STAIRS ACADEMY NONPROFIT EDUCATION

What STAIRS ACADEMY NONPROFIT EDUCATION does

STAIRS ACADEMY is a Brooklyn-based 501(c)-style educational nonprofit founded by Graeme Sibirsky around 2016-2017, organized around the pillars of Culture, Literacy, Arts, Technology, and Health (C.L.A.T.H.). Its operating portfolio spans six product surfaces: the ACE Club expanded-day enrichment program (financial literacy, coding, arts, music technology, athletics); a 10-week semester Internship Program placing college students from Brooklyn College and BMCC into roles spanning IT support, video production, web/app development, student teaching, HR, fundraising, and digital marketing; the Cybersky educational media brand producing tutorials, interviews, documentaries, and podcasts; Professional Learning workshops for educators on EdTech and pedagogy; free community workshops in coding, Rubik's Cube, book-making, and body percussion; and School Designs consulting for charter and non-charter public schools. Underlying technology is essentially blended in-person and virtual delivery using standard educational tools (Google Classroom, Zoom) combined with video and podcast production for the Cybersky channel, with no proprietary platform documented.

The business model is donation-driven: all community programs are free to participants, and revenue is generated through charitable contributions collected via PayPal, GoFundMe, cryptocurrency, and Patreon, supplemented by modest professional development fees for educator workshops. Customers span three distinct segments — Brooklyn community members (children, teens, adults in Sunset Park and Bed-Stuy), college students and recent graduates seeking real-world experience, and K-12 educators seeking PD — with no single paying customer dominating. Strategic partnerships anchor the model: Brooklyn College Magner Career Center (since 2018), BMCC Center for Career Development (since 2022), and Arts & Letters 305 United public school provide internship pipelines and in-person placement, while the NEAR Foundation has sponsored blockchain/NFT education events. The organization remains a 6-person team, has not pursued a successful K-8 school launch (blocked by NYC's Charter Cap in 2019 and disrupted by COVID in 2020), and operates without disclosed funding rounds or revenue figures.

Name

STAIRS ACADEMY NONPROFIT EDUCATION

Legal name

STAIRS ACADEMY

Website

https://stairsacademy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Education Services

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership, Character Education & Values Development (EDAMAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Study Habits & Homework Systems Workshops (EDAMAIAL), Accelerated Learning & Grade Advancement Programs (EDAJAGAE)

Keywords

• Educational nonprofit programs
• Youth enrichment workshops
• College internship programs
• Educator professional development
• Educational media content

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Accepts donations through PayPal, GoFundMe, cryptocurrency, and Patreon. Operates as a nonprofit relying on charitable contributions from the public and supporters.
2. Professional Development Services: Provides professional learning workshops and presentations for educators and administrators on topics including Google Classroom, blended learning, Rubik's Cube pedagogy, music & technology, and coding instruction. Revenue generated through PD fees.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

STAIRS ACADEMY is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit education organization that runs college internship programs, professional development workshops for educators, community enrichment workshops for children/teens/adults, and produces entertaining educational media through its Cybersky brand. Its programs center on Culture, Literacy, Arts, Technology, and Health (C.L.A.T.H.), and include the ACE Club expanded-day program, school design initiatives, and signature events such as NFTeacher.

Product overview

STAIRS ACADEMY is a nonprofit educational organization that offers a portfolio of programs centered around Culture, Literacy, Arts, Technology, and Health. Its core offerings include the ACE Club expanded-day program for K-8 students with academic enrichment and diverse activities (arts, technology, sports, life skills); a 10-week Internship Program for college students in fields like IT, video production, web development, and education; the Cybersky Videos media brand producing educational content; Professional Learning workshops for educators on EdTech and pedagogy; and School Design initiatives for charter and non-charter public schools. The organization also provides Digital Resources (curated teaching tools) and hosts special events like NFTeacher for blockchain education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACE Club: Academics Choice & Extension - an expanded day program providing academic extension and support with enrichment activities in arts, technology, sports and life skills.

