Communities in Schools of Richmond

What Communities in Schools of Richmond does

Communities in Schools of Richmond (CIS) is a 501(c)-style nonprofit organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, that delivers K-12 student support services in 40 Richmond City and Henrico County neighborhood schools classified as poverty-affected. The organization's core product is the "CIS Model," a wraparound service methodology in which dedicated school-based coordinators are embedded directly inside partner schools to provide early interventions, enrichment opportunities, social-emotional learning support, attendance coaching, and Individual Student Plans for the roughly 11% of students requiring intensive support. Outcomes reported by CIS include a 98% senior graduation rate, 81% of students meeting or progressing in English/Language Arts, 70% meeting attendance goals, and 79% meeting social-emotional learning goals; 95% of students in covered schools are engaged with CIS services.

The organization earns no revenue from students or schools. Its revenue model is entirely donation- and grant-driven, with fundraising conducted through the Kindful/Bloom online giving platform, direct corporate and foundation giving, and an active volunteer/mentor recruitment pipeline. CIS operates as an independent nonprofit with its own board and leadership team, while benefiting from the broader Communities in Schools national network. Its two anchor institutional customers are Richmond City Public Schools and Henrico County Public Schools, both of which are core strategic partners. The organization is privately funded by charitable contributions and currently employs 51-100 people.

CIS distributes its services through a direct, in-person delivery model rather than a technology platform; the underlying "technology" is operational and relational, consisting of in-school coordinator placements, a volunteer engagement program, and standard online fundraising and marketing infrastructure. The GTM motion is community-led: donor engagement, volunteer recruitment, and school-district relationship management are run through the organization website, social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram), and an email newsletter, with impact storytelling and annual reports used to support mid-funnel fundraising. No acquisitions, funding rounds, or geographic expansion beyond the Richmond-Henrico footprint are documented.

Name

Communities in Schools of Richmond

Legal name

Communities In Schools of Richmond

Website

https://cisofrichmond.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Communities in Schools of Richmond is a nonprofit founded in 1977 that embeds school-based coordinators in 40 Richmond City and Henrico County K-12 schools to deliver wraparound support, early interventions, and enrichment to students in poverty-affected neighborhoods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Student Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

School Counseling & Guidance Services (Academic/Social-Emotional) (EDAJALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL), School Climate, Culture & Belonging Initiatives (DEI-Aligned) (EDAKAMAM), Mental Health Counseling & Therapy Services (K–12) (EDAJALAG)

Keywords

• Student support services
• K-12 wraparound support
• School-based mentoring
• Dropout prevention programs
• Community education nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The organization raises revenue through charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations via its online giving platform (Kindful). Donors can make one-time or recurring gifts to support student programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Communities In Schools of Richmond (CIS) embeds school-based coordinators inside 40 Richmond City and Henrico County public schools to deliver wraparound K-12 student support services. Through early interventions, enrichment activities, social-emotional learning programming, and individual student plans, CIS connects students to critical external resources such as food, housing, supportive guidance, and technology to keep them in school and on track to graduate.

Product overview

Communities In Schools of Richmond is a nonprofit organization offering a unified service program focused on surrounding K-12 students with community support. The core offering is their Student Support Services, delivered through the CIS Model across 40 schools in Richmond City and Henrico County. The organization provides early interventions, enrichment opportunities, Individual Student Plans for 11% of the school population, Social Emotional Learning programs, the School Readiness Fund, and extensive volunteer/mentorship opportunities. All services work together to help students stay in school and achieve in life, with measurable outcomes including 98% senior graduation rates, 81% meeting ELA progress goals, and 70% meeting attendance goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student Support Services
• School Readiness Fund
• Volunteer Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of CIS seniors graduated with a high school diploma
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 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.

• Richmond City Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIS partners with Richmond City Public Schools to embed school-based coordinators in neighborhood schools, providing integrated student support services, early interventions, and enrichment programs directly within the school environment.
• Henrico County Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIS partners with Henrico County Public Schools to serve students across 40 combined Richmond City and Henrico County poverty-affected neighborhood schools through in-school support programs.
• School-Based TeamscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIS operates dedicated school-based teams of coordinators who work directly with students inside partner schools to deliver wraparound support services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• City Year: National nonprofit placing near-peer mentors and AmeriCorps members inside K-12 schools to improve attendance, behavior, and course performance. Operates with a similar school-embedded, wraparound support model targeting high-need urban schools.
• Reading Partners: National nonprofit placing volunteer tutors inside K-5 schools in low-income communities to improve literacy. Comparable school-embedded delivery model targeting academic outcomes for high-poverty students.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond: Regional youth development nonprofit offering after-school and summer programming for K-12 youth in high-need neighborhoods. Comparable target population and donor base, with overlap on SEL and academic outcome goals.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Richmond & Tri-Cities: Local mentor-matching nonprofit serving youth in the Richmond area. Comparable mission of connecting at-risk K-12 students with adult mentors, and competes for similar volunteer pools and donor dollars.

Others

• KaBOOM!: National nonprofit focused on child wellbeing through playground and community-space builds. Thematically related as a youth-serving nonprofit, but operating in built-environment interventions rather than school-embedded support.

Regional players

• Richmond Public Schools Foundation: Foundation supporting Richmond City Public Schools with fundraising and program delivery. Operates within the same district partner and donor ecosystem as CIS Richmond, with overlapping student-support programming.
• United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg: Regional funder and convener operating in the same Richmond geography that funds and coordinates many of the same nonprofit partners addressing poverty-related student needs. Comparable fundraising footprint and community-ecosystem approach.

Broad incumbents

• Communities In Schools (National Network): The national umbrella organization for the CIS network of state and local affiliates. CIS Richmond operates as an independent local affiliate using the same model and brand. Direct operational overlap on the CIS Model of school-embedded student support.
• Mentor (National Mentoring Partnership): National umbrella organization supporting youth mentoring programs across the U.S. Comparable volunteer-driven mentorship model embedded in schools and community organizations serving at-risk youth.

Emerging players

• Thread (formerly Students Helping Students): Nonprofit providing long-term wraparound mentoring to Baltimore high school students facing systemic barriers. Comparable wraparound, relationship-driven model for at-risk K-12 students.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CISRichmond
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cisofrva
• Instagraminstagram.com/cisofrva
• Xx.com/CISofRVA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Communities in Schools of Richmond