Saturday Hoops

What Saturday Hoops does

Saturday Hoops is a Cincinnati-based nonprofit youth development program founded in 2007 by Ed Berg to provide a safe, structured Saturday morning environment for K-12 children, with emphasis on underserved neighborhoods including Over-The-Rhine, West End, Winton Hills, and Roll Hill. Its core offering is a weekly Saturday program (9:00am-1:00pm) combining basketball instruction, arts and crafts, yoga, reading, circuit training, mentorship, and a shared meal, delivered free of charge to participants. Operational technology is minimal: the program relies on a simple online registration and waiver system, with all programming delivered in person at partner venues.

Distribution and delivery are entirely community-embedded. Saturday Hoops operates as a mobile program hosted at partner facilities, including Lincoln Recreation Center, Winton Hills Recreation Center, AvonDale Boys and Girls Club (Dudley S. Taft Club), Roll Hill Boys and Girls Club, and Ziegler Park for summer 2026, in coordination with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati, and University of Cincinnati as program partners. The annual Dribblethon block party event, now in its 22nd year, functions as the program's flagship community engagement and donor activation moment. Since 2023, Saturday Hoops has operated as a program of Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC), enabling volunteers who connect with youth during activities to be formally matched into CYC's mentorship pipeline.

The business model is donation-funded and free to participants. Saturday Hoops employs approximately 7 staff members and serves over 700 kids annually across all program locations, with approximately 150 kids each Saturday at the larger West End and Winton Hills CRC sites. Revenue is generated entirely through charitable contributions from individuals and community partners; no fees are charged for participation. Leadership is family-driven, with founder Ed Berg's daughter Nancy Berg Costello and her husband Kevin carrying forward the organization's mission alongside Program Manager Cam Lane.

Name

Saturday Hoops

Legal name

Saturday Hoops

Website

https://saturdayhoops.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Saturday Hoops is a Cincinnati nonprofit that runs free Saturday morning programs combining basketball, mentorship, arts, fitness, and meals for K-12 youth, serving over 700 children annually through recreation centers and Boys and Girls Clubs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAKACAF

Youth & Scholastic Sports Organizations (K–12, AAU, Club Leagues)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Collegiate & Amateur Sports Organizations (NCAA, Federations, Clubs)

SECONDARYEDAJAJAB

Intramural & Recreational Sports Programs

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/K–12 Extracurriculars & Athletics (School-Run)

Keywords

• Youth mentoring
• Community youth programs
• Youth basketball clinics
• Character development
• Nonprofit enrichment

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and charitable contributions: Saturday Hoops relies on donations from community members to fund operations, provide meals, activities, and expand outreach to serve more children. The program is free for participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Saturday Hoops provides free, weekly Saturday morning programs (9:00am-1:00pm) for children K-12 in Cincinnati, combining basketball instruction, arts and crafts, yoga, reading activities, circuit training, and mentorship. Programming is delivered at multiple community partner facilities (recreation centers and Boys and Girls Clubs) across underserved neighborhoods and includes a provided meal, with supporting offerings of the annual Dribblethon block-party kickoff event, online child registration, and a volunteer recruitment program.

Product overview

Saturday Hoops is a youth development program offering a single unified weekly Saturday morning program for children. The core offering combines basketball activities with arts and crafts, yoga, reading, circuit training, and mentorship activities. The program operates year-round on Saturdays from 9:00am-1:00pm at multiple Cincinnati locations. Supporting offerings include the annual Dribblethon block party event, an online child registration system with consent/waiver forms, a CYC Mentoring Connection for formalizing volunteer-mentee relationships, volunteer recruitment across activity areas, and a donations program for community support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dribblethon: Annual block party event held in May to kick off the summer basketball and swimming program. Features games, music, free food, and gives each child their own new basketball.

