Mr. October Foundation

What Mr. October Foundation does

Mr. October Foundation is a private nonprofit organization founded in 2014 by Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson to improve STEM education access and workforce pipeline outcomes for underserved youth, with particular focus on young women and minorities underrepresented in STEM fields. The foundation operates a single core product — a year-round, hands-on STEM educational program covering engineering, technology, manufacturing, medical, and trades — delivered directly through partnerships with schools in four US markets: the Bronx (since 2015), Detroit, Oakland, and St. Louis. Curriculum and methodology are sourced through a strategic partnership with STEM 101, established in 2014, while the foundation is operationally led by Dr. Al Gomez. The program emphasizes three components — Create and Innovate, Career Pathways, and Solutions-based learning — and reports student outcomes including increased post-secondary training interest and STEM engagement versus peer baselines.

The foundation does not sell products or services and operates no proprietary technology platform; its core technology dependency is the STEM 101 curriculum partnership. Revenue is generated entirely through donations and charitable contributions from individuals and corporate partners. The corporate partner roster includes 14 named organizations spanning financial services (Bloomberg), apparel (Nike, Ralph Lauren, Air Jordan, OAKLEY, Titleist), logistics (FedEx, Waste Connections), automotive (Hendrick Motorsports, Parts Authority, Classic Industries, Avis), and hospitality (Diamond Resorts), with six designated as core-tier partners. Go-to-market is community-led via school partnerships and event-driven via fundraising activities such as the documented 2019 Golf Outing, with the mroctober.org website serving as the primary digital presence and donation channel. No headcount, financial filings, or post-2019 activity disclosures are available in the source material.

Name

Mr. October Foundation

Legal name

Mr. October Foundation

Website

https://mroctober.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Mr. October Foundation is a private nonprofit founded by Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in 2014 that delivers hands-on STEM programming to underserved youth through school partnerships in the Bronx, Detroit, Oakland, and St. Louis, funded by donations and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth STEM Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM & Maker Education (Makerspaces, Coding Clubs, Robotics) (EDAAAFAL), STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep) (EDAMABAC)

Keywords

• STEM education programs
• Nonprofit foundation services
• Workforce development youth
• Underserved youth education
• School partnership programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Carmel

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation generates revenue through donations from individuals and corporate partners who support STEM education initiatives for underserved youth.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Mr. October Foundation delivers a hands-on, school-year STEM education program for underserved youth, partnered with curriculum provider STEM 101 since 2014. The program teaches technical skills in trades, engineering, medical, and manufacturing industries and is organized around three pillars: Create and Innovate, Career Pathways, and Solutions-based learning. It is delivered through direct partnerships with schools in the Bronx, Detroit, Oakland, and St. Louis, led by Dr. Al Gomez and an award-winning team of educators.

Product overview

The Mr. October Foundation operates a single unified STEM education program focused on improving STEM education and workforce pipeline for underserved youth. The program is delivered through a partnership with STEM 101 (active since 2014) and provides hands-on projects throughout the school year that teach technical skills in trades, engineering, medical, and manufacturing industries. Led by Dr. Al Gomez and an award-winning team of educators, the program focuses on three components: Create and Innovate, Career Pathways, and Solutions-based learning. The organization does not offer traditional software products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mr. October Foundation STEM Program Hands-on, school-year STEM education program for underserved youth that connects students to colleges and careers through year-round projects teaching technical skills in trades, engineering, medical, and manufacturing industries. Delivered through partnerships with schools in the Bronx, Detroit, Oakland, and St. Louis.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased disposition for post-secondary training/college/university
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• STEM 101coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Core program partner since 2014. STEM 101 provides curriculum and program methodology for delivering STEM education to underserved students.
• BloombergcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner enabling foundation work to engage young women and underserved minorities in STEM education.
• AvisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation initiatives.
• Hendrick MotorsportscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation work with underserved youth in STEM.
• OAKLEYminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation initiatives.
• Parts AuthorityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation work.
• Ralph LaurencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner enabling foundation's STEM education mission.
• TitleistminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation initiatives.
• CraneWWminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation work.
• Diamond ResortsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation initiatives.
• FedExcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation's STEM education mission for underserved youth.
• Air JordancoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation initiatives.
• NikecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation's mission to improve STEM education.
• Waste ConnectionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation work.
• Classic IndustriesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting foundation initiatives.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): Nonprofit running K–12 robotics and STEM programs, including targeted initiatives for underserved youth, providing a well-established comparable operating model in youth STEM enrichment.
• MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement): Education nonprofit that delivers hands-on STEM programming to pre-college students from historically underrepresented groups, closely mirroring the foundation's school-based, underserved-youth STEM model.
• Jackie Robinson Foundation: Celebrity-athlete-founded education nonprofit providing scholarships and workforce pathways for underserved youth. Highly comparable as a sports-legacy-driven education foundation targeting minority students.
• Magic Johnson Foundation: Athlete-founded nonprofit focused on education and empowerment of underserved communities, with a comparable celebrity-legacy, community-based operating structure.
• Code.org: Nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science and STEM education in K–12 schools, with explicit focus on underrepresented students — highly comparable mission and school-district delivery model.
• National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME): Nonprofit focused on increasing representation of underrepresented minorities in STEM engineering careers. Directly comparable to Mr. October Foundation's mission of building a STEM workforce pipeline for underserved youth.

Broad incumbents

• Year Up: Larger, established workforce-development nonprofit serving low-income young adults with training and corporate placement. Comparable underserved-youth workforce pipeline mission but at significantly larger scale and scope.
• Khan Academy: Large nonprofit educational platform providing free STEM and other learning content. Comparable education nonprofit mission and free-to-student delivery model, though operating primarily online rather than school-based.
• DonorsChoose: Large nonprofit crowdfunding platform funding classroom projects in underserved schools, including STEM. Comparable donor-driven school funding model but operates at a national scale rather than delivering direct programming.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth-development nonprofit with extensive STEM programming for underserved youth. Comparable mission and school/community delivery, but operates at vastly larger scale across many more geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Mr. October Foundation