Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties

What Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties does

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating as a regional affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, headquartered at 50 E. Business Way, Suite 125, Akron, Ohio, and serving youth across three Northeast Ohio counties. The organization delivers one-to-one youth mentoring through four programmatic channels: Community-Based Mentoring, Site-Based Mentoring (delivered in partner schools), Bigs in Blue (law enforcement mentors), and Big For A Day (one-day hospital-based engagements in partnership with Akron Children's Hospital). It also operates the ACES Program, which extends mentoring relationships from 8th grade through post-secondary education. The affiliate's competitive position rests on its BBBSA brand affiliation, multi-decade institutional partnerships with area schools and hospitals, and recognized employer brand (2022 Best Nonprofits to Work For, 6-year average staff tenure).

The organization is financed through a diversified non-donation revenue base including individual donations, corporate partnerships, grants, signature events (notably Grapes for Kids' Sake), and recurring monthly sponsorships at $35/month. Pricing/impact model economics center on a disclosed $1,200 cost per match, with 76% of funds directed toward programmatic purposes — a Charity Navigator-aligned programmatic spending ratio. At the time of the most recent data, the affiliate supported 469 children and adults through 203 active matches delivering 944 mentoring hours per week, against a waitlist of 522 children awaiting match. The customer served is dual-sided: at-risk youth (the service recipient) and adult volunteer mentors / donors (the revenue-side participant).

Name

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties

Legal name

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina & Stark Counties, Inc.

Website

https://mentorwithme.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of BBBSA delivering one-to-one youth mentoring through community, school, law enforcement, and hospital-based programs across three Northeast Ohio counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mentoring Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAD

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGADAJ

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Youth mentoring services
• Nonprofit mentoring programs
• Volunteer mentorship
• Community youth development
• One-to-one mentoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Akron

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: Direct financial donations from individuals to support recruiting Bigs, covering background checks, and providing ongoing match support.
2. Monthly Sponsorship: Monthly giving program where donors commit $35/month to sponsor a match and introduce one waiting Little with a Big each month.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsors provide financial support and resources in exchange for partnership recognition and community impact alignment.
4. Event Fundraising: Major annual events including Grapes for Kids' Sake Gala and Monte Carlo Gala generate revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, auction items, and basket raffles.
5. Bingo Pull Tab Program: Partnership with restaurants featuring bingo pull tab machines that benefit the organization.
6. Grants: All programs supported through grants. Site-based programs are entirely grant-funded.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The organization recruits, screens, trains, and matches adult (and high-school) volunteer mentors (Bigs) with youth ages 6-18 (Littles) across Summit, Medina, and Stark Counties in Ohio. Matches are supported by professional Match Support Specialists and delivered through Community-Based, Site-Based, Bigs in Blue, Big For A Day, and ACES program formats, with all services provided at no cost to participants and funded entirely by donations, corporate sponsorships, grants, and fundraising events.

Product overview

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina, and Stark Counties operates as a youth mentoring organization offering multiple program types. The core offerings include Community-Based Mentoring (traditional one-to-one mentoring in the community), Site-Based Mentoring (after-school programs at schools), Bigs in Blue (law enforcement mentoring), and Big For A Day (pediatric intern partnerships). Supporting infrastructure includes fundraising events such as the Grapes for Kids' Sake/Monte Carlo Gala, and donation programs including Match Sponsorship and Project Sponsorship. The organization serves children ages 6-18 across three Ohio counties through volunteer Big mentors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Community-Based Program: Traditional mentoring program where Bigs meet in the community 2-4 times per month for up to 8 hours per month.
• Site-Based Program
• Bigs in Blue
• Big For A Day
• ACES Program

