MEADA

What MEADA does

MEADA (Mentorship, Education and Drug Awareness) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community coalition headquartered in Buffalo, Minnesota, founded in 2004 to address the local methamphetamine epidemic and later expanded to cover youth substance use more broadly across Wright County, MN. The organization operates as a convening coalition that coordinates families, schools, law enforcement, county agencies, faith communities, and municipalities around youth substance use prevention. Its core service offerings are programs rather than technology products: free educational presentations on cannabis, vaping, nicotine, alcohol, addiction, and the developing brain; the Youth Advisory Board for youth-led prevention; MEADA Mentors pairing high schoolers with younger peers; Compliance Champions conducting underage decoy checks at tobacco, alcohol, and vaping retailers; Positive Community Norms campaigns; Celebrating Safely school event support; an Anti-Stigma initiative; medication and sharps disposal coordination; mini-grants of up to $750 per year to local organizations; and distribution of SAMHSA-aligned campaign materials such as "Talk. They Hear You." and "No Boozy Fun."

The underlying technology is minimal: MEADA runs a content website (meada.net), maintains Facebook and Instagram accounts, distributes PDFs of educational postcards, and relies on partner-operated systems such as ODMAP for overdose tracking. There is no proprietary software, no public API, no app, and no disclosed AI or machine learning capability. All services are delivered free of charge to the Wright County community.

MEADA's business model is that of a federally funded nonprofit coalition. Primary funding comes from a Drug-Free Communities (DFC) federal grant awarded in December 2020 for a five-year term, with secondary in-kind and operational support from Wright County Court Services, Wright County Public Health, and partner agencies. The organization has no paying customers and no pricing tiers in the conventional sense; mini-grants and presentations are disbursed at no cost. Operational scale signals include 750+ youth impacted through the D.A.R.E. program, 11 schools served, $5,000+ in cumulative mini-grants awarded, 200+ licensed establishments subject to compliance checks, 1,400+ pounds of medication collected over five years, and 419 vapes collected from schools during the 2024-2025 school year. Governance is provided by an executive board chaired by Kaylee Henson of Wright County Court Services, with Tammi Solarz as Treasurer and Ellie Vanasse as Secretary.

Name

MEADA

Legal name

MEADA Coalition

Website

https://meada.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Short description

MEADA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coalition in Wright County, Minnesota that delivers youth substance use prevention through free educational presentations, school-based curricula, compliance checks, mentorship, medication disposal, and small grants, funded primarily by a federal Drug-Free Communities grant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Substance Use Prevention Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

Keywords

• Youth substance prevention
• Drug awareness education
• Community coalition programs
• Youth mentorship services
• Prevention grant funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Buffalo

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Drug-Free Communities Grant: In December 2020, MEADA was awarded a Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grant from the Federal government, which provided funding and resources for the Coalition for five years. This is their primary source of operational funding.
2. Mini-Grants to Community Organizations: MEADA provides mini-grants up to $750 to local organizations for youth substance use prevention projects. They have awarded over $5,000+ to fund youth-focused initiatives. Organizations are limited to $750 per calendar year.
3. Community Funding Partnerships: MEADA funds projects and programs that are proactive, youth-focused, and sustainable through partnerships with local organizations working on youth drug use education and prevention.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MEADA (Mentorship, Education and Drug Awareness) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community coalition that delivers youth substance use prevention programming in Wright County, Minnesota. It provides free educational presentations on alcohol, cannabis, vaping, nicotine, opioids and other drugs, runs youth mentorship and leadership initiatives, conducts retail compliance checks for tobacco/alcohol sellers, funds local prevention projects through mini-grants, and coordinates medication disposal programs.

Product overview

MEADA (Mentorship, Education and Drug Awareness) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coalition focused on youth substance use prevention in Wright County, Minnesota. The organization operates as a community-based initiative rather than a technology product company, offering a portfolio of prevention programs, educational campaigns, and grant funding. Core programs include the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) for youth leadership development, MEADA Mentors for peer-to-peer mentorship, Compliance Champions for retail compliance checks, Positive Community Norms (PCN) awareness campaigns, Celebrating Safely school event support, Anti-Stigma initiatives, and medication disposal programs. The organization also provides mini-grants up to $750 to local organizations, free educational presentations on various substance topics, and distributes campaign materials like 'Talk. They Hear You.' resources and 'No Boozy Fun' stickers. These programs work together to address alcohol, tobacco, vaping, cannabis, opioids, and other substance use among youth through education, community collaboration, and youth empowerment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of Minnesota 8th, 9th, and 11th graders have not used alcohol in the past month
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wright County Drug Court (The Turn)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Established in 2016, The Turn program represents a collaborative effort of criminal justice stakeholders working together to break the cycle of recidivism among drug addicted offenders. MEADA provides grants for positive reinforcement through incentives for milestones achieved.
• Wright County Sheriff's OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for overdose tracking using ODMAP system, conducting compliance checks at licensed establishments, and supporting drug take back days.
• Wright County Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity education presentations and compliance check partnerships. Wright County Public Health presents to civic organizations, schools, and community groups about substance use.
• Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted FFAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity conversation partner for substance use awareness initiatives.
• Munson Lake NutritionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for substance use education initiatives.
• Wright County Disposal Sites (Multiple Locations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with police departments in Annandale, Buffalo, Howard Lake; city halls in Delano and St. Michael; Walgreens and CVS in Monticello; Wright County Sheriff's Office for medication disposal locations throughout the county.
• Rainbow Health SSPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFentanyl test strip distribution access point for people who use drugs.
• Steve Rummler HOPE NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNaloxone access points and fentanyl test strip distribution.
• North Point Health and Wellness SSPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarm reduction testing and syringe services program partner.
• Wright County Area SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with schools including Monticello, Buffalo, Delano, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, Rogers, and St. Michael-Albertville for substance use and mental health programming implementation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Minnesota-based addiction treatment and prevention organization with overlapping substance use expertise. Comparable as a MN-based organization addressing substance use disorders, though operating at a larger scale and focused more on treatment than community coalition prevention.

Direct peers

• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD): National nonprofit advocating for substance use prevention, education, and support. Directly comparable in mission scope addressing substance use prevention at a national advocacy level complementary to MEADA's local coalition work.
• Partnership to End Addiction: National nonprofit focused on supporting families and preventing adolescent substance use, providing parent-facing materials (similar to MEADA's 'Talk. They Hear You.' distribution and parent resources). Comparable as a nonprofit addressing the same youth substance use prevention mission.
• D.A.R.E. America: Administers the D.A.R.E. program that MEADA delivers at 11 Wright County schools reaching 750+ youth. Directly comparable as the source program organization for MEADA's core school-based prevention curriculum.
• Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD): Youth-focused prevention organization addressing underage drinking, drug use, and risky behaviors through school-based chapters. Directly comparable for its youth-led prevention mission similar to MEADA's Youth Advisory Board and MEADA Mentors programs.
• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA): National membership organization representing thousands of community anti-drug coalitions, including federally funded DFC coalitions that operate on the same coalition model as MEADA. Directly comparable as the umbrella body for organizations with MEADA's structure and mission.
• Prevention First: National organization dedicated to supporting substance abuse prevention coalitions and professionals through training and resources. Directly comparable as a peer organization supporting community-based prevention coalitions similar to MEADA.
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD): National nonprofit focused on preventing underage drinking and drug-impaired driving. Comparable for its youth alcohol prevention focus aligned with MEADA's 'No Boozy Fun' sticker campaign and Social Host ordinance messaging.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WrightCountyMEADA
• Instagraminstagram.com/wrightcountymeada

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 MEADA