You Gotta Believe

What You Gotta Believe does

You Gotta Believe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1995 and headquartered at 254 W 31st Street in New York City. It is the only NYC-based national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to finding permanent families for young adults, teens, and pre-teens in foster care—a population that faces near-zero adoption rates through conventional child welfare agencies. The organization's core services include Family Finding and matching, MAPP (Model Approach to Parenting) parent training and certification, and long-term pre- and post-adoption support including adoption-competent therapy. YGB reports that its youth are more than 2x more likely to be adopted than non-YGB youth, and the organization has facilitated over 400 adoptions across its 30-year history.

The organization's business model is donation-driven, with no fees charged to beneficiaries. Revenue streams include individual donations (one-time and monthly via the Believers Club at $30/month), tiered giving societies ranging from $30/month to $2,500+ annually, planned giving (bequests, stock, insurance), and signature fundraising events—most notably the annual Voices: Stars for Foster Kids Broadway concert, which has raised nearly $5 million since 2016. Distribution is via direct service delivery through case workers, recruiters, and mental health professionals at the NYC office. The organization leverages a high-profile network of celebrity ambassadors and board members (Seth Rudetsky, James Wesley Jackson, Cody Saintgnue, Sharon Catherine Brown, Rosie Perez) and corporate partners (Discovery Inc., Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery) for awareness and fundraising. The Willie Garson Fund, established by Discovery Inc. in 2021, provides a dedicated financial vehicle. A sub-brand, Teens Gotta Believe (launched 2016), engages high school students in awareness and fundraising.

Name

You Gotta Believe

Legal name

You Gotta Believe, Inc.

Website

https://yougottabelieve.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

You Gotta Believe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 in New York City, dedicated to finding permanent adoptive families for older youth in foster care. It delivers family finding, MAPP parent training, and long-term post-adoption support nationwide, funded by donations and signature Broadway fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foster Care Adoption Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

Keywords

• Foster care adoption
• Family finding services
• Parent training programs
• Post-adoption support
• Permanency services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters, with monthly giving through the Believers Club program providing sustainable funding.
2. Fundraising Events: Annual events including Voices: Stars for Foster Kids (Broadway-style fundraiser), poker tournaments, and charity race partnerships generate significant revenue.
3. Planned Giving: Bequests, retirement asset donations, life insurance beneficiary designations, and gifts of appreciated stock provide long-term revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

You Gotta Believe is a non-profit organization that recruits, trains, and matches adoptive parents for older youth (teens, pre-teens, and young adults) in the U.S. foster care system. Its core offerings include family-finding and recruitment services, MAPP-based parent training and certification, and lifetime pre- and post-adoption support including adoption-competent mental health therapy.

Product overview

You Gotta Believe is a non-profit organization offering a suite of services centered on finding permanent families for young adults, teens, and pre-teens in foster care. The core offerings include Family Finding services that recruit and match parents with youth, Parent Training using the MAPP model to prepare families for parenting traumatized children, and Long-term Support Services with adoption-competent therapy. The organization also runs fundraising programs including the annual Voices: Stars for Foster Kids Broadway fundraiser, the Believers Club monthly donor program, and Teens Gotta Believe youth-led awareness events. All services are designed to prevent youth from aging out of foster care without a permanent family connection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Teens Gotta Believe: A youth engagement program where high school students host sporting events to support teens in foster care and raise awareness about the urgent need for loving permanent families for older youth. Launched in 2016.

Products and services

• Family Finding Services Recruiting and matching prospective adoptive parents to older youth in foster care, with a lifetime commitment focus. The core service that connects older youth in foster care with permanent families.
• Parent Training (MAPP) and Certification Training program using the Model Approach to Parenting and Partnerships (MAPP) that prepares prospective adoptive parents to parent children with histories of trauma and make unconditional commitments to prevent further abandonment.
• Long-Term Support Services Pre- and post-adoption support services, including adoption-competent mental health therapy, provided to families for as long as they need assistance to ensure enduring family relationships.
• Voices: Stars for Foster Kids Annual Broadway-style fundraiser produced by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson that has raised nearly $5 million since 2016 to benefit older youth in foster care.
• Teens Gotta Believe High school student-led program hosting sporting events to raise awareness and funds supporting teens in foster care and the need for permanent families for older youth.

Quantifiable outcome

• YGB youth are more than 2x more likely to be adopted
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2023YGB collaborated with OCFS to co-host a powerful lunchtime event commemorating National Adoption Awareness Month, celebrating individuals transforming child welfare services.
• The Joseph Toles FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsored the YGB annual holiday party and has been a driving force behind festive celebrations for families.
• Warner Bros. DiscoveryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsored Voices: Stars for Foster Kids fundraising event.
• New York FoundlingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided space for YGB holiday party event.
• Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Voices: Stars for Foster Kids event.
• Guastavino's NYCminorOthersVenue host for the 30 Years of Family Anniversary Fundraiser on May 4, 2026.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• New York Foundling: Large NYC child welfare nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, and family support services; YGB has partnered with them for event space. Comparable on geographic market and foster/adoption service offerings, but operates a much broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• AdoptUSKids: Federally funded national project operated by the Children's Bureau to recruit adoptive families for children in foster care, particularly older youth. Directly comparable because it serves the same population (waiting foster children, especially teens) and is mentioned as a channel through which YGB families find their children.
• Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children: NYC-based nonprofit offering adoption and post-adoption services with a strong focus on finding families for older children and waiting children. Directly comparable in mission (special-needs and older-child adoption), geography (NYC), and service mix (family finding, parent training, post-adoption support).
• Lutheran Social Services of New York: New York-based faith-affiliated child welfare agency offering foster care, adoption, and post-adoption services. Directly comparable geography (NYC) and overlapping services in foster-to-adopt placement for older youth.
• Barker Adoption Foundation: Mid-Atlantic nonprofit providing adoption services with a focus on older children and children with special needs. Comparable service mix (family finding, parent preparation, post-adoption support) and target population of harder-to-place foster youth.
• National Adoption Center: National nonprofit focused on finding permanent families for children in foster care, with explicit emphasis on older children and children of color. Comparable on target population (older foster youth), national scope, and family-finding service offering.
• Sierra Forever Families (formerly Children's Home Society of California): California-based nonprofit dedicated to finding permanent families for foster youth, including older youth. Directly comparable mission around foster adoption and permanency, with overlapping parent training and post-adoption support services.

Regional players

• Children's Home Society of Minnesota: Minnesota-based child welfare nonprofit with adoption and post-adoption services including focus on older children and sibling groups. Comparable service model and population focus but geographically distinct.

Others

• CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates): National network of volunteer advocates for foster children, including older youth. Not a direct adoption service provider, but operates in the same child welfare ecosystem and supports permanency outcomes for many of the same youth YGB serves.

Emerging players

• SaySo (Strong Able Youth Speaking Out): North Carolina-based youth-led organization for current and former foster youth, including advocacy and transition support. Comparable mission of supporting older foster youth, but with a more youth-advocacy and policy orientation versus YGB's direct family-finding model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9GjsN00tShLNPgaQDlwqdg
• Facebookfacebook.com/YGBAdoptOlderKids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yougottabelieve
• Instagraminstagram.com/yougottabelievenyc
• Xx.com/adoptolderkids

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 You Gotta Believe