What ISAACS ROOM does

Isaac's Room is a Salem, Oregon-based nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by Mark and Tiffany Bulgin to serve 'divested youth' — young people who have been marginalized from traditional support systems, including foster youth, alternative education students, and juvenile corrections clients. The organization operates two coffee shops, IKE Box (opened 2004) and Isaac's Downtown (opened 2025), which function simultaneously as retail businesses and as apprenticeship environments for the IKE Quest internship program. The organization's product and program portfolio spans the IKE Box and Isaac's Downtown coffee shops, the IKE Quest life-development internship, the CAREcorps free three-week summer service and leadership program for high-school-aged youth, and IKE Baking and IKE Cleaning sub-brands that provide additional work-skills training opportunities.

Isaac's Room derives revenue from three streams: coffee shop retail operations across its two Salem storefronts (open daily 7:00 am – 7:00 pm), donations collected through the donorperfect.io online giving platform, and financial and in-kind sponsorship support from 16+ local Salem-area businesses and institutions. The CAREcorps program is delivered free of charge to participants, with costs covered through donations and sponsorships, and incorporates free meals and transportation support (the latter coordinated with regional transit partner Cherriots). Participants who are Salem-Keizer Public Schools (SKPS) students can earn 0.5 elective credit for their community service hours. The organization uses organic social media (Facebook, Instagram), its three branded websites (isaacsroom.org, ikebox.com, isaacsdowntown.com), and community word-of-mouth as its primary go-to-market channels.

The organization has no proprietary technology stack, no disclosed digital products, and operates as a traditional hospitality and community-services nonprofit. Its only technology footprint is a Microsoft Forms-based CAREcorps registration flow and standard web/donation infrastructure. Isaac's Room is independently operated by its founders with no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or external ownership structure; the founders maintain direct operational control across all locations, programs, and sub-brands. The organization is geographically constrained to Salem, Oregon, with no announced plans to expand beyond that market.

Name

ISAACS ROOM

Legal name

Isaac's Room

Website

https://isaacsroom.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Isaac's Room is a Salem, Oregon nonprofit operating two coffee shops (IKE Box and Isaac's Downtown) that serve as apprenticeship venues for divested youth through the IKE Quest internship and the free CAREcorps summer leadership program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Coffee Shop Operations: Revenue generated from operating IKE Box and Isaac's Downtown coffee shops. The coffee shops serve as both a revenue source and the primary vehicle for youth employment and training through the IKE Quest internship program.
2. Donations and Grants: The organization accepts donations through its website (donorperfect.io platform) and likely receives grants to fund its youth development programs and operations.
3. Sponsorship Support: Local business sponsors (Cherry City Metals, Pioneer Trust, Willamette Health Council, Silver Falls Brewery, BMW of Salem, Bank of the Pacific, and others) provide financial and in-kind support for the organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Isaac's Room is a nonprofit organization that operates two coffee shops (IKE Box and Isaac's Downtown) in Salem, Oregon, which serve as both community retail storefronts and apprenticeship training environments for divested youth. The organization runs the IKE Quest internship program placing youth in its family businesses (IKE Box, Isaac's Downtown, IKE Baking, IKE Cleaning) to build work skills, and the free CAREcorps summer leadership program for high school-aged youth offering 40-60+ hours of community service, career exploration, and hands-on sustainability training.

Product overview

Isaac's Room is a non-profit organization (not a technology company) operating a portfolio of interconnected programs and coffee shop businesses dedicated to helping divested youth build capacity for life. The core offerings include two coffee shop locations—the IKE Box (est. 2004) and Isaac's Downtown—which serve as both community storefronts and practical apprenticeship environments. These cafes feed into the IKE Quest internship program, which places youth in real-work settings across the organization's family businesses: IKE Box, Isaac's Downtown, IKE Baking, and IKE Cleaning. Complementing the employment-focused programs is CAREcorps, a free summer service and leadership camp for high school youth. Together, this ecosystem provides experiences that build character, confidence, and skills through real investment in young people's lives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 40-60+ hours of community service per CAREcorps participant
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Cherry City MetalsminorOthersLocal sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship (financial, in-kind, or other) not specified.
• Pioneer TrustminorOthersLocal sponsor (bank) displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Willamette Health CouncilminorOthersLocal health organization sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Silver Falls BreweryminorOthersLocal brewery sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• BMW of SalemminorOthersLocal automotive dealer sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Bank of the PacificminorOthersLocal bank sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Heltzel WilliamsminorOthersLocal sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Dalke ConstructionminorOthersLocal construction company sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Rick Sutter BuildersminorOthersLocal builder sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Sherm LawminorOthersLocal law firm sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• SMI Real Estate & PropertyminorOthersLocal real estate company sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• Montgomery Construction GroupminorOthersLocal construction company sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• The Grand HotelminorOthersLocal hotel sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• The Phoenix InnminorOthersLocal hotel sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• The Salem Convention CenterminorOthersLocal convention center sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• NW NaturalminorOthersLocal utility company sponsor displayed on the organization's sponsors page. Nature of sponsorship not specified.
• CherriotsminorOthersLocal transit authority that assists CAREcorps with route planning for transportation support provided to program participants.
• Salem-Keizer Public Schools (SKPS)minorOthersSKPS students who participate in CAREcorps can receive 0.5 elective credit for community service. Students from any high school are welcome, but only SKPS students receive elective credit.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Emma's Torch: Brooklyn-based nonprofit operating a working restaurant that provides culinary training and job placement to refugees and asylum seekers — same earned-revenue-through-food-service youth training model.
• Big Shoulders Coffee: Chicago nonprofit coffee company whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty for at-risk youth through employment and training — directly parallel to Isaac's Room's coffee-shop-as-apprenticeship approach.
• Cafe Reconcile: New Orleans nonprofit restaurant that trains at-risk youth ages 16-22 in culinary and life skills while operating as a real, revenue-generating business — same social-enterprise-through-food model as Isaac's Room.
• DC Central Kitchen: Washington DC nonprofit that operates a large-scale catering and food-distribution business to provide culinary training to at-risk adults and youth — peer on the food-business-funds-mission structure.
• Homeboy Industries: Los Angeles nonprofit employing formerly gang-involved and incarcerated individuals across multiple social enterprises (bakery, café, silkscreen) — closely comparable on the at-risk-youth-through-real-work thesis.
• Hot Bread Kitchen: NYC nonprofit culinary incubator and bakery that trains low-income women and immigrants in food-industry skills while producing commercial baked goods — same revenue-generating training kitchen approach.
• Greyston Bakery: Yonkers-based for-profit bakery famous for its 'open hiring' model that employs anyone who walks in, including formerly incarcerated individuals — directly comparable earned-revenue social enterprise.
• Cafe Momentum: Dallas nonprofit restaurant and training program for at-risk youth involved in the juvenile justice system — parallel mission of using a working café to deliver apprenticeship and life skills.
• Sweet Beginnings: Chicago nonprofit beekeeping and honey business that trains individuals with barriers to employment — small-scale earned-revenue social enterprise with a youth/training mission overlap.

Regional players

• New Avenues for Youth: Portland-based nonprofit serving at-risk and homeless youth through housing, education, and employment programs — regional Oregon-area peer with overlapping youth development mandate but no café operating model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/isaacs-room

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 ISAACS ROOM