What Project Belong VA does

Project Belong VA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that mobilizes and equips local churches in Northern Virginia to serve foster, adoptive, kinship, and struggling biological families. The organization operates as a Regional Alliance of the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) and serves as a bridge between the faith community and the child welfare system, targeting the 1,300+ children in foster care across Northern Virginia's 1,400+ churches. Its core product is not a software platform but a structured program portfolio delivered through church partnerships: Family Advocacy Ministries (FAMs) establish church-based support infrastructure; Care Communities deploy 4-6 member volunteer teams for practical wrap-around support; the Social Stars Program supports child welfare social workers; and Don't Go Alone provides mentoring for youth aging out of foster care.

The organization's programmatic stack includes the Abide Retreat (annual weekend retreat for foster/adoptive/kinship mothers at White Sulphur Springs, priced $230-$310) and Cultivate Connection Cohorts (virtual trauma-informed parenting course, $100/family). These are layered onto core volunteer mobilization supported by a Resources & Lending Library, a monthly Prayer Team, and a Pastor Resources toolkit. The operating model is human-relational rather than technology-driven: no proprietary software, APIs, or AI components are disclosed.

Project Belong VA's revenue model is primarily donation-based, drawing on one-time gifts, monthly recurring contributions through the Belonging Builders program, and non-cash assets (stocks and cryptocurrency) facilitated by a partnership with The Signatry. Program fees from retreats and cohorts provide a modest secondary revenue stream but are not the primary funding mechanism. The 9-person staff operates through embedded county directors across 13 jurisdictions, with strategic model partnerships (Promise686, CAFO, Virginia Kids Belong, Family-Match) providing doctrinal framework, research validation, and referral pathways.

Name

Project Belong VA

Legal name

Project Belong VA

Website

https://projectbelongva.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Project Belong VA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2018 that mobilizes 120+ Northern Virginia churches to deliver wrap-around support, mentoring, and resources for foster, adoptive, kinship families and child welfare social workers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith-Based Community and Child Welfare Support Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

Keywords

• Foster care support
• Church mobilization services
• Adoption ministry programs
• Kinship family services
• Trauma-informed parenting

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Project Belong generates revenue primarily through individual donations, including one-time gifts, monthly recurring donations through the Belonging Builders program, and stock/cryptocurrency contributions via The Signatry partnership. Donations support church mobilization, family support programs, and operational costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Project Belong VA is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that mobilizes and equips local churches in Northern Virginia to serve foster, adoptive, kinship, and struggling biological families. It delivers a coordinated set of programs — Family Advocacy Ministries (FAMs), Care Communities, Social Stars, Don't Go Alone mentoring, Abide Retreat, and Cultivate Connection Cohorts — that provide wrap-around practical, emotional, and spiritual support to vulnerable families and child welfare workers.

Product overview

Project Belong VA is a faith-based nonprofit organization that operates as a coordinated program portfolio rather than a single software product. The organization mobilizes local churches to serve vulnerable children and families through multiple interconnected programs: Family Advocacy Ministries (FAMs) establish church-based support infrastructure; Care Communities provide practical wrap-around support to foster/adoptive families; Social Stars Program supports child welfare workers; Don't Go Alone provides mentoring for aged-out youth; Abide Retreat offers renewal events for mothers; Cultivate Connection Cohorts deliver trauma-informed parenting training; and Resources/Lending Library provides educational materials. These programs work together as a holistic ecosystem addressing the foster care crisis through church mobilization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Family Advocacy Ministries (FAMs) Structured ministries formed within local churches to organize, plan, and activate care for foster, adoptive, kinship, and struggling biological families. Project Belong walks church leadership through ministry formation, provides ideas, materials, and tools, and offers ongoing support.
• Care Communities Teams of 4-6 trained church members who deliver practical wrap-around support — meal deliveries, childcare, tutoring, respite care, and encouragement — to foster, adoptive, kinship, and vulnerable families. Validated to improve foster parent retention.
• Social Stars Program Program that connects church volunteers with child welfare social workers to provide encouragement, appreciation, and tangible support for front-line workers seeking permanency and safety for vulnerable families.
• Don't Go Alone Mentoring program that matches young adults aging out of foster care with mentor families or individual mentors for ongoing relationships, support, and a sense of belonging.
• Abide Retreat Paid weekend retreat offering rest, renewal, and honest connection for foster, adoptive, and kinship mothers through worship, teaching, and community building activities.
• Cultivate Connection Cohorts Virtual cohort-based, eight-week training program for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and caregivers covering trauma-informed parenting practices with hands-on application and supportive community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of families continue fostering past first year when they have a Care Community support group (vs 50% without)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 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 core, minor and moderate.

• Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Belong serves as a Regional Alliance for churches in northern Virginia, adopting CAFO's Guiding Principles and Core Commitments. CAFO's aim is to unite organizations, churches and individuals to let every child experience God's unfailing love. This partnership provides doctrinal framework and access to broader orphan care network resources.
• The SignatryminorOthersPartnership with The Signatry enables Project Belong to receive non-cash asset donations including stocks and cryptocurrency through a dedicated charity fund (Fund ID: 2518188). This provides donors with additional giving options beyond cash donations.
• Promise686coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Belong is a proud partner of Promise686, a nonprofit that provides advocates, churches, and volunteers with resources and training to support foster, kinship, adoptive, and vulnerable families. Research from Promise686's Care Community program demonstrates strong success in reducing foster parent burnout and improving placement stability. Project Belong implements similar support models in Virginia.
• Her PLANminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHer PLAN is a directory of life-affirming, comprehensive services for women and families in Virginia. Project Belong references this resource to connect families with additional support services covering medical, social, and material support needs.
• Virginia Kids BelongmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerVirginia Kids Belong mobilizes churches, governments, and businesses to help create belonging for every child by recruiting more foster and adoptive families, engaging wrap-around support for at-risk youth, and helping aged-out youth reach their full potential. Listed as a helpful resource for churches.
• Family-MatchminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFamily-Match is referenced as a pathway for prospective foster parents to begin their licensing process. Project Belong connects interested individuals with this platform for foster parent recruitment and training.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Focus on the Family: Large national Christian family-advocacy organization with a foster/adoption ministry track; broader in scope than Project Belong but operating in the same faith-based family-support category and overlapping in trauma-informed resources.
• Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO): National umbrella network uniting hundreds of orphan-care and foster-care ministries, of which Project Belong is a Regional Alliance. CAFO sets doctrinal and operational standards and convenes the broader movement.

Direct peers

• Lifesong for Orphans: Faith-based orphan-care ministry providing financial grants to adoptive and foster families and mobilizing local churches for wraparound support — closely parallel model and donor ecosystem.
• The Forgotten Initiative: Faith-based organization specifically focused on mobilizing local churches to serve foster and adoptive families through Care Communities and church partnerships — near-identical operating model to Project Belong, deployed in other states.
• Show Hope: Faith-based nonprofit providing adoption aid grants and Care Portal-style church mobilization for foster families — directly comparable mission, donor base, and faith-based church-engagement model to Project Belong.
• Promise686: Atlanta-based nonprofit pioneering the Care Community model that Project Belong explicitly implements. Both organizations train church volunteer teams to wrap around foster, adoptive, and kinship families with measurable retention outcomes.
• Virginia Kids Belong: Virginia-focused nonprofit that mobilizes churches, governments, and businesses to recruit foster/adoptive families and provide wrap-around support — directly overlapping with Project Belong's church-mobilization and aged-out youth mentoring work in the same state.

Emerging players

• Together for Adoption: Faith-based nonprofit mobilizing churches and individuals around adoption and orphan care, with national convening and grants — overlaps Project Belong's church-mobilization and donor-network function but operates more at an advocacy/convening level.
• Care Portal: Tech-enabled platform connecting child welfare caseworkers with local churches to meet tangible needs of foster families — a more tech-forward adjacent model in the same church-mobilization-for-foster-care category.
• Empowered to Connect: Faith-based organization promoting Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and trauma-informed parenting — directly comparable to Project Belong's Cultivate Connection Cohorts and Resources/Lending Library programs, and a likely resource partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/projectbelongva
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-belong-va

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Project Belong VA