College and Career Access Center

What College and Career Access Center does

The College and Career Access Center (CCAC) is a Jackson, Michigan-based nonprofit founded in 2008 to expand post-secondary access for residents of Jackson County. The organization delivers free college and career advising services through dedicated College & Career Advisors physically embedded in all 13 Jackson County school districts, supplemented by a walk-in center at Jackson Crossing Mall and on-site community outreach to shelters, community organizations, and events. Its service portfolio spans college planning, FAFSA and financial aid completion, scholarship research and application support, career assessments, resume and interview preparation, job shadow and internship coordination, skilled-trades pathway exploration (Pathways to Professional Skilled Trades, launched 2016), military enlistment guidance, ESL partnerships (Lux Language), and structured local college exposure for high school juniors (Juniors Over the Local Circuit, launched 2016), with an early-awareness layer for 8th graders via Kids2College (launched 2014).

CCAC has no proprietary technology product; it is a service organization whose core 'product' is one-on-one human advising, supplemented by a monthly scholarship newsletter with 2,600+ subscribers and per-district Data Corner websites launched in 2021. All services are provided free of charge to students and families, with no per-seat or per-student pricing model. The business model is grant-and-donation funded: revenue streams include grant funding from government and foundation sources, individual donations via PayPal and other channels, and community partnership support from local organizations, credit unions, and businesses. The organization operates within the Jackson County Intermediate School District (JCISD) ecosystem, is governed by a Board of Directors, and is led by Executive Director Nancy Peters-Lewis (since Fall 2014) supported by a finance director, operations director, community initiatives director, six-plus College & Career Advisors, and an operations support specialist — approximately 10 staff in total.

Name

College and Career Access Center

Legal name

College and Career Access Center

Website

https://jacksoncac.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The College and Career Access Center (CCAC) is a Jackson County, Michigan nonprofit that provides free college and career advising to students and families across all 13 local school districts, funded by grants, donations, and community partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education and Career Advising Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

College & Career Counseling (Admissions, Scholarships, Pathways) (EDAJALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL)

Keywords

• College advising services
• Career counseling
• Financial aid assistance
• Scholarship research
• Post-secondary planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Jackson

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. Grant Funding: Primary funding source from grant funding from government and foundation sources supporting educational access programs
2. Donations: Individual donations from community supporters via PayPal and other channels
3. Community Partnerships: Partnership support from local organizations and businesses contributing resources and referrals

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The College and Career Access Center provides free, in-person college and career advising services to Jackson County, Michigan residents. Services are delivered through dedicated College & Career Advisors embedded across all 13 Jackson County school districts, supplemented by a walk-in center at the Jackson Crossing Mall and on-site community outreach. The organization supports students and families with college and trade school applications, FAFSA and financial aid completion, scholarship research, resume building, career assessments, military enlistment guidance, and skilled trades pathway exploration.

Product overview

The College and Career Access Center (CCAC) is a nonprofit organization providing college and career advising services to Jackson County, Michigan residents. It is not a technology company with a software product portfolio. The organization offers advising programs and services including school-based advising across 13 Jackson County school districts, a center-based office at Jackson Crossing Mall, and initiatives such as Kids2College/Pathways to Professional Skilled Trades (K2C/PPST), Juniors Over the Local Circuit (JOLC), Summer Melt prevention, community outreach, ESL partnerships, and financial aid/scholarship support. These are service-based programs, not packaged software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School-Based College and Career Advising One-on-one and group advising delivered by dedicated College & Career Advisors physically embedded in each of the 13 Jackson County school districts. Services include college and career advising, career assessments, resumes and cover letters, soft skills and interview prep, job shadow support, career and employment exploration, scholarship support, FAFSA completion, and college and skilled trades applications. Provided at no cost to students and families.
• Kids2College and Pathways to Professional Skilled Trades (K2C/PPST) Early-college-awareness and skilled-trades-exploration program targeting middle school students (beginning with 8th grade) to build exposure to post-secondary education and career training pathways, including skilled trades as an alternative to a traditional four-year college.
• Juniors Over the Local Circuit (JOLC) Program providing Jackson County high school juniors with structured visits to local post-secondary institutions — Jackson College, Albion College, and Spring Arbor University — exposing students to different types of colleges and career pathways.
• Summer Melt Prevention Outreach Door-to-door outreach initiative targeting graduating high school seniors who have been admitted to college but fail to complete critical post-graduation steps (FAFSA, enrollment, orientation). Includes summer outreach programming in partnership with YMCA, Jackson Public Schools, Dream Maker/FIRST Robotics, My Brother's Keeper, MLK Recreation Center, Jackson Housing Commission, and Isaiah's Hub.
• Community Outreach On-Site Advising (CCAC on the Road) Mobile advising service bringing college and career advising directly to community-based organizations, shelters (Interfaith Shelter, AWARE Shelter), local businesses, and community events across Jackson County. Covers college planning, career exploration, financial aid, scholarships, job training, and workforce pathways.
• ESL Partnership Program (with Lux Language) English as a Second Language instruction and college/career support delivered in partnership with Lux Language, connecting Spanish-speaking and other non-English-speaking community members with ESL classes for school, work, or daily communication.
• Monthly Scholarship Newsletter Curation and distribution of monthly scholarship opportunities to a subscriber base of more than 2,600 Jackson County students and families. Includes scholarship resource databases by category, including a separate skilled-trades scholarship resource library.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Jackson Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Launched alongside the Jackson Legacy Scholarship Program in 2008. CCAC was created through this partnership to support students in post-secondary planning. Ongoing partnership for local scholarship administration through Jackson Community Foundation.
• Jackson CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal college partner for Juniors Over the Local Circuit (JOLC) program where all Jackson County juniors visit Jackson College to explore college life and career pathways.
• Albion CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal liberal arts college partner for JOLC campus visits, exposing students to different types of post-secondary institutions.
• Spring Arbor UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal university partner for JOLC program visits, providing students exposure to private university environment and career pathways.
• YMCAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative summer outreach partner bringing college and career awareness programming to students aged 7-14 in Jackson County.
• Jackson Public SchoolsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for collaborative summer outreach including weekly Robotics sessions and college/career exploration activities.
• Dream Maker/FIRST RoboticsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for weekly Robotics sessions as part of collaborative summer outreach programming.
• My Brother's KeepermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative summer outreach partner for college and career awareness programming.
• Interfaith SheltercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides regular on-site advising and workshops for community members around college planning, career exploration, financial aid, scholarships, and job training.
• AWARE SheltercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides on-site advising and workshops for shelter residents covering college planning, career exploration, financial aid, and workforce pathways.
• Lux LanguagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESL Partnership connecting community members with English as a Second Language instruction and support for school, work, or daily communication.
• Jackson Community Care HubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for community referrals of individuals interested in education or career advancement; CCAC provides outreach and one-on-one consultations.
• MLK Recreation CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSummer outreach partner for community-based college and career awareness programming.
• Jackson Housing CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSummer outreach partner providing programming for youth in housing communities.
• Isaiah's HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for collaborative summer outreach programming.
• Sigmund FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scholarship partner providing scholarships for Jackson County students including trades-focused scholarships.
• American 1 Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scholarship provider for Jackson County students.
• BlueOx Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scholarship partner offering community scholarships.
• LammersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scholarship provider for Jackson County students.
• South Central Credit Union (SCCU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scholarship provider offering Alice Campbell Scholarship.
• TRUE Community Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scholarship partner supporting youth education programs.
• Consumers Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal scholarship provider for Jackson County students.
• Michigan Works SoutheastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional employment resource providing workforce development services; CCAC refers clients for employment support and collaborates on career pathways.
• Michigan College Access Network (MCAN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide college access network supporting 60% post-secondary attainment goal by 2030; CCAC aligns with MCAN goals and resources.
• National College Attainment Network (NCAN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization supporting college access; CCAC staff contribute content including op-eds on college access and equity.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bottom Line: Nonprofit providing direct one-on-one college access and success advising to low-income and first-generation students, with a model emphasizing personalized advising and degree completion. Highly comparable to CCAC's embedded-advisor approach, though Bottom Line operates in multiple states.
• uAspire: Nonprofit focused specifically on financial aid advising and FAFSA completion support for low-income students. Comparable in mission to CCAC's financial aid and scholarship support services, with a similarly free-to-student delivery model.
• OneGoal: Nonprofit delivering college and career planning programming inside partner high schools, with a focus on low-income students. Comparable in target population, school-based delivery, and free-to-student model.
• College Advising Corps: Places recent college graduates as near-peer college advisors inside underserved high schools. Direct model overlap with CCAC's embedded school-based advising across 13 districts, though College Advising Corps operates nationally and uses recent-grad advisors rather than full-time staff.

Emerging players

• Matriculate: Nonprofit pairing low-income high school students with trained undergraduate mentors for virtual college advising. Comparable mission (college access for underserved students) with a mentoring/remote delivery model rather than in-school advising.

Broad incumbents

• National College Attainment Network (NCAN): National membership and advocacy organization for college access programs. CCAC staff contribute content and is a member/partner. NCAN is comparable in mission (FAFSA completion, post-secondary attainment) and the typical funding ecosystem, though it operates at a national advocacy level rather than direct student advising.
• KIPP Through College: KIPP's college persistence and access arm supports K-12 students into and through college. Comparable long-horizon college access and advising work, though embedded within a larger K-12 charter network rather than as a standalone community-based nonprofit.
• Michigan College Access Network (MCAN): Statewide nonprofit that coordinates college access efforts across Michigan and explicitly anchors the 60% by 2030 attainment goal that CCAC aligns with. Operates as an umbrella/network organization rather than direct school-based advising, but serves many of the same students and school districts and shares funding sources.
• TRIO Programs (federal): Federally funded college access and support programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search, etc.) that provide advising, tutoring, and college prep to low-income and first-generation students. Comparable mission and target population, often operating within the same schools and counties CCAC serves, sometimes as direct collaborators.

Regional players

• Michigan Works! Southeast: Regional workforce development agency under the Michigan Works! system that partners with CCAC for employment and career pathway referrals. Comparable as a Michigan-based, county-level career navigation and workforce intermediary, but focused on adult workforce services rather than K-12 advising.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ccacjackson
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ccacjackson
• Instagraminstagram.com/ccacjackson/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 College and Career Access Center