Inspiring Minds

What Inspiring Minds does

Inspiring Minds is a 501(c)-style nonprofit organization founded in 2006 by former Penn State and NFL player Deryck Toles in Warren, Ohio. It provides free year-round after-school tutoring, mentoring, and summer enrichment programming to under-represented K-12 students across seven chapters in five states — Warren and Youngstown (Ohio), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), New York City (Brooklyn/Bedford-Stuyvesant), Raleigh-Durham (North Carolina), Dayton (Ohio), and Columbus (Ohio) — serving more than 1,000 students annually (with cumulative lifetime reach above 6,000 students since 2006). Service delivery is organized around a proprietary five-pillar framework called the "Five Areas of IMpact": Education, College & Career Readiness, Exposure to New Experiences, Health & Wellness, and Personal Development, including ACT/SAT prep, a student career portfolio, an annual summer marketplace with 30+ student-run businesses, exposure trips that have cumulatively visited 90+ cities, 20 states, 5 countries and 80+ colleges, and paid summer internships via the Summer Career Development Program. A 25,000-square-foot headquarters in Warren anchors operations, with major institutional partners including 717 Credit Union, DeSalvo Construction, AT&T (Aspire), the Youngstown Business Incubator, Kent State University at Trumbull, and Warren City Schools.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations, sponsorships, grants, and event fundraising rather than tuition, because programs are free to enrolled K-12 students. Streams include (1) individual one-time and recurring donations processed through Zeffy (zero-fee) and PayPal, including a defined $2,500-per-student-per-year Sponsor-A-Student level and planned-giving instruments; (2) multi-tier corporate event sponsorships (Title, Presenting, Future, Education, Exposure, Impact) plus payroll giving, employer matching gifts, customer round-up programs, and Adopt-A-Program underwriting; (3) restricted and unrestricted foundation/corporate grants from funders such as the Youngstown Foundation ($100,000 in 2024), William Penn Foundation ($35,000 in 2021), Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women (multi-year, 2022), AT&T Aspire ($10,000 in 2018), the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley ($15,000 in 2025) and the Western Reserve Health Foundation ($20,000 in 2025); and (4) special-event fundraising via the annual Fundraising Gala (600+ attendees), Celebrity Golf Outing, Youngstown Black Tie Affair, and Annual IM Youth Conference. Core technology is undifferentiated commodity web infrastructure — a WordPress site (imyouth.org), Zeffy and PayPal donation processing, iContact newsletters, and standard social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X/Twitter), with Google Classroom used during COVID-19 remote instruction. There is no proprietary technology, mobile app, API, or software product; the operating moat is programmatic and community-based, not technological.

Name

Inspiring Minds

Legal name

Inspiring Minds

Website

https://imyouth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Inspiring Minds is a nonprofit founded in 2006 in Warren, Ohio that provides free K-12 after-school tutoring, mentoring, summer enrichment, and exposure trips to under-represented youth across seven chapters in five states (Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina), serving more than 1,000 students annually under its five-pillar "Five Areas of IMpact" framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

Keywords

• After-school enrichment
• Summer youth programs
• Mentorship services
• College readiness
• Youth development

Headquarters

HQ city

Warren

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual donations: One-time and recurring online donations via Zeffy and PayPal, including a defined $2,500-per-student-per-year Sponsor-A-Student program, plus planned giving instruments (bequests, gifts of securities, gifts of life insurance).
2. Corporate giving and sponsorships: Multi-tier event sponsorships (Title, Presenting, Future, Education, Exposure, Impact), payroll giving, employer matching gifts, customer round-up programs, Adopt-A-Program underwriting, and industry tours/internship hosting.
3. Foundation and corporate grants: Restricted and unrestricted grants from foundations and corporate philanthropy, including the Youngstown Foundation ($100,000 in 2024), William Penn Foundation Racial Equity Grant Fund ($20,000-$35,000 in 2021), Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Impact Grant (2022), and Raymond John Wean Foundation (exposure trips).
4. Special-event fundraising: Annual Fundraising Gala (Title Sponsor: 717 Credit Union), Warren Celebrity Golf Outing (Presented by DeSalvo Construction), Youngstown Black Tie Affair, and Annual IM Youth Conference, each featuring tiered sponsorship packages and ticket sales.
5. Matching-gift and cause-marketing campaigns: Time-bound corporate matching campaigns (e.g., DeSalvo Construction Giving Tuesday 100% match up to $25,000 per organization) and Community Foundation of Western PA & Eastern OH matching-donation drives via paohgives.org.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Inspiring Minds delivers free after-school and summer enrichment programming to K-12 students across seven US chapters, organized around five pillars called the Areas of IMpact: Education, College & Career Readiness, Exposure to New Experiences, Health & Wellness, and Personal Development. The organization complements core tutoring and mentoring with paid summer internships, exposure trips to colleges and cities, and a student-run entrepreneurship marketplace.