Products and services

• Community-Based Mentoring Program Traditional one-to-one mentoring program where Bigs and Littles meet in the community 2-4 times per month for up to 8 hours, engaging in activities of mutual interest with a minimum one-year commitment. Open to adults 18+ and youth ages 6-18 across the tri-county region.
• Site-Based Mentoring Program After-school mentoring program pairing high school student Bigs with elementary and middle school Littles, supervised by Site Coordinators at partner schools, providing homework help, snacks, and activities for youth ages 6-18 in the tri-county region.
• Bigs in Blue One-to-one mentoring program connecting youth with law enforcement officers in the communities they patrol, building trust and lasting relationships between children and officers in Summit, Medina, and Stark Counties.
• Big For A Day One-time mentoring opportunity pairing children waiting to be matched with pediatric interns from Akron Children's Hospital in non-clinical community settings, providing interim engagement while a permanent Big match is arranged.
• ACES Program Program supporting Littles from 8th grade through at least their first year of post-secondary education with sustained mentoring relationships focused on college and career readiness.
• Grapes for Kids' Sake and Monte Carlo Gala Annual major fundraising event featuring fine wines, food, basket raffles, auction items, and Monte Carlo gaming tables that generates revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, and auctions to support BBBS mentoring programs.
• Match Sponsorship Monthly giving program where donors contribute $35 per month to fund the recruitment, background checks, and ongoing support of an individual Little-Big match, reducing the waiting list of children awaiting mentors.
• Project Sponsorship Donation program allowing donors to sponsor specific BBBS projects and initiatives through directed contributions above standard monthly giving.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67% of Littles less likely to engage in risky behaviors (drug and alcohol abuse)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church Family CenterminorOthers · 27 September 2025Venue partner for Grapes for Kids' Sake 2025 event held at 3204 Ridgewood Road, Fairlawn OH 44333
• Akron Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with pediatric interns who serve as Bigs For A Day, spending time with waiting children outside clinical settings
• Area SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost site-based mentoring programs where high school students mentor younger students after school
• Various Community OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvide workshops, trainings, and activities beneficial to Bigs, Littles, and families
• Summit County FairminorOthersCommunity partners provide tickets to events such as the Summit County Fair for Big/Little matches
• Area Zoos and AttractionsminorOthersBBBS provides activities like a day at the Zoo and annual Christmas party for matches; partners occasionally provide free tickets

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• 4-H Youth Development Program: A national youth development program operating in the same Summit/Medina/Stark counties through OSU Extension. Targets overlapping youth-development outcomes but via group club-based programming rather than one-to-one mentoring.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve: A regional club-based youth development nonprofit serving similar Northeast Ohio at-risk youth with facility-based programming—an alternative channel for the same donor and volunteer pools and a benchmark for outcomes reporting.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: National umbrella organization that provides brand standards, training, and shared services to local affiliates like BBBSKC. Not a direct competitor but the governing body whose standards and national fundraising reputation directly impact BBBSKC's positioning.

Others

• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership): The national field-building organization that sets mentoring-program standards, provides research on mentoring outcomes, and aggregates funders across the sector—relevant as the upstream ecosystem player rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland: A neighboring Ohio BBBS affiliate serving Cuyahoga County with the same one-to-one mentoring model, volunteer-driven GTM, and corporate fundraising approach; provides a direct comparison on staffing, match counts, and revenue scale for an Ohio urban-affiliate peer.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio: A larger Ohio BBBS affiliate serving the Columbus metro with substantially higher match volume—useful for benchmarking the upper-bound scale achievable within the same affiliate model and shared national infrastructure.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati: A large multi-county Ohio BBBS affiliate operating community-based and site-based mentoring—the same program architecture as BBBSKC but at materially larger scale, providing direct benchmarking for growth potential.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County: An adjacent Northeast Ohio BBBS affiliate with shared demographic and donor-market dynamics—ideal peer for matching-rate, volunteer-pipeline, and gala-fundraising comparisons.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County: A Ohio BBBS affiliate serving a smaller multi-county footprint very similar to BBBSKC's three-county model, with comparable headcount and program mix—cleanly comparable on per-county economics.

Regional players

• United Way of Summit County: Local funder and convening organization in the same geography and youth-development funding pool; the CEO Kyle Putinski previously worked at United Way of Summit County, providing close ecosystem ties and a relevant peer on community-fundraising scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BBBSofAmerica
• Facebookfacebook.com/BBBSSummitMedinaStarkCounties
• Instagraminstagram.com/bbbssmsc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bbbssmsc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties