The Job Foundation

What The Job Foundation does

The Job Foundation is a private nonprofit organization founded in 2006 by Jennifer Corey-Brost in Waterloo, Iowa, with a stated mission of equipping K-12 students and their families for economic advancement. The organization delivers a unified long-term financial education intervention to children growing up in low-income households in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls community. Its core products are three integrated program components: (1) classroom financial literacy lessons covering banking, taxes, credit unions, investing, budgeting, and charitable giving; (2) conditional cash transfers in which students earn money based on grades, attendance, and behavior, with approximately 60% of earnings retained in long-term savings accounts targeted at a $3,400 graduation asset; and (3) volunteer mentoring with a 12-month commitment. Hands-on supervised Shopping Days reinforce classroom lessons with real-world practice.

The business model is donation-driven. Revenue streams include individual donations, foundation grants (notably GreenState Foundation), and scholarship endowments (the Allbaugh family's TJF Scholarship at Hawkeye Community College, University of Northern Iowa, and Iowa State University). Programs are delivered free of charge to students through direct school partnerships in the Waterloo Community School District and Cedar Falls School District. The organization does not operate a proprietary technology platform; delivery relies on in-person lessons, community events, and basic digital tooling (JotForm for enrollment, Constant Contact for newsletters, social media channels). Go-to-market is community-led, with student and mentor recruitment driven by school partnerships, volunteer networks, and word-of-mouth referrals.

The organization's scale remains modest: a five-person full-time staff, a 13+ member volunteer board, 138 students enrolled for the 2025-2026 school year, and 31 cumulative graduates since 2018 who have received approximately $127,000 in program earnings upon high school graduation. Operations are geographically restricted to the Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa metro with no disclosed expansion beyond this market.

Name

The Job Foundation

Legal name

The Job Foundation

Website

https://thejobfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Job Foundation is a Waterloo, Iowa nonprofit founded in 2006 that delivers K-12 financial literacy education, conditional cash transfers tied to academic performance, and volunteer mentoring to low-income students in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls community, funded by donations and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Financial Literacy Education Services

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAL

Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGADAC

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDANAJAF

Alternative Education & Dropout Prevention / Re-Engagement Programs

Education/Tutoring & Test Preparation/Remedial, Credit Recovery & Academic Catch-Up Programs

Keywords

• Financial literacy education
• Youth financial mentoring
• Conditional cash transfers
• Nonprofit youth services
• K-12 financial education

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterloo

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donors contribute to support the organization's financial education programs for K-12 students. Donations fund student earnings, program operations, and mentoring activities.
2. Foundation Grants: GreenState Foundation and other institutional foundations provide grant funding to support the organization's mission of financial education and breaking generational poverty.
3. Scholarship Endowments: The Job Foundation Scholarship established by Dave and Jeanne Allbaugh provides scholarship funds at partner institutions (Hawkeye Community College, University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University) for graduating program students.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Job Foundation delivers a K-12 financial education program to students from low-income households in Waterloo, Iowa, combining in-school financial literacy lessons, conditional cash transfers tied to grades, attendance, and behavior, and one-on-one volunteer mentoring over up to 13 years. The program also includes hands-on Shopping Days and culminates in the TJF Scholarship for graduating students attending partner Iowa colleges and universities.

