Life that Counts

What Life that Counts does

Life That Counts, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Cullman, Alabama, founded by John Williams in 2016 (with roots dating to 2014). The organization delivers peer-to-peer mentoring programs, school assemblies, educator professional development, the HERO Training 21-day compassion challenge, and the Forging Fatherhood initiative — all grounded in a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework built on the "5 Cs" (competence, confidence, connection, character, caring) and the Success Sequence curriculum (graduate high school, get full-time work, marry before having children). Programs are delivered in K-12 schools, juvenile detention centers, and community centers across at least 11 U.S. states. The organization does not sell a technology product; its proprietary assets are curriculum materials (e.g., a 48-page HERO Training student workbook and 14-page leader's guide) and a documented evidence base, including a 96% reduction in discipline referrals and 20% attendance improvement from an Alabama peer mentoring pilot.

The primary customer segments are K-12 administrators (principals, school counselors) who invite the organization onto campuses, and the students they serve — particularly at-risk youth and juvenile detention populations. A secondary segment is fathers and father figures targeted through the new Forging Fatherhood cohort program. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: founder-led conference keynotes (TEDx Birmingham, OJJDP National Mentoring Conference, Leadercast of Gainesville, Committee of 100 Creative Cities), alignment with National Mentoring Partnership, and referral-based access through schools, courts, faith communities, and service agencies.

Revenue is overwhelmingly grant-funded through the federal Office for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), with Life That Counts serving as a state partner and subgrantee of Friends First on a multi-year peer mentoring project awarded in October 2016. A 501(c)(3) donation channel (via a Square storefront) and fee-based speaking and workshop engagements supplement federal funding. The organization operates with 1-10 employees, including founder John Williams, co-founder Alexis Williams, and a small cross-state staff in Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, and Montana. As a nonprofit, it is privately held, governed by a board of directors, and does not have equity ownership, investors, or institutional capital.

Name

Life that Counts

Legal name

Life that Counts, Inc.

Website

https://lifethatcounts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Life That Counts is a Cullman, Alabama-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers peer-to-peer mentoring, school assemblies, and the Forging Fatherhood initiative to K-12 students, at-risk youth, and fathers across multiple U.S. states, funded primarily by federal OJJDP grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mentoring and Social Emotional Learning Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

Keywords

• Youth mentoring programs
• Peer to peer mentoring
• Social emotional learning
• School assemblies speaking
• Fatherhood support programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Cullman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Grant Funding: The organization's primary revenue source is federal grant funding. In October 2016, Life That Counts was awarded a 3-year federal grant through the Office for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The organization has also served as a state partner and subgrantee of Friends First on a multi-year OJJDP peer mentoring project. Funding supports staff, programming, and training (including the National STARS Mentoring Conference in Denver, CO).
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Life That Counts accepts donations through its online store (Square site). Donors can make tax-deductible contributions. The organization also receives support from community partners and individual supporters.
3. Fee-for-Service Speaking and Training Engagements: The organization generates revenue through booked speaking engagements, keynote presentations, and educator workshop deliveries at schools, conferences, and community events. An event booking request form is available on the website, indicating a fee-based speaking/consulting model.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Life that Counts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds and equips students to achieve peer-based mentoring, education, and inspiring talks. It delivers student-led peer mentoring ecosystems that pair upperclassmen with underclassmen in K-12 schools, juvenile detention centers, and community centers, anchored by a Positive Youth Development framework and the proprietary "Success Sequence" curriculum. Complementary offerings include school assemblies, educator professional development, the HERO Training 21-Day Compassion Challenge, the Forging Fatherhood initiative, Project: Compassion, and suicide prevention programming, all delivered free of charge to schools via federal grants and donations, with fee-based keynote and workshop engagements available to schools and conferences.

Product overview

Life That Counts operates as a single, unified nonprofit service offering centered on peer-based youth mentoring and fatherhood support. The core portfolio includes the Peer to Peer Mentoring Program (student-led peer ecosystem), HERO Training (compassion challenge with curriculum materials), School Assemblies (motivational speaking), Educator Professional Development (teacher training), Forging Fatherhood (cohort-based father support), The Success Sequence (life navigation curriculum), Project: Compassion (youth influence training), and Suicide Prevention programming. These offerings are unified by a social emotional learning (SEL) framework and evidence-based youth development approach, delivered in schools, juvenile detention centers, and community settings across multiple states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HERO Training: A 21-day compassion challenge program for schools that includes a 48-page student workbook and 14-page leader's guide to promote healthy peer interaction and compassion on campus.
• Forging Fatherhood

