I Am Abel Foundation

What I Am Abel Foundation does

I Am Abel Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at The Rosenwald, 56 E. 47th Street, Suite 400, on Chicago's South Side, with 51-100 employees and a stated founding year of 2014 (operational since 2015). It runs a multi-stage pipeline program designed to prepare underrepresented inner-city youth — from high school through post-baccalaureate — for careers in medicine, healthcare, and law. Its core offering, the Urban Bridges Medical Mentoring Program (UBMM), bundles a Saturday Morning Professor curriculum (Intro and Advanced tracks), an Academic Advising Bootcamp, formal Mentor-Mentee Match Day pairing of physician and medical student mentors with mentees, and a suite of MCAT preparation programs (CSIDPAR Summer Intensive, 2-Year Developmental, and MCAT Immersion) using third-party materials valued at up to $4k per student.

The foundation supplements classroom work with paid clinical immersion: an 8-week Summer Mental Health Immersion Program delivered at Jesse Brown VA Hospital and Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center with stipends and transportation, plus Summer Medical Leadership Experience and Summer Clinical Immersion programs at partner sites. It also operates I Am Abel Law as a parallel law-careers pipeline and hosts an annual Chicago Health, Medical and Law Careers Citywide Student Conference (600+ attendees, 80+ workshops) at venues including Rush University Medical Center. Brand recognition includes an Obama Foundation tweet, NBC and ABC News coverage, and the HMPRG Medicine Award 2020 to founder Dr. LaMenta Sweetie Conway, MD, MPH.

All programs are free to mentees; the foundation is funded entirely through charitable donations, corporate sponsorships (notably Takeda Pharmacy and Boston Scientific), and annual fundraising events such as its 10th Year Anniversary Christmas Party. There is no proprietary technology platform; distribution is primarily direct in-person delivery at the Chicago Learning Center with virtual options for non-Chicagoland mentees, and partnerships with Northwestern Medicine, AAMC, Cook County Health, and SNMA chapters at Loyola, UIC, and Rosalind Franklin University provide clinical exposure, venue, and mentor supply.

Name

I Am Abel Foundation

Legal name

I Am Abel Foundation

Website

https://iamabel.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

I Am Abel Foundation is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a free, multi-stage mentoring and academic pipeline preparing underrepresented youth for careers in medicine, healthcare, and law. Programs include MCAT prep, physician mentorship, clinical immersion, and an annual citywide conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pre-Medical Education & Mentorship

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Employment & Job Readiness Support Services (BPAGAEAJ)

Keywords

• Youth medical mentoring
• Pre-medical pipeline programs
• MCAT preparation services
• Physician mentor matching
• Clinical exposure internships

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: I Am Abel Foundation generates revenue through charitable donations, annual fundraising events (including their Christmas Party/10th Year Anniversary fundraiser), Giving Tuesday campaigns, and general donation drives. The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that relies on philanthropic support to fund its free programs for mentees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

I Am Abel Foundation runs free, mentor-supported pre-medical pipeline programs for underrepresented and inner-city youth, pairing physician and medical-student mentors with high school, college, and post-baccalaureate mentees. Its core services include structured academic advising, multi-track MCAT preparation using paid third-party materials, summer clinical immersion at VA hospitals, mental-health immersion fellowships, application support, and an annual citywide conference — all delivered at no cost to participants and funded by charitable donations and corporate sponsorships.

Product overview

I Am Abel Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization offering a multi-faceted pipeline program designed to identify, engage, and develop underrepresented youth for careers in medicine and healthcare. The core offering is the Urban Bridges Medical Mentoring Program (UBMM), which provides Saturday Morning Professor curriculum-based mentoring, academic advising bootcamp, and MCAT preparation through three distinct programs (CSIDPAR Summer Intensive, 2-Year Developmental, and MCAT Immersion). The foundation also hosts an annual Chicago Citywide Health & Medical Career Conference and operates the Summer Mental Health Immersion Program. The programs are designed for students from high school through post-baccalaureate levels, with a mission to close healthcare and death gaps that impact vulnerable and minority communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• I Am Abel Law: A program under the I Am Abel Foundation umbrella focused on careers in law, combined with health careers programming for students.

