YES Nature to Neighborhoods

What YES Nature to Neighborhoods does

YES Nature to Neighborhoods is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 in Richmond, California, that delivers outdoor and nature-based leadership development programs to underserved youth, adults, and families in Contra Costa County. Its core offering is a unified Leadership Pathways model comprising a ten-year Youth Leadership Pathway (Explorers ages 8-10, Rangers 11-13, Adventure Crew, Youth Engagement Team ages 14-15, and Coastal Conservation Corps ages 16-18), an Adult Leadership Pathway (TREES for ages 18-26, Nurture Your Power for 21+, and Use Your Power for graduates), and three annual Family Camp retreats in coastal redwoods. All programs are provided free of charge to participants who live in Richmond or surrounding cities and qualify for CalFresh, CalWORKs, or have household income below 80% of area median income; adult programs are free for Richmond residents 18+.

The organization generates revenue primarily through individual donations (including the Sustainers Club recurring giving program), fundraising events (YES Fest annual gala, FundRacer tied to Brazen Racing's Victory Race), planned giving and bequests, donor-advised funds, and stock gifts, supplemented by grants from California State Parks' Outdoor Equity Grants Program and the California Natural Resources Agency. It has no proprietary technology platform, operating instead on a Squarespace website, Funraise donation processing, and Constant Contact email. Delivery is conducted through direct enrollment supplemented by partner referrals from a deep coalition including the Richmond Outdoors Coalition (where YES serves as fiscal sponsor), East Bay Regional Park District, YMCA Camp Loma Mar, Healthy Contra Costa, Richmond Park Equity Project, Parks Now, and Contra Costa Together.

The business model is relationship-driven and community-led: programs are free at the point of use, eligibility is income-tested, and the participant pipeline is sourced through community partnerships, schools, and social service agencies rather than paid acquisition. Fundraising is event-driven and increasingly capital-oriented, with the Base Camp capital campaign — supported by a YES Fest 2025 that raised over $250,000, more than double its goal — representing a significant infrastructure expansion currently underway.

Name

YES Nature to Neighborhoods

Legal name

YES Nature to Neighborhoods

Website

https://yesfamilies.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

YES Nature to Neighborhoods is a Richmond, California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 that delivers free, nature-based leadership development programs for income-qualified youth, adults, and families across Contra Costa County through cohort-based outdoor pathways.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAD

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGADAJ

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Youth leadership development
• Outdoor education programs
• Nonprofit youth services
• Family outdoor programs
• Environmental education

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Recurring and one-time donations from individual supporters. The Sustainers Club offers monthly, quarterly, or annual recurring donation options with benefits such as speaker event invitations and program participation opportunities.
2. Fundraising Events: Revenue raised through events including YES Fest (raised over $250,000 in 2025, more than double the goal) and FundRacer events tied to Brazen Racing's Victory Race (raised over $30,000 for 2026).
3. Planned Giving and Bequests: Planned giving program where supporters can designate YES as a beneficiary of their will or trust. Development Director Devika Saxena manages these relationships.
4. Donor Advised Fund and Stock Gifts: Accepts gifts through donor advised funds and donations of stock or securities. Provides downloadable letter of intent and securities transfer forms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

YES Nature to Neighborhoods delivers free, cohort-based outdoor and leadership development programming to income-qualifying families in Richmond, California. Its core offerings are a ten-year Youth Leadership Pathway (ages 8-18), an Adult Leadership Pathway (ages 18+), and three Family Camps per year held in coastal redwoods. All programs are provided at no cost to participants who qualify for CalFresh, CalWORKs, or have household income below 80% AMI in Contra Costa County.

Product overview

YES Nature to Neighborhoods operates a unified Leadership Pathways model comprising Youth Leadership Pathway, Adult Leadership Pathway, and Family Camp programs. The Youth Leadership Pathway spans ten years from childhood through young adulthood with programs including Explorers, Rangers, Adventure Crew, Youth Engagement Team (YET), and Coastal Conservation Corps (C3). The Adult Leadership Pathway includes TREES, Nurture Your Power, and Use Your Power programs. Family Camp provides community retreats in redwoods three times yearly. All programs are unified under the organization's Leadership Framework grounded in Positive Youth Development, Social Network Theory, and Collective Impact Approach research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Leadership Pathway

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ community members engaged at YES Fest 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Contra Costa TogethercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn emerging effort grown out of California's Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (CACHI). YES participates as part of the Contra Costa ACH Stewardship Team working to improve collaborative approaches and co-create a better future for all Contra Costa residents.
• Harbour Hall - Community Resilience Center (CRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated at Harbour-8 Park, the Community Engagement Board (CEB) includes YES as a Project Partner working to ensure community members are informed, engaged, and represented throughout the Harbour Hall - CRC Project.
• Healthy Contra CostacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYES has been a member since 2011. HCC convenes youth and resident leaders, community-based organizations, and systems leaders to collectively advocate for policy changes to increase health equity and racial justice.
• Richmond Park Equity Project (RichPEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA cross-sector initiative to advance community-driven solutions for park equity. YES has run programs in Nicholl Park for a decade and is partnered with the City of Richmond, Trust for Public Land, and other nonprofits to improve park conditions.
• Parks NowminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA diverse coalition of California-based organizations dedicated to increasing access to parks and natural spaces through promoting investments and policies that improve outdoor access.
• Richmond Outdoors Coalition (ROC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYES is an active member and fiscal sponsor of ROC, a group of cross-sector partners that collectively expand equitable access to the outdoors in Richmond. ROC's vision includes health, wellness, youth development, education, environmental stewardship and the economy.
• East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-leads the Adventure Crew 10-month environmental program with EBRPD, which explores parks and outdoor landscapes across the region with emphasis on challenge-by-choice outdoor experiences.
• YMCA Camp Loma MarminorOthersWeekend Family Camps take place in coastal redwoods at YMCA Camp Loma Mar, approximately 2 hours from Richmond, conducted in both English and Spanish.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NatureBridge: NatureBridge (formerly Yosemite Institute) is a Bay Area-based environmental education nonprofit delivering multi-day outdoor science and leadership programs for youth — directly comparable to YES's cohort-based, nature-immersive youth pathways.
• East Bay Regional Park District: EBRPD is a direct co-program partner with YES on Adventure Crew and operates the regional parks YES uses for youth programming — comparable as a youth outdoor education provider in the same East Bay geography.
• YMCA of the East Bay: YMCA operates Camp Loma Mar, where YES hosts Family Camps, and runs comparable youth development, outdoor education, and family programming in the East Bay with a similar sliding-scale/financial-aid model.
• GirlVentures: GirlVentures is a Bay Area nonprofit running outdoor adventure and leadership programs for girls and gender-expansive youth from low-income communities — directly comparable cohort, mission, and delivery model to YES's Youth Leadership Pathway.
• Outdoor Afro: Outdoor Afro is a nonprofit connecting Black communities to nature through outdoor recreation, leadership, and stewardship programs — directly comparable to YES's culturally responsive outdoor youth and adult leadership model in the Bay Area.
• Richmond Outdoors Coalition (ROC): ROC is a cross-sector Richmond-based coalition that YES both fiscal-sponsors and is a core member of, focused on equitable outdoor access, youth development, and environmental stewardship in Richmond — overlapping mission and geography with YES.
• Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT): BAWT trains youth workers and educators to lead wilderness trips for Bay Area youth, operating in overlapping geography and serving a comparable mission of expanding outdoor access for underserved communities.

Broad incumbents

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area: Big Brothers Big Sisters runs youth mentoring and positive youth development programs regionally and nationally, aligned with the Positive Youth Development pedagogy YES uses in its Leadership Framework.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: BGCA is a national youth-development nonprofit providing after-school, leadership, and outdoor programming to underserved youth — comparable in mission, cohort-based program design, and target population to YES, though at much larger scale.

Regional players

• Greenlights Workforce Initiative: While not a direct outdoor-youth peer, Greenlights Workforce Initiative operates in Richmond-adjacent communities providing workforce and leadership pathways for underserved youth and adults — comparable cohort-based, equity-focused, regional nonprofit operating model to YES's Adult Leadership Pathway.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/YESn2n
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSSV7Uk47LSCc0Q1a09lWQA
• Facebookfacebook.com/YESNaturetoNeighborhoods
• Instagraminstagram.com/yesn2n
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yes-nature-to-neighborhoods

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 YES Nature to Neighborhoods