Horizons at The Foote School

What Horizons at The Foote School does

Horizons at The Foote School is a tuition-free, nonprofit summer academic and enrichment program serving approximately 174 public school students in Kindergarten through 8th grade from low-income families in New Haven, Connecticut. The organization operates on the campus of The Foote School under the 501(c)(3) status of The Foote School Association, Inc., and is an affiliate of the Horizons National network. Founded in 1996 as FooteBridge and rebranded in 2014, the program delivers a six-week summer learning session with project-based literacy, math, and STEM instruction, enrichment activities in art, music, physical education, and sewing, twice-weekly swimming lessons, cultural field trips, social-emotional learning support through Yale's RULER program, and nutritious meals. Students enter in Kindergarten and return annually through 8th grade, with continued engagement through a high school mentorship program (Horizons BFF) and internship opportunities.

The business model is entirely philanthropy-driven. The program charges only a $30 annual registration fee per family and generates revenue through individual donations, online giving portals, planned gifts including bequests and charitable trusts, securities transfers, and event-based fundraising such as the annual 'Raise Every Voice: Jump for Joy' event. Operations are supported by a 10-person staff maintaining a 4:1 student-to-faculty ratio, with campus facilities provided by The Foote School at minimal expense. Strategic partnerships include The Foote School as host institution, Horizons National as the network hub, Yale University as third-party evaluator since 1995, and Kiefer Aquatics as a swim-equity sponsor. Reported network-level outcomes include 97% high school graduation rate, 91% post-secondary attendance, 8-12 weeks of grade-equivalence improvement per summer session, 93% student attendance, and 84% student/family retention year-to-year. The program does not develop or deploy any proprietary technology; it is a human-delivered educational service.

Name

Horizons at The Foote School

Legal name

Horizons at Foote School

Website

https://horizonsatfoote.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Horizons at The Foote School is a tuition-free, nonprofit six-week summer academic and enrichment program serving approximately 174 K-8 students from low-income New Haven, CT public school families, funded entirely through philanthropy and operated on The Foote School's campus.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education & Enrichment Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Enrichment Camps (General Studies) (EDAMALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth-to-Adult Bridge & College Readiness (Noncredit) (EDAAAEAK), Under-18 / High School-to-University Foundation Pathways (EDAIAJAI)

Keywords

• Summer enrichment programs
• Tuition-free education
• Youth academic programs
• Nonprofit after-school care
• K-8 STEM programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New Haven

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. Individual Donations: The organization raises funds through individual donations, online giving portals, and check donations. Horizons operates under the 501(c)(3) of the Foote School and relies on charitable contributions to fund program operations.
2. Planned Giving: Accepts planned gifts such as bequests or charitable trusts to help secure Horizons at Foote's future, potentially with additional financial benefits for donors.
3. Securities Transfers: Donors can transfer appreciated securities held by their broker to Horizons at Foote, with the gift value based on the average of reported high and low stock prices on the date of gift.
4. Event-Based Fundraising: Annual events such as 'Raise Every Voice: Jump for Joy' serve as fundraising opportunities with ticket sales and sponsorships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Horizons at Foote School is a tuition-free, six-week summer academic and enrichment program serving 174 K-8 students from low-income families attending New Haven, CT public schools. The program combines project-based learning in literacy, math, and STEM with enrichment activities (art, music, physical education, sewing), twice-weekly swimming lessons, cultural field trips, SEL support via Yale's RULER program, and nutritious meals, with a continued high school mentorship track (Horizons BFF) for graduates.

Product overview

Horizons at The Foote School is a tuition-free, award-winning summer academic and enrichment program serving public school students from underserved communities in New Haven, CT. The organization offers a six-week summer learning program for students from Kindergarten through 8th grade, with additional support throughout the year. Core program components include project-based learning in literacy, math, and STEM; enrichment activities in art, music, physical education, and sewing; twice-weekly swimming lessons; cultural field trips; SEL support through Yale's RULER program; and nutritious meals. Students begin in Kindergarten and return annually through 8th grade. The organization also provides a high school mentorship program (Horizons BFF - Best Foote Forward) and internship opportunities for returning high school students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Summer Enrichment Program Tuition-free, six-week summer academic and enrichment program for K-8 students from low-income families attending New Haven, CT public schools, featuring project-based learning in literacy, math, and STEM, plus enrichment in art, music, physical education, swimming, and SEL support.
• Swimming Lessons Twice-weekly swimming instruction provided to Horizons at Foote students as part of the summer program, in partnership with Kiefer Aquatics.
• Horizons BFF (Best Foote Forward) High School Mentorship Continued mentorship and internship opportunities for Horizons at Foote alumni during high school, extending support beyond the K-8 summer program.

Named customers1 record

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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Kiefer AquaticssupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 11 April 2024Kiefer Aquatics, a leader in the aquatics industry founded in 1947, partnered with Horizons at Foote to support swimming education and equity. The partnership includes sponsorship of a panel discussion featuring Olympic gold-medalist Cullen Jones and supports the program's mission to teach swimming to students from under-resourced communities. Kiefer is providing sponsorship and event support.
• The Foote SchoolcoreOthersThe Foote School provides campus facilities for Horizons at Foote at minimal expense, enabling the program to operate on their campus between Prospect and Whitney Avenue in New Haven, CT. Horizons operates under the 501(c)(3) of the Foote School Association, Inc.
• Yale UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerYale University has worked with Horizons National since 1995 as third-party evaluators to assess program effectiveness. Yale's collaboration helps demonstrate the educational outcomes achieved by Horizons students.
• Horizons NationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHorizons at Foote is an affiliate of Horizons National, the central hub for the Horizons Network. The national organization provides training, curriculum guidance, and network-wide evaluation support including partnerships with Amplify and Renaissance Learning.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Citizen Schools: Nonprofit providing expanded learning time, career exposure, and college access support to middle school students from under-resourced communities. Direct overlap in extended-day enrichment and K-8 college-readiness model.
• BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life): BELL runs summer and after-school academic enrichment programs for under-resourced K-8 students, evaluating outcomes through partners like RAND. Closely comparable mission, target population, and summer-learning-loss intervention model.
• Horizons National: The parent network of which Horizons at Foote is an affiliate. Horizons National operates the same K-8 summer-plus-enrichment model across more than 50 sites nationwide, making it the most direct comparator for program model, outcomes methodology, and donor base.
• New Haven Reads: New Haven-based nonprofit providing literacy tutoring, homework help, and enrichment to under-resourced youth. Direct geographic peer with overlapping mission of educational equity in the same community.
• Summer Search: Nonprofit delivering long-term mentoring and college access support to youth from low-income backgrounds. Comparable in serving under-resourced youth with multi-year engagement and post-secondary outcomes focus.

Regional players

• YMCA of Greater New Haven: Local New Haven YMCA delivers youth enrichment, summer programming, and swimming instruction to area children, including scholarships for low-income families. Operates in the same geography with overlapping enrichment and aquatics offerings.
• Reading Partners: National nonprofit mobilizing literacy tutoring for low-income students; operates in Connecticut. Comparable in literacy intervention for underserved students, though focused on tutoring rather than full summer enrichment.
• KIPP Massachusetts (and broader KIPP network): Charter school network serving predominantly low-income students with extended school days and summers. Comparable in mission to close opportunity gaps, though operating as schools rather than supplemental summer programs.

Others

• National Summer Learning Association: Industry association and research body for summer learning programs. Provides the network, advocacy, and research infrastructure that Horizons at Foote and its peers operate within, including summer slide research referenced on the program website.

Broad incumbents

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National nonprofit operating youth centers that offer after-school and summer programming, including academic enrichment, swimming, and SEL for low-income youth. Comparable in target population and programming mix, but at much broader scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/horizonsatfoote
• Instagraminstagram.com/horizonsatfoote
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/horizons-at-foote

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Horizons at The Foote School