Kids In A New Groove

What Kids In A New Groove does

Kids in a New Groove (KING) is a music mentorship program operating under Partnerships for Children (PFC), a Texas 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2003. KING provides free weekly private in-home music lessons and one-on-one mentoring relationships to youth ages 5 and older who have experience with the child welfare system, serving Bastrop, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties in Central Texas. The program combines music therapy principles with structured mentorship, citing Northwestern University research that early music education supports reading, language, and problem-solving. Volunteer music mentors are vetted, trained, and matched with students by geography and instrument preference; lesson materials and loaner instruments are provided at no cost, and students can earn their own instrument through goal achievement. Lessons are delivered in-home to eliminate transportation barriers common to foster families.

KING's methodology targets outcomes associated with foster care involvement — elevated risk of high school non-completion, incarceration, teen pregnancy, and homelessness — by building sustained adult relationships alongside musical skill development. The program draws students through referrals from DFPS, Child Protective Services caseworkers, CASA volunteers, and foster parents, and offers performance opportunities such as the annual KING Holiday Hope Concert at Antone's Nightclub and songwriting workshops at King Electric Recording Co.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations: individual giving, monthly recurring gifts (Girls Who Give), corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, matching gifts, and event proceeds (gala, golf tournament, holiday concert). KING operates as a free service with no participant fees. The program is supported by a dedicated staff within PFC that also runs Rainbow Room resource centers, Holiday Wishes, Heart Gallery, and NextStep Mentoring; PFC's 2024 gala alone raised over $345,000, and the parent organization previously reported a $2.5 million operating budget. Distribution is community-led rather than commercial, with no digital product, no app, and no disclosed AI capabilities.

Name

Kids In A New Groove

Legal name

Partnerships for Children

Website

https://kidsinanewgroove.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kids in a New Groove (KING), a program of Partnerships for Children, provides free weekly in-home music lessons and one-on-one mentoring to youth ages 5+ in the Central Texas child welfare system across Bastrop, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties, funded through donations, grants, and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mentoring Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Instruction (Instrumental & Vocal) (EDAMAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Group Music Classes & Ensembles (Band, Orchestra, Choir) (EDAMANAC), Music Theory, Ear Training & Musicianship (EDAMANAF), Music Therapy (Educational/Developmental Programs) (EDAMANAK)

Keywords

• Youth music mentorship
• Foster care services
• Nonprofit music education
• Child welfare support
• Community mentoring programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals that directly fund the KING mentoring program and other PFC core programs including the Rainbow Room, Holiday Wishes, Heart Gallery, and YES Mentoring.
2. Fundraising Events: Revenue generated from annual gala events (raised over $345,000 in 2025), golf tournaments, and KING Holiday Hope Concert events.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Sponsorships from businesses for events, programs, and corporate partnerships for Holiday Wishes program.
4. Foundation Grants: Grants from foundations including Impact Austin grant awarded in 2012 that enabled launch of YES Mentoring program.
5. Monthly Giving Program (Girls Who Give): Recurring monthly donations at $50/month, $150/quarter, or $600/year levels with exclusive benefits for members.
6. Matching Gifts: Corporate matching gift programs where employers match employee donations to PFC.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kids In A New Groove (KING) provides free weekly private music lessons to Central Texas youth ages 5 and older who have experience with the child welfare system, delivered in-home one-on-one with trained volunteer music mentors. The program combines music education with mentoring relationships to help students improve grades, behavior, and attitude, and includes loaner instruments, lesson materials, performance opportunities, and music industry workshops.

Product overview

Kids In A New Groove (KING) is a single-program music mentorship offering under Partnerships for Children. The program provides free weekly in-home music lessons and one-on-one mentoring relationships to youth ages 5 and up who have been involved with the child welfare system in Central Texas (Bastrop, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties). The program draws inspiration from music therapy practices and provides students with loaner instruments, lesson materials, and opportunities to perform. KING operates as a structured mentoring program where volunteer music mentors are vetted, trained, and matched with students to build trusting relationships while teaching musical skills.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kids in a New Groove (KING): A mentoring through music program that provides Central Texas youth who have had experience with the child welfare system with committed one-on-one mentoring relationships through free weekly, private music lessons.