Products and services

• Urban Bridges Medical Mentoring Program (UBMM) A comprehensive pre-clinical, academic, research, and mentoring pipeline program for underrepresented youth aspiring to careers in medicine and healthcare, delivered primarily in person at The Rosenwald in Chicago with virtual options; funded entirely by donations and offered free to mentees.
• Saturday Morning Professor A two-track curriculum-based mentoring program (Intro Track and Advanced Curriculum) delivered on Saturday mornings, providing structured academic preparation in pre-clinical sciences for aspiring medical professionals within the Urban Bridges Pipeline.
• CSIDPAR MCAT Programs Three free MCAT preparation programs (Summer Intensive with stipend, 2-Year Developmental, and September–April Immersion) using third-party materials and individualized coaching, delivered through the Chicago Summer Institute for the Advancement of Physicians and Researchers.
• Chicago Citywide Health & Medical Career Conference An annual citywide conference with 80+ workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities focused on health, medical, and law careers, drawing 600+ attendees from across Chicago.
• Summer Mental Health Immersion Program (MHIP) An 8-week paid summer fellowship co-hosted with the Jesse Brown VA Hospital and Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, providing undergraduate students with clinical exposure, didactics, mentorship, and quality-improvement projects in mental health, plus stipend and transportation.
• Clinical Exposure & Summer Opportunities A suite of summer programs including the Summer Medical Leadership Experience and Summer Clinical Immersion & Premedical Mentorship Program that provide hands-on clinical experience for aspiring medical professionals.
• Academic Advising Bootcamp A structured academic advising service that helps students navigate pre-medical coursework requirements, the medical school application process, and letters of recommendation, offered free to mentees.
• I Am Abel Law A companion program under the I Am Abel Foundation umbrella that supports students pursuing law careers, paired with the health and medical programs at the annual conference to address health equity and justice topics.
• Mentor-Mentee Matching Program A formal matching program that pairs aspiring medical students with practicing physicians and current medical students for ongoing mentorship and guidance, with new cohorts pinned each August at Mentor-Mentee Match Day.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mentees raise MCAT scores 1-2 standard deviations; some students score in >90% percentile
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Hospital (JBVA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Summer Mental Health Immersion Program providing underrepresented undergraduate students with clinical exposure at the VA system. The program runs for 8 weeks and provides a stipend plus transportation for participating mentees.
• Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (Lovell VA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Summer Mental Health Immersion Program alongside JBVA, providing clinical and educational experiences for mentees interested in mental health careers.
• AAMC (American Association of Medical Colleges)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsored the Black Men in Medicine State of Emergency Summit in 2023, bringing together over 100+ Black men in medicine. AAMC provided plenary address and led feedback sessions on Illinois statistics for Black men in medicine.
• Northwestern MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for MCAT prep programming in collaboration with Northwestern Medicine. The foundation hosts events at Northwestern's Lurie Research Building including the 10th Year Fundraiser at the Potocsnak Atrium.
• Advocate Christ Pediatric HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvited I Am Abel mentees to spend Juneteenth at their simulation lab learning clinical skills including DKA Escape Rooms, IV placement, lines, and newborn intubation.
• Cook County HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvited I Am Abel Foundation to speak at Provident Hospital's Black History Month event focused on Health Equity and Health Careers. Partnership with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
• Rush University Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the annual Chicago Health Medical and Law Careers Citywide Student Conference. Partnership on the 6th Annual Conference in 2023 with over 600+ attendees expected.
• Loyola University Chicago (SNMA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLoyola Stritch SNMA student volunteers participate in foundation events including the Top Docs 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament and summer luau events.
• UIC College of Medicine (SNMA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUIC SNMA chapter collaborates with I Am Abel Foundation on events and programming for underrepresented students in medicine.
• Rosalind Franklin University (SNMA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRosalind Franklin University SNMA participates in foundation events including the Black Men in White Coats documentary screening.
• Feed My Starving ChildrenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual day of service venue where I Am Abel mentees pack food for countries struggling with world hunger. Community service partnership for character development.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP): SHPEP is a free summer enrichment program for college freshmen and sophomores from underrepresented backgrounds interested in health professions. Directly comparable free MCAT/pre-health pipeline with stipend structure serving underrepresented minorities — operated under Robert Wood Johnson Foundation auspices.
• National Medical Fellowships (NMF): NMF provides scholarships and mentoring to underrepresented minority medical students and pre-med students. Most directly comparable to I Am Abel in mission, target population, and mentoring/scholarship model — albeit at a national scale and historically focused on post-acceptance medical students rather than pre-medical pipeline.
• Tour for Diversity in Medicine: Tour for Diversity in Medicine is a nonprofit that sends physicians and medical students to campuses nationwide to encourage underrepresented students to consider medicine. Similar mission of using physician mentorship to close healthcare diversity gaps, delivered through community-engaged events.
• Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS): MAPS is the undergraduate arm of SNMA, dedicated to supporting underrepresented pre-medical students through mentorship, community service, and MCAT prep. Highly comparable mission and target audience — both operate at the underrepresented pre-medical pipeline stage.
• Health Career Connection (HCC): HCC provides paid summer internships and mentoring for underrepresented college students pursuing health careers. Comparable offering to I Am Abel's Summer Clinical Immersion and Summer Mental Health Immersion Programs in terms of stipended internship + mentorship model for underrepresented students.

Broad incumbents

• Student National Medical Association (SNMA): SNMA is the nation's oldest and largest student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of underrepresented pre-medical and medical students. I Am Abel actively partners with SNMA chapters (Loyola, UIC, Rosalind Franklin), making SNMA an overlapping stakeholder and ecosystem peer rather than direct competitor.
• Pipeline Programs at HBCU Medical Schools (e.g., Meharry, Howard, Morehouse): Morehouse School of Medicine, Meharry, and Howard operate large pipeline programs for underrepresented youth entering medicine. Similar mission but institutional (medical school) based rather than community-led nonprofit, providing scale comparisons for outcome measurement.
• American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Diversity Programs: AAMC runs the national HERO registry, premed competencies, and diversity initiatives. Co-sponsor of I Am Abel's Black Men in Medicine Summit; serves as a broader incumbent for the same underrepresented-in-medicine mission at a national, systemic level.
• Doctors for America: Doctors for America mobilizes physicians around healthcare equity advocacy and pipeline development. Broader scope than I Am Abel (advocacy + pipeline) but shares focus on physician-led engagement to close health inequities for underserved communities.

Emerging players

• Health Equity & Access for Rural & Low-Income Communities (HEAL Initiative): HEAL supports underrepresented students entering health professions through mentorship and pre-health programming. Comparable in pipeline-building intent for underrepresented students, though with different geographic focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IAMABEL_FND
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@lamentaconway3594
• Facebookfacebook.com/IAmAbelfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/i-am-abel-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/iamabelfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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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 I Am Abel Foundation