Service Academy

What Service Academy does

Service Academy is a youth-led nonprofit social impact organization founded in 2022 by twin brothers Ryan and Thomas Growney during their time at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island. The organization aims to reimagine youth service through a "New Service" framework that broadens service beyond traditional volunteerism to include social advocacy and social entrepreneurship. Its core assets are content and community products rather than software: the Service Academy Podcast (8 episodes featuring social innovation leaders such as Wendy Kopp, Will MacAskill, and Tristan Harris, distributed via Spotify and Apple Podcasts), the Service Academy Framework (a Pinwheel-style step-by-step engagement guide), the Superpower Field Guide self-assessment (built on Typeform), the Multiplicity of Pursuits card game, the #ServiceAcademyAmbassadors peer-amplification program, and an active blog. The technology stack is a standard WordPress site plus Typeform and third-party podcast/social platforms; no proprietary software product is operated.

The business model is nonprofit: all frameworks, podcasts, blog content, and the self-assessment are offered free, with no disclosed pricing, institutional funding rounds, or disclosed donor base. The sole direct monetization signal is the Multiplicity of Pursuits card game sold via a third-party e-commerce site at unstated pricing. The organization presents at conferences (Catalysing Change Week, YVC Summit) and partners with mission-aligned entities (Teach for America, YVC, Harambee, NOSSAS, St. George's School, Take Action Lab / Tilting Futures, NOLS, MCS Media) for credibility and reach.

Customer segments are students/ambassadors (primary), schools and educational institutions, local nonprofits and service organizations, and parents/families. As of 2025, the organization is operating with both co-founders transitioning to full-time college enrollment (Ryan at Duke, Thomas at University of Miami), which represents a key continuity risk for an organization whose brand, content pipeline, and ambassador network depend heavily on the founders' personal involvement. No revenue, headcount, funding, or operating financials are disclosed in available sources.

Name

Service Academy

Legal name

Service Academy

Website

https://serviceacademy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Service Academy is a youth-led nonprofit founded in 2022 that produces the Service Academy Podcast, a youth-service framework, a self-assessment, a card game, and an ambassador program, serving students, schools, and youth-serving organizations globally through free digital content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Service / Social Innovation Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Volunteerism, Service-Learning & Community Service (EDALAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Leadership, Character Education & Values Development (EDAMAIAG), Community Service & Service-Learning Programs (School-Run) (EDAJAJAI), Service Learning Program Design, Accreditation & Evaluation (EDAIAGAL)

Keywords

• Youth service programs
• Social innovation education
• Youth development resources
• Service learning frameworks
• Youth leadership development

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants (implied): Service Academy operates as a nonprofit youth-led social impact organization. Revenue appears to come from donations, grants, and possibly membership/scholarship funding, though specific funding amounts are not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Service Academy is a youth-led social impact initiative that reimagines youth service through free educational resources, frameworks, and media. Its core offerings include the Service Academy Podcast (interviews with social innovation leaders), the Service Academy Blog (thought-leadership content), the Service Academy Framework (a step-by-step Pinwheel methodology for systems change leadership), and the Superpower Field Guide (a Typeform-based self-assessment tool). Supporting resources include the Multiplicity of Pursuits card game, downloadable social media graphics, and an Ambassadors program that mobilizes student advocates worldwide.

Product overview

Service Academy is a youth-led social impact organization offering a portfolio of interconnected products and resources designed to reimagine youth service through social innovation. The core offerings include the Service Academy Podcast (a conversational series featuring social innovation leaders), the Service Academy Blog (thought leadership and stories), and the Service Academy Framework (a step-by-step guide for systems change leadership). Supporting resources include the Superpower Field Guide self-assessment tool, the Multiplicity of Pursuits card game for brainstorming, the Social Media Graphics toolkit, and the Youth Service Research & Learnings program. The New Service Toolkit (how-to guide) was announced but appears to be in development. The Ambassadors Program provides a pathway for students to champion youth service locally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Service Academy Podcast A podcast series distributed on Spotify and Apple Podcasts featuring interviews with social innovation leaders (e.g., Wendy Kopp of Teach for America, Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology, Will MacAskill of Effective Altruism), designed to inspire action among young changemakers.
• Service Academy Framework A step-by-step guide using systems change leadership principles (the Framework Pinwheel: Reflect, Envision, Plan, Co-Create, Celebrate, Stay Curious, Repeat) for anyone to apply their strengths and resources to social challenges.
• Superpower Field Guide A free self-assessment tool (beta) built on Typeform that helps users discover a new way to communicate what matters most through a framework for thinking and acting using the language of purpose.
• Multiplicity of Pursuits Card Game A physical card game designed to inspire revolutionary ideas and motivate extraordinary life choices, used as an icebreaker and brainstorming tool for social impact activities and sold through multiplicityofpursuits.com.
• Service Academy Ambassadors Program A student ambassador program (#ServiceAcademyAmbassador) in which participants commit to raising the social value of youth service in their communities by sharing content on social media and including the hashtag in their bios.

