YESS Institute

What YESS Institute does

YESS Institute is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit founded in 2001 by Carlo Kriekels and Susan Greer. The organization delivers a proprietary social-emotional learning (SEL) program, the Road to Success Curriculum, to at-risk middle and high school students in Metro Denver public schools. Its core model combines SEL instruction with a cross-age peer mentoring framework in which student mentees are matched with peer mentors for an entire academic year, operating as an integrated credited class within partner schools. The organization currently operates daily programs in 16 classrooms across 31 partner schools, having served more than 11,000 students and trained 6,000+ role models since inception.

The curriculum is delivered through three core products: an 880+ page SEL curriculum spanning six interdisciplinary units and 250+ hours of instruction aligned to CASEL and Colorado Department of Education standards; the YESS Academy Classroom model blending SEL with peer leadership; and a custom-built Learning Management System developed in 2021 to support online and hybrid delivery. Supporting service offerings include site visits for educators and donors, professional development workshops for school staff, and corporate volunteering programs.

The business model is a donation- and grant-funded nonprofit. Revenue streams include individual donations processed via Stripe (with suggested tiers from $100 to $5,000), foundation grants (including the Anschutz Foundation), corporate volunteer engagement, and Colorado state grants such as the Tony Grampsas Youth Services grant. The go-to-market motion is community-led: partnerships are acquired through demonstrated outcomes, referrals from existing school partners, and reputation built over 25 years, with schools functioning as the primary distribution channel. Operations are geographically concentrated in Metro Denver with no disclosed revenue figures or annual financial statements.

Name

YESS Institute

Legal name

YESS Institute

Website

https://yessinstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

YESS Institute is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers a proprietary social-emotional learning curriculum and peer-mentoring program to at-risk middle and high school students in 31 Metro Denver schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute through the organization's website using Stripe payment processing. Various donation tiers are offered ($100, $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000) with optional transaction fee coverage. Matching donation campaigns amplify individual contributions.
2. Foundation Grants: YESS Institute receives funding from foundations including grants from the Anschutz Foundation ($25,000 matching grants) and other philanthropic organizations. Grant funding supports specific programs such as daily classes for students.
3. Corporate Volunteering: Corporate partners engage employees in volunteering activities that support students and strengthen school communities. This represents an in-kind contribution model where companies provide volunteer hours rather than direct monetary donations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

YESS Institute delivers a school-embedded social-emotional learning and peer leadership development program to at-risk middle and high school students in Metro Denver. Core offerings consist of the proprietary Road to Success Curriculum (an 880+ page, 250+ hour CASEL-aligned SEL program), the YESS Academy Classroom delivery model pairing mentees with peer mentors for an academic year, and a custom Learning Management System built in 2021 for online curriculum delivery. Supporting services include site visits, corporate volunteering engagements, and professional development workshops for educators.