Products and services

• Kids In A New Groove (KING) Mentoring through Music Free weekly private one-on-one music lessons delivered in-home to youth ages 5 and older who have experience with the child welfare system in Bastrop, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties. Includes loaner instruments, lesson materials, goal-based rewards to earn one's own instrument, performance opportunities such as the annual KING Holiday Hope Concert, and experiential workshops on music industry topics. Combines music education with mentorship to improve grades, behavior, and self-confidence.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students show improvements in grades, behaviors, and attitude through combined mentorship and music education
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Foster Angels of Central TexascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnerships for Children collaborates with Foster Angels of Central Texas to support youth with lived experience in foster care as they transition into adulthood. Through their FACT Scholars program, Foster Angels provides academic support and educational resources. NextStep Mentoring's pilot class is composed of FACT Scholars program members, coordinating mentorship, life skills training, and workforce readiness opportunities.
• KVUE (Austin NBC affiliate)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerWeekly Forever Families segments air on KVUE every Thursday during 6am, midday, and weekend Daybreak broadcasts. Reporter Hannah Rucker features a different Heart Gallery child seeking adoption. The media partnership has generated significant website traffic increases and adoption awareness.
• Foster CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPFC serves as backbone support for Foster Community, a network of nonprofits, government agencies, and community leaders dedicated to enhancing community support for families involved or at risk of involvement with the child welfare system. Vision is to see all communities come together to keep kids safe, secure, and as close to home as possible.
• Mélat (Austin singer-songwriter)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustin artist Mélat leads songwriting workshops for KING youth and helps guide young artists. She has performed at KING Holiday Concert and inspired youth through her own journey with music as healing.
• King Electric Recording Co.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted KING Summer Songwriting Workshop where eight youth developed original songs with professional instructors, recorded demo versions of their work.
• Cover 3 (Restaurant)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCover 3 hosts annual golf tournament benefiting PFC. The 15th annual event was held at Whiskey Ridge in Driftwood, with Cover 3's partnership spanning over a decade of fundraising support.
• Antone's NightclubminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustin iconic music venue Antone's hosts the annual KING Holiday Hope Concert featuring student musicians and mentors alongside local artists, providing performance opportunities for youth.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VH1 Save The Music Foundation: Restores music education programs in schools and supports under-served youth access to music. Similar nonprofit model focused on increasing music access for vulnerable youth, with brand-driven fundraising and corporate partnerships.
• Music Will (formerly Little Kids Rock): National nonprofit providing free music education to underserved K-12 students, including those in Title I schools and youth in low-income communities. Operates a similar model of free instrument access and modern music instruction, with comparable focus on pairing music with youth development outcomes.
• SongwritingWith:Soldiers: Pairs professional songwriters with service members and veterans in therapeutic music-making workshops. Comparable as a music-based nonprofit pairing professional musicians with vulnerable populations for personal growth and healing.
• The Harmony Project: Provides free music education and mentorship to youth in low-income communities, with research-backed outcomes on graduation rates. Directly comparable as a long-term, free music mentorship program for underserved youth with documented social outcomes.
• Sing for Hope: Nonprofit leveraging arts and music to serve under-resourced communities, including youth in crisis and vulnerable populations. Comparable as a music-for-social-impact nonprofit pairing artistic engagement with youth development.
• Berklee City Music: Berklee College of Music's nonprofit providing free music instruction to underserved youth across the U.S. Comparable model of free, year-round music education with scholarships and mentorship, targeting similar at-risk youth populations.
• Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation: Donates musical instruments and supports music education programs for underserved youth in schools nationwide. Highly comparable as a nonprofit that focuses on music access for at-risk youth through instrument provision and program partnerships.
• MusiCorps: Provides music rehabilitation and mentorship to wounded service members and veterans through individualized music instruction. Comparable as a free, one-on-one music mentorship program for vulnerable populations with measurable personal transformation goals.

Regional players

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas: Mentoring nonprofit serving youth in Central Texas with a similar mission of pairing mentored relationships with positive youth outcomes. Comparable regional peer as the dominant mentoring organization in the same service area, with potential overlap in mentor recruitment and donor base.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area: Central Texas youth services nonprofit offering mentorship, enrichment programs, and music/arts education to at-risk youth in the same geographic region. Comparable regional peer competing for similar donor dollars and youth populations, though broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kidsgroove

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 Kids In A New Groove