Quantifiable outcome

• Service Academy raised awareness of youth service through a podcast series with 8 episodes featuring prominent social innovation leaders, hundreds of blog posts, and a global ambassador network.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• MCS MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMCS Media serves as the production partner for The Service Academy Podcast. They are credited as executive producers (Donny Dykowsky, Dan Strong, Aaron Kheifets, and Mike Bulger) and provide coordination and production services for the podcast series.
• Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerService Academy has a close relationship with Youth Volunteer Corps, a network of organizations engaging young people aged 11-18 in team-based service-learning. The organizations share a mission to improve youth service opportunities. Service Academy co-founders attended and presented at the YVC Summit in Tulsa, were featured on the Service Academy Podcast (Episode 5 with David Battey), and credit YVC as a model for their own work.
• Teach for AmericamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeach for America (TFA) and its global counterpart Teach for All are featured on the Service Academy Podcast (Episode 3 with Wendy Kopp). Service Academy draws inspiration from TFA's model of building scalable support structures and applying the framework to focus on engaged students to advocate for better service opportunities. TFA Rhode Island's Michael Broschart co-presented with Service Academy at Catalysing Change Week.
• Harambee Youth Employment AcceleratormajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarambee, a South African youth employment accelerator founded by Nicola Galombik and Maryana Iskander, is featured on the Service Academy Podcast (Episode 2). The organization inspired Service Academy to focus on making existing systems work better rather than reinventing them. The co-founders' gap year included time in South Africa at Take Action Lab.
• St. George's SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island is the founding community of Service Academy. The co-founders launched SE@SG (Social Entrepreneurship at St. George's), created a Social Entrepreneurship Class Elective, and participated in the Service Leadership Program. School administration, faculty, and students provided the initial support and testing ground for Service Academy's ideas.
• Catalysing Change WeekmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerService Academy participated in and presented at Catalysing Change Week 2023, a global systems change leadership event organized by Catalyst 2030. Ryan and Thomas presented alongside representatives from Teach for America Rhode Island, Youth Volunteer Corps, and Harvard SWAN, exploring how to prepare young people as systems change leaders.
• NOSSAS (Brazilian Activism Accelerator)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOSSAS, a Brazilian activism accelerator co-founded by Alessandra Orofino, is featured on the Service Academy Podcast (Episode 1). NOSSAS inspired Service Academy's focus on lowering barriers to youth participation and the concept of a 'participation revolution.' The work demonstrated how technology can democratize activism.
• Take Action Lab / Tilting FuturesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTake Action Lab, a program by Tilting Futures, was the capstone of the co-founders' gap year. 50 fellows from 35 countries lived together in Cape Town, South Africa, working separately on internships. The community and experience deeply shaped Service Academy's evolving mission and understanding of systemic change.
• NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOLS provided the 40-day Himalayan mountaineering expedition that was part of the co-founders' gap year. The experience at 18,000 feet, roped together as a team navigating glaciers, taught lessons about collective purpose, interdependence, and adventure as a medium for personal growth and community building.
• BASI (British Association of Snowsport Instructors)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe co-founders completed a 10-week ski instructor training program in the Swiss Alps, pursuing BASI certification. This training developed their understanding of mentorship, teaching, and the duality of mentee and mentor — skills they connected to social impact work.
• SOZO Foundation (Cape Town)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThomas interned at the SOZO Foundation in Cape Town, a nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship and human-centered design. This experience redefined Thomas's understanding of entrepreneurship and showed how communities can solve their own challenges.
• Bush Radio (Cape Town)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRyan interned at Bush Radio in Cape Town, a community radio station that amplifies marginalized voices. This experience demonstrated how community media can create platforms for communities to tell their own stories.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DoSomething.org: DoSomething is a youth-led social impact nonprofit running large-scale campaigns, scholarships, and volunteer activation for under-25s. It is the closest large-scale analog to Service Academy's mission of mobilizing young people around meaningful service and civic action.
• Net Impact: Net Impact is a student-led professional network focused on using business as a force for good, with chapters at colleges and universities. Its model of mobilizing students around social innovation and purpose-driven leadership parallels Service Academy's ambassador framework.
• Generation On: Generation On, a youth-service initiative of Points of Light, develops service leaders ages 5-25 through schools and youth-development organizations. Its school-based service-learning model and youth-leader focus directly overlap with Service Academy's framework.
• Youth Volunteer Corps of America: YVC runs team-based service-learning programs for youth ages 11-18 and is explicitly cited by Service Academy as a close partner and model. Both organizations engage young people in service with a focus on personal development and community impact, making YVC the most directly comparable operational peer.
• TakingITGlobal: TakingITGlobal is an international social innovation network for youth, providing digital platforms, programs, and resources to young changemakers globally. Its youth-led, digital-first approach to global civic engagement closely mirrors Service Academy's playbook.

Broad incumbents

• Teach for America: TFA is a large-scale youth-leadership pipeline into education, explicitly featured on the Service Academy Podcast and a co-presenter at Catalysing Change Week. While not a service organization, TFA's model of 'building scalable structures for youth-driven impact' is a direct conceptual reference point.
• Ashoka: Ashoka is a global network supporting leading social entrepreneurs, including a strong youth changemaker focus ('Ashoka Young Changemakers'). Service Academy's systems-change leadership framing for youth parallels Ashoka's social-entrepreneurship-development model.
• Points of Light: Points of Light is a large, established service and volunteerism organization that incubates youth-focused programs including Generation On. It competes for the same narrative space around elevating youth service and has significantly greater institutional reach and funding.

Others

• Idealist (Action Without Borders): Idealist is a nonprofit that connects people to volunteer opportunities, jobs, and organizations in the social-impact space. While more of an enabling platform than a direct service provider, it targets overlapping audiences (young changemakers seeking meaningful service) and shapes the discovery layer Service Academy depends on.

Emerging players

• The Pollination Project: The Pollination Project funds and mentors emerging social-change leaders, with a particular emphasis on grassroots, youth-driven initiatives. Its seed-level, trust-based approach to youth social innovators is comparable in operating philosophy and scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NewServiceAcad
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@serviceacademy6774
• Facebookfacebook.com/NewServiceAcademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newserviceacademy
• Instagraminstagram.com/NewServiceAcademy

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 Service Academy