Boy With A Ball

What Boy With A Ball does

Boy With A Ball is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 (with founder Jamie Johnson's vision originating in 1992 and the first operational team formed in San Antonio, Texas in 2000) that delivers youth development and community transformation programs across at least seven countries. The organization's flagship offering is the Love Your City model, a community transformation methodology in which volunteer teams conduct weekly walkthroughs in hurting neighborhoods, build relationships with residents, identify obstacles youth face, and co-create local solutions including job-skills training, language classes, tutoring centers, and college preparation. Headquartered in Buford, Georgia (Metro Atlanta), the organization operates country teams in the United States (Atlanta, Boston, San Antonio, Dallas), Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua), West Africa (Nigeria), East Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia in development), and the Middle East (Lebanon, entered at the end of 2023), and has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2015. Each Love Your City team reportedly reaches approximately 5,000 young people annually, and the organization has stated a goal of 30 global teams by 2030.

The portfolio beyond Love Your City includes structured programs (Velocity cross-age mentoring built on Dr. Michael Karcher's curriculum, Pipeline career development, Read Write to Lead literacy intervention, Camp Changemakers, ESL classes, Fikisha street-kid rehabilitation in Kenya), proprietary assessment tools (Consumption to Consequence for individuals and churches), the Growing Leaders Podcast, four named workshop offerings (Love Your City, Consumption to Consequence, Live Missionally, The 15 Disciplines), and the Forgotten Pieces book; a Movement App for nonprofit sustainability is currently in design stage. Underlying technology consists of standard web platforms and donor-management systems rather than proprietary algorithms or AI.

Revenue is generated through individual donations (with a $10/month suggested recurring tier), foundation grants, conference fees (LYCCon early registration at $149), experiential Love Your City trip fees, ministry-internship fees, merchandise sales, and personal fundraising pages. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: volunteers, donors, and leaders are recruited through word-of-mouth, church partnerships, and the annual Love Your City Conference, with content marketing across a Substack blog, podcast, YouTube channel, email newsletter, and social channels. Direct beneficiaries are at-risk youth; paying and participating customer segments include individual donors, missional leaders, marketplace/business leaders, churches, schools, and Pipeline partner employers.

Name

Boy With A Ball

Legal name

Boy With a Ball

Website

https://boywithaball.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Boy With A Ball is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs the Love Your City community transformation model across 7+ country teams, mobilizing volunteers to mentor and launch at-risk youth through walking neighborhoods and co-creating education, job-skills, and mentoring programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development and Community Transformation Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN), Transition Programs (Reentry, Workforce Readiness & Life Skills for At-Risk Youth) (EDAJAEAF)

Keywords

• Youth development programs
• Community transformation
• Cross-age mentoring
• Faith-based nonprofit
• Neighborhood outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrenceville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Recurring and one-time donations from individuals supporting youth development programs globally. Donors can give monthly ($10/month suggested), one-time, or set up personal fundraisers.
2. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations including Jackson Family Foundation, Barnhart Crane Foundation, and others supporting specific programs and team expansions.
3. Program Fees - Love Your City Trips: Week-long experiential trips to international locations where groups learn the Love Your City methodology. Costs cover in-country food, housing, and projects.
4. Conference Revenue: Love Your City Conference tickets and sponsorship revenue. Early registration tickets cost $149 for individuals, with special rates for groups and youth.
5. Internship Program: Ministry interns pay a monthly fee for housing and specialized experiences. Academic interns participate without cost as part of university partnerships.
6. Merchandise Sales: Online shop selling branded merchandise including the Forgotten Pieces book, with bulk and wholesale ordering available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Boy With a Ball runs the Love Your City community transformation model in which volunteer teams conduct weekly walkthroughs of hurting neighborhoods to build relationships with residents, identify obstacles facing youth, and co-create mentoring, tutoring, language, job-skills, and college-prep solutions. The organization supplements this core with cross-age mentoring (Velocity), summer literacy (Read, Write to Lead), career pipeline development, ESL classes, camps, and workshops for churches, schools, and businesses across multiple countries.

Product overview

Boy With A Ball is a nonprofit organization operating a portfolio of youth development programs centered around the Love Your City community transformation model. The core offering consists of Love Your City, which mobilizes volunteers to walk into hurting neighborhoods to build relationships and co-create solutions. Supporting programs include Pipeline (career development), Velocity (cross-age mentoring), Read Write to Lead (summer literacy), ESL Classes, Camp Changemakers (five-day faith-based camp), Love Your City Trips (international experiential learning), Tutoring Centers, and Fikisha (rehabilitation for street kids in Kenya). The organization also offers assessment tools (Consumption to Consequence for individuals and churches), the Growing Leaders Podcast, workshop services, and the Forgotten Pieces book. A Movement App is currently in development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Love Your City Core community transformation model in which volunteer teams conduct weekly walkthroughs of hurting neighborhoods, build relationships with residents, identify obstacles youth face, and co-create mentoring and small-group solutions including job skills training, language classes, tutoring centers, and college prep.
• Pipeline

Quantifiable outcome

• Each team reaches approximately 5,000 young people annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, core and flagship.

