Volunteers In Public Schools

What Volunteers In Public Schools does

Volunteers In Public Schools (VIPS) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1981 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in response to declining public school enrollment following a federal court busing mandate. The organization recruits, trains, screens, and places dedicated volunteers and community partners into East Baton Rouge Parish public schools to provide one-on-one tutoring and resource support to underperforming students. VIPS operates three core programs: EveryBody Reads (literacy tutoring pairing Reading Friends with pre-K through 2nd grade students), EveryOne Counts (numeracy tutoring pairing Math Friends with K-3 grade students), and Partners In Education, a partnership program engaging businesses, nonprofits, faith institutions, and universities in school support activities. Each year the organization serves approximately 1,000 students recommended by teachers and places over 500 volunteers into schools, with documented outcomes including a 14.5% reading assessment improvement for students receiving 10-15 consistent tutoring sessions.

VIPS is funded entirely through donations, grants, and community support, processed via the GivePulse donation platform, with all services provided free of charge to students, teachers, and schools. The organization employs 17 people including a five-person core leadership team (Executive Director, Volunteer & Community Partners Director, Program Manager, Operations Manager, and EveryOne Counts coordinator) and is governed by a Board of Directors comprising local business, healthcare, and education sector leaders. The operating model is entirely human-mediated with no technology platform, app, or AI tooling; volunteer training is delivered both in-person and via Zoom, and the organization maintains a basic website, email newsletter, and social media presence across five platforms. Geographically, VIPS operates exclusively within East Baton Rouge Parish with particular focus on North Baton Rouge schools identified as having the highest need, and has a named partnership with the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA).

Name

Volunteers In Public Schools

Legal name

Volunteers In Public Schools

Website

https://vipsbr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Volunteers In Public Schools is a 1981-founded Baton Rouge nonprofit that recruits, trains, and places over 500 volunteers annually into East Baton Rouge Parish public schools to deliver one-on-one literacy and math tutoring to approximately 1,000 underperforming students each year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA)

Keywords

• Volunteer tutoring programs
• Literacy tutoring services
• Math tutoring services
• School volunteer placement
• Community education partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Baton Rouge

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Support: VIPS operates as an independent nonprofit organization that relies on donations, grants, and community support to fund its operations. The organization accepts donations through GivePulse platform and partners with businesses and organizations for support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

VIPS recruits, trains, screens, and places dedicated volunteers and community partners into East Baton Rouge Parish public schools. Its core service is one-on-one tutoring delivered by trained volunteers to underperforming students: EveryBody Reads (literacy, Pre-K through 2nd grade) and EveryOne Counts (math, K-3rd grade). The Partners In Education (PIE) program enlists businesses, organizations, and institutions to support public schools through volunteering, educational programming, grants, and other resources.

Product overview

Volunteers In Public Schools (VIPS) is a nonprofit organization that operates as a single unified program portfolio rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The organization offers three core programs: EveryBody Reads (literacy tutoring), EveryOne Counts (math tutoring), and Partners In Education (community partnership facilitation). All programs center on recruiting, training, and placing volunteer tutors into East Baton Rouge Parish public schools to support underperforming students. Volunteers are matched through a structured screening and training process, then paired with individual students for weekly 30-45 minute tutoring sessions throughout the school year. The organization places over 500 volunteers annually and supports approximately 1,000 students each year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EveryBody Reads Literacy tutoring program that pairs trained volunteer Reading Friends one-on-one with Pre-K through 2nd grade students in East Baton Rouge Parish public schools who are underperforming in reading by one or two levels. Tutoring strengthens fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, phonics, and sight words through weekly sessions.
• EveryOne Counts Math tutoring program that pairs trained volunteer Math Friends one-on-one with kindergarten through 3rd grade students to master fundamentals including addition, subtraction, multiplication, number recognition, counting, and division. Designed for students recommended by teachers who need additional foundational math support in a confidence-building environment.
• Partners In Education (PIE) Community partnership program that enlists businesses, organizations, and institutions to support public education through volunteering, educational programming, grants, event support, school beautification, teacher appreciation, in-kind donations, field trip sponsorship, student wellness programs, mentorship, and STEM clubs.
• Volunteer Training Volunteer training program required for Reading Friends and Math Friends before tutoring placement, offered in-person and virtually via Zoom. Volunteers must be 18+, pass a background check, and complete approximately 1 hour 20 minutes of training before being paired with students.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students receiving 10-15 consistent tutoring sessions from Reading Friends improve by 14.5% on standardized reading assessments compared to unpaired recommended students
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

One partnership is on record.

• LOSFA (Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023LOSFA is highlighted as a partnership on the Partners In Education page, indicating a collaborative relationship to foster student success and build support for public education in Louisiana.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Literacy Inc (LINC): NYC-based nonprofit mobilizing community volunteers to support early literacy in under-resourced public schools. Directly comparable in volunteer-recruitment model, K–2 focus, and school-district partnership structure.
• Communities In Schools: National nonprofit that places coordinators inside public schools to connect students to community resources, tutoring, and basic needs support. Comparable mission of leveraging community volunteers and partners to improve K–12 outcomes.
• AARP Foundation Experience Corps: Operates volunteer-led literacy and math tutoring programs in K–3 classrooms using older adult volunteers. Directly comparable in program design, age-cohort targeting, and urban-district placement strategy.
• Reading Partners: National nonprofit that recruits, trains, and places volunteer tutors for one-on-one literacy instruction in low-income elementary schools. Highly comparable in mission, volunteer-led 1:1 model, K–3 focus, and measurable reading-outcome claims.

Regional players

• United Way of Greater Baton Rouge: Regional funder and convener that channels corporate and individual donations into local education, including literacy programs. Functions as both a potential funder for VIPS and a comparable community-coordination nonprofit in the same geography.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Baton Rouge: Regional youth-development nonprofit providing after-school academic support, mentoring, and enrichment in Baton Rouge. Operates in the same geography and addresses overlapping K–12 student-population needs, but via facilities-based programming rather than school-day tutoring.

Broad incumbents

• Reading Is Fundamental (RIF): Largest national children's literacy nonprofit, focused on book distribution and literacy resources rather than 1:1 tutoring. Comparable literacy mission and K–3 audience but operates at a much larger, more diffuse scale.

Emerging players

• School on Wheels: Nonprofit providing volunteer tutors and school supplies to K–12 students experiencing homelessness. Comparable volunteer-tutoring model and K–12 audience, with a specialized population focus that partially overlaps with VIPS's at-risk student base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vips_br
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@1981VIPS
• Facebookfacebook.com/Volunteers-In-Public-Schools-168938123128741
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/volunteers-in-public-schools
• Instagraminstagram.com/vipsbatonrouge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Volunteers In Public Schools