Aaron Price Fellows Program

What Aaron Price Fellows Program does

Aaron Price Fellows Program is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth leadership development organization established in 1991 in San Diego, California. The program selects 40 high-achieving Fellows at the end of ninth grade from six participating public high schools in the San Diego Unified School District, providing multi-year cohort-based programming through high school graduation, followed by a 7-year alumni track. Substantive offerings include summer institutes, workshops, mentorship, social-justice curriculum components, and member-driven programming supported by stipends and scholarships. The program has built a network of more than 1,000 alumni and is led by Executive Director Annie Lyles, a Class of 1994 alumna.

The program was founded in memory of Aaron Price, who died in 1989 at age 15, and is funded primarily by the Price Family and Price Philanthropies Foundation, with additional programmatic partnerships including the African American Male Leadership Institute jointly operated with the San Diego Foundation and SDUSD. The organization operates as a free-to-participant program with no tuition, fees, or revenue model tied to participants; all operating support is philanthropic. The 26-person staff is organized around program delivery, alumni engagement, and fundraising.

The organization has expanded its school footprint incrementally from four participating schools in 2001 to six schools by 2019, and has extended its content scope with social-justice curriculum components and partnerships targeting underrepresented male students. There is no disclosed technology platform, digital product, or AI-driven component; the program is delivered through in-person cohort programming and human mentorship.

Name

Aaron Price Fellows Program

Legal name

Aaron Price Fellows Foundation

Website

https://aaronpricefellows.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aaron Price Fellows Program is a San Diego-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that selects 40 ninth-graders annually from six public high schools for a multi-year youth leadership development program, supported by a 1,000+ alumni network and funded primarily by the Price Family and Price Philanthropies Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

College & Career Exploration Camps (Pre-College Samplers, Pathways) (EDAMALAN)

Keywords

• Youth leadership development
• Nonprofit fellowship program
• College preparation scholarships
• Civic education programs
• Community service fellowships

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Foundation Support: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the program is funded through charitable donations, primarily from the Price Family and Price Philanthropies Foundation. Revenue supports program operations, scholarships, and stipends for Fellows.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Aaron Price Fellows Program is a tuition-free, three-year youth leadership development program for diverse San Diego public high school students, beginning at the end of 9th grade. The program delivers structured experiential learning through orientation camp, visits to government, cultural, and nonprofit institutions, environmental education at the USC Wrigley Institute on Catalina Island, a Washington DC trip, college preparation support, and community service, complemented by an Internship Program providing up to $4,000 in scholarship funds plus annual stipends and named awards.

Product overview

The Aaron Price Fellows Program is a single unified three-year youth development program for San Diego public high school students. The program consists of sequential year-by-year components: Year One focuses on orientation, diversity, and community awareness; Year Two emphasizes environmental education and college preparation; Year Three includes a Washington DC trip and transitions to adulthood. Additional offerings include an Internship Program enabling Fellows to earn scholarship funds, three named scholarship awards ($2,500 each), and Alumni Programming for networking and mentorship after graduation. Together, these components form a comprehensive pipeline from high school selection through alumni engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aaron Price Fellows Program (Three-Year Fellowship)
• Internship Program & Scholarships
• Alumni Programming

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 alumni actively making a difference in their communities
• +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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Price PhilanthropiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1991Price Philanthropies, led by the Price Family (Sol Price, Robert and Allison Price), is the primary organizational sponsor and overseer of the Aaron Price Fellows Program. Family members serve on the Board of the Aaron Price Fellows Foundation and are actively involved in program planning, Fellow selection, and strategic direction. The foundation provides funding and operational support.
• San Diego Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with SDUSD to recruit Fellows from six participating public high schools. Initial committee included San Diego Unified School District representatives (Kay Wagner). School counselors serve as key contacts for applicant recruitment and support.
• University of Southern California Wrigley InstituteminorOthersYear two summer programming includes environmental education trip to USC Wrigley Institute on Catalina Island. Fellows learn about marine and environmental issues through this partnership.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Summer Search: Summer Search selects high school students from low-income backgrounds for a multi-year youth development program including experiential learning and college advising. Comparable long-horizon mentorship and college access model for diverse high school cohorts.
• College Track: College Track provides multi-year college access and success programming starting in high school for first-generation and underrepresented students. Comparable multi-year cohort model with college preparation focus, though geographically distributed across multiple sites.
• QuestBridge: QuestBridge connects high-achieving low-income high school students to selective colleges through its college match and scholarship programs. Comparable as a selective nonprofit creating college access pathways for underrepresented high school students nationwide.
• Posse Foundation: Posse Foundation identifies and selects diverse cohorts of high school students for leadership development and sends them to top colleges as posse scholars. Directly comparable as a cohort-based, diversity-focused youth leadership pipeline with selective admissions and college persistence support.
• AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination): AVID is a school-based college readiness program operating in partner K-12 schools to prepare students for postsecondary success. Comparable school-embedded, cohort-based educational support targeting first-generation and underrepresented students.
• Schuler Scholar Program: Schuler Scholar Program funds and runs multi-year college access programming for select high-achieving, low-income high school students at partner schools. Comparable multi-year cohort model targeting high-potential students from select partner schools with scholarship and mentoring support.

Emerging players

• uAspire: uAspire focuses on college affordability advising and financial aid navigation for low-income high school students. Comparable college access mission for underrepresented students, though focuses specifically on financial aid counseling rather than cohort-based leadership development.

Broad incumbents

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Boys & Girls Clubs of America operates youth development programming nationwide with leadership, college readiness, and civic engagement components. Comparable youth development and leadership focus, though serves a much broader demographic and operates at national scale.
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation funds scholarships and youth programs for high-achieving students with financial need, including high school scholarship programs. Comparable mission of supporting diverse high-potential high school students with scholarship and educational support, but operates at a national scale and as a grantmaker.

Regional players

• San Diego Foundation: San Diego Foundation is a regional community foundation operating in San Diego with scholarship funds and youth development grantmaking. Comparable regional San Diego focus and scholarship administration for local high school students, though as a grantmaker rather than direct program operator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aaron-price-fellows

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Aaron Price Fellows Program