• Nicaragua School PartnershipsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Partnership with Nicaraguan students who needed funds to attend school in exchange for becoming trained leaders who would fight for other young people in their community.
• Fikisha (Kenya)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Kenyan organization serving street boys in Nairobi's Kawangware slum that became an official Boy With a Ball team in 2014 when BWAB joined forces to fight for all young people in Kenya.
• CRU Ethiopia / Great Commission Ministries (GCM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to launch Love Your City in 21 sites in Addis Ababa and 2-3 refugee camps, led by Dr. Girma Gebremedhin and Bekele Shanko.
• Covenant Life ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLifetime partner since 2001 that has fought for BWAB teams, leaders, and meaningful missional impact since the beginning. Senior Pastor Chris Hyatt serves on the global board.
• Perimeter ChurchsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerA church with a mission that has invested in innovations and life-change locally in Metro-Atlanta and globally since 2018.
• First Class Eye CaresecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerEye doctor clinic in Gwinnett County, GA. After an employee volunteered and was impacted, the practice provides free eye checks and glasses to Love Your City community residents.
• Barnhart Crane & RiggingsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovators in business who have helped BWAB teams grow in the U.S. and Africa since 2014.
• United Nations Economic and Social CouncilflagshipOthersBWAB has special consultative status with UN ECOSOC since 2015, demonstrating international recognition of its youth development work.
• Dr. Michael Karcher (University of Texas San Antonio)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor of Educational Psychology who developed the cross-age mentoring curriculum that Velocity is built around. Ongoing program monitoring and evaluation support.
• El Triangulo Community (Costa Rica)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe squatter settlement in San Jose, Costa Rica where Love Your City was first discovered and where the entire slum was lifted out of poverty through the model's implementation.
• University of Pennsylvania (Dr. Michael Nakkula)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member - Practice Professor and Chair of Applied Psychology focusing on resilience and possibility development among low-income youth.
• University of Massachusetts (Dr. Jean Rhodes)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member - one of the world's leading authorities on mentoring and Chair of the Research and Policy Council of the National Mentoring Partnership.
• Temple University (Dr. Caterina Gouvis-Roman)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member - Department of Criminal Justice researcher focusing on community organizations, social capital, and neighborhood well-being.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves17 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Young Life: Faith-based youth organization running volunteer-led clubs, camps (e.g., summer camp), and outreach to middle and high school students. Directly comparable to BWAB's Camp Changemakers, faith-based leadership development, and volunteer mobilization approach.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: Largest US youth mentoring nonprofit operating volunteer-based one-to-one mentoring for at-risk youth. Comparable to BWAB's Velocity cross-age mentoring program and mission to launch young people as changemakers; both rely on volunteer leverage and recurring donor bases.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth development nonprofit providing after-school programming, mentoring, and academic support in underserved neighborhoods. Closely comparable to BWAB's community-based programming model and multi-site youth development footprint.
• Youth for Christ: International faith-based youth organization with ministries in 100+ countries focused on reaching at-risk adolescents. Comparable to BWAB's international footprint (7+ countries), faith-based positioning, and church-partnership-driven model.
• Youth Villages: Nonprofit serving at-risk youth and families through intensive mentoring, residential, and community-based programs. Comparable to BWAB's work with at-risk youth in hurting neighborhoods and emphasis on measurable graduation/college outcomes.
• International Youth Foundation: Global nonprofit working across 100+ countries to prepare young people for life and livelihood. Comparable to BWAB's multi-country youth development work and partnership-driven international expansion model.

Broad incumbents

• City Year: Large AmeriCorps-affiliated nonprofit deploying young adult volunteers into schools for near-peer mentoring and attendance/graduation support. Comparable to BWAB's mentoring + tutoring focus and reliance on a service-year volunteer cohort.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Large faith-inspired, volunteer-driven nonprofit operating globally with a community-transformation model. Comparable to BWAB in faith-rooted identity, global volunteer model, and locally-led "start a build" affiliate structure.
• Compassion International: Large faith-based child sponsorship organization operating in 25+ countries with monthly donor model. Comparable to BWAB's recurring sponsorship economics ($10–$120/month tiers) and international church-partnership implementation.

Others

• Points of Light: Global nonprofit focused on volunteer service and civic engagement, including hands-on community transformation programming. Comparable to BWAB's volunteer-led, walkthrough-based community engagement approach and corporate volunteer partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLtMK4lkhkVfrdTgYVhSxFHLbRXZ48ouWH
• Facebookfacebook.com/boywithaball
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boy-with-a-ball
• Instagraminstagram.com/boywithaball
• Xx.com/boywithaball

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries5 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 Boy With A Ball