Products and services

• ACE Club (Academics Choice & Extension)

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple interns have transitioned to careers in tech fields or became teachers after completing the internship program at Arts & Letters 305 United.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BMCC Center for Career DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership with Borough of Manhattan Community College's Center for Career Development to recruit interns through the Spring 2022 Virtual Career Fair. STAIRS ACADEMY interviewed five candidates and selected one student for a Video Production Internship. The fair was hosted on Career Express, BMCC's online job platform.
• NEAR FoundationminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022NEAR Foundation was the sponsor of the NFTeacher event on November 10, 2022, an interactive tech event for teachers and creatives focused on creating NFTs. The event was held at Regency venue in Red Hook, Brooklyn, with NEAR Foundation branding as the primary sponsor. Attendees received NEAR Wallets and Proof of Attendance NFTs.
• U.S. Embassy in BelgiumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Professional exchange partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Belgium that resulted in a virtual presentation on 'Tools and Techniques to make Google Classroom Engaging' for international educators in 2020.
• Brooklyn College (Magner Career Center)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Long-standing partnership with Brooklyn College Magner Career Center for recruiting college interns. STAIRS ACADEMY has participated in the Brooklyn College Job & Internship Fair annually since 2018, interviewing students and placing interns in roles including Web & App Development, Video Production, Communications, HR & Marketing. The partnership has produced multiple cohorts of interns since 2018.
• Arts & Letters 305 United (NYC DOE Public School)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018In-person internship placement partnership at Arts & Letters 305 United, a progressive public school in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Computer Science majors serve as IT Tech Support interns while Education majors complete student teaching in Music and Technology classrooms. Interns assist with touch typing, coding, robotics, financial literacy, music production, digital DJing, and VR experiences.
• Miccio Cornerstone Community Center (Good Shepherd Services)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Miccio Cornerstone Community Center in Brooklyn served as a venue location for the STAIRS ACADEMY Info & Networking Mixer open house event to discuss the proposed charter school. Operated by Good Shepherd Services, the community center provided space for community engagement and networking.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sesame Workshop: Mission-driven educational media organization producing children's content with a focus on literacy, culture, and underserved communities; directly comparable to Cybersky as an educational-media nonprofit asset.
• Success Academy Charter Schools: NYC's largest charter network with K-12 schools across boroughs; relevant as a broader education-services incumbent that STAIRS Academy's charter ambition was originally positioned against.
• KIPP NYC: Large NYC charter school network operating across multiple boroughs serving K-12 underserved students; a broader incumbent whose enrichment and extended-day elements are comparable in concept though at much greater scale.
• Khan Academy: Nonprofit providing free digital educational content and teacher resources, comparable to STAIRS Academy's curated Digital Resources and Cybersky content libraries and its professional-development alignment with EdTech tools.

Direct peers

• After-School All-Stars: Nonprofit delivering K-8 enrichment programming in underserved communities across arts, sports, STEM, and life skills, closely mirroring STAIRS Academy's C.L.A.T.H. supplemental-enrichment model.
• ExpandED Schools: NYC-based nonprofit supporting expanded-day and enrichment programs through a network of schools and community partners, with deep Brooklyn and CUNY ties that overlap with STAIRS Academy's geographic and institutional footprint.
• Mouse: NYC-area nonprofit focused on STEM and technology education for underserved youth, comparable to STAIRS Academy's coding/robotics and EdTech components in ACE Club and Professional Learning offerings.
• Citizen Schools: National nonprofit providing expanded-day learning programs for K-8 students in underserved communities, with strong career-apprenticeship and educator-engagement models directly comparable to STAIRS Academy's ACE Club and internship programming.
• ScriptEd: Nonprofit providing coding education and tech internships for high school and college students in underserved communities, with a CUNY partnership profile that aligns with STAIRS Academy's internship pipeline model.

Emerging players

• BUILD: National nonprofit delivering entrepreneurship education for underserved youth through in-school and out-of-school programs, comparable in mission and target population to STAIRS Academy's enrichment and life-skills curriculum.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/academystairs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2Bew4v3Bfxx0T0p-YcqRwQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/academystairs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stairsacademy
• Instagraminstagram.com/academystairs
• TikToktiktok.com/@academystairs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 STAIRS ACADEMY NONPROFIT EDUCATION