Lay-Up Youth Basketball

What Lay-Up Youth Basketball does

Lay-Up Youth Basketball is a Toronto-based registered Canadian charity (BN 77709 6124 RR0001) that delivers cost-free, year-round basketball programs to children and youth aged 6-14 living in the city's Neighbourhood Improvement Areas. Founded in 2014 and operating from 401 Richmond St W, the organization serves approximately 700 youth annually across 13 neighborhoods including Jane & Finch, Malvern, Thorncliffe, Regent Park, Rexdale, and Mt. Dennis, with a waiting list of approximately 400 additional youth. Programs are led by certified coaches drawn from the same communities as participants, maintained at a 1:7 coach-to-participant ratio, and offered in both co-ed and Girls Only formats with all equipment provided at no cost.

The organization's core offering centers on an evidence-based basketball curriculum that integrates positive youth development, long-term athlete development, a place-based approach, and "future of work" skills, paired with off-court "Culture of Basketball" activities spanning fashion, art, music, film, photography, social justice, technology, and entrepreneurship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lay-Up extended its delivery model with virtual programs including "At Home, In The Game" (305 participants) and the "A Screen + A Ball" documentary. Coach development is being formalized through the Crossover Pathway Workforce Program in partnership with Gillette.

Lay-Up operates entirely on a donations-and-grants revenue model, with no fees charged to participants. The organization reports self-reported participant outcomes including 93% increased physical activity, 91% improved mental and emotional wellbeing, 94% improved teamwork, and 92% greater confidence in tackling new challenges. Major funders and partners include Nike, Gillette, Tangerine Bank ($125,000 donation in May 2023), Desjardins Ontario Credit Union, Sun Life, Canada Basketball (first-ever Unified Partner designation, 2022), Jumpstart, and approximately 200 community partnerships. The organization received the Charity Village Award in 2021 and is governed by an 8-person leadership team led by Executive Director Micaella Riche.

Name

Lay-Up Youth Basketball

Legal name

Lay-Up Youth Basketball

Website

https://layup.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lay-Up Youth Basketball is a Toronto-based registered charity that delivers cost-free, year-round basketball and youth development programs to approximately 700 children and youth aged 6-14 across 13 Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, funded entirely through donations and corporate partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Sports Development Programs

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth & Scholastic Sports Organizations (K–12, AAU, Club Leagues) (MPAKACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ), Single-Sport Skill Academies (Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, etc.) (MPAKAJAB), Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

Keywords

• Youth basketball programs
• Youth development services
• Community sports programs
• Positive youth development
• Charitable sports coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

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, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: As a registered charity (BN 77709 6124 RR0001), Lay-Up operates entirely on donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. All programs are cost-free to participants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lay-Up Youth Basketball is a registered Canadian charity that delivers cost-free, year-round basketball programs for children and youth aged 6-14 living in Toronto's Neighbourhood Improvement Areas. Programs are led by certified coaches at a 1:7 coach-to-participant ratio and combine on-court skill development with off-court activities grounded in the "Culture of Basketball" framework (fashion, art, music, film, photography, social justice, technology, and entrepreneurship). All equipment, including sports bras and hijabs for female participants, is provided at no cost.

Product overview

Lay-Up Youth Basketball is a Toronto-based charity offering a unified portfolio of cost-free basketball programs for children and youth ages 6-14 living in Neighbourhood Improvement Areas. The core offering consists of year-round basketball programs with co-ed and Girls Only variants, delivered by certified coaches at a 1:7 participant ratio. Programs are complemented by off-court activities exploring the culture of basketball through fashion, art, music, film, and photography. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization expanded into virtual programming including 'At Home, In The Game' and 'A Screen + A Ball'. Coach development is supported through the Crossover Pathway Workforce Program in partnership with Gillette.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lay-Up Basketball Programs Year-round cost-free basketball programs for children and youth aged 6-14 delivered in Toronto's Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, with certified coaches at a 1:7 ratio and integrated on-court and off-court "Culture of Basketball" activities.
• Girls Only Basketball Programs Female-focused basketball programming for girls, providing inclusive resources including sports bras and hijabs to all female participants, designed to reduce barriers to girls' participation in organized sport.
• At Home, In The Game Virtual program featuring online workshops for physical activity, creativity, and maintaining meaningful connections, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep youth engaged when in-person programming was paused.
• Crossover Pathway Workforce Program Workforce development initiative that expands coach development through skills-building sessions and on-court learning experiences led by professional basketball coaches, including Toronto Raptors coaching staff and players.
• Culture of Basketball Activities Off-court programming based on the Culture of Basketball framework, integrating fashion, art, music, film, photography, social justice, technology, and entrepreneurship into the basketball experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of participants report increased physical activity
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GillettecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 3 February 2025Second year of partnership advancing coach development through the Crossover Pathway workforce program. Skills-building sessions and on-court learning experiences led by Toronto Raptors assistant coach Jama Mahllalela and player Gradey Dick.
• Canada Basketball FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2022UNIFIED Partnership - first Canada Basketball Foundation Unified Partner designation
• NikecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLay-Up x Nike Toronto Partnership supporting basketball programs with equipment and brand backing
• Canada BasketballcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial basketball governing body partnership for unified basketball programming
• St. Michael's College Basketball SeriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBasketball program partnership
• MWSBLminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBasketball league partnership

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Right To Play: Large international charity using sport for youth development in underserved communities. Comparable sport-plus-positive-youth-development model, but with global operations and a multi-sport portfolio.
• MLSE Foundation: Charitable arm of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment funding sport-based youth development across Ontario. Comparable outcomes-driven, sport-for-development mandate with materially larger scale and resources.
• Sport for Life (Canadian Sport for Life): Canadian sport policy/development organization promoting Long-Term Athlete Development frameworks. Strong methodological overlap with Lay-Up's evidence-based program design.

Direct peers

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada: National youth-development nonprofit network offering after-school programming including sport. Comparable cost-free or low-cost delivery model serving youth in priority neighbourhoods across Canada.
• Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities: Major Canadian youth-sport access charity and a disclosed Lay-Up supporter. Comparable cost-free sport model for underserved youth, with significantly broader national scale and corporate backing.
• Pathways to Education: Canadian nonprofit supporting youth in low-income communities through education and wraparound supports. Comparable target demographic and outcomes framing (confidence, relationships, problem-solving), though focused on academic rather than sport outcomes.
• MLSE LaunchPad: Toronto-based sport-for-development facility/program operated by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Targets youth in priority neighbourhoods using basketball and other sports; closely aligned geography and demographic.
• KidSport Canada: National Canadian charity that removes financial barriers to sport for youth. Directly comparable mission (cost-free youth sport access) and donation-funded model, with a broader sport portfolio rather than basketball-only focus.

Emerging players

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto: Toronto-based youth mentoring nonprofit with comparable target demographic (underserved youth) and role-model-driven intervention model. While not sport-specific, the mentoring-plus-positive-youth-development framing overlaps with Lay-Up's community-recruited coach approach.

Regional players

• Toronto Community Hubs: City of Toronto community recreation and youth programming infrastructure that Lay-Up partners with for venue access. Comparable delivery geography and target demographic of Toronto priority-neighbourhood youth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/LayupBasketball
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3NQ-1wrjllvE_Kllz-9KoQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/pg/LayUpBasketball/posts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lay-up-youth-basketball
• Instagraminstagram.com/layup_basketball/?hl=en

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 Lay-Up Youth Basketball