Product overview

The Job Foundation operates a single, unified K-12 Financial Education Program that combines three core components: structured financial literacy lessons delivered at varying frequencies throughout the school year, a Conditional Cash Transfers system where students earn money tied to academic performance and behavior, and a Mentoring Program pairing students with volunteer role models. The program also includes hands-on Shopping Days and culminates with the TJF Scholarship for continued education. The products work together as an integrated long-term intervention designed to break generational poverty through comprehensive financial literacy, savings accumulation, and educational support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• K-12 Financial Education Program A comprehensive financial literacy curriculum delivered to K-12 students during the school year in Waterloo, Iowa community schools, providing lessons on taxes, banking, credit, credit unions, investing, budgeting, and charitable giving, with different delivery frequencies tailored for elementary, middle, and high school grade levels.
• Conditional Cash Transfers Program A student earnings program in which K-12 students receive money tied to good grades, attendance, and behavior at school. Approximately 60% of earnings are held in long-term savings accounts toward a $3,400 graduation goal, while the remaining 40% is available for supervised Shopping Days that teach spending planning and comparison shopping.
• Volunteer Mentoring Program A volunteer mentoring program pairing K-12 students with long-term positive role models. Mentors commit to a 12-month relationship, must be 18+ years old, and provide ongoing one-on-one support to students throughout their multi-year program participation.
• TJF Scholarship A scholarship endowment providing post-secondary education funds for graduating students of The Job Foundation who attend Hawkeye Community College, University of Northern Iowa, or Iowa State University. Established by Dave and Jeanne Allbaugh, it supports continued education and debt-free college pathways for program graduates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 83% of students are on track to achieve their $3,400 long-term savings goal upon graduation
• +3 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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Veridian Credit UnionminorOthersAna Hernandez represents Veridian Credit Union on the Board of Directors, providing governance oversight and community connections.
• Hawkeye Community CollegecoreOthersPartner institution for The Job Foundation Scholarship, allowing graduates to continue education at low cost. Holly Johnson serves as Executive Director of Institutional Advancement.
• University of Northern IowacoreOthersPartner institution for The Job Foundation Scholarship. Elizabeth Minard serves as Associate Director of Development.
• Iowa State UniversitycoreOthersPartner institution for The Job Foundation Scholarship, accepting graduates for continued education and career preparation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SaverLife: SaverLife is a nonprofit that helps low- to moderate-income Americans build savings through matched savings programs and incentives—comparable to TJF in combining financial education with conditional savings/cash-transfer incentives, though serving adults rather than K-12 students.
• Junior Achievement USA: Junior Achievement is the largest U.S. K-12 financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship education nonprofit, delivering classroom programs through volunteer mentors—directly comparable to TJF's K-12 financial education + mentoring model.
• FoolProof: FoolProof delivers free, advertising-free financial literacy curriculum to K-12 students with a focus on underserved schools, directly comparable in target audience (low-income K-12 students) and content area, but using digital rather than community-based delivery.
• Next Gen Personal Finance: NGPF provides free K-12 personal finance curriculum, teacher training, and student engagement programs across the U.S., closely aligned with TJF's mission of equipping K-12 students with financial knowledge, though delivered via curriculum rather than in-person mentoring.
• FDIC Money Smart for Young People: FDIC's Money Smart for Young People is a free K-12 financial education curriculum aligned with national standards, directly overlapping TJF's curriculum content area (banking, saving, budgeting) though delivered federally rather than through a community nonprofit.

Emerging players

• GreenPath Financial Wellness: GreenPath Financial Wellness is a nonprofit providing financial counseling, education, and debt management—overlapping with TJF's financial capability mission but serving broader demographics (not specifically K-12) through counseling rather than school-based programming.

Broad incumbents

• EverFi: EverFi (now part of Vector Solutions) provides digital K-12 financial literacy, STEM, and wellness curricula to schools nationwide—an incumbent in the K-12 financial education space offering technology-driven delivery comparable to TJF's classroom curriculum component.
• Council for Economic Education: CEE is the leading U.S. organization focused on economic and personal finance education in K-12 schools, operating through curriculum, teacher training, and state affiliates—broader scope than TJF but overlapping mission in K-12 financial literacy.
• National Endowment for Financial Education: NEFE is a national foundation that funds and develops financial education programming and research, including youth-focused initiatives—an incumbent in the same mission space as TJF but operating at a national scale rather than a single community.

Regional players

• Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa: JA of Eastern Iowa is the regional Junior Achievement affiliate serving eastern Iowa schools with K-12 financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs—a direct regional peer operating in the same geography as TJF with a similar volunteer-led classroom model.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thejobfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-job-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/jobfoundation
• TikToktiktok.com/@wix

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 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 The Job Foundation