EaRN | Employment and Resource Network

What EaRN | Employment and Resource Network does

EaRN (Employment and Resource Network) is a non-profit Christian ministry that provides free career coaching and job-search support to unemployed and underemployed individuals, primarily through West Michigan church networks. Founded in 1998 by Ken Soper, one of the first NCDA Master Career Counselors in the US, the organization operates the longest continuously meeting job club in West Michigan. Since inception, EaRN has run 1,300+ roundtable sessions with cumulative attendance exceeding 13,000 participants.

The core product is a recurring roundtable session model, anchored at St. Robert church (Wednesdays, 9:30–11:30 a.m.) with a secondary venue at the Cascade Christian Church Coffee House, supplemented by an alternate-Thursday virtual session on Zoom. Services are delivered by five volunteer coaches with diverse professional backgrounds, including NCDA/NBCC-certified career counseling, clinical social work, manufacturing and OEM executive leadership, banking and corporate training, and executive education. EaRN also publishes asynchronous resources such as the "New Work Search Diagram" PDF and maintains an articles and testimonials library on its website.

EaRN has no proprietary technology platform and no app, API, or integration footprint; it relies on standard video conferencing and church venues. Services are provided free of charge to attendees, and the firm operates as a donation- and ministry-supported organization rather than a fee-based provider. There is no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, no employees beyond volunteer coaches, and no institutional ownership or parent entity. The single customer-facing segment is persona-based: unemployed and underemployed adults in or connected to West Michigan faith communities.

Name

EaRN | Employment and Resource Network

Legal name

Employment and Resource Network

Website

https://earn-gr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EaRN (Employment and Resource Network) is a West Michigan Christian ministry, founded in 1998, that provides free career coaching and weekly job-search roundtable sessions to unemployed and underemployed individuals through church venues and Zoom, supported by a volunteer coach team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career Coaching Services

NAICS

Employment Services (5613), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Job Readiness Support Services (BPAGAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL), Career Coaching, Mentoring & Placement Support Services (EDAAAKAO)

Keywords

• Career coaching services
• Job search support
• Employment ministry
• Career counseling
• Job club networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ministry/Donation-based: EaRN operates as a Christ-like ministry caring for people seeking employment. Founded by Ken Soper, NCDA Master Career Counselor, the organization appears to be funded through church ministry support and donations rather than customer fees. Services are provided free of charge to attendees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

EaRN provides free career coaching, career counseling, and job search support delivered through weekly roundtable sessions and one-on-one coaching by certified volunteer career counselors. Services are aimed at unemployed and career-transitioning individuals, particularly those connected to West Michigan church communities, and include group problem solving, networking, resume and interview preparation, and access to downloadable job search resources such as the New Work Search Diagram.

Product overview

EaRN (Employment and Resource Network) is a ministry venture that provides career coaching and job search support services. The organization operates as a single, unified service offering centered around its core ministry of career counseling. Its primary offerings include one-on-one career coaching by certified counselors, facilitated job search roundtable sessions (held at St. Robert and via Zoom), and downloadable work search resources including the Work Search Diagram. The coaching services are delivered through a team of volunteer and professional career coaches, while the roundtable sessions provide peer support and group problem-solving for job seekers in West Michigan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Career Coaching and Counseling One-on-one career coaching and counseling delivered by certified career counselors (including NCDA Master Career Counselor Ken Soper and LMSW/ACSW Bill Weitzel) to assist individuals during job search and career transition; offered free of charge to job seekers.
• Job Search Roundtable Sessions Weekly roundtable sessions held Wednesday mornings at West Michigan churches and alternate Thursdays via Zoom, providing ongoing networking, support, group problem solving, and coaching for individuals during work search and career transition. 1,300+ sessions held since 1998 with 13,000+ total attendees.
• Work Search Resources Downloadable job search resources including the 'New Work Search Diagram' PDF and other helpful articles to support job seekers during their employment search.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13,000+ people helped through 1,300+ continuous sessions since 1998

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Goodwill Industries International: Goodwill is a nonprofit operating job-readiness, career coaching, and employment placement programs across the US, often through community and faith-adjacent channels. EaRN mirrors Goodwill's workforce development model but at a much smaller, church-anchored, volunteer-driven scale in a single region.
• Catholic Charities USA: Catholic Charities agencies across the US provide employment and job-readiness support as part of broader social services. EaRN's church-based ministry model and reliance on a faith community for volunteer capacity directly parallels how Catholic Charities delivers employment services at the parish level.
• Dress for Success: Dress for Success is a nonprofit offering career support, coaching, and job-readiness resources to individuals in transition, often through local affiliate chapters. EaRN's volunteer-driven, community-anchored approach to helping job seekers parallels Dress for Success's affiliate-based service delivery.
• Jewish Vocational Service (JVS): JVS is a faith-affiliated nonprofit providing career counseling, job search support, and workforce training to job seekers and career changers. Like EaRN, JVS combines community/values-based framing with structured career navigation services for individuals in transition.
• Per Scholas: Per Scholas is a nonprofit providing tuition-free workforce training and career coaching to underemployed and unemployed adults. EaRN is comparable as a nonprofit delivering free job-search coaching and career navigation to job seekers, though Per Scholas focuses on technical skills training.
• Salvation Army: The Salvation Army operates faith-based community employment programs, workforce development, and career support services through local corps/centers. EaRN's structure — a faith community sponsoring volunteer-led employment help — is directly comparable to Salvation Army's model.

Broad incumbents

• Right Management: Right Management is a large, established outplacement and career coaching firm serving corporate clients and individual career transitioners. EaRN addresses the same individual job-seeker need (career coaching during transition) but as a free, volunteer ministry rather than a fee-based corporate outplacement provider.

Regional players

• CareerSource (Workforce Development Board network): CareerSource and similar American Job Center networks offer publicly funded career counseling, job search assistance, and career navigation. EaRN provides many of the same individual job-seeker services but in a private, faith-based, volunteer format rather than as a government-funded regional provider.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earn-employment-and-resource-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 EaRN | Employment and Resource Network