Teens Grow Greens Inc

What Teens Grow Greens Inc does

Teens Grow Greens Inc is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit founded circa 2014-2015 that delivers paid internship and apprenticeship programs for high school-aged teens, with a stated mission of providing purposeful, real-world, hands-on experiences that schools do not offer. The organization operates three seasonal internship tracks — Kitchen (culinary training), Garden (urban farming and food sovereignty), and Workshop (entrepreneurship and product design) — each paying $12/hour, alongside four advanced apprenticeship tracks in Education, Horticulture, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing that pay $15/hour for first-year and $16.50/hour for second-year apprentices. Programs are delivered in person at multiple partner locations across Milwaukee, including Weber's Greenhouse, Westlawn Gardens, the Cottonwood School, and Escuela Verde, with hybrid and Saturday sessions.

Underlying technology is intentionally minimal: there is no proprietary platform, no mobile app, no API, and no AI/ML infrastructure. The organization's core technology is its people — approximately 15 staff including specialized educators for each program track, several of whom are TGG alumni who progressed through the program themselves. The technology extends to digital media production tools used by Marketing Apprentices (cameras, editing software, podcasting equipment) and a "Behind The Plants" podcast and YouTube channel for content distribution.

The business model is a donation- and grant-funded nonprofit. Teens participate at no cost and are paid as employees rather than charged fees. Revenue is derived from corporate sponsorships (We Energies, BMO Harris, Johnson & Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks, Cargill among others), foundation grants, and individual donations. The go-to-market motion is community-led, recruiting teens through Milwaukee Public Schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschool networks, and word-of-mouth referrals. The recurring value proposition is a paid-stipend-to-apprenticeship-to-staff progression that produces both immediate financial impact for participating families and a long-term talent pipeline for the organization. Approximately 100 teens are served annually across all program tracks.

Name

Teens Grow Greens Inc

Legal name

Teens Grow Greens

Website

https://teensgrowgreens.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Teens Grow Greens is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that runs paid internships and apprenticeships for local high school students in culinary arts, urban farming, entrepreneurship, education, horticulture, and marketing, serving approximately 100 teens annually through partner sites across the city.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Readiness, Career Pathways & Youth Employment Nonprofits (BPAGADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

Keywords

• Youth workforce development
• Paid teen internships
• Urban farming education
• Culinary training programs
• Nonprofit youth services

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Teens Grow Greens is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations, sponsorships, and grant funding to operate its paid internship and apprenticeship programs for teens. The organization does not charge teens to participate.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Teens Grow Greens is a Milwaukee non-profit that delivers paid, in-person internship and apprenticeship programs to local high school students. Programs include Kitchen (culinary training), Garden (urban farming at Westlawn Gardens and Cottonwood School), and Workshop (entrepreneurship/product design) internships, followed by four paid apprenticeship tracks in Education, Horticulture, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing. Teens are paid hourly and the organization supplements training with mentorship, bank-account setup, and scholarship opportunities.

Product overview

Teens Grow Greens is a non-profit educational organization offering a multi-tiered youth development program. The core consists of three paid internship experiences (The Kitchen focusing on culinary training, The Garden focusing on urban farming, and The Workshop focusing on product design) that provide teens with hands-on skills and $12/hour compensation. Upon completion, graduates can advance to four apprenticeship tracks in Education, Horticulture, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing—paid career-focused programs earning $15-16.50/hour. The organization also provides a Mentorship Network connecting participants with professionals. The programs are designed to cultivate belonging, life skills, leadership, and connections to future opportunities for Milwaukee-area youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Kitchen Internship Winter/spring paid internship focused on healthy nutrition and culinary training where teens learn to cook, make healthy decisions, and complete activities such as the Supermarket Challenge to create family meals on a budget. Interns are paid $12/hour.
• The Garden Internship Summer paid internship focused on urban farming and food sovereignty where teens learn Milwaukee's food history, plant and harvest vegetables, and contribute to food security on both the north and south sides of Milwaukee. Interns are paid $12/hour.
• The Workshop Internship Fall paid internship focused on designing products with purpose where teens build business models, develop product stories, and pitch products at The Perennial event with prize money for top entries. Interns are paid $12/hour.
• Education Apprenticeship Paid career-focused apprenticeship track for teens graduating from TGG internships, providing career training, hands-on practice, and professional development in education. First-year apprentices earn $15/hour.
• Horticulture Apprenticeship Paid career-focused apprenticeship track focused on horticulture skills and greenhouse management, building on Garden internship experience with advanced training. First-year apprentices earn $15/hour and second-year apprentices earn $16.50/hour.
• Entrepreneurship Apprenticeship Paid career-focused apprenticeship track where teens develop entrepreneurial skills, create business models, and learn from local entrepreneurs with mentorship from TGG Entrepreneurship Apprentices. First-year apprentices earn $15/hour and second-year apprentices earn $16.50/hour.
• Marketing Apprenticeship The 4th apprenticeship program, a 9-month paid track where teens learn storytelling and digital media literacy, serving as photographers, videographers, filmmakers, editors, podcasters, broadcasters, writers, and street team members. First-year apprentices earn $15/hour and second-year apprentices earn $16.50/hour.