Product overview

Inspiring Minds operates as a single unified nonprofit youth-services program portfolio rather than a modular technology product. The core offering is free after-school and summer programming delivered to K-12 students across seven chapters (Warren, Youngstown, Philadelphia, New York City, Raleigh-Durham, Dayton, Columbus), organized around five named pillars called "Areas of IMpact": Education, College & Career Readiness, Exposure to New Experiences, Health & Wellness, and Personal Development. Surrounding the core programming are named supporting services and events including the After-School Enrichment Program, Summer Enrichment Program, Summer Career Development Program (paid internships), Mentor Program, Volunteer Program, and the Inspiring Minds Youth Marketplace entrepreneurship track. Annual fundraising and community events — including the Annual Fundraising Gala, the IM Celebrity Golf Outing, and the Annual IM Youth Conference — sit alongside the programming as community and donor engagement offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Inspiring Minds Youngstown: Youngstown, Ohio chapter of Inspiring Minds; provides tutoring, mentoring and recreational services for high school students, operated by Executive Director Stephanie Gilchrist.
• Inspiring Minds NYC (Communiversity)
• IM Fundraising Gala
• Annual IM Youth Conference
• IM Celebrity Golf Outing (Warren)

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• DeSalvo ConstructionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresenting sponsor of the IM Celebrity Golf Outing and matching-gift partner for Giving Tuesday (Nov 2023). DeSalvo Construction matched 100% of all donations to Inspiring Minds and the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, up to $25,000 per organization.
• Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYBI sponsors the Inspiring Minds Youth Marketplace, providing scholar showcases, entrepreneurship coaching, and the Women in Entrepreneurship program (Director Stephanie Gilchrist / later Megan Payich). YBI also received a $5,000 AT&T Aspire grant in 2016 to introduce entrepreneurship to Inspiring Minds summer-camp girls.
• International Partners in MissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized and led Inspiring Minds' El Salvador exposure trip (May-June 2018); an organization that has conducted international immersion trips worldwide for over 40 years.
• Kent State University at TrumbullcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing Inspiring Minds partner that hosted the Youth College Expo Day (June 29, 2023) and the Annual IM Youth Conference (February 21, 2026) for grades 6-12.
• United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-beneficiary of the DeSalvo Construction Giving Tuesday 100% matching campaign in November 2023, alongside Inspiring Minds of Warren.
• Chase BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSends community representatives to coach Inspiring Minds students at summer-market business-decision workshops (alongside 717 Credit Union, Kent State University at Trumbull, and Shepherd of the Valley).
• Shepherd of the ValleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSends community representatives to coach Inspiring Minds students at summer-market business-decision workshops.
• Youngstown State University (YSU) / Ohio Department of Higher Education / Ohio Department of Aging / Mature Services / Eastern Gateway Community College / Mahoning Valley United WayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in the GIVE Back. GO Forward. volunteer program (founded 2015), which lets Ohioans ages 60+ who volunteer 100 hours earn free three-credit tuition vouchers at YSU or EGCC. Inspiring Minds volunteer William Henderson donated his vouchers to IM alumnus Denzel Stevens.
• My Brother's Keeper InitiativeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInspiring Minds participates as a My Brother's Keeper (MBK) program partner in Youngstown and Warren (launched January 2017 with Senator Sherrod Brown), connecting young men of color with mentors starting in 8th grade.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth-development nonprofit offering after-school and summer programming for K-12 youth across 1,100+ chapters. Comparable because it serves the same beneficiary segment with free after-school/summer enrichment, though at vastly greater scale and as part of a federated national portfolio rather than a single founder-led regional network.
• KIPP Foundation: Large charter-school network supporting under-represented K-12 students through college with a K-through-Career framing identical to Inspiring Minds' pipeline. Comparable mission and outcome framing; differs as a charter-school operator rather than a supplemental enrichment nonprofit, and at materially greater scale.
• National Urban League: Large historic civil-rights and education nonprofit with local affiliates delivering youth-education, workforce, and college-readiness programming. Comparable to Inspiring Minds' African-American youth focus, after-school/summer enrichment, and exposure-to-careers model; differs as a federation of 90+ affiliates at much greater scale.
• Year Up: Large workforce-development nonprofit providing training, internships, and corporate placement for young adults from under-represented backgrounds. Comparable to Inspiring Minds' Summer Career Development Program, internship partnerships with companies like Chase, and Career & College Readiness pillar; differs in targeting young adults rather than K-12.

Direct peers

• iMentor: Nonprofit pairing adult mentors with high school students from under-represented communities to support college access and graduation. Comparable to Inspiring Minds' Mentor Program and College & Career Readiness pillar; differs in technology-driven virtual mentoring approach.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit providing college access and success coaching to first-generation students from under-represented backgrounds, including free programming and exposure trips. Directly comparable to Inspiring Minds' college readiness, ACT/SAT prep, and exposure-trip offerings; differs by being more narrowly focused on the post-secondary transition rather than K-12 enrichment.
• 100 Black Men of America: National nonprofit of predominantly Black male mentors supporting youth education, college access, and economic empowerment through local chapters. Comparable to Inspiring Minds' community-led chapter expansion, K-12 mentorship focus, and exposure-trip/college-readiness offerings; serves a similar African-American youth demographic.
• A Better Chance: Nonprofit that places high-achieving students of color into independent and public college-prep schools, providing college-readiness support. Comparable to Inspiring Minds' College & Career Readiness pillar and exposure trips to 80+ colleges; differs in recruiting top-quartile students for school placement versus serving all K-12 free.
• College Track: Nonprofit that supports under-represented high school students through college graduation via after-school centers, college visits, and career exposure. Directly comparable to Inspiring Minds' College & Career Readiness pillar, exposure trips to 80+ colleges, and free programming for K-12 youth; differs in being more college-completion focused and West-Coast anchored.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: National youth-mentoring nonprofit pairing adult mentors with K-12 youth, with strong emphasis on college/career readiness for under-represented youth. Directly comparable to Inspiring Minds' Mentor Program, My Brother's Keeper involvement, and College & Career Readiness pillar; differs in operating a one-on-one mentor model versus a chapter-based enrichment model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Ximyouth.org/newsletter-sign-up
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/InspiringMindsYouth
• Facebookfacebook.com/inspiringmindsyouth
• Instagraminstagram.com/inspiringmindsyouth
• TikToktiktok.com/@inspiringmindsyouth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inspiring-minds-youth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inspiring Minds