Young Man With a Plan

What Young Man With a Plan does

Young Man With a Plan (YMWAP) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2015 and headquartered in Hyde Park, Boston, Massachusetts, that delivers year-round holistic mentoring sustained over 6+ years to 375+ young Black and Latino men across 8 partner Boston schools (a mix of district and charter). The organization targets youth described as "in the middle" - neither highflyers nor acutely at-risk - who lack a place to belong and benefit from sustained guidance. Its core product is a multi-level mentoring model combining staff mentors, school-based mentors (primarily Black and Latino men), and near-peer mentors who deliver 3 hours of weekly in-school programming plus summer programming. The curriculum is research-informed, grounded in Executive Director Dr. Jaykyri Simpson's doctoral dissertation on college persistence in Black males, and incorporates individualized Success Planning covering academic, social-emotional, critical thinking, and financial literacy development. Additional offerings include the Men of Color Career Night (delivered with the Boston Private Industry Council and Life Science Cares), a wellness partnership with Boston Children's Hospital, and the Young Man Institute (YMI), launched in December 2024 as a convening arm for educators, families, and the community.

YMWAP operates as a private nonprofit with no parent company or equity investors, governed by a board including Thabiti Brown (Board President), Shannah Varón (Treasurer), and others. The organization employs 18 staff across executive leadership (Dr. Simpson), program operations (Desmond Kennard), development (Marcia Felth, Elo Deneus), finance/HR (Martin Familia), and program management (Lenward Gatison II, Justin McAfee, T. Max Coren). Disclosed program outcomes include 100% high school graduation, 90% five-year retention, 82% pursuit of higher education, 96% social-emotional gains, and 75% academic progress in a typical year. The organization has accumulated recognition including 2024 Omega Life Membership Impact Fund Winner, 2022 Social Innovation Forum Social Innovator, 2019 Barr Fellow recognition for its board president, and ongoing collaborations with the City of Boston Office of Black Male Advancement, Boston Police Department, and New Commonwealth Fund.

Revenue is generated through donations and grants from a diversified base of over 50 supporters, including foundations (Boston Foundation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Cummings Foundation, Charles Hayden Foundation), corporate funders (Vertex Foundation, Fidelity Foundation, Mass General Brigham, ALKU Foundation), and government entities (City of Boston). Programs are delivered free of charge to participants. In January 2026, YMWAP closed on 1178 River Street in Hyde Park as its permanent headquarters, with the ALKU Foundation as the first supporter of the YMWAP Comes Home Capital Campaign; a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held May 19, 2026. Distribution is exclusively regional, concentrated in the Boston metropolitan area.

Name

Young Man With a Plan

Legal name

Young Man With A Plan

Website

https://youngmanwithaplan.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Young Man With a Plan is a Boston-based 501c3 nonprofit delivering year-round, multi-level holistic mentoring to over 375 young Black and Latino men across 8 partner schools, achieving 100% high school graduation and 82% higher education pursuit rates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hyde Park, Boston

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, YMWAP generates revenue primarily through charitable donations from individuals and institutional grants from foundations and government entities. The organization lists over 50 financial supporters including foundations, corporations, and government agencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Young Man With a Plan (YMWAP) is a Boston-based nonprofit that delivers a holistic, year-round multi-level mentoring program for young Black and Latino men in grades 6-12+. Participants receive 3 hours of weekly mentoring from staff and school-based and near-peer mentors during the school year, plus summer programming and individualized success planning. Services are delivered across 8 partner Boston schools, with 375+ young men served annually.

Product overview

Young Man With a Plan (YMWAP) is a nonprofit organization that delivers a holistic mentoring program sustained over 6+ years, serving 375+ young Black and Latino men in Boston across 8 partner schools. The core offering is a multi-level mentoring program combining school-year programming (3 hours weekly), summer programming, and individualized success planning. The organization also operates the Young Man Institute (YMI), a convening arm for educators and community thought leadership. YMWAP's approach includes research-informed strategies of creating protective community, connecting youth to caring adults, strengthening academic and social-emotional skills, encouraging wellness practices, and building quality partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Young Man Institute (YMI): A learning and convening institute launched in December 2024 for educators, families, and the community to share learning about engaging young men of color.

Products and services

• Holistic Mentoring Program Year-round multi-level mentoring program sustained over 6+ years, providing 3 hours of weekly mentoring from staff and school-based and near-peer mentors to 375+ young Black and Latino men in Boston across 8 partner schools.
• School-Year Programming Weekly 3-hour mentoring sessions delivered by staff, school-based, and near-peer mentors across 8 partner Boston schools during the academic year.
• Summer Programming Holistic mentoring delivered during summer months to help young men continue growing, feel connected, and stay accountable outside the school year.
• Success Planning Individualized success planning services that help students create plans for sustainable futures, including career knowledge building, college readiness support, and academic, social emotional, critical thinking, and financial literacy development.
• Young Man Institute (YMI) An initiative convening educators, families, and community members to share learning and best practices for engaging young men of color, featuring fireside chats and thought leadership events.
• Men of Color Career Night Career exploration initiative connecting participants with employment opportunities and career pathways through partnerships with organizations like Life Science Cares and ALKU.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of students graduate high school and avoid teen parenthood and the criminal justice system
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Boston Collegiate Charter SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of 8 partner schools in YMWAP's unique collaboration between Boston district and charter schools. YMWAP provides school-based mentoring at this location.
• Ruth Batson AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school (formerly BCLA) receiving YMWAP's multi-level mentoring services.
• Boston Prep Charter SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school in YMWAP's network of 8 Boston schools serving young men of color.
• Boston Green AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school receiving YMWAP's holistic mentoring program.
• New Mission High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school where YMWAP operates school-based mentoring and Project Ochendo.
• Codman AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner charter school in YMWAP's school network.
• TechBoston AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school receiving YMWAP's year-round mentoring services.
• Albert D. Holland School of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school (formerly Burke High School) in YMWAP's school partnership network.
• Boston Private Industry CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough PIC, YMWAP serves as a job worksite and places participating students in community jobs. Also offers Men of Color Career Night.
• Life Science CaresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for career exploration initiatives for YMWAP students.
• Boston Police DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA BPD Officer attends weekly YMWAP groups to discuss gang violence, neighborhood safety, and careers in criminal justice.
• Boston Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWellness partner; selected from 60 grantees to speak at Community Fund Annual Meeting in 2023.
• New Commonwealth FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognized YMWAP as a trusted partner in a state-funded maternal health equity public health initiative in 2023-24.
• Someone Else's Child FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner nonprofit sharing learnings on educating men of color.
• EdVestorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYMWAP serves on EdVestors Racial Equity Task Force; Dr. Simpson leads teacher dialogues.
• City of Boston Office of Black Male AdvancementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity agency partner; presented recognition at YMWAP's ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2026.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Chicago CRED (Creating Real Economic Destiny): Chicago-based program aimed at reducing gun violence by engaging young men at highest risk through mentoring, counseling, and job placement. Comparable as a city-level intervention for young men of color with intensive mentoring, though focused on acute-risk populations rather than YMWAP's "in the middle" cohort.
• Bottom Line: Boston-based college access and success nonprofit serving low-income and first-generation students. Comparable as a Boston-region college persistence program serving underrepresented youth, with overlap in higher-education pursuit outcomes that YMWAP also targets.
• Year Up: National workforce development nonprofit serving young adults from low-income communities with career training and corporate placement. Comparable as a college-and-career pathway provider for young adults of color, but focused on post-secondary job placement rather than in-school mentoring.

Others

• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership): National umbrella and advocacy organization that builds mentoring capacity and quality standards across the U.S. mentoring field. Comparable as the sector backbone supporting programs like YMWAP, though it does not directly deliver youth services.
• Concordia EdTech Partners / uCode: Edtech-adjacent skill builder that also serves middle and high school students in Boston-area schools with STEM and career exposure. Comparable as a school-embedded supplementary program for Boston youth, though focused on technical skills rather than socio-emotional mentoring.

Direct peers

• Becoming a Man (BAM) - Youth Guidance: Chicago-based school-embedded mentoring and counseling program for young men of color, with research-documented reductions in violent crime and academic gains. Highly comparable in mission (school-based mentoring for young men of color), curriculum rigor, and outcome-focused design.
• iCouldBe: Online e-mentoring nonprofit pairing underrepresented students with mentors for college and career readiness. Comparable as a youth mentoring organization targeting underrepresented populations including students of color, though its delivery is virtual rather than school-embedded.

Broad incumbents

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth development organization offering after-school and mentoring programming in Boston-area clubs. Comparable as a sustained, multi-year youth support provider serving low-income and minority youth, though its model is facility-based rather than school-embedded.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: National 1-on-1 youth mentoring nonprofit with broad reach across cities including Boston. Comparable as a school-and-community-based mentoring provider for at-promise youth, though it operates at much larger scale and broader demographic scope than YMWAP's focus on Black and Latino young men.

Regional players

• The Brotherhood for a New Tomorrow / Brotherhood Inc. (Boston): Boston-area mentoring and rites-of-passage nonprofit serving young men of color. Comparable as a same-region, same-population peer focused on brotherhood and life skills for Black and Latino youth, directly overlapping with YMWAP's mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@YMWAP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ymwap
• Instagraminstagram.com/ymwap_boston

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Young Man With a Plan