Products and services

• Peer to Peer Mentoring Program A student-led mentoring ecosystem that pairs upperclassmen with underclassmen for semester- and school-year-long peer mentoring on life planning, future goals, healthy relationships, and responsible decision-making, delivered in K-12 schools, juvenile detention centers, and community centers.
• HERO Training

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% reduction in student discipline referrals through peer mentoring pilot program in Alabama
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Leadercast of GainesvilleminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2018Leadercast of Gainesville hosted John Williams in March 2018 to engage the Gainesville, Florida community on how to end school shootings through peer mentoring. This partnership amplified Life That Counts' message to the Gainesville community and generated local media coverage through WGFL (CBS affiliate). Jill Nash from Leadercast of Gainesville expressed support for the organization's approach.
• National Mentoring PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017In January 2017, Life That Counts was named as a member of The National Mentoring Partnership (mentoring.org). The National Mentoring Partnership is the premier national organization advancing the field of youth mentoring in the United States. Membership provides access to best practices, training resources (including the National STARS Mentoring Conference in Denver, CO), and a national network of mentoring organizations.
• Friends First (as state partner/subgrantee on OJJDP peer mentoring project)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2016Life That Counts first received federal funding as a state partner and subgrantee of Friends First on a multi-year OJJDP peer mentoring project. Friends First is a state-level entity that administers federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention grants, with Life That Counts serving as a subgrantee implementing peer mentoring programs in schools. This partnership was the organization's first major federal funding opportunity and enabled it to hire its first staff member.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National 4-H Council: National youth development organization serving K-12 students through positive youth development (the "4 Cs" framework closely related to Life That Counts' "5 Cs"). Comparable as a peer-to-peer and adult-mentored youth development program active in schools nationwide, supported by federal cooperative-extension and private funding.
• Girls Inc. National nonprofit delivering school- and community-based mentoring, leadership, and SEL programming to K-12 youth, with an affiliate-network structure. Comparable as a federally funded, outcomes-oriented youth-development nonprofit pursuing similar OJJDP-style federal funding and district partnerships.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: Largest youth mentoring nonprofit in the U.S., running 1:1 and group/peer mentoring programs for at-risk youth through 230+ local agencies. Directly comparable as a youth-mentoring organization pursuing OJJDP-style federal funding and K-12 partnerships, though it operates at vastly greater scale and a longer-running brand.
• YMCA of the USA: Largest U.S. youth development and membership nonprofit, running SEL, mentoring, and after-school programming in school and community-center settings via local Ys. Comparable as a multi-site SEL/youth-development organization, with similar federal-grant and donation-based revenue mix, but a much broader facility footprint.
• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership): The premier national organization advancing the youth-mentoring field in the U.S., convening affiliates and the STARS Mentoring Conference. Life That Counts is a member; MENTOR's role as field convenor makes it the closest analog for category-defining youth-mentoring nonprofits and a reference point for grant eligibility and best-practice frameworks.
• Junior Achievement USA: Large youth-serving nonprofit delivering school-based life-planning, financial literacy, and career-readiness curricula (which directly parallels Life That Counts' Success Sequence framing). Comparable in targeting K-12 administrators as institutional buyers for curricular interventions via on-site programming.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth development nonprofit operating club-based and school-based SEL programming for K-12 students across thousands of sites. Comparable as a federally funded youth-development organization running SEL and positive youth development frameworks in school and community settings, though at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• National Fatherhood Initiative: The leading national nonprofit dedicated to father absence and responsible fatherhood, operating federally funded fatherhood programs aligned to OJJDP/ACF priorities. Directly comparable to Life That Counts' Forging Fatherhood initiative in mission, funding sources, and target population of at-risk and non-custodial fathers.
• Friends First: State-level peer-mentoring organization and OJJDP grant administrator that has sub-granted to Life That Counts. Operates nearly identical peer-mentoring programs in K-12 settings and competes for the same OJJDP peer-mentoring funding pool; the closest functional direct peer despite being a former partner.

Emerging players

• Boys to Men Mentoring Network International: Faith-based nonprofit operating school- and community-based group mentoring for adolescent boys, with similar veteran-founder storytelling and OJJDP-aligned programming. Comparable as a smaller, founder-led peer-mentoring organization working in school-district settings with overlapping federal-grant pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lifethatcounts
• Facebookfacebook.com/lifethatcounts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/life-that-counts/about
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifethatcounts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Life that Counts