a series of illustrated books to support child witnesses and victims of crime ages 2-14 understand and navigate family and dependency courts.
• The DoorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth services organization. Collaborated on Here to Stay! bus shelter campaign and print resource supporting young immigrants to understand and apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).
• TakeRoot JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal services organization. Collaborated on NYCHA Real Talk Workshop Series explaining issues affecting NYCHA residents.
• New Economy ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomic justice organization collaborating on Bringing Land and Housing into Community Hands project about Community Land Trusts in NYC.
• South Bronx UnitecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental justice organization collaborating on Bringing Land and Housing into Community Hands project.
• WE ACT for Environmental JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental justice organization. Collaborated on Local Law 1 project explaining tenant rights regarding lead exposure and landlord accountability.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Asian American Federation: NYC-based nonprofit advocating for Asian American immigrant and refugee communities through research, advocacy, and member services. Regional peer: shares NYC immigrant-rights and equity orientation and community-organization network that CUP serves as a creative partner.
• Pratt Institute Center for Community Development: Brooklyn-based academic programs integrating design students with community partners on planning and housing projects. Regional peer: geographically co-located in Brooklyn, applies community-engaged design pedagogy to students similar to CUP's youth programs.

Broad incumbents

• Project for Public Spaces: Global nonprofit dedicated to placemaking and equitable public space, with a broader portfolio and international footprint than CUP. Broad incumbent: scales the community-engaged design methodology CUP uses locally to a much wider geography and consulting business.
• PolicyLink: National research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity through policy. Broad incumbent: works on many of the same systemic-equity topics CUP translates visually (housing, justice, civic participation) but at a policy advocacy scale.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Major national nonprofit that invests in affordable housing, economic development, and community organizing, including in NYC. Broad incumbent: operates at a much larger scale across similar issue areas (housing, community development, equity) that CUP addresses through educational toolkits.

Direct peers

• Design Trust for Public Space: NYC-based nonprofit that commissions design research and convenings to shape public space, equity, and civic life. Direct peer: shares community-engaged design practice, NYC footprint, and reliance on foundation funding.
• Storefront for Art and Architecture: NYC nonprofit advancing innovative and critical design at the intersection of art, architecture, and civic issues. Direct peer: hosted CUP's 2001 "Building Codes" exhibition and operates the same NYC design-civics niche.
• Urban Design Forum: NYC-based membership organization convening civic leaders, designers, and developers around equitable urban design policy. Direct peer: similar NYC civic-design focus and stakeholder convening model.
• Center for Civic Innovation: Nonprofit developing civic technology tools and participatory programs for NYC communities. Direct peer: similar NYC civic-engagement mission, combining community organizing with creative output (digital for them, design/print for CUP).

Emerging players

• AIGA New York / AIGA National: Professional association for designers running community impact and design-for-good programs. Emerging player: activating the same designer talent network (CUP has 325+ collaborators) through fellowship and pro bono programs analogous to CUP's Design Justice as Practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-center-for-urban-pedagogy-cup-
• Instagraminstagram.com/welcometocup
• Xx.com/we_are_cup
• Facebookfacebook.com/welcometocup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 Center For Urban Pedagogy