Product overview

YESS Institute offers a unified educational nonprofit program centered on the Road to Success Curriculum—a comprehensive, research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program aligned with CASEL standards and Colorado Department of Education requirements. This curriculum is delivered primarily through the YESS Academy Classroom, which blends SEL curricula with a Peer Leadership Development model where student mentees are matched with peer mentors for an entire academic year. Supporting the core program are an 880+ Page SEL Curriculum with customizable lessons, an Online Learning Platform/LMS developed in 2021 for digital curriculum delivery, Site Visits for hands-on experience, Corporate Volunteering opportunities, and Professional Development Workshops. The product portfolio functions as an integrated, school-based youth development ecosystem rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Road to Success Curriculum A comprehensive 880+ page social-emotional learning curriculum with more than 250 hours of instruction across six interdisciplinary units, aligned with CASEL standards and Colorado Department of Education standards. Covers self-awareness, healthy relationships, self-management, decision-making, social-awareness, brain development, peer pressure, belonging/identity, drug prevention, financial literacy, accountability, and social justice. Designed for delivery to middle and high school students through YESS Academy Classrooms.
• YESS Academy Classroom A unique classroom model blending social-emotional learning curricula and peer leadership to support positive youth development in middle and high school students. Student mentees are matched with peer mentors for an entire academic year to develop SEL skills, academic support, and leadership through the Road to Success curriculum. Delivered as an embedded credited daily class within partner schools.
• Peer Leadership Development Program A cross-age peer mentoring program that trains students to become positive peer leaders who provide one-on-one mentoring and small group support, creating equitable and inclusive learning environments. Student mentees are matched with peer mentors for an entire academic year to develop SEL skills, academic supports, and leadership skills through trusted peer relationships.
• Online Learning Platform / YESS Learning Management System A custom-built online learning platform developed in-house to deliver social-emotional and healthy lifestyles curricula in engaging online versions, facilitating online learning for students alongside the in-classroom program.
• Site Visits On-site classroom visit experiences allowing educators, partners, and supporters to witness students leading, mentoring, and learning together, and experience firsthand how YESS builds confidence, connection, and leadership.
• Corporate Volunteering Program Team-based corporate volunteering opportunities where employee teams support students, strengthen school communities, and help young people develop leadership skills for the future.
• Professional Development Workshops Professional development programs and workshops for educators, partners, and supporters, providing expert knowledge on best practices in positive youth development and mentoring to CASEL standards, with curriculum and facilitation options available for customization.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,000+ students served since 2001
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerYESS Institute contributed to MENTOR's Peer Mentoring Supplement: Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, with YESS featured as a model for effective, relationship-centered youth development. YESS has also presented at MENTOR's National DC Mentoring Symposium.
• Colorado Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYESS Institute's Road to Success curriculum is fully aligned with Colorado Department of Education standards, demonstrating official recognition and integration with state education requirements.
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Road to Success curriculum is built on the five core competencies of CASEL and meets the highest CASEL standards for social-emotional learning programs.
• Mentor ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Carlo Kriekels, Mentor Colorado is a statewide agency that supports mentoring programs. YESS Institute has historical ties to this organization.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• After-School All-Stars: National nonprofit providing after-school programs that include SEL, mentoring, and academic support for at-risk youth in partner schools. Comparable as a school-embedded youth development program targeting similar at-risk middle and high school populations.
• Committee for Children: Sells Second Step, one of the most widely adopted CASEL-aligned SEL curricula in U.S. K–12 schools. Directly comparable as a competing SEL curriculum and program provider targeting the same school district buyers, but delivered as packaged curriculum rather than embedded staffing.
• City Year: National nonprofit placing near-peer AmeriCorps mentors in schools to support attendance, behavior, and course performance for at-risk students. Comparable as a school-embedded youth support program using near-peer mentors in credited-class settings.
• CharacterStrong: Provider of CASEL-aligned SEL and character education curricula for K–12 schools. Comparable as a competing school-embedded SEL program with district sales motion, but with a more productized, less staff-heavy delivery model.
• iCouldBe: Nonprofit providing virtual mentoring for at-risk high school students. Comparable as a youth mentoring and SEL-supporting organization, but with an online/async model rather than YESS's embedded classroom model.

Broad incumbents

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: National 501(c)(3) operating the largest youth mentoring network in the U.S. Comparable as a school- and community-based youth mentoring organization serving at-risk youth, but at far greater scale and with episodic (not embedded classroom) delivery.
• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership): National umbrella and advocacy organization for youth mentoring. Directly comparable because YESS is featured in MENTOR's Peer Mentoring Supplement as a model program; MENTOR sets the field's 'Elements of Effective Practice' framework that YESS implements.

Others

• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): Field-builder and standards body whose SEL framework YESS aligns with. Comparable as the convener of the SEL ecosystem; not a competitor but the standards authority that shapes district purchasing decisions.
• Search Institute: Research nonprofit behind the widely used Developmental Relationships framework and youth development surveys. Comparable as a thought leader that informs YESS's peer mentoring design and as a research/measurement partner for SEL programs.

Regional players

• Denver Public Schools Foundation: Local education nonprofit fundraising on behalf of Denver Public Schools. Comparable as a Metro Denver education funder and partner, with overlapping donor base and district relationships but a broader funding (not direct-service) remit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/yessinstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/theyessinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yess-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 YESS Institute