What Rising Hope Inc. does

Rising Hope Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1995 that delivers college-level courses to incarcerated individuals in New York State prisons. The organization operates on an all-volunteer basis, with no paid employees, and currently maintains active programs at three correctional facilities: Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Fishkill Correctional Facility, and Woodbourne Correctional Facility. Its mission is to provide access to higher education for incarcerated populations, with a model grounded in volunteer faculty instruction and structured academic coursework.

The organization's core offering is classroom- and correspondence-based college instruction, supplemented by an articulation agreement with Nyack College (in place since 2012) that allows students to transfer credits toward a baccalaureate degree, and curriculum co-development with New York Theological Seminary. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the program pivoted from in-person instruction to a correspondence-based delivery model to maintain continuity when prison access was restricted. The 30th anniversary of the organization was marked in 2025, underscoring three decades of operational continuity.

Revenue is generated exclusively through charitable donations; no tuition is charged to students, and financial details are not publicly disclosed. The organization operates without a paid staff, which implies an extremely lean cost structure and limits capacity for rapid scaling. Its value proposition is social impact rather than commercial return, and its sustainability is tied to volunteer engagement, donor support, and continued institutional access to New York State correctional facilities.

Name

Rising Hope Inc.

Legal name

Rising Hope, Inc.

Website

https://risinghopeinc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rising Hope Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 that delivers volunteer-taught, college-level courses to incarcerated individuals across three New York State correctional facilities, funded entirely by donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Correctional Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Correctional Education Programs (Community College-Delivered) (EDAHADAN)

Keywords

• Prison education programs
• Correctional facility courses
• Ministry training
• Human services education
• Post-secondary certificate programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Kingston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Rising Hope relies entirely on donations and charitable contributions from individuals, foundations, and community supporters. The organization maintains an all-volunteer structure specifically to avoid fundraising burden and maximize cost-effectiveness.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rising Hope, Inc. delivers a free, college-level post-secondary certificate program — the Rising Hope Program in Ministry and Human Services — to incarcerated individuals inside New York State correctional facilities (Sing Sing, Fishkill, and Woodbourne). Coursework is taught in person by volunteer faculty and is equivalent to roughly 20–33 credit hours, with an articulation agreement that allows credits to transfer toward a degree at Nyack College.

Product overview

Rising Hope Inc. operates as a single, unified educational program focused on prison education. The core offering is the Rising Hope Program in Ministry and Human Services, a post-secondary certificate program that provides college-level courses to people incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities (Sing Sing, Fishkill, and Woodbourne Correctional Facilities). The program is delivered by volunteer instructors and is offered without cost to students. It is designed to prepare incarcerated individuals for ministry or work in helping professions both during incarceration and after release.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rising Hope Program in Ministry and Human Services A post-secondary certificate program providing college-level courses (equivalent to 20–33 credit hours) in theology, ethics, Hebrew Bible, New Testament, sociology, and related subjects to incarcerated individuals in New York State correctional facilities. The program is delivered in person by volunteer faculty at Sing Sing, Fishkill, and Woodbourne Correctional Facilities, free of charge to students, and prepares them for ministry or work in helping professions during incarceration and after release. Coursework carries an articulation agreement with Nyack College for degree credit transfer.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nyack CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012As of 2012, Rising Hope established an articulation agreement with Nyack College in Nyack, NY, allowing students to receive credit for Rising Hope coursework toward a degree at Nyack College.
• Exodus Transitional CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExodus Transitional Community supports formerly incarcerated individuals with resume creation, employment interviews, interview wardrobes, and anger management classes. They shared their space for Rising Hope's alumni gathering.
• New York Theological SeminarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Certificate Program in Ministry and Human Services was created with the involvement of NYTS. Incarcerated graduates who had received Masters in Theological Studies helped develop the program. The curriculum mirrors the NYTS master's degree curriculum and allows facilitated instruction by incarcerated NYTS graduates.
• Hudson Link for Higher Education in PrisonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlumni Dario Peña works as Student Success Manager for Justice Through Code at Columbia University, and Sean Pica serves as Executive Director of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, the largest in-prison degree granting college program in New York.
• Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRising Hope alumni Charles Moore serves as Director of Operations at RTA. The movie 'Sing Sing' features the story of Rising Hope alumni and the RTA program at Sing Sing.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Petey Greene Program: Volunteer-based tutoring and college-prep program for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. Closely comparable mission, volunteer-driven delivery model, and focus on post-secondary access for justice-involved learners.
• Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison: The largest in-prison degree-granting college program in New York, providing college courses to incarcerated individuals across multiple NY State facilities. Directly comparable as a NY-based correctional education nonprofit with overlapping facility footprint and student population.
• College Initiative: Nonprofit that helps currently and formerly incarcerated individuals access and succeed in college. Directly comparable as a correctional education nonprofit targeting the same reentry-through-higher-education outcomes.
• Rehabilitation Through the Arts: Nonprofit offering arts programming inside NY State prisons including Sing Sing. Directly comparable as an in-prison education nonprofit at the same facility, with multiple Rising Hope alumni serving in RTA leadership roles.
• New York Theological Seminary: Core curriculum partner whose Master's-level curriculum Rising Hope mirrors. Comparable as a seminary-based theological educator serving justice-involved learners and a feeder institution for Rising Hope's instructor pipeline.
• Exodus Transitional Community: Reentry nonprofit serving formerly incarcerated individuals with workforce, housing, and case management support. Comparable as a NY-based reentry-focused nonprofit that hosts Rising Hope alumni gatherings and serves overlapping populations.

Broad incumbents

• The Osborne Association: One of the largest and oldest NY-based nonprofits serving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals across reentry, education, and family services. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating in the same correctional education and reentry space.
• Bard College Prison Initiative: One of the most established and well-funded in-prison college degree programs in the U.S. Comparable as a higher-education-anchored correctional education provider offering rigorous post-secondary credentials to incarcerated learners.

Emerging players

• Center for Justice at Columbia University: Hosts the Justice Through Code program where Rising Hope's VP Dario Peña works. Comparable as a university-anchored program providing technology and workforce education to justice-involved individuals in NY.

Regional players

• Defy Ventures: Nonprofit offering entrepreneurship and career-readiness training to currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. Comparable as a reentry-education nonprofit targeting workforce reintegration outcomes for similar populations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@RisingHopeInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/Rising-Hope-INC-348667535314341
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rising-hope-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/risinghopeinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Rising Hope Inc.