The Young Men's Educational Network

What The Young Men's Educational Network does

The Young Men's Educational Network (YMEN) is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1996 by Michael and Karen Trout in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago (60623). YMEN delivers youth development programming to approximately 300 young men and women annually, spanning middle school through college age, through a portfolio of 30 interconnected programs including after-school tutoring (Monday–Thursday 3:30–8pm), Saturday University with 20 volunteer tutors, the Learn to Earn initiative with a $40,000 computer lab, college scholarship support (up to $4,000/year), and the Hooten Scholarship (up to $5,000/year in student debt repayment for graduates who return to work in Lawndale). The organization also operates the Young Kings & Queens elementary mentorship program, the DELTA initiative for young women (launched 2018), a 6,000 sq/ft urban garden with 15 raised beds, and a COVID-19 food relief program that has served up to 1,000 people per week.

YMEN's go-to-market is community-led, delivering programs both in-school at 5 partner schools (Mason Elementary, Chicago West Side Christian School, Webster Elementary, and others) and at its 1241 S. Pulaski facility. The organization employs 4 core staff (Executive Director, Program Manager, Program Director of DELTA, Program Coordinator) supported by volunteers and partner organizations. Revenue is sourced from individual donations, church and community partner contributions, volunteer in-kind support, and targeted programmatic funding such as the $18,000 awarded by After School Matters for youth employment. The organization has no software products, no mobile app, and no AI/ML capabilities; its technology footprint is limited to a student-facing computer lab and Smart Board.

YMEN's strategic positioning rests on three reinforcing assets: a 28-year continuous presence in a single high-need Chicago neighborhood, a talent pipeline of program alumni who return as staff and mentors, and a curriculum stack anchored by the Urban Leadership Institute's Dare to Be King/Dare to Be Queen program. Strategic partnerships span commercial (Small Axe Pepper Company), nonprofit (Gorilla Gourmet, Chicago Urban Growers Collective, Elim Christian Center), government (Chicago Department of Family Support Services, CPD District 10), and corporate (Exelon/ComEd, After School Matters) counterparts. The organization is governed by an 8-member Board of Directors with the founder serving as a non-voting Executive Director.

Name

The Young Men's Educational Network

Legal name

Young Men's Educational Network Inc.

Website

https://ymenchicago.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

YMEN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 that provides youth development programs — mentoring, tutoring, scholarships, and leadership training — to approximately 300 young men and women annually in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood, delivered through 5 school partnerships and a single community facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Study Habits & Homework Systems Workshops (EDAMAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills) (EDAMALAO), Peer Mediation, Conflict Resolution & Prosocial Playground Programs (Early Years) (EDACAOAJ)

Keywords

• Youth development programs
• After-school tutoring
• Youth mentorship services
• Leadership development
• Community nonprofit services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: YMEN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on donations from individuals, churches, and community partners. The website prominently features a donation button and accepts checks payable to Young Men's Educational Network at P.O. Box 23410, Chicago, IL 60623.
2. Volunteer Support: Volunteers contribute time and skills to support programs including feeding children, teaching, helping students succeed in school, and weekend tutoring.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Young Men's Educational Network (YMEN) is a faith-based nonprofit that prepares young men and women in North Lawndale, Chicago for leadership through a four-step model spanning middle school, high school, college, and career. It delivers 30 programs including after-school tutoring, Saturday University, Learn to Earn vocational training, urban gardening, college scholarship support, and community food/clothing distribution, serving over 300 youth annually in partnership with five local schools.

Product overview

The Young Men's Educational Network (YMEN) is a single unified nonprofit organization offering comprehensive youth development programs rather than a technology product. The core offering is YMEN, which provides educational support, mentoring, and leadership development to over 300 youth annually. Supporting programs include DELTA for young women, Young Kings & Queens for elementary school students, the Urban Garden initiative, and various after-school programs including Learn to Earn, Saturday University, and the Dare to Be King/Queen curriculum. These programs are interconnected components of a holistic youth development ecosystem rather than modular software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DELTA (Daughters Equipped to Lead Through Action): A leadership initiative for young women in YMEN, focused on enriching relationships with other women, growing in faith and character, and pursuing servant leadership roles in the community. Launched in 2018 as Women of YMEN and renamed to DELTA.

Products and services

• Young Kings & Queens A youth mentorship program partnering with neighborhood elementary schools in North Lawndale to deliver in-school curriculum on identity, police interaction, trauma, and self-esteem, with college exposure and gardening initiatives for middle school students.
• DELTA (Daughters Equipped to Lead Through Action) A leadership initiative for young women focused on enriching relationships, growing in faith and character, and pursuing servant leadership roles in the community. Launched in 2018 as Women of YMEN and later renamed to DELTA.
• Learn to Earn Programs After-school program incorporating individual academic support, a computer lab, Smart Board, college and career classes, youth employment and entrepreneurial training, and arts programs including visual arts, music, poetry, health and fitness, carpentry, and culinary studies.
• Saturday University Program Saturday tutoring program staffed by 20 volunteer adults providing academic support to YMEN students.
• Urban Garden Program Community urban gardening initiative expanded to a 6,000 sq/ft garden with 15 raised beds for growing specialty peppers, in partnership with Small Axe Pepper Company for hot sauce production. Employs 25 teens in summer urban farming.
• I LOVE MY COMMUNITY Community outreach program providing book bags for children, clothing, non-perishable food items, school supplies, and catered meals to North Lawndale residents.
• COVID-19 Response Program Food distribution initiative partnering with Gorilla Gourmet and Chicago Urban Growers Collective to provide 1,000 people with food supplies weekly, including 250 boxes of nutritious food and 80 home-cooked meals to COVID-affected residents during the pandemic.
• Dare to Be King and Dare to Be Queen Curriculum In-school curriculum program developed by the Urban Leadership Institute in Baltimore, helping youth overcome obstacles while building skills in conflict management, academic motivation, violence prevention, healthy decision-making, and positive peer relations. Deployed through YMEN at partner schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves 300 youth annually across 30 programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 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

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gorilla GourmetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYMEN partners with Gorilla Gourmet to provide critical food supplies to North Lawndale families. Every Thursday, YMEN delivers 250 boxes of nutritious food to families. Each 35-pound box has a $40 value and serves a family of four for several days.
• Chicago Urban Growers CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with YMEN in the COVID response effort to deliver over $150,000 worth of critical food supplies to the North Lawndale community during the pandemic.
• Small Axe Pepper CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYMEN grows specialty hybrid jalapeño peppers in their 6,000 sq/ft urban garden (15 raised beds) for use in Small Axe Pepper Company's nationally distributed 'CHICAGO' hot sauce. Students learn to build planters, use power tools, and earn income from their harvest.
• Urban Leadership InstitutecoreTechnology or IntegrationYMEN uses the Dare to Be King and Dare to Be Queen curriculum developed by the Urban Leadership Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. This curriculum addresses conflict management, academic motivation, violence prevention, healthy decision-making, and positive peer relations.
• After School MatterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfter School Matters awards $18,000 in youth employment opportunities for students investing in their educational growth through YMEN programs.
• Exelon and ComEdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhite-collar internship opportunities provided to YMEN students to gain professional experience and career exposure in the energy/utilities sector.
• Chef Joseph CooperminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly employed with Inspiration Kitchen, Chef Joseph Cooper was hired by YMEN to prepare 80+ homemade nutritious meals per week for COVID-affected residents. Over summer months, he prepared 1,000+ meals for the community.
• Elim Christian CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided school supplies for neighborhood children included in YMEN's community outreach 'I LOVE MY COMMUNITY' program. Book bags included pens, pencils, paper, markers, crayons, rulers, glue, and calculators.
• Covenant Children's MinistryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCovenant Children's Ministry helped YMEN establish their Urban Garden, which the organization continues to expand and utilize for youth programming and urban farming initiatives.
• Department of Family Support ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with YMEN's Young Kings and Queens gardening initiative to enlist 30 young individuals for seasonal programming focused on garden maintenance, nurturing crops, and life skills.
• Chicago Police Department, District 10coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYMEN hosts community-police relationship building events with CPD District 10 officers, including catered lunches and difficult conversations focused on restorative justice, support, and community accountability. YMEN shares vision for a justice system built on restorative justice rather than punitive isolation.
• Mrs. B's CateringminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal catering business that provides food for YMEN community events including police-community relationship building lunches held at the intersection of Keeler and Cermak.
• Moe's CaféminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal restaurant/cafe that provides catered meals for YMEN's 'I LOVE MY COMMUNITY' outreach events, bringing hope and love to North Lawndale residents.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• After School Matters: Chicago-based nonprofit that funds teen out-of-school programming and apprenticeships, including the $18,000 youth-employment opportunities YMEN leverages. Operates as both a peer and a funder for teen-focused programs in Chicago.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago: Chicago affiliate of Boys & Girls Clubs of America operating youth development clubs in under-resourced neighborhoods with after-school programming, mentorship, and college/career prep aligned to YMEN's core offerings.
• UCAN (Uhlich Children's Advantage Network): Chicago nonprofit offering youth development, mentoring, and family support services to West Side communities, including North Lawndale-adjacent neighborhoods, with overlapping youth and family-strengthening offerings.
• Youth Guidance: Chicago nonprofit providing school-based youth development, counseling, and mentoring programs (e.g., Becoming a Man) to Chicago Public Schools students, with strong overlap in SEL/conflict-management programming and in-school delivery model.
• Communities In Schools of Chicago: Chicago affiliate of the national dropout-prevention network placing support staff inside schools to deliver tier-1 youth development and SEL services, closely analogous to YMEN's in-school program model.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago: Chicago mentoring nonprofit pairing youth with adult role models and running site-based mentoring programs in schools, directly comparable to YMEN's adult-volunteer tutoring and mentorship model.
• Boys & Girls Club of Lawndale: Direct neighborhood-level competitor providing youth programming in North Lawndale, with overlapping after-school, tutoring, and teen engagement services serving the same zip codes.

Broad incumbents

• KIPP Chicago Schools: Network of college-prep charter schools in Chicago that combines rigorous academics with youth character development and alumni support through college, structurally analogous to YMEN's K-12 through college pipeline.
• Chicago Urban League: Broader Chicago institution focused on education, workforce, and youth programs for African-American communities, encompassing youth development but across a much wider portfolio than YMEN's neighborhood focus.

Emerging players

• Urban Leadership Institute: Baltimore-based developer of the Dare to Be King / Dare to Be Queen curriculum used by YMEN; a peer in youth social-emotional and leadership programming, though operating as a curriculum provider rather than direct service.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/YMENChi
• Facebookfacebook.com/ymenchicago
• Instagraminstagram.com/ymenchicago/?igshid=9n60y59hp7n4
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/young-mens-educational-network

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 The Young Men's Educational Network