What Urban Specialists does

Urban Specialists is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by Bishop Omar Jahwar and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with additional US Chapters in Atlanta, Georgia and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The organization operates an integrated ecosystem of five core programs designed to disrupt violence and poverty in urban communities: USC3, a networking hub for community changemakers; OGU (OG University), a training program for influencers and community leaders to catalyze violence prevention; BOSOE (Bishop Omar School of Entrepreneurship), a Community Business Academy for minority entrepreneurs; UniteVersity, an on-demand training interface for prospective changemakers; and Victim Services, which provides direct support including burial assistance, counseling, relocation, and emergency aid to violence victims. The organization also runs recurring community events such as the Killn Ain't Cool youth/parent empowerment summits and the Motivate the Students Back 2 School Bash, supported by a Changemaker volunteer network.

The underlying technology stack is limited: the website is built on Wix, and the primary digital asset is the UniteVersity on-demand training platform. No public APIs, developer tools, or AI/ML capabilities are documented. Programs are delivered primarily in-person at the Dallas headquarters and through community-based outreach in underserved neighborhoods (Cedar Crest, Roseland Homes, South Dallas, Fraizer Courts), with digital tools serving as a top-of-funnel recruitment channel rather than a scalable service layer.

The business model is donation- and grant-driven with negligible direct service revenue. Funding streams include individual donations and corporate sponsorships (with designated neighborhood allocations), federal capacity-building grants (notably the Communities Empowering Youth grant), and corporate sponsorship for BOSOE (Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo). Most services are free to end users; the BOSOE program tuition ($3,000 value) is waived, with a sliding-scale materials fee of $150-$375. Customer segments are exclusively community-based personas — violence victims, minority entrepreneurs, community influencers, urban changemakers, and at-risk youth — rather than paying enterprise customers. Leadership transitioned from founder Bishop Omar Jahwar, who passed away in 2021, to President Antong Lucky.

Name

Urban Specialists

Legal name

Urban Specialists

Website

https://urbanspecialists.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urban Specialists is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1997 in Dallas, operating integrated community programs (USC3, OGU, BOSOE, Victim Services, UniteVersity) across Dallas, Atlanta, and Baton Rouge to prevent urban violence, support victims, and train minority entrepreneurs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL), Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD)

Keywords

• Violence prevention services
• Community development programs
• Youth mentorship programs
• Victim support services
• Entrepreneurship training

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

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 Charitable Contributions: Urban Specialists operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises funds through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and community fundraising campaigns. Donors can contribute through their website with designated neighborhood allocations (Cedar Crest, Fraizer Courts, Roseland Homes, South Dallas).
2. Federal and Grant Funding: Received federal capacity-building grants including the Communities Empowering Youth (CEY) grant. In 2020, helped secure $10M in COVID-19 relief funding across Dallas, Atlanta, and Baton Rouge.
3. Program Tuition (Waived): BOSOE Community Business Academy tuition valued at $3,000 per student but waived for accepted students through donor support. Students pay a sliding scale materials/registration fee of $150-$375 based on household income.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Urban Specialists is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that delivers violence-prevention training, victim support services, entrepreneurship education, and community-networking programs in Dallas, Atlanta, and Baton Rouge. Core offerings include the USC3 changemaker networking hub, OGU influencer training, the BOSOE Community Business Academy for minority entrepreneurs, UniteVersity on-demand learning, and Victim Services such as burial assistance, counseling, and emergency food.

Product overview

Urban Specialists operates as a community-focused nonprofit organization offering a multi-program ecosystem designed to positively impact urban communities. The portfolio consists of five core programs: USC3 (a networking hub for changemakers to collaborate and pool resources), OGU (a training program for influencers to eliminate violence), BOSOE (an entrepreneurship program for minority business owners), UniteVersity (an on-demand training platform), and Victim Services (comprehensive support for violence victims). Supporting initiatives include the Killn Ain't Cool youth empowerment summits, Motivate the Students back-to-school events, and the Changemaker volunteer program. The organization leverages these interconnected pathways to disrupt violence and poverty through training excellence, network building, and community engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• USC3: A networking hub where changemakers collaborate, share information, build capacity and pool resources to increase impact in urban neighborhoods
• OGU (OG University)
• BOSOE (Bishop Omar School of Entrepreneurship)
• UniteVersity

Products and services

• USC3 A dynamic networking hub where changemakers collaborate, share information, build capacity, and pool resources to increase collective impact across urban neighborhoods.
• OGU (OG University) A world-class training experience that catalyzes OGs and influencers to use their cultural impact to create positive change in urban communities through mentoring, education, and economic development.
• BOSOE (Bishop Omar School of Entrepreneurship) Community Business Academy that helps minority entrepreneurs launch or grow their businesses through innovative classroom instruction and hands-on training in business planning, budgeting, marketing, bookkeeping, and financing using an Adult Participatory Learning model.
• UniteVersity An on-demand training interface that provides prospective Changemakers with information about the products and services offered by Urban Specialists, equipping them to get activated as community leaders.
• Victim Services Comprehensive no-cost support for individuals and families impacted by violence, including burial assistance, repass, relocation, emergency food, counseling, mental health services, mentoring, financial assistance, and care packages.
• Motivate the Students (Back 2 School Bash) Annual Back 2 School community event that provides free backpacks, games, giveaways, haircuts, food trucks, and free physicals to motivate students in Dallas urban communities.
• Killn Ain't Cool Initiative (Youth/Parent Empowerment Summits) Youth and parent empowerment summits that address youth violence prevention and provide positive alternatives for at-risk young people and their families in Dallas-area urban communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 19,000+ individuals positively impacted
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Charles SchwabminorOthersCorporate partner supporting BOSOE Community Business Academy throughlogo display on partner page. Nature of partnership appears to be program sponsorship or educational support for minority entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Wells FargominorOthersCorporate partner supporting BOSOE Community Business Academy throughlogo display on partner page. Likely provides financial literacy resources, potential funding support, or educational programming for entrepreneur participants.
• Dallas Business Consulting Consortium (DBCC)minorOthersPartner supporting BOSOE Community Business Academy through logo display. Appears to be a local business consulting organization providing mentorship or curriculum support.
• Saint Peter's University School of Professional and Continuing StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership providing college credit pathway for BOSOE graduates. Qualified graduates can receive up to 6 college credits valued at $3,000 towards degree programs at Saint Peter's University.
• Dallas ISDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership serving 18 Dallas ISD schools in youth violence prevention and gang intervention programs (2008 CEY grant period). Continued partnership supports school-based programming.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Communities In Schools: Communities In Schools places site coordinators inside schools to connect at-risk students with community resources — operating in 2,400+ schools including Dallas ISD. Highly comparable to Urban Specialists' school-based youth violence prevention programming through CEY grants.
• National Network for Safe Communities: Based at Johns Hopkins, NNSC advances the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) model — a framework that focuses on working with groups to reduce violence. Like Urban Specialists, it works at the intersection of community-based violence interruption and local government/law enforcement partnership.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: The largest youth-mentoring organization in the US, addressing risk factors that can lead to violence and delinquency through one-to-one mentoring. Comparable to Urban Specialists' mentorship/youth-outreach programming and volunteer-recruited Changemaker model, though much larger and broader in scope.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: BGCA provides community-based youth development programming in urban neighborhoods across the US — directly comparable to Urban Specialists' community-center youth services, back-to-school events, and after-school/drop-in programming for at-risk young people.

Direct peers

• Roca: Roca is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit providing high-intensity, behavior-change intervention for the highest-risk young men in urban communities. Directly comparable to Urban Specialists' focus on at-risk urban youth, gang intervention, and case-management style service delivery with measurable outcomes focus.
• The Doe Fund: The Doe Fund runs comprehensive workforce-development, housing, and reentry programs for formerly incarcerated and homeless individuals in NYC. Compares closely to Urban Specialists' multi-program ecosystem serving individuals re-entering communities from cycles of violence and incarceration.
• Cure Violence Global: Cure Violence (formerly CeaseFire) pioneered the violence interrupter model that trains community members to interrupt shootings and mediate conflicts. Operates in urban communities — same customer segment (violence-affected populations in under-resourced neighborhoods) and same intervention methodology as Urban Specialists' OGU program.

Emerging players

• Year Up: Year Up provides workforce training and job placement for opportunity youth aged 18-30, comparable to BOSOE's cohort-based business/entrepreneurship training model for adult learners seeking economic mobility. Both target young adults from under-resourced urban communities.
• Operation HOPE: Operation HOPE provides financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment programming in underserved urban communities. Highly comparable to BOSOE's minority-entrepreneurship focus and Urban Specialists' pathway toward economic self-sufficiency as violence prevention.
• Center for Employment Opportunities: CEO provides immediate employment, coaching, and support for people returning home from incarceration. Comparable to Urban Specialists' victim-services and community-mobilization work serving the same urban populations at risk of re-incarceration or violence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WixStudio
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Wix
• Facebookfacebook.com/theurbanspecialists
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theurbanspecialists
• Instagraminstagram.com/wix
• TikToktiktok.com/@wix

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Urban Specialists