What T. Howard Foundation does

T. Howard Foundation (THF) is a private nonprofit workforce development organization headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, founded in 1994 to connect college students with paid internships and career pathways in the media, entertainment, and technology industries. Its flagship offering is a multi-phase internship program — including a Final Talent Pool screening process, Summer Intern Orientation, and dedicated TECH and M.E.N. (Mentor. Engage. Network.) tracks — that places U.S. college students at more than 45 corporate partner companies (including Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, Comcast NBCUniversal, Hearst Communications, and AMC Networks), with recruitment conducted at 50+ campuses annually. The foundation also operates adjacent programs: FTP Academy (an online portal for accepted candidates), the Scott Weiss Scholarship, an alumni network of 2,000+ professionals (with 1,200+ hired into full-time roles since 2011), an alumni-only job board, and the Annual Awards Dinner, which attracts 650+ guests and serves as both a fundraiser (>$1.2M annually per the COO) and a brand-building event.

Revenue and funding flow from three primary streams: corporate partner contributions (companies pay to participate and host interns), foundation and grant funding (>$500K secured by the COO from sources including the Walter Kaitz Foundation, Montgomery County COVID Relief, and a new NBA Foundation grant in 2026), and an annual fundraising gala. The operating model is built on a custom CRM system implemented under COO Sarah Giannakopoulos to support a fully virtual delivery model, lowering coordination overhead relative to headcount (10 listed staff). Go-to-market is event-driven and dual-sided: THF drives supply via campus visits, career fairs, and webinars, while partner companies are engaged via direct outreach, an Annual Meet & Greet, and tiered partnership designations (Legacy Leader, Catalyst, Trailblazer, Pathmaker, Champion). The organization is led by President & CEO Judi Lopez, with operational leadership from COO Sarah Giannakopoulos and a recently expanded board including Mediacom's Glenn Goldsmith; founder Scott Weiss remains Chairman Emeritus after 30+ years.

THF's competitive position is anchored by three decades of operating history, a self-reinforcing alumni network embedded across major media and tech employers, and exclusive-style relationships with anchor partners (Warner Bros. Discovery alone has hosted 500+ THF internships). Its product is fundamentally a service — internship placement plus career services — rather than a software platform, and operating economics remain unpublicized as is standard for a nonprofit.

Name

T. Howard Foundation

Legal name

T. Howard Foundation

Website

https://t-howard.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

T. Howard Foundation is a Silver Spring, Maryland-based nonprofit operating a 30+ year internship-to-career pipeline that connects U.S. college students with paid internships at 45+ media, entertainment, and technology partner companies, supported by mentorship, scholarships, and a 2,000+ alumni network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development & Nonprofit Internship Programs

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Mentorship & Coaching (Career, Academic, Industry-Specific) (EDAMAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alumni, Peer & Community Networking Programs (EDAMAKAM), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Diversity internship programs
• Workforce development nonprofit
• Media industry talent pipeline
• College internship placement
• Career development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Silver Spring

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. Corporate Partnerships: Partner companies pay to participate in the program, hosting interns and accessing the talent pipeline of pre-screened candidates
2. Annual Awards Dinner Revenue: Fundraising events that raise over $1.2 million annually according to COO Sarah Giannakopoulos
3. Grant Funding: Sarah Giannakopoulos has secured more than $500,000 in funding through targeted grant applications including multiple Walter Kaitz Foundation awards and Montgomery County COVID Relief Grant. New NBA Foundation grant funding mentioned.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

T. Howard Foundation operates a paid internship-to-career pipeline connecting U.S. college students with spring, summer, and fall internships at 45+ leading media, entertainment, and technology partner companies, accompanied by a 2½-day Summer Intern Orientation, matched mentors, professional development training, the Final Talent Pool (FTP) pre-screening process, and the FTP Academy online portal. The foundation also provides alumni career services, a job board for partner-company openings, the Scott Weiss Scholarship program, the M.E.N. mentorship program, the TECH Program for technology-track interns, and the Annual Awards Dinner industry recognition event.

Product overview

T. Howard Foundation (THF) is a nonprofit workforce development organization that operates as a unified internship-to-career pipeline program rather than a traditional software product. The core offering is the THF Internship Program, which provides paid internships at media, entertainment, and technology companies. This is supported by complementary programs including the M.E.N. (Mentor. Engage. Network.) Program for mentorship, the TECH Program for technology-track internships, FTP Academy for talent pool preparation, the Scott Weiss Scholarship for financial assistance, an Alumni Network for ongoing career support, a Job Board for alumni employment, and the Annual Awards Dinner for industry recognition. The organization connects over 2,000 alumni worldwide with more than 45 corporate partners to launch careers in the media, entertainment, and technology industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• THF Internship Program A comprehensive paid internship program connecting U.S. college students with spring, summer, and fall internships at 45+ leading media, entertainment, and technology companies, including a 2½-day Summer Intern Orientation, matched mentors, and the Final Talent Pool pre-screening process.
• M.E.N. Program (Mentor. Engage. Network.) A mentorship program that pairs THF interns with industry professionals for guidance and networking opportunities.
• TECH Program A specialized internship track focused on technology career pathways within the media and entertainment industries.
• FTP Academy (Final Talent Pool Academy) An online portal for students accepted into the Final Talent Pool, providing resources and preparation for internship placement.
• Scott Weiss Scholarship A merit-based scholarship program providing financial assistance to THF alumni for academic and career pursuits.
• THF Alumni Network A professional network providing ongoing career support, job placement services, and networking opportunities for THF internship alumni, with 2,000+ members worldwide.
• THF Job Board A job posting platform where THF partner companies post full-time positions exclusively available to THF alumni.
• Annual Awards Dinner An annual May event recognizing industry leaders and companies committed to advancing workplace opportunity and diversity in media, entertainment, and technology, attracting 650+ guests and raising over $1.2 million annually.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,200 THF members hired into full-time positions since 2011, with nearly 900 in media/entertainment and over 300 in other industries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Warner Bros. DiscoverycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegacy Leader partner with more than 500 THF internships hosted since 1995. Represents the most significant, long-term impact and commitment to advancing opportunity through internship access.
• Paramount GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCATALYST partner with more than 400 THF internships hosted. Provides internship opportunities and full-time hiring pipeline.
• Comcast NBCUniversalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTRAILBLAZER partner with more than 300 THF internships hosted. Major media and technology company offering diverse opportunities.
• Hearst CommunicationsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPATHMAKER partner with more than 150 THF internships hosted. Provides diverse media industry experiences.
• AMC NetworksmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHAMPION partner with more than 100 THF internships hosted. Contributes to talent pipeline development.
• Sony MusiccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew partner announced in Spring 2026 newsletter. Part of record intern class expansion.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Per Scholas: Nonprofit tuition-free tech training and talent pipeline for underrepresented adults, partnering with employers for hiring — adjacent workforce-development model with similar partner-funded placement economics.
• The Posse Foundation: Diversity-focused college access and leadership development nonprofit that places cohorts at partner colleges and supports graduates through career programming — adjacent pipeline model serving similar student demographics.
• Jackie Robinson Foundation: Provides scholarships, mentoring, and career development to underrepresented college students with corporate partner engagement — overlaps with THF's scholarship and alumni career services.
• NPower: Nonprofit that trains underrepresented young adults for tech careers and places them at corporate partners — comparable skill-building plus employer-matching structure with a tech-vertical focus similar to THF's TECH Program.

Direct peers

• Year Up: Workforce-development nonprofit providing young adults with training, internship placement, and corporate partner hiring pipelines — comparable program architecture and corporate partnership model.
• INROADS: Nonprofit internship-to-career pipeline that develops and places underrepresented talent across corporate America, including media and tech. Operates the same talent-matching model as THF at broader industry scope.
• Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT): Nonprofit career-development organization that prepares high-achieving underrepresented students for careers, with corporate partners offering internships and full-time roles — closely comparable career-launch model.
• Emma Bowen Foundation: Nonprofit that places diverse college students in paid internships at media and entertainment companies and supports them through scholarships and professional development — the closest direct analogue to THF's mission and operating model.

Others

• Walter Kaitz Foundation: Cable industry foundation that funds diversity initiatives including THF's scholarship program — adjacent ecosystem participant as a funder and industry convener rather than a competing pipeline operator.

Broad incumbents

• UNCF (United Negro College Fund): Large-scale scholarship and education pipeline nonprofit serving HBCU students with corporate partner funding — broader in scope than THF but comparable as a long-standing diversity scholarship and career pathways organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/T-Howard-Foundation/132042229457?ref_type=bookmark
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/t-howard-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/thowardfoundation
• TikToktiktok.com/@thowardfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about T. Howard Foundation