SpeakUp!

What SpeakUp! does

SpeakUp! is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2000 by Martie Gillin (Mrs. G), inspired by the loss of her son Bob to AIDS in 1992. The organization operates a youth-driven, experiential program that brings together middle and high school students, parenting adults, and school adults in the same space for facilitated conversations about challenges teens face, including stress, relationships, mental health, drugs and alcohol, suicide, and social media. Its core offering is a 2.5-hour school-based event requiring an assembly space with AV equipment plus classroom breakouts, anchored by Student Leadership Teams at each partner school. Programming extends beyond the school event into a "Continue the Conversation" series comprising Parenting Adult Coffees (in-person and virtual), Grandparent Coffees, 8-hour Youth Mental Health First Aid training, and QPR Suicide Prevention Training, plus downloadable tool libraries for students and parents.

SpeakUp! is a service-and-facilitation organization, not a technology company: it has no proprietary software platform, AI/ML capabilities, patents, or APIs, and delivery is delivered by trained human Program Specialists and school facilitators. Its effectiveness has been formally validated by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Center for Parent and Teen Communication and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, which jointly published a white paper titled "Proven Conversations, Stronger Connections: The SpeakUp! Effect." Outcome metrics from post-event surveys consistently fall in the 80%-94% range across six measures (e.g., 94% gained understanding of others' perspectives, 91% of school adults feel better equipped).

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit revenue stack: (1) quote-based, multi-year school program fees paid by partner schools; (2) individual donations (check, Venmo, phone, donor-advised funds); (3) corporate sponsorships at tiered levels; and (4) foundation grants from a diversified base of approximately 18 named funders including the Connelly Foundation, Uncommon Individual Foundation, McCausland Foundation, Spring Point Partners, Dalio Foundation, WSFS Bank, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, and Softerware. Go-to-market is community-led and relationship-driven: schools must commit with support from principals, dedicated teachers, counselors, and Student Leadership Teams, with outreach supplemented by a podcast (SpeakUp! Spotlight), email newsletter, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram), and earned media. SpeakUp! currently reaches 2,800+ youth and adults annually through 30 active partner middle and high schools in the Greater Philadelphia Region and New Jersey, with a cumulative footprint of 35,000+ youth and families over two decades.

Name

SpeakUp!

Legal name

SpeakUp!

Website

https://speakup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SpeakUp! is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs youth-driven, school-based programs in 30 middle and high schools across Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey, bringing together students, parents, and educators for facilitated conversations on teen mental health, relationships, and stress.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social-Emotional Learning Programs

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Public Speaking & Debate Programs (Live/Recorded) (EDAMAOAD)

Keywords

• Youth communication programs
• Social emotional learning
• Suicide prevention training
• Parent education programs
• School facilitation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Devon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Direct donations from individuals supporting the nonprofit's mission. The organization has a 25th Anniversary Individual Donor Information Packet and accepts donations via check, Venmo, phone, and donor-advised funds.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate partners sponsor the program at various tiers to help expand SpeakUp! to reach more students, parenting adults, and school adults. Sponsorship packets are available.
3. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations including Connelly Foundation, Uncommon Individual Foundation, McCausland Foundation, Tague Lumber, Bernstein Family Foundation, Chappell-Culpeper Family Foundation, NSM Insurance Group, Spring Point Partners, Vault Communications, Springfield Hyundai, Bright Funds Foundation, Armstrong Foundation, Maverick Capital Foundation, Relay Network, Dalio Foundation, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, WSFS Bank, and Softerware.
4. School Program Fees: Schools pay fees to participate in the SpeakUp! program. For program fees information, schools contact the Program Director at [email protected].

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SpeakUp! delivers school-based experiential programs that bring middle and high school students together with parenting adults and school adults for facilitated, youth-driven conversations on sensitive topics such as mental health, stress, relationships, drugs/alcohol, suicide, and social media. The core school offering is delivered via contracted in-school events and is paired with the Continue the Conversation community series, podcast content, downloadable Student Tools and Parenting Tools, and professional development for school adults.

Product overview

SpeakUp! is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization operating as a single, unified youth communication program rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering consists of a school-based program that brings together youth, parenting adults, and school adults for open conversations about topics affecting teens. This is complemented by the Continue the Conversation Series, which includes Parenting Adult Coffees, Grandparent Coffees, Youth Mental Health First Aid Training, and QPR Suicide Prevention Training. Additional offerings include the SpeakUp! Podcast series, Student Leadership Team participation, Professional Development for school adults, and downloadable resource tools for students and parents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School-Based Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of participants gained an understanding of others' perspectives
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Center for Parent and Teen CommunicationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHOP researchers conducted formal research validating SpeakUp!'s effectiveness. A white paper titled 'Proven Conversations, Stronger Connections: The SpeakUp! Effect' was published affirming that 'SpeakUp! presents a promising and innovative approach to addressing the communication barriers between teenagers and adults in their lives.'
• University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPenn GSE researchers collaborated with CHOP to confirm the effectiveness of SpeakUp! programs in strengthening communication between youth and adults.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Child Mind Institute: Nonprofit working on children's mental health through education, clinical care, and school partnerships. Broad incumbent: addresses overlapping child/adolescent mental health topics and provides school-facing resources, though with a clinical-research orientation rather than experiential events.
• The Trevor Project: Large national nonprofit providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth, with school outreach. Broad incumbent: overlaps on teen suicide prevention and school-based education but operates at national scale with a crisis hotline as the flagship offering.
• Sandy Hook Promise: National nonprofit offering school-based 'Start With Hello' and Say Something programs focused on social isolation and violence prevention. Broad incumbent: operates at much larger scale with similar school-district sales motion and overlapping youth mental health/safety themes.
• The Jed Foundation: Major nonprofit protecting teen and young adult emotional health and suicide prevention through school and college programming. Broad incumbent: overlaps on teen mental health and help-seeking but serves a broader (including higher ed) audience with consulting-driven delivery.

Emerging players

• Common Sense Media: Nonprofit providing media/technology guidance and SEL/mental health resources for families and schools. Emerging player: addresses overlapping parent–teen communication and mental health content, with much broader digital distribution and a media-ratings model rather than school-event delivery.
• Born This Way Foundation: Foundation co-founded by Lady Gaga focused on youth mental health, kindness, and building supportive communities. Emerging player: comparable youth mental health/connection mission with school and community programming, but more celebrity-driven and less focused on K-12 school-delivered conversation events.

Direct peers

• Rachel's Challenge: School-based nonprofit delivering presentations and programs to create safe, connected school climates. Direct peer: same K-12 assembly-and-program distribution model, same mission of building student–adult connection and culture change in partner schools.
• Active Minds: National nonprofit equipping students in K-12 and higher education to lead mental health awareness and suicide prevention programs. Closest direct peer: delivers school-based, youth-driven programming on the same sensitive topics (mental health, suicide) as SpeakUp!, with a similarly school-partnership distribution model.
• Challenge Day: Nonprofit running day-long experiential school programs that bring together students and adults to build empathy and connection. Direct peer: nearly identical experiential, in-school workshop format targeting middle/high school culture change around difficult conversations.
• Sources of Strength: Youth-led mental health promotion and suicide prevention program operating in middle and high schools nationwide. Direct peer: same school-district distribution, youth-led facilitator model, and focus on building trusted-adult connections and help-seeking behavior among teens.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubespeakup.org/podcast
• Facebookfacebook.com/111150432274568
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/speakuporg
• Instagraminstagram.com/speakuporg

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 SpeakUp!