Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement

What Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement does

Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement (CM3) is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2021 to provide a national program model, training curricula, and technical assistance for "credible messenger" mentoring initiatives serving justice-involved youth and their families. The model centers on mentors with lived experience of the justice system who provide guidance, support, and restorative engagement to young people at risk of or currently navigating juvenile justice involvement, as well as to their families. CM3's offering is a human-delivered service methodology rather than a technology platform; it bundles a mentoring framework, training programs developed with national training partners Grow Up Grow Out (GUGO) and Community Connections for Youth (CCFY), ongoing technical assistance and capacity building, and a National Learning Community for networking, knowledge building, and advocacy.

CM3 generates no revenue from participant fees; the organization is funded through donations from individuals and organizations, with a public-facing donation portal and likely foundation and government grant support. Its go-to-market is community-led: the organization partners directly with government juvenile justice agencies (notably the NYC Department of Probation and the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, where the model originated in 2013 and 2016 respectively) and with a network of 15+ community-based organization collaboration sites across 12+ states. Distribution is non-commercial — there is no sales motion, no pricing model, and no software product — and the model's value proposition rests on demonstrated outcomes, including a 60% recidivism reduction reported in the 2016 Urban Institute evaluation of the NYC Arches program and a 50% recidivism reduction reported in the 2020 John Jay College evaluation of the DC program.

The organization is led by President & CEO Clinton Lacey, the former Director of the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services who originally deployed the credible messenger model as Deputy Commissioner at the NYC Department of Probation. Additional leadership includes CFO James Hartman and Chief Program Officer Mosi Deterville-Makori. The central team is small (5 employees per the firmographic data), reflecting an asset-light operating model in which program delivery is executed by partner community-based organizations. The organization has secured substantial earned media coverage (CNN, BBC, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Governing magazine) and maintains active social channels on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Name

Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement

Legal name

Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement

Website

https://crediblemessenger3.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement (CM3) is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that provides a national credible messenger mentoring model, training, and technical assistance to community organizations and government juvenile justice agencies serving justice-involved youth across 12+ states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Justice Mentoring Services

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL), Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO)

Keywords

• Juvenile justice mentoring
• Credible messenger training
• Youth reentry services
• Capacity building nonprofit
• Justice-involved youth support

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington, DC

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: As a not-for-profit organization, CM3 relies on donations from individuals and organizations to fund operations and program expansion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement (CM3) is a Washington, DC-based not-for-profit organization that promotes the credible messenger mentoring model for justice-involved youth. It provides training, technical assistance, and capacity-building support to government agencies and community-based organizations seeking to implement or expand credible messenger mentoring programs. The organization also produces research, toolkits, and a national directory of credible messenger programs to advance the field.

Product overview

Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement (CM3) is a not-for-profit organization offering a unified mentoring model and support services rather than a software platform. The core offering is the Credible Messenger Mentoring Model, which is supported by complementary services including training curricula (developed with partners GUGO and Community Connections for Youth), technical assistance, and a National Learning Community. CM3 collaborates with community-based organizations and government agencies to implement credible messenger programs in justice-affected communities across the nation, with collaboration sites in multiple U.S. cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Jackson, Jersey City, Columbia, Oakland, Houston, Harlem, Orlando, Richmond, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Washington State.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Credible Messenger Mentoring Training
• Technical Assistance for Mentoring Programs Customized advisory and implementation support provided to public agencies and nonprofits to help them operationalize credible messenger mentoring models.
• National Directory of Credible Messenger Programs A national directory that catalogs credible messenger mentoring programs, enabling funders, agencies, and families to find and connect with vetted programs.
• Research, Toolkits, and Field-Building Resources Original research, practitioner toolkits, and field-building publications that advance the evidence base and practice of credible messenger mentoring.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% reduction in recidivism
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 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 flagship.

• Grow Up Grow Out (GUGO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrow Up Grow Out serves as CM3's national training partner, serving various communities engaged in credible messenger mentoring work. GUGO provides training and support to organizations implementing the CM3 model.
• Community Connections for Youth (CCFY)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Connections for Youth partners with CM3 to develop training curricula and capacity-building processes to support the development of credible messenger mentoring initiatives across the nation.
• Burns InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBurns Institute collaborates with CM3 in communities across the nation to advance the impact of credible messenger mentoring and the overall transformation of youth justice systems. CM3's President & CEO Clinton Lacey previously worked as a project manager with the Burns Institute (2005-2010).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• JustLeadershipUSA: JustLeadershipUSA works to cut the US prison population in half by elevating leaders directly impacted by the justice system, sharing CM3's lived-experience leadership philosophy. Both organizations build advocacy and leadership pipelines among formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Roca: Roca is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit operating high-intensity mentoring and behavioral-change programs for young adults involved in the justice system, sharing CM3's evidence-based, relationship-driven approach. Both organizations target recidivism reduction through sustained, community-embedded mentorship.
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): CEO is a national nonprofit providing immediate, comprehensive employment services to people returning from incarceration, addressing the same justice-involved population CM3 targets. Both organizations pair reentry populations with structured, evidence-driven support to reduce recidivism.
• Grow Up Grow Out (GUGO): GUGO is a community-based organization dedicated to ending gun violence through credible messenger work with youth and young adults. It serves as CM3's national training partner and shares the same credible-messenger methodology, target population, and healing-centered approach.
• The Fortune Society: The Fortune Society provides reentry, mentoring, and advocacy services for formerly incarcerated and justice-involved individuals in New York, with a strong emphasis on credible messenger–style peer mentorship. It is directly comparable to CM3 in target population, geography (overlap in NYC), and service model.
• Burns Institute: The W. Haywood Burns Institute works with jurisdictions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice systems, the same systemic reform space CM3 operates in. Burns Institute is also an active strategic partner of CM3 and a former employer of CEO Clinton Lacey.
• Community Connections for Youth (CCFY): CCFY is a national intermediary that develops and supports credible messenger and community-based mentoring programs for justice-involved youth, the same core mission as CM3. CCFY is also an active strategic partner of CM3, jointly developing training curricula and capacity-building frameworks.

Emerging players

• YouthBuild USA: YouthBuild USA operates a national network of programs providing education, job training, and mentorship to opportunity youth, many of whom have justice involvement. It overlaps with CM3 in serving young people at the intersection of justice involvement and developmental support.

Broad incumbents

• Council of State Governments Justice Center: The CSG Justice Center works with all three branches of state government to develop policy and programs that improve outcomes for justice-involved youth and adults. It is a broader incumbent that shapes the same juvenile justice reform ecosystem in which CM3 operates.
• Vera Institute of Justice: Vera is a major criminal justice research and policy organization that pilots and scales community-based justice programs nationally. Clinton Lacey previously led Vera's Youth Justice Program, and Vera's reform and technical-assistance work directly overlaps with CM3's capacity-building role.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CredibleMsngr3
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@crediblemessengermentoring2344
• Facebookfacebook.com/crediblemessenger3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/credible-messenger-3
• Instagraminstagram.com/crediblemessenger3

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement