Stay Work Play

What Stay Work Play does

Stay Work Play (legally Stay Work Play New Hampshire) is a New Hampshire-domiciled nonprofit organization founded in the late 2010s to attract and retain young professionals in the Granite State. It operates a portfolio of statewide programs and events, including the annual Rising Stars Awards (now in its 16th year), the 603 After Hours traveling networking series, the NH Intern Summer Series, the NH Nexus Summit, the Policy & Pizza campus engagement series, the tuition-based Rising Stars Leadership Program ($1,800 for Board of Advisors employees, $2,000 for non-members), an Advocacy Network at the State House, the recurring Quality of Life Survey (in its third installment, run with the Saint Anselm College Survey Center), and annual Policy Positions Reports. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors, led day-to-day by Executive Director Corinne Benfield (appointed 2024), and supported by a Board of Advisors comprising 40+ New Hampshire employers across financial services, healthcare, energy, higher education, and other sectors.

The organization's business model is a hybrid nonprofit revenue stack anchored by corporate sponsorships and presenting partnerships (e.g., Rise Private Wealth Management as presenting sponsor of the Rising Stars Leadership Program and St. Mary's Bank as presenting sponsor of 603 After Hours), Board of Advisors membership dues from participating employers, tuition from cohort-based leadership programming, free internship pipeline programs (NH Intern Summer Series), and likely grant and donation revenue. Distribution is event-led and statewide, covering nine NH regions through both in-person convenings and digital channels (weekly newsletter, blog, podcast appearances, and earned media on WMUR, NHPR, Union Leader, and Manchester Ink Link). Advocacy is delivered through the NH Housing Supply Coalition and direct State House engagement, with housing affordability identified as the leading legislative issue. Technology footprint is minimal: a Squarespace-hosted website, Zeffy-based event ticketing, and survey work executed by an academic partner rather than any proprietary platform.

Stay Work Play's customer base is segmented into young professionals (the primary persona, addressing housing, childcare, and community-vitality pain points), college students and interns, NH employers (the buyer of Board of Advisors seats and sponsorships used to recruit and retain talent), and state policymakers (the advocacy target). Founder era funding history is limited to a Paycheck Protection Program loan during COVID-19; no venture, private-equity, or institutional grant funding rounds are disclosed. Revenue is not publicly reported.

Name

Stay Work Play

Legal name

Stay Work Play New Hampshire

Website

https://stayworkplay.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stay Work Play is a New Hampshire statewide nonprofit that runs events, leadership programs, advocacy, and the annual Quality of Life Survey to attract and retain young professionals in the Granite State, funded by employer sponsorships, Board of Advisors dues, and program tuition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community and Workforce Development Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Support Services & Case Management (Coaching, Wraparound) (EDAAAOAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Work-Based Learning Programs (Internships, Apprenticeships, Community-Based Instruction) (EDAKANAF)

Keywords

• Young professional programs
• Workforce development services
• Community networking events
• Leadership development programs
• Policy advocacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

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. Program Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors pay to associate with Stay Work Play events and programs, such as Rise Private Wealth Management presenting the Rising Stars Leadership Program and St. Mary's Bank presenting the 603 After Hours series.
2. Board of Advisors Membership: Employer organizations join the Board of Advisors, gaining visibility and alignment with workforce development initiatives while supporting the organization financially.
3. Rising Stars Leadership Program Tuition: The organization charges tuition for its leadership development program: $1,800 for employees of Board of Advisors member organizations and $2,000 for non-members. The program runs February through June with six in-person sessions.
4. Grants and Donations: As a nonprofit, Stay Work Play likely receives grant funding and donations, though specific funders are not detailed in available materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stay Work Play is a New Hampshire nonprofit that runs community programs, signature events, and advocacy initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining young professionals in the state. Its core offerings include a leadership development program (Rising Stars Leadership Program), statewide networking and community-building event series (603 After Hours, NH Nexus Summit, NH Intern Summer Series, Policy & Pizza), an annual awards celebration (Rising Stars Awards), an annual Quality of Life Survey, and a State House Advocacy Network advancing housing, childcare, and workforce policy.

Product overview

Stay Work Play is a nonprofit organization (not a technology product company) offering a portfolio of programs and services designed to attract and retain young professionals in New Hampshire. The core offerings include the Rising Stars Leadership Program (a premier leadership experience with six in-person sessions), the 603 After Hours traveling networking event series, the NH Intern Summer Series for student engagement, Policy & Pizza campus discussions, the annual Rising Stars Awards celebration, a Quality of Life Survey tracking young Granite Stater sentiment, and an Advocacy Network driving State House policy initiatives on housing and workforce issues. These programs work together as an integrated approach to building community, developing leadership talent, and advocating for policy changes that benefit young people in the 603 area code.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rising Stars Leadership Program: New Hampshire's premier leadership experience for early to mid-career young professionals. A six-session program from February through June covering leadership skills, policy advocacy, and NH engagement.
• 603 After Hours
• Policy & Pints
• Policy & Pints
• NH Intern Summer Series
• Rising Stars Awards

Products and services

• Rising Stars Leadership Program New Hampshire's premier leadership experience for early to mid-career young professionals, featuring six in-person sessions from February through June exploring leadership, state policy, and community impact. Tuition is $1,800 for employees of Board of Advisors member organizations and $2,000 for non-members.
• 603 After Hours A traveling friend-working networking event series that spotlights Young Professional Networks and affinity groups across New Hampshire at local hotspots, creating opportunities for social connection and community building among young professionals.
• NH Intern Summer Series A summer program series created for interns across New Hampshire to build community and set them up for success in the state post-internship; free registration via the Zeffy platform.
• Policy & Pizza A campus-based policy engagement series bringing policy and talent conversations directly to college students in New Hampshire through informal networking and policy discussions over food.
• Quality of Life Survey The state's only recurring survey that asks young people directly how it feels to live, work, and build a future in New Hampshire, conducted in partnership with Montagne Powers and Saint Anselm College Survey Center.
• Rising Stars Awards Annual celebration of New Hampshire's outstanding young leaders and the organizations that champion them, recognizing changemakers across various categories. The 16th annual edition took place in 2025.
• Advocacy Network State House advocacy initiative advancing housing, childcare, and workforce solutions in New Hampshire, working in partnership with the NH Housing Supply Coalition (alongside BIA, NH Home Builders, Housing Action NH, and NH Association of Realtors).
• Policy Reports Annual policy position reports outlining legislative priorities focused on housing affordability, community vitality, and affordability for young Granite Staters in New Hampshire.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of young Granite Staters believe NH is worse on housing than other places
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NH Housing Supply CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStay Work Play is a partner in the NH Housing Supply Coalition, collaborating with the Business & Industry Association (BIA), NH Home Builders, Housing Action NH, and NH Association of Realtors to increase housing supply and affordability in New Hampshire. The coalition represents a multi-stakeholder effort to address the state's workforce challenges through housing reform.
• Saint Anselm CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStay Work Play launched a partnership with Saint Anselm College bringing a wrap-around approach to student engagement and workforce development directly onto campus. The Saint Anselm College Survey Center also conducts Stay Work Play's annual Quality of Life Survey.
• Rise Private Wealth ManagementcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRise Private Wealth Management (Ameriprise Financial Services) is the presenting sponsor of the Rising Stars Leadership Program, providing leadership coaching and supporting the program's immersive experiences across New Hampshire.
• St. Mary's BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSt. Mary's Bank is the presenting sponsor of the 603 After Hours traveling event series, supporting young professional networking events across New Hampshire cities.
• Montagne PowersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMontagne Powers partnered with Stay Work Play and Saint Anselm College for the 2025 Quality of Life Survey unveiling event, providing expertise on survey results analysis.
• New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerNHPR partnered with Stay Work Play for the 16th annual Rising Stars Awards, with NHPR's Lau Guzmán hosting the event.
• NH Business ReviewminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStay Work Play serves as Emerging Leaders Sponsor for NH Business Review's Leadership: Unscripted event, with a special promo code for attendees.
• New Hampshire Housing Finance AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Hampshire Housing partnered with Stay Work Play, NH Business Review, and NH Magazine on a Homebuying Sentiment Survey to understand homeownership experiences and shape effective programs and policies.
• Board of Advisors MemberscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStay Work Play's Board of Advisors includes over 40 employer organizations including Eversource Energy, Dartmouth Health, Bangor Savings Bank, Citizens Bank, Fidelity, Novocure, SNHU, Delta Dental, and others committed to workforce development and young talent retention.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NH Center for Nonprofits: Statewide association serving New Hampshire nonprofit organizations through advocacy, training, and capacity-building. Comparable as a peer nonprofit operating statewide in NH with a member-based employer partnership model and policy advocacy on community issues that overlap with Stay Work Play's workforce and quality-of-life agenda.
• New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: The largest statewide private foundation in New Hampshire, funding workforce, housing, and community-vitality initiatives across the state. Directly comparable because it operates the same NH statewide nonprofit footprint with overlapping thematic priorities (housing affordability, young families, community vitality) that complement or compete for Stay Work Play's donor and policy-advocacy attention.
• Young Invincibles: A national nonprofit focused on young adults (18–34) with a portfolio combining policy advocacy, original research, and direct programs. Comparable because it pairs data/advocacy (like Stay Work Play's Quality of Life Survey and Policy Reports) with community programming aimed at retaining and supporting the same young-professional demographic, though at a national rather than state scale.
• Greater Louisville Inc. (formerly 'Stay Louisville' merger): A merged metro chamber and young-talent retention organization that runs talent attraction programming in the Louisville region, originally launched as 'Stay Louisville' to retain young professionals. Directly comparable as a state/regional entity that built a young-talent retention brand with events, networking, and employer sponsorship — the same playbook Stay Work Play runs in NH.
• MakeMyMove: A talent-attraction platform that helps U.S. cities and regions recruit remote workers and young professionals through relocation incentives and curated community content. Directly comparable because it targets the same young-professional relocation/retention decision that Stay Work Play addresses, but operates across many geographies rather than a single state.

Regional players

• Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce: Regional business chamber serving Greater Nashua, NH that runs young-professional and workforce programming. Comparable because it serves the same NH young-professional and employer audience through events, networking, and advocacy, though at a single-region scale rather than Stay Work Play's statewide footprint.
• Greater Manchester Chamber: Regional business membership organization in NH's largest city that runs young-professional programming, employer networking, and policy advocacy on workforce issues. Comparable because it serves the same young-professional and employer audience in NH with overlapping event programming (referenced directly by Stay Work Play's regional pages), though at a regional rather than statewide scale.
• NH Business Review: New Hampshire's leading business publication and event organizer, including the Leadership: Unscripted series where Stay Work Play is the Emerging Leaders Sponsor. Comparable because it serves the same employer and executive audience in NH with overlapping content, events, and leadership programming aimed at the same regional talent-retention themes.

Broad incumbents

• Year Up: A national workforce development nonprofit providing training, internship placement, and employer partnerships for young adults. Comparable because it combines the work-based learning and employer-sponsorship elements of Stay Work Play's NH Intern Summer Series with broader workforce programming, though serving a higher-barrier population at a national scale.
• National Skills Coalition: A national workforce policy and advocacy organization that drives state and federal policy on workforce development, training, and employer partnerships. Comparable because it operates in the same workforce-development and employer-policy space as Stay Work Play's NH Housing Supply Coalition and advocacy work, but at a national scale and with a broader portfolio of state affiliates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StayWorkPlay
• Facebookfacebook.com/StayWorkPlay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stayworkplay

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Stay Work Play