What Changeist does

Changeist is a California-based nonprofit organization, founded in 2014 by Mario Fedelin, that operates a Saturday out-of-school civic engagement program for youth ages 11 to 26 across two locations: Los Angeles and Stockton. The program brings together middle school, high school, and college-aged participants on diverse teams led by near-peer mentors (Team Leaders drawn from alumni) to learn a common civic language, engage in dialogue, develop changemaking skills such as public speaking, conflict resolution, and information literacy, and implement local service projects addressing community issues. To date, participants have collectively completed more than 80,000 service hours and hundreds of local projects.

Changeist's product portfolio comprises the core Saturday Program, the Team Leader Program for alumni mentors, and the Changeist Media Program — a youth storytelling initiative produced in collaboration with Sony Pictures that yields videos, blogs, podcasts, photography, and an annual digital magazine (2023, 2024 editions). The organization also publishes the Changeist Media Blog as a platform for youth expression. The team consists of approximately eight named staff, including a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, State Director, LA Program Director, two Program Managers, an Operations Manager, and a Community Engagement Manager, supported by an advisory board.

Changeist is a fiscal-sponsored project of Community Partners, a California nonprofit, and operates as a donation-and-grant-funded organization rather than a commercial enterprise. Revenue is generated through individual donations processed via Network for Good, foundation and institutional grants, and corporate sponsorship (contact managed by the COO). The program is free to participants, and customer acquisition relies on community partnerships, social media (Instagram accounts for LA and Stockton), and direct application through dedicated Google Forms. The organization has no proprietary technology platform; its methodology rests on collaborative learning, dialogue facilitation, and near-peer mentorship.

Name

Changeist

Legal name

Changeist

Website

https://changeist.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Changeist is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that runs free Saturday civic engagement programs for youth ages 11-26 in Los Angeles and Stockton, California, developing leadership and changemaking skills through near-peer mentorship, community service projects, and a Sony Pictures-backed youth media program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 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: Individual donors can make one-time or recurring donations through Network for Good platform.
2. Grants: Grant funding from foundations and institutional donors supporting youth civic engagement programs.
3. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorship arrangements for program funding, contacted via [email protected].

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Changeist operates free Saturday out-of-school civic engagement programs for youth ages 11-26 in Los Angeles and Stockton, California. Participants learn a shared civic language, engage in dialogue, and build community around local and national challenges, supported by near-peer mentors and partner organizations. The organization also runs the Changeist Media program (in collaboration with Sony Pictures) that puts alumni into storytelling roles producing blogs, magazines, videos, and podcasts about activism.

Product overview

Changeist is a non-profit youth empowerment organization offering a Saturday out-of-school civic engagement program for youth ages 11-26. The core program places participants on diverse teams with near-peer mentors to explore social issues, build civic leadership skills, and implement community projects. The portfolio includes the Changeist Saturday Program, the Changeist Media Program (a Sony Pictures collaboration producing youth-generated video and media content), and the Team Leader Program for youth leadership development. The organization also publishes the Changeist Media Blog and annual Changeist Media Magazine as platforms for youth expression.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Changeist Media: A media program for Changeist alumni in middle school and high school that puts youth into storytelling roles, producing videos, blogs, podcasts, pictures, and art related to activism. A collaboration with Sony Pictures.

Products and services

• Changeist Saturday Program A free Saturday out-of-school program that brings together youth ages 11-26 in Los Angeles and Stockton, California to learn a common civic language, engage in dialogue, and build community to investigate local and national challenges. Participants apply through a dedicated application form per location.
• Changeist Media Program A youth storytelling program in collaboration with Sony Pictures that puts Changeist alumni in middle school and high school into storytelling roles, producing videos, blogs, podcasts, photography, and art related to activism and social issues.
• Team Leader Program A near-peer mentor leadership opportunity for Changeist alumni (high school juniors/seniors) and post-high school young adults who lead teams of youth changemakers during Saturday sessions and additional trainings.
• Changeist Media Blog A youth-led blog platform featuring articles, interviews, and creative content created by Changeist Media participants covering social issues and activism topics.
• Changeist Media Magazine An annual digital magazine published by Changeist youth documenting the program year through interviews, photography, and art (notable editions include the 2023 and 2024 magazines).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80,000 collective service hours completed by participants
• +1 more outcomes

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

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Community PartnerscoreOthersChangeist is a project of Community Partners, a nonprofit fiscal sponsor based in Los Angeles that provides organizational infrastructure and administrative support for the program.
• Sony PicturesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Changeist Media program is a proud collaboration with Sony Pictures, providing youth participants with resources and mentorship to create media projects including videos, blogs, podcasts, and photography related to social activism.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Common Cause: Common Cause is a national nonpartisan watchdog and advocacy organization focused on government accountability, voting rights, and civic participation. It is a broad incumbent peer to Changeist in the civic engagement and democratic participation space, though operating at the adult advocacy level rather than the direct-youth-programming level.
• Public Allies: Public Allies is a national nonprofit that advances new leadership by engaging young adults in paid community service apprenticeships with nonprofits. It is a broad incumbent peer to Changeist in mission (youth as community leaders) and methodology (cohort-based near-peer learning), though focused on young adults rather than ages 11-26.
• City Year: City Year is a national service and youth development organization that places AmeriCorps members in schools to support student success. It is a broad incumbent peer — multiple Changeist team members (including the CEO and COO) are City Year alumni, and the model of near-peer mentorship and civic identity-building closely mirrors Changeist's.
• Points of Light: Points of Light is a global nonprofit that promotes volunteerism and civic engagement through programming, recognition, and convening. It is a broad incumbent peer to Changeist in mobilizing individuals around community service, though its scale and corporate volunteer focus differ from Changeist's youth-specific approach.

Direct peers

• iCivics: iCivics is the nation's largest civic education provider, offering games and curriculum to teach civics primarily to middle school students nationwide. It is a direct peer to Changeist in civic education mission and middle-school target demographic, though it delivers digitally at scale whereas Changeist delivers in-person in two cities.
• Mikva Challenge: Mikva Challenge is a Chicago-based nonprofit that develops youth as informed, active citizens and leaders through civic engagement programs in schools and communities. It is a direct peer to Changeist in target audience (high school and college-age youth), programmatic approach (civic action projects), and outcome framework (youth voice in civic life).
• Generation Citizen: Generation Citizen is a nonprofit that brings civics education and action into schools and communities for middle and high school students, operating across multiple states. It is a direct peer to Changeist in mission — youth civic empowerment through structured programs — though it leans more classroom-embedded