iPraxis

What iPraxis does

iPraxis is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2004 by African-American science and business professionals to address underrepresentation of people of color in bioscience and biomedicine. The organization runs a volunteer-driven portfolio of STEM education programs for underserved middle school students, primarily in Philadelphia public and charter schools. Core programs include Science Fair Mentoring (weekly sessions over up to 14 weeks), Science Fair Competitions and Judging, after-school programs, in-class presentations and workshops, and site visits/field trips to research institutions — most notably BETA Day at the University of Pennsylvania Bioengineering Lab and a virtual tour of CERN's ATLAS detector. The annual iFunction ceremony, hosted by the University of the Sciences, recognizes winning students from partner schools.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform; delivery is entirely volunteer-mediated via a network of ~100 "Scienteers" — scientists, engineers, post-docs, graduate students, faculty, professionals, and retirees. iPraxis coordinates this network through partnerships with academic institutions (University of Pennsylvania, University of the Sciences, University City Science Center), professional societies (American Society for Microbiology), cultural institutions (Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute via board representation), and a diversified base of corporate and foundation funders (ASTM International, Wells Fargo Foundation, GSK, General Motors, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Iroko Pharmaceuticals, James S. Bower Foundation, Leo Niessen Jr. Charitable Fund, Lenfest Foundation, plus the Pennsylvania Board of Education and Philadelphia Activities Fund).

iPraxis serves approximately 800 unduplicated students annually across 5–7 partner middle schools, with 305 students reached across 9 school and community partners in the 2024-25 program year. All donations are tax-deductible and tier-priced from $50 (background clearances for one mentor) to $500 (project supplies for one science fair team). Leadership is provided by President & CEO Jeremiah J. White Jr. and a Board of Directors chaired by David Fair (Deputy CEO, Turning Points for Children), with board representation spanning academia, pharmaceuticals, biotech, healthcare, law, and civic sectors.

Name

iPraxis

Legal name

iPraxis

Website

https://ipraxis.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Short description

iPraxis is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2004 that delivers volunteer-driven STEM education — science fair mentoring, classroom presentations, and lab field trips — to roughly 800 underserved middle school students annually across 5–7 partner public and charter schools, coordinated through partnerships with local universities and corporate funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth STEM Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep) (EDAMABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA), Biology & Life Science Enrichment (Biotech, Genetics, Anatomy) (EDAMABAF), STEM Competitions & Olympiads (Science Bowls, STEM Challenges) (EDAMABAL)

Keywords

• Stem education programs
• Middle school mentoring
• Science fair mentoring
• Volunteer tutoring services
• Nonprofit youth services

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: iPraxis is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that relies on donations from individuals, corporate sponsors, foundations, and government funders to support STEM education programs. All donations are tax-deductible.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

iPraxis delivers volunteer-driven STEM education programs to underserved Philadelphia middle school students by connecting them with professional scientists and engineers ("Scienteers"). Core offerings include Science Fair Mentoring, Science Fair Judging, classroom Presentations and Workshops, After-school Programs, Site Visits and Field Trips, the annual BETA Day at the University of Pennsylvania Bioengineering Lab, participation in the Philadelphia Science Festival, and the annual iFunction recognition ceremony. Services are provided at no cost to participating schools and students, funded through donations, corporate sponsorships, and foundation grants.

Product overview

iPraxis is a non-profit educational organization that operates as a portfolio of volunteer-driven STEM programs for underserved middle school students in Philadelphia. The core offering includes Science Fair Mentoring, Science Fair Competitions, Science Fair Judging, After-school Programs, Presentations and Workshops, and Site Visits/Field Trips. These programs are coordinated through flagship events like BETA Day (bioengineering lab tours at UPenn), the Philadelphia Science Festival, and the annual iFunction recognition ceremony. The iNSPIRE program represents an early iteration of their science fair mentoring approach that seeded the current comprehensive program structure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 305 students reached in 2024-25 across all programs
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Society for MicrobiologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with American Society for Microbiology to engage students in hands-on science activities. Over nine sessions, 158 students at Alain Locke Elementary participated in Handwashing GloGerm Experiment and Microscope Activity.
• University of Pennsylvania Bioengineering LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPenn's Bioengineering Lab hosts BETA Day, where students from Baldi Middle School and Gateway Regional High School visited to conduct spherification experiments and engineering design challenges centered on drug delivery.
• University of Pennsylvania Graduate ResearchercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPenn graduate researcher led virtual tour of CERN's ATLAS detector for 27 Girard College 7th graders, teaching them about particle physics and building electromagnets.
• University of the SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of the Sciences hosts the annual iFunction recognition event. The university has been a gracious host for several years.
• University City Science CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartneriPraxis was founded at the University City Science Center and maintains strategic partnerships with academic institutions and bioscience companies throughout the region.
• Philadelphia ZoominorStrategic or Co-development PartneriPraxis partnered with Philadelphia Zoo to operate science enrichment programs in middle schools with in-school and summer components.
• University of Pennsylvania EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UPenn Engineering for science enrichment programming and graduate student volunteer engagement.
• Graduate Association of Bioengineering Students (UPenn)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGraduate students at UPenn organize and host BETA Day exclusively for iPraxis students, providing lab tours and hands-on activities.
• Urban Arts GalleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner supporting iPraxis mission.
• Northwood Academy Charter SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school receiving ongoing STEM programming and science fair support.
• Belmont Charter SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school with long-standing science fair program and ongoing STEM engagement.
• Steppingstone ScholarsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational nonprofit partner supporting iPraxis programs.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Philadelphia Education Fund: Nonprofit supporting Philadelphia public-school improvement with STEM-focused initiatives and teacher supports. Operates in the same school-district footprint and donor ecosystem as iPraxis.
• Steppingstone Scholars: Philadelphia-based nonprofit preparing underserved students for college success, including STEM enrichment. Already a listed partner of iPraxis and operates in the same school-district ecosystem, competing for the same foundation and corporate STEM-equity funding.
• STEM NOLA: New Orleans-based nonprofit delivering volunteer-led, hands-on STEM programming to underserved youth. Similar community-driven model targeting underrepresented minorities in STEM.
• After-School All-Stars: National nonprofit providing after-school STEM, sports, and academic programming to underserved middle-school youth in multiple U.S. cities — overlapping target population and program structure.
• Citizen Schools: Nonprofit mobilizing volunteer professionals to teach career-focused, project-based apprenticeships (including STEM) to middle-school students from underserved communities — directly comparable volunteer-led model.
• Iridescent (Curiosity Machine): National STEM education nonprofit engaging underserved youth and families in science/engineering through mentorship and project-based learning — a comparable volunteer-driven STEM equity model.

Broad incumbents

• The Franklin Institute: Philadelphia-based science museum and education organization delivering STEM programming and outreach to schools and the public. A Franklin Institute SVP (Darryl Williams) sits on iPraxis's board; both organizations target STEM access for Philadelphia youth and compete for the same sponsors.
• MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement): National nonprofit running pre-college STEM enrichment programs for underrepresented students, with hands-on projects and competitions comparable to iPraxis's science-fair mentoring.
• Code.org: Large national nonprofit expanding access to computer science education in K-12 schools. While focused on CS rather than broad STEM, it competes for the same foundation and corporate STEM-equity funding as iPraxis.
• Project Lead the Way: Large national nonprofit providing STEM curriculum and teacher training for K-12 schools. Comparable in targeting school districts and underserved students, but at much larger scale and with a curriculum-product business model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ipraxisinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 iPraxis