Quantifiable outcome

• $12/hour starting wage for interns, $15-16.50/hour for apprentices, plus $3,000 scholarship potential
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Weber's GreenhousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTGG operates programs at Weber's Greenhouse, a historic community greenhouse facility. The partnership enables horticulture and urban farming education for teens. TGG celebrated its move into Weber's Greenhouse with community leaders including Ashanti Hamilton and Claire Muza.
• Riverwest Co-opminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTGG collaborates with Riverwest Co-op on community programming. Todd Leech, President of the TGG Board of Directors, also serves as President of Sweet Water Foundation and Riverwest Co-op, creating organizational connections.
• Newline CafeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEntrepreneurship apprenticeship partnership with Newline Cafe. Apprentices gain real-world business experience through collaboration with the local cafe business.
• Washington Park Media CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarketing apprentices partner with Washington Park Media Center for media production experience. Apprentices have worked on various projects documenting community events.
• Beulah Family HomesteadminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGarden internship field trip destination where teens learn farming practices and food production from local farmers.
• Educators Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTGG helps interns open bank accounts at Educators Credit Union for direct deposit of paychecks. Partnership supports financial literacy and banking access for young workers.
• Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTGG recruits teens from across MPS schools for internship programs. Primary source of teen participants.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Year Up: Large-scale national youth workforce development nonprofit providing paid training, internships, and career pathways to young adults — broader industry incumbent offering paid stipends and wraparound supports similar to TGG's internship model.
• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): National nonprofit activating the entrepreneurial mindset in young people from under-resourced communities through classroom and experiential programming — directly comparable to TGG's Entrepreneurship Apprenticeship track.
• Big Green: National nonprofit building learning gardens in schools with food and garden-based education; broader geographic footprint than TGG but overlaps in using gardens as vehicles for youth development and food education.
• Genesys Works: National nonprofit providing paid corporate internships, career coaching, and college support to high school students from under-resourced communities — comparable paid-internship youth workforce model to TGG, though larger scale and corporate-tech focused.
• REAL School Gardens: Nonprofit that builds outdoor learning gardens and trains teachers, with a regional focus on the Southwest U.S.; comparable garden-as-education model though less emphasis on paid teen apprenticeships than TGG.
• BUILD.org: National nonprofit using entrepreneurship education and mentorship to propel youth from under-resourced communities toward college and career success — overlaps with TGG's Entrepreneurship Apprenticeship and mentorship network components.

Others

• iMentor: National nonprofit pairing youth with adult mentors for college and career success — comparable to TGG's Mentorship Network component, though primarily a mentor-matching program rather than paid apprenticeship provider.

Direct peers

• The Food Project: Boston-area nonprofit employing teens in urban agriculture, culinary, and food justice programs through paid summer internships and year-round youth development — closely comparable to TGG in mission, paid teen structure, and farm-to-table programming.
• Green Bronx Machine: Bronx-based nonprofit using urban agriculture, food justice, and workforce pathways for youth and communities — comparable to TGG in mission and demographic focus, though operating in a different metro.
• Urban Roots: Austin-based nonprofit that uses paid internships and apprenticeships to engage youth in urban agriculture, food access, and leadership development — the closest direct analog to TGG's paid internship/apprenticeship model in urban farming and youth workforce development.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@teensgrowgreens9660/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/teensgrowgreens
• Instagraminstagram.com/teensgrowgreens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/teens-grow-greens

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 Teens Grow Greens Inc