Products and services

• Saturday Morning Youth Program Weekly Saturday morning program (9:00am-1:00pm) for K-12 children in Cincinnati providing basketball activities, arts and crafts, yoga, reading, circuit training, and mentorship, followed by a provided lunch. Free for all participants.
• Dribblethon Annual May block party event held as the kickoff for the summer basketball and swimming program. Features games, music, free food, and gives each child a new basketball.
• Child Sign-Up Registration Online registration system allowing parents and guardians to sign up children for Saturday Hoops activities, including consent forms, liability waivers, transportation waivers, and media release agreements.
• Volunteer Program Volunteer opportunities across physical activities (basketball drills, fitness games, yoga), creative expression (arts and crafts, music, dance), and knowledge/inspiration (reading, morning devotion, inspirational talks). Groups can also provide and serve lunch.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Saturday Hoops is now a program of Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, enabling better connection between potential mentors and mentees. CYC provides mentorship infrastructure and organizational support, while Saturday Hoops serves as a built-in mentor/mentee activity venue. The partnership allows formal mentorship matching when volunteers connect with youth during program activities.
• University of CincinnatiminorOthersLogo partner displayed on website as community supporter of Saturday Hoops programming.
• Cincinnati Recreation CommissioncoreOthersProvides recreation center facilities (Lincoln Recreation Center, Winton Hills Recreation Center) for Saturday Hoops programming. Critical venue partner enabling program delivery.
• Boys and Girls Club of Greater CincinnaticoreOthersProvides facility locations including Roll Hill Boys and Girls Club and Dudley S. Taft Club for Saturday Hoops sessions.
• La Soupe CincinnatiminorOthersFood service partner that helps provide meals for Saturday Hoops participants.
• Adopt A BookminorOthersLogo partner displayed on website as community supporter of Saturday Hoops.
• a2c photography (Amanda A Cawdney)minorOthersPhotography services provided to document Saturday Hoops activities and events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Police Athletic League (PAL): Community-based youth organization providing athletic programming, mentorship, and enrichment to underserved youth. Shares Saturday Hoops' combination of sports instruction, character development, and free access for K-12 participants.
• Amateur Athletic Union (AAU): National youth sports organization governing club-level athletic leagues and tournaments, including youth basketball. Directly comparable to Saturday Hoops' role as a K-12 basketball programming provider, though AAU is a competitive league structure rather than free enrichment.
• Up2Us Sports: National nonprofit focused on training youth sports coaches and leveraging sports-based youth development in underserved communities. Comparable mission of using athletics as a vehicle for mentorship and positive youth outcomes.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National federation of community-based youth development clubs offering sports, mentorship, arts, and academic programming to K-12 youth. Highly comparable mission and operating model to Saturday Hoops, with whom they also share an active venue partnership.
• MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership: National organization advocating for and supporting youth mentoring relationships. Directly comparable through the mentorship pillar of Saturday Hoops' program, which connects to CYC's mentoring match services.
• Positive Coaching Alliance: Nonprofit focused on developing 'better athletes, better people' through positive coaching in youth sports. Aligns with Saturday Hoops' emphasis on character development, role modeling, and core values alongside athletic activity.

Others

• National Urban League: National civil rights and urban advocacy organization with direct youth development programming in underserved communities. Thematically aligned with Saturday Hoops' focus on serving low-income Cincinnati neighborhoods.
• Cincinnati Youth Collaborative: Saturday Hoops' parent organization and direct operational partner since 2023. CYC provides the mentorship matching infrastructure and broader youth development portfolio in which Saturday Hoops operates as a flagship program.

Regional players

• Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati: Local Cincinnati affiliate of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, actively providing venue locations (Roll Hill and Dudley S. Taft Clubs) for Saturday Hoops programming. Operates comparable youth programming in the same geography.

Broad incumbents

• YMCA of the USA: Large established national nonprofit offering youth sports, mentorship, and recreation programming through a facility-based network. Overlapping in youth development mission and structured-activity model, though at significantly greater scale and broader service mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEkKoxQVRiEDHOv5x6XEf-A
• Facebookfacebook.com/saturdayhoops1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/saturdayhoops
• Instagraminstagram.com/saturdayhoops

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Saturday Hoops