Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana

What Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana does

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana (BBBSNEI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization and an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, operating one-to-one youth mentoring programs across a 12-county service area spanning Northeast Indiana and parts of Southern Michigan. The organization recruits adult volunteer mentors ("Bigs"), screens and trains them, and matches them with youth ("Littles") ages 6-22 from disadvantaged backgrounds, supporting each relationship through case management. Program delivery is organized through three physical offices in Fort Wayne, Auburn, and Warsaw, and operates both community-based matches and site-based mentoring embedded in partner schools. The service mix has been extended beyond traditional K-12 mentoring through the Big Futures program (which continues mentoring relationships to age 22) and the Frank Zirille Scholarship (a financial-aid benefit layered onto the mentoring relationship), broadening the post-secondary support window.\n\nUnderlying infrastructure is operationally traditional for a youth-services nonprofit: volunteer screening, training curricula delivered in person and via online modules, school-site partnership agreements, and case-management workflows for ongoing match support. No proprietary technology platform, AI system, or data-product is referenced in the available information; the organization's "technology" footprint is the standard BBBSA affiliate toolkit, an organizational website, donor database, and event registration systems. Notable technical-adjacent assets are the multi-stakeholder data relationships — volunteer rosters, school-district MOUs, donor records, and longitudinal match outcomes — which would, in principle, support future analytics but are not described as being exploited as such today.\n\nRevenue mechanics are those of a regional community nonprofit: an event-driven gala ("The BIG Celebration") and other community fundraisers (e.g., Mike's Wash for a Cause), corporate sponsorships, individual donations, the Match Makers monthly giving program, retail round-up partnerships with Kroger and Walmart, United Way allocations, and planned-giving/bequest programs. The organization serves youth free of charge; there is no fee-for-service component, and no pricing model in the commercial sense. The "customer" base is therefore bifurcated — youth beneficiaries on the demand side, and a distributed donor and sponsor base on the revenue side — with no single named anchor donor disclosed in the input.

Name

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana

Legal name

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana

Website

https://bbbsnei.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth-mentoring affiliate that recruits and matches adult volunteer mentors with at-risk youth ages 6-22 across twelve counties in Northeast Indiana and Southern Michigan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mentoring Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Educational Support Services (611710), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

Keywords

• Youth mentoring services
• Nonprofit mentoring programs
• Community-based mentoring
• School-based mentoring
• Youth development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Wayne, Indiana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals via one-time or recurring monthly giving programs (Match Makers). Donations processed through GoFundMe Classy platform.
2. Retail Partner Programs: Kroger Community Rewards and Walmart Spark Good programs generate donations when shoppers use loyalty cards or round up purchases.
3. Planned Giving: Bequests through wills, life insurance beneficiary designations, and retirement asset beneficiary designations allow donors to create lasting legacy support.
4. Special Events: Annual fundraising events including Bowl for Kids' Sake, Gourmet Dinner, Brad Miller Gala & Golf, Champagne Brunch, and The BIG Celebration generate revenue through sponsorships and attendance.
5. In-Kind Donations: Auction items, household goods for low-income families, and holiday gifts for children in need.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana recruits, screens, trains, and matches adult volunteer mentors with youth (primarily ages 6–18, with continued support through age 22 via Big Futures) in Northeast Indiana and Southern Michigan. The organization delivers one-to-one mentoring relationships through Community-Based and School Buddies programs, supplemented by group match activities and supplemental literacy and scholarship programming. All services are provided at no cost to participating youth and families.

Product overview

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana offers youth mentoring programs as a single unified service, including Community-Based mentoring, School Buddy programs, the Frank Zirille Scholarship, and Match Activities. The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on creating one-to-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteers and youth ages 6-18.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Big Futures: A program where matches stay open until the Little reaches age 22, supporting youth through their transition from teen years to adulthood.
• Community-Based Mentoring
• School Buddies
• Frank Zirille Big Brothers Big Sisters Scholarship
• Match Makers
• Real Men Read

Quantifiable outcome

• 78% of youth interact better with families
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, minor and core.

• Purdue Fort WaynemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerGazhelle was taken to Purdue Fort Wayne events by her Big Sister Rhonda where she volunteered at multicultural events. PFW is mentioned as part of Rhonda's workplace connections.
• Community Harvest Food BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRhonda and Gazhelle volunteered together at Community Harvest Food Bank as part of their community service activities.
• KrogercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerKroger Community Rewards program allows shoppers to support BBBSNEI using their loyalty card. Organization number AE047. Donations generated at no extra cost to shoppers.
• WalmartcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWalmart Spark Good program allows shoppers to donate spare change by rounding up orders to support BBBSNEI.
• Frank ZirillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrank Zirille Scholarship sponsors youth in the program. Amy Hamilton serves as Scholarship Sponsorship Coordinator. Scholarship helped Diego visit Columbia University and supports Gazhelle's college education.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational parent organization providing brand, standards, resources, and national volunteer recruitment (bbbs.org). BBBSNEI is the Northeast Indiana affiliate.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth development nonprofit offering a broader portfolio of after-school programs, mentoring, and youth services. Competes for the same donor and volunteer dollars and overlaps substantively in target youth demographic.
• 4-H (National 4-H Council): National youth development program with strong presence in Indiana through Purdue Extension. Comparable as a peer addressing youth development, life skills, and academic outcomes through structured programs in the same region.
• Mentor (MENTOR National): National mentoring advocacy organization that sets standards, conducts research, and supports a network of mentoring programs. Directly comparable as a peer operating in the youth mentoring space, though focused on ecosystem-building rather than direct service.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: National parent organization of BBBSNEI. Operates the umbrella brand, standards, and national volunteer enrollment pipeline that the local affiliate leverages. Directly comparable as the parent and brand authority for the same mentoring product.

Direct peers

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana: Sister affiliate chapter of BBBS serving Central Indiana. Operates the same one-to-one mentoring programs, same brand, similar donor and volunteer model, and serves the same youth demographic in an adjacent Indiana region.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne: Directly competing youth development nonprofit operating in the same Fort Wayne geography. Serves a similar youth demographic with after-school, mentoring, and educational support programming, competing for the same donor and volunteer pool.
• United Way of Greater Fort Wayne and Allen County: Local nonprofit funder and convening organization in the same geographic market. Comparable as a peer competing for workplace-giving campaigns, corporate sponsorships, and individual donors in Northeast Indiana.

Regional players

• Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michigan: Regional youth development nonprofit serving girls across the same Northeast Indiana and Southern Michigan territory. Comparable peer for youth programming, volunteer recruitment, and donor base, though focused on a single gender.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles: Another regional BBBS affiliate offering the same product suite (Community-Based, School-Based, Big Futures). Comparable as a peer chapter, though operating in a different geography with a larger scale.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star: Large regional BBBS affiliate operating in Texas. Directly comparable as a sister affiliate chapter delivering the same mentoring model, scholarship programs, and community-based structure, though in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/BBBSNEI
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BBBSofNEI
• Facebookfacebook.com/bbbsnei
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bbbsnei
• Instagraminstagram.com/bbbsnei

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana