CharacterPlus®
CharacterPlus® is a St. Louis-based nonprofit that delivers evidence-based character-education programs, academies, and assessment tools to K-12 school districts and educators across Missouri, with a 16-program portfolio anchored by the CharacterPlus Way® framework and supported by tiered district subscriptions and foundation philanthropy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersSt. Louis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CharacterPlus® does
CharacterPlus® is a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization (EIN 20-5696782) founded by Sanford (Sandy) N. McDonnell that delivers evidence-based character education programs to K-12 school districts, educators, and — through a recently added workplace vertical — corporate clients. The organization operates a portfolio of 16 distinct programs organized around the CharacterPlus Way® three-year implementation framework and the ABCs (Autonomy, Belonging, Competence) pedagogy, spanning academies for teachers (TACE), counselors (CACE), administrators (PACE, SOCA), athletic coaches (AACE), and support staff (Culture Carriers), alongside curriculum (Character Visions), assessment tools (C2 Audit, cSURVEY), and a self-paced online learning platform (iCharacterPlus). Its evidence base is anchored by federally funded research validating the CharacterPlus Way framework and an academic affiliation with the University of Missouri–St. Louis's Center for Character & Citizenship, led by Scholar Advisors Marvin Berkowitz and Melinda Bier.
The organization generates revenue through three streams: tiered annual district partnership subscriptions priced $1,000–$11,500 based on enrollment (50+ partnered districts in St. Louis, plus a Kansas City regional office), individual program and academy fees ($300–$1,250 per participant), and philanthropic support from foundations including the Kern Family Foundation and the Sanford N. McDonnell Foundation. Distribution is sales-led through dedicated partnership directors and reinforced by the District Leaders Professional Learning Network covering 55 districts, 500 schools, and 300,000 students. In June 2025, CharacterPlus assumed operations of Character.org, consolidating stewardship of the national Schools of Character recognition program under its operational umbrella. The organization is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with 19 employees, and operates exclusively in the U.S. market with no disclosed international expansion.
CharacterPlus® firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CharacterPlus®
- Legal name
- CharacterPlus®
- Website
- https://characterplus.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CharacterPlus® is a St. Louis-based nonprofit that delivers evidence-based character-education programs, academies, and assessment tools to K-12 school districts and educators across Missouri, with a 16-program portfolio anchored by the CharacterPlus Way® framework and supported by tiered district subscriptions and foundation philanthropy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CharacterPlus® industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Character Education Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (6117)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Leadership, Character Education & Values Development (EDAMAIAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Behavioral Intervention & PBIS Supports (Tiered, Gen Ed) (EDAJAGAL), K–12 Instructional Design & Curriculum Development Services (EDAGAKAA)
Keywords
Where CharacterPlus® is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- St. Louis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
CharacterPlus® business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- District Partnership Subscriptions: Annual tiered subscription model for school districts based on total district enrollment. Districts receive coordinated packages including academy participation, cSURVEY access, iCharacterPlus platform access, workshop registrations, consulting hours, District Leader Meetings, priority placement, Cardinals ticket opportunities, and programming credits. Partnership tiers range from $1,000/year (Tier 1: <1,000 students) to $11,500/year (Tier 8: >13,000 students).
- Individual Program Fees: Fees for specific academies and programs including TACE ($1,100-$1,250), CACE ($720), C2 Audit ($500-$600), PACE ($900), SELF ($800-$960), and cSURVEY ($300-$450). These are typically one-time or per-session fees that can be funded through partnership programming credits or purchased separately.
- Donations and Philanthropic Support: Financial support from donors including foundation partners (Kern Family Foundation, Sanford N. McDonnell Foundation, etc.) and individual donors. Includes planned giving options and specific donation programs like the Teacher's Library of Character ($25-$100 donations for books).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 1: Districts with fewer than 1,000 students |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 2: Districts with 1,000–2,999 students |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 3: Districts with 3,000–4,999 students |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 4: Districts with 5,000–6,999 students |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 5: Districts with 7,000–8,999 students |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 6: Districts with 9,000–10,999 students |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 7: Districts with 11,000–12,999 students |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 8: Districts with more than 13,000 students |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | C2 Audit - School Climate Assessment |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | CACE - Counseling Academy in Character Education |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | cSURVEY - Character Survey |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | PACE - Professional Academy in Character Excellence |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | SELF - Social Emotional Leadership Foundations |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | TACE - Teacher Academy in Character Education |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
CharacterPlus® product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CharacterPlus provides evidence-based character education programs and services to K-12 school districts, including multi-session professional development academies for teachers, counselors, administrators, and coaches; the proprietary CharacterPlus Way® implementation framework; mobile-friendly school climate assessment tools (cSURVEY, C2 Audit); curriculum resources; and a self-paced online learning platform (iCharacterPlus). Offerings are bundled into annual tiered district partnerships and supplemented by foundation and corporate philanthropic support.
Product overview
CharacterPlus® offers a comprehensive suite of evidence-based character education programs and services designed for schools, districts, educators, and communities. The portfolio includes 16 distinct programs: five academies (AACE for athletics, CACE for counselors, PACE for professionals, SOCA for school leadership, TACE for teachers, SELF for social-emotional leadership), assessment tools (C2 Audit and cSURVEY), curriculum (Character Visions, CharacterPlus Way), professional development (Culture Carriers, District Training Workshops), online learning platform (iCharacterPlus via Teach:able), community programs (At The Table, Champions for Character), and consulting services. These offerings work together to help schools cultivate positive character development, improve school climate, increase academic achievement, and reduce disciplinary incidents through evidence-based processes grounded in the 11 Principles of Character Education.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CharacterPlus Way An evidence-based three-year implementation process for school districts to transform school climate, increase academic achievement, and reduce behavior referrals using customized on-site coaching and consultation grounded in the CharacterPlus Way® framework.
- Teacher Academy in Character Education (TACE) Year-long cohort program for early childhood, elementary, and secondary teachers that provides tools to transform classrooms into collaborative learning communities. Tuition $1,100 for partner districts, $1,250 for non-partner districts, with $350 character education resource library included.
Companies that use CharacterPlus®
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CharacterPlus® technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
CharacterPlus® partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Character.orgflagshipHistoric partnership announced June 25, 2025 in which CharacterPlus assumed operations of Character.org, uniting the nation's two most influential voices in character development. Character.org is one of the nation's most respected and influential voices in character development. CharacterPlus now powers the operations of Character.org, including the Schools of Character recognition program.
- University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL)coreAcademic partnership with Center for Character & Citizenship at UMSL College of Education. Scholar advisors Marvin Berkowitz and Melinda Bier serve as professors and co-directors. CharacterPlus was founded with UMSL ties and continues academic collaboration for research and program development.
- Center for Character & CitizenshipcoreCo-located at UMSL, this center is led by Scholar Advisors Marvin Berkowitz (Lead Scholar Advisor, Retired Sanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character Education) and Melinda Bier (Co-Director). Provides research validation and academic credibility for CharacterPlus programs.
- St. Louis Cardinals / Cardinals CarecoreCardinals Care has sponsored the Champions for Character Service Learning recognition program since 2004. Partnership includes ticket opportunities for recognized schools and joint community engagement events.
- Magic House St. Louis Children's MuseumminorCommunity partner bridging character education between schools and community learning environments.
- Global Character AlliancecoreInternational alliance of character education organizations working to cultivate excellence in character, culture, and leadership worldwide.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CharacterPlus® competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Committee for Children: Nonprofit developer of the widely used Second Step SEL curriculum for K-8 schools. Direct peer: serves the same K-12 district buyer with evidence-based social-emotional/character programming sold on per-site or district-wide licensing.
- Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence: Developer of the RULER SEL framework used by hundreds of K-12 schools. Direct peer: comparable evidence-based framework for character/SEL instruction, with academic credibility and district-level implementation pathways.
- Move This World: Social-emotional learning curriculum and video-based program for K-12 schools. Direct peer: competing district-level SEL/character offering with similar evidence-based positioning and tiered district sales motion.
- Aperture Education: Provider of the DESSA SEL assessment and intervention platform for K-12 districts. Direct peer: targets the same district buyer with measurement tools (cSURVEY-equivalent) plus PD and curriculum to drive SEL/character outcomes.
- Panorama Education: K-12 platform for SEL, school climate, and student success measurement. Direct peer: competes in school-climate survey and assessment (alongside cSURVEY) and provides broader student-support tools to the same district buyer.
- Pure Edge: Nonprofit providing SEL programming, teacher professional development, and classroom curricula for K-12 schools. Direct peer: nonprofit structure, K-12 district sales motion, and character/SEL focus align closely with CharacterPlus's offerings.
Broad incumbents
- Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley): Research and education center producing evidence-based resources for educators on character, empathy, and well-being. Broad incumbent: provides open-source teacher-facing content and frameworks that overlap with CharacterPlus's character education mission.
- EL Education: K-12 curriculum and school network operator with character-anchored pedagogy (crew, fieldwork, character). Broad incumbent: addresses the same character-rich school culture goals at scale, with curriculum, PD, and a national network of partner schools.
- CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning—the dominant SEL framework provider referenced by districts nationwide. Broad incumbent: offers the framework backbone many SEL/character programs (including CharacterPlus) align to, but does not directly deliver district programs.
Regional players
- The Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues: UK-based academic center for character education research and school programs. Regional peer: serves the same character education category with parallel framework, teacher training, and school recognition programs—comparable in mission if not in geography.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CharacterPlus® social profiles
Digital presenceCharacterPlus® financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CharacterPlus® leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles32 records
CharacterPlus® funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CharacterPlus® M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CharacterPlus®
What does CharacterPlus® do?
CharacterPlus provides evidence-based character education programs and services to K-12 school districts, including multi-session professional development academies for teachers, counselors, administrators, and coaches; the proprietary CharacterPlus Way® implementation framework; mobile-friendly school climate assessment tools (cSURVEY, C2 Audit); curriculum resources; and a self-paced online learning platform (iCharacterPlus). Offerings are bundled into annual tiered district partnerships and supplemented by foundation and corporate philanthropic support.
Is CharacterPlus® a public or private company?
CharacterPlus® is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was CharacterPlus® founded?
CharacterPlus® was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CharacterPlus® based?
CharacterPlus® is headquartered in St. Louis, United States, in the North America region.
How does CharacterPlus® make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. District Partnership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are individual Program Fees and donations and Philanthropic Support.
Who are CharacterPlus®'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Committee for Children, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Move This World, Aperture Education, Panorama Education and Pure Edge. Broad incumbents are Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley), EL Education and CASEL. The Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues is listed as a regional player.
Does CharacterPlus® have an API?
No public API is recorded for CharacterPlus®.
What industry is CharacterPlus® in?
CharacterPlus®'s product category is K-12 Character Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAIAG, Leadership, Character Education & Values Development, with a secondary code of EDAJAGAL, Behavioral Intervention & PBIS Supports (Tiered, Gen Ed). Its NAICS code is 6117 and its SIC code is 8200.