Place Corps

What Place Corps does

Place Corps is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization (legally Know, Love, Serve, Inc.) founded in 2018 and headquartered in Kingston, New York. It designs and delivers place-based, experiential learning programs for young adults ages 18–21 in the Hudson Valley, with its core offerings being the six-month Kingston Fellowship (Kingston, NY) and the Hawthorne Valley Residency (Ghent, NY, on Hawthorne Valley Farm). Curriculum is organized around a "Know. Love. Serve." framework and five interdisciplinary spokes — Mission Driven Leadership & Entrepreneurship; Politics, Ethics & Aesthetics; Practical Life Skills; Creative Praxis; and Communications — with a Just Transition lens adapted from the Good Work Institute. Supporting resources include Community Learning Programs and the Kingston Connections How-To guides covering housing, employment, financial literacy, and related adulting topics for the wider Hudson Valley community.

The organization has approximately 7 employees and runs small cohorts (an inaugural 2019 cohort of 8 participants), relying on a community-led go-to-market model: digital channels (website, Instagram, email newsletter) drive top-of-funnel awareness, while local partnerships, referrals, and an application-plus-interview funnel convert accepted participants. Programs operate in person four days per week.

The revenue model combines donations from individuals and foundations with an equitable tiered tuition model — families earning under $100,000 are not expected to pay, and accepted applicants receive 100% accessibility — supplemented by per-fellow grants of up to $3,000 per trimester plus monthly stipends that double as a financial-literacy curriculum tool. Core institutional partnerships anchor delivery: Hawthorne Valley Association provides the Ghent campus, farm operations, and regenerative-agriculture curriculum, and Good Work Institute contributes the Just Transition framework. The organization is not venture-backed and has no parent company or subsidiaries.

Name

Place Corps

Legal name

Know, Love, Serve, Inc.

Website

https://placecorps.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Place Corps is a Kingston, NY-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs place-based fellowships, residencies, and community learning programs for young adults ages 18–21 in the Hudson Valley, anchored by the Kingston Fellowship and a Hawthorne Valley residency.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Education Programs

NAICS

Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (72131)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Guest, Visitor & Conference Housing Services (Summer/Break Housing) (EDAEAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student-Focused Co-Living (Flexible, Community-Led) (THAMAGAI)

Keywords

• Experiential learning programs
• Gap year fellowships
• Place-based education
• Regenerative agriculture training
• Nonprofit youth education

Headquarters

HQ city

Kingston

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. Donations and Philanthropic Support: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Place Corps relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters. The website prominently features a donate button.
2. Equitable Tuition Model: Place Corps operates an equitable tiered tuition model based on trust and reciprocity. Families making less than $100,000/year are not expected to pay tuition, while families above that threshold contribute based on their ability. This ensures 100% accessibility for accepted applicants.
3. Fellowship Learning Grants and Stipends: Each Kingston Fellow can receive up to $3,000 per trimester in fellowship learning grants, plus a monthly stipend. These function as both financial support and financial literacy curriculum tools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Place Corps is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs place-based, experiential learning residencies and fellowships for young adults ages 18-21 in the Hudson Valley, NY. Core offerings include the 6-month Kingston Fellowship in Kingston, NY (with an Oikos orientation residency at Hawthorne Valley) and the Hawthorne Valley residential gap year program at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, NY, supported by an interdisciplinary curriculum spanning five spokes: Mission Driven Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Politics Ethics & Aesthetics, Practical Life Skills, Creative Praxis, and Communications.

Product overview

Place Corps is a nonprofit educational organization offering a portfolio of place-based programs centered on the Know, Love, Serve framework. The core offerings include the Kingston Fellowship (a 6-month urban program for ages 18-21) and the Hawthorne Valley Residency (a residential gap year at a farm). Both programs are delivered through an interdisciplinary curriculum spanning five spokes: Mission Driven Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Politics Ethics & Aesthetics, Practical Life Skills, Creative Praxis, and Communications. Supporting resources include the Kingston Connections How-To guides covering housing, health, employment, and financial literacy for the Hudson Valley community. The organization is designed as a programmatic platform rather than a technology product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kingston Fellowship: A 6-month program for young adults ages 18-21 designed to help confidently step into adulthood with skills, support, and inspiration to thrive through hands-on learning, mentorship, and real-world experiences.
• Hawthorne Valley Program
• Oikos

Products and services

• Kingston Fellowship A 6-month place-based fellowship program for young adults ages 18-21 in the Kingston, NY area, offering hands-on learning, mentorship, community projects, and skill development in sustainable livelihoods. The program follows a Know, Love, Serve curriculum framework and includes an Oikos orientation residency at Hawthorne Valley. Programming runs 4 days/week, Monday-Thursday, 9:30 AM-4 PM.
• Hawthorne Valley Program/Residency A residential gap year program located at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, NY, offering experiential learning in regenerative agriculture, whole-systems design, and place-based education for young adults ages 18-25. Participants stay on-farm at the Hawthorne Valley campus with the Schnackenberg residence serving as housing during the residency.
• Community Learning Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% accessibility for all accepted applicants through equitable cost model
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hawthorne Valley AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Hawthorne Valley Association is a core founding partner of Place Corps. Executive Director Martin Ping co-founded Place Corps in 2018. Place Corps launched its inaugural cohort at Hawthorne Valley Farm in 2019. Hawthorne Valley provides the campus location for the Oikos orientation and ongoing programmatic partnerships including work study opportunities, regenerative agriculture curriculum, and farm operations.
• Good Work InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Good Work Institute is a founding partner of Place Corps. Executive Director Matthew Stinchcomb co-founded Place Corps in 2018. The organization shares the Just Transition framework adapted by Place Corps for its curriculum, ensuring participants learn through a decolonizing lens that centers oppressed voices.
• Hawthorne ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHawthorne Valley Farm provides the campus location for the Oikos orientation experience and ongoing work study opportunities. Place Corps programs integrate with Hawthorne Valley's regenerative agriculture operations and the Schnackenberg residence serves as housing during the residency.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Hawthorne Valley Association: Founding partner and host campus; comparable as a place-based education and regenerative agriculture organization, but functions as a strategic partner and infrastructure provider rather than a competitor.

Emerging players

• Casa Azafran / Casa de Paz: Community-based youth development and educational programs with place-based and justice-centered curricula; comparable mission framing but different region and population focus.
• Teton Science Schools: Place-based experiential education organization offering gap semesters and outdoor education in Wyoming; comparable as a place-based learning provider with focus on ecology and community, though with a different geographic focus.

Direct peers

• Kroka Ekademy: Wilderness-based gap year program for youth ages 17-22 offering expeditions and community-based living; directly comparable as a residential experiential-education alternative to traditional college with similar age demographic and mission-driven ethos.
• LEAPYear Program: Year-long residential gap year program for young adults emphasizing self-discovery, community engagement, and personal growth; directly comparable age demographic, residential model, and mission-driven experiential education.
• Global Citizen Year: Fellowship-based gap year program for 18-21 year olds combining immersive learning, apprenticeship, and community service; directly comparable fellowship structure, age demographic, and college-alternative mission.
• Rustic Pathways: High school and gap year service-travel programs emphasizing community partnership and cultural immersion; comparable as a mission-driven experiential-education provider for the same age cohort.
• Where There Be Dragons: Experiential gap year and summer programs for high school and college-age students focused on cross-cultural immersion, community service, and place-based learning; comparable target demographic and alternative-education positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/place_corps
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/place-corps

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 Place Corps