Women and Youth Supporting Each Other

What Women and Youth Supporting Each Other does

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1992 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. WYSE delivers college-student-led mentoring, weekly curriculum-based afterschool group sessions, one-on-one mentoring relationships, and quarterly special events to seventh and eighth grade girls primarily recruited from Title I middle schools in underserved communities. The organization operates through a network of 12 student-led university branches across California, Illinois, Louisiana, Washington DC, and Wisconsin, each pairing undergraduate women mentors with middle school mentees at partner schools such as Vista Charter Middle School, Mark Twain Middle School, Francisco Sepulveda Middle School, Scholarship Prep, Jefferson Middle Society Academy, Langston Hughes Academy, and Firstline Live Oak. The core curriculum covers self-esteem, body image, critical thinking, leadership, personal identity, and community action, and is supplemented by an annual National Leadership Training Conference (NLTC), the nationwide WYSE Week celebration, a Mentee of the Month recognition program, and a virtual internship offering for alumni.

The organization is 100% volunteer-run with no paid employees disclosed (1-10 stated headcount, all volunteer), and is governed by a National Board of Directors with functional roles including Board Chair (Anna Shaw-Amoah), Chair Emeritus (Melissa Pierce), Development Co-Chair (Lauren Gorski Allen), Programs Co-Chairs (Joëlle Jackson and Nathalie Jaikissoon), Communications Chair (Victoria Moy), and an Alumni Committee. Branch leadership is composed of college student directors. All programs are provided free of charge to participants.

WYSE's revenue model is donation-based with three documented streams: individual donations (including a 2018 Giving Tuesday and End-of-Year campaign that raised over $5,000), foundation grants (notably the Marilyn S. Broad Foundation, which has funded multiple NLTC cycles from 2014 through 2022 and helped launch the GWU branch, plus CampusCatalyst and Benevity Fund), and corporate giving programs through AmazonSmile and Ralph's Community Contribution Program. WYSE has no technology product, no mobile app, no API, no AI/ML capabilities, and no SaaS offering; the underlying 'technology' is the human-delivered curriculum and the volunteer coordination model. The organization explicitly states that 100% of donations are spent on programming.

Name

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other

Legal name

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other

Website

https://wyse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE) is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992 that pairs college women mentors with middle school girls in underserved communities through 12 student-led university branches, delivering curriculum-based mentorship, group sessions, and special events entirely free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mentorship Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Youth mentorship programs
• Girls empowerment nonprofit
• After-school mentoring
• College student volunteering
• Leadership training

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from supporters, alumni, and the general public. 100% of donations are spent on programming as the organization is entirely volunteer-run.
2. Foundation Grants: Support from foundations such as the Marilyn S. Broad Foundation, CampusCatalyst, and Benevity Fund.
3. Corporate Giving: Corporate matching programs through AmazonSmile and Ralph's Community Contribution Program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE) delivers a college-student-led mentorship program pairing female undergraduate mentors with middle school girls through school partnerships. The core offering combines weekly curriculum-based afterschool group sessions, one-on-one mentoring, and quarterly special events (museum field trips, college campus visits, WYSE Future Options Day) at Title I middle schools in underserved communities. Programs are delivered through 12 student-led university branches across the U.S. and are provided free of charge to participants.

Product overview

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit mentorship organization that operates as a unified program rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is the WYSE Mentorship Program, which combines weekly curriculum-based afterschool group sessions, one-on-one mentoring between college women and middle school girls, and quarterly special events. Supporting programs include the annual National Leadership Training Conference (NLTC) for branch directors, WYSE Week for nationwide celebration of the mission, the Mentee of the Month initiative for recognition, and a virtual internship program for alumni. The organization is 100% volunteer-run with no technology product or SaaS offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WYSE Mentorship Program Weekly curriculum-based afterschool sessions delivered by college mentors to middle school girls, covering topics like self-esteem, decision-making, identity, and community action. Delivered free of charge to participants at Title I middle schools in underserved communities.
• One-on-One Mentoring Individual mentor-mentee outings and relationship building beyond group sessions to foster trust and mutual respect, contributing to WYSE's high retention rate.
• Special Events

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of young women have been given resources and support since 1992

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Smithsonian InstitutionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2021Virtual field trip to the Smithsonian's exhibit 'Girlhood: It's Complicated' during WYSE Week 2021, where mentors and mentees learned about women's history.
• Adolescent Self Injury Foundation (ASIF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2021Guest speaker Joan Goodman from ASIF led a session during WYSE Week on earning adolescents' trust, mental health awareness, and suicide prevention.
• Step UpminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Represented on panel about Representation, Equity, and Belonging in Mentorship Programs during NLTC 2020.
• Young StorytellersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Represented on panel about Representation, Equity, and Belonging in Mentorship Programs during NLTC 2020.
• Y-We (Young Women Empowered)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Represented on panel about Representation, Equity, and Belonging in Mentorship Programs during NLTC 2020.
• AmazonSmileminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAmazonSmile allows shoppers to designate WYSE as their charity of choice, with Amazon donating a portion of eligible purchases.
• Ralph's Community Contribution ProgramminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRalph's grocery store community program allows members to contribute to WYSE through shopping rewards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Step Up: Step Up is a nonprofit that mentors girls and young women in underserved communities through after-school programs and leadership training. It is highly comparable to WYSE — both serve middle/high school girls from Title I communities and have partnered directly (NLTC 2020 panel).
• GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services): GEMS provides mentoring, education, and advocacy for young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. It overlaps with WYSE on gender-specific, trauma-informed youth mentoring of adolescent girls.
• Y-We (Young Women Empowered): Y-We is a Portland-based nonprofit mentoring high school girls through leadership programs, community action, and intergenerational volunteer models. It overlaps directly with WYSE's mission, mentee demographic, and volunteer-driven delivery model, and has co-presented with WYSE.
• Spark (The Mentoring Program): Spark matches middle school students with workplace mentors for apprenticeship-style mentoring programs. It is comparable to WYSE in targeting underserved middle schoolers through volunteer mentors, though focused on career exposure rather than identity/leadership curricula.
• Jahajee Sisters: Jahajee Sisters is a NYC-based movement of Indo-Caribbean women and girls advancing gender justice through intergenerational mentorship. WYSE board member Nathalie Jaikissoon serves on its board, evidencing direct organizational affinity.

Broad incumbents

• Girls Inc. Girls Inc. is a national nonprofit operating a federation of local affiliates delivering mentorship, STEM, and leadership programming to girls ages 6–18. It serves the same mentee demographic as WYSE but at much greater scale and with paid local staff.
• Jack and Jill of America Foundation: Jack and Jill of America supports African American youth through educational, cultural, and leadership programming at the chapter level. Comparable to WYSE in its mission of youth leadership development and chapter-driven volunteer model, though serving a broader age range.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: BBBS is the largest youth mentoring nonprofit in the U.S., pairing adult and college volunteers with youth for one-on-one mentoring. It is comparable in volunteer-led mentoring of underserved youth, though gender-neutral and broader in age range.

Others

• National Girls Collaborative Project: NGCP is a nationwide network connecting organizations serving girls in STEM. It is comparable as an enabling ecosystem for girls-serving nonprofits and could be a relevant channel partner for WYSE's expansion.

Emerging players

• Young Storytellers: Young Storytellers pairs adult mentors with public middle school students for storytelling and arts-based mentorship. WYSE has directly partnered with them on a 2020 panel, and the organizations share an LA-based, public-school, volunteer-driven ethos.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wysementoring
• Facebookfacebook.com/WYSEmentoring
• Instagraminstagram.com/wyse_mentoring
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-and-youth-supporting-each-other

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Women and Youth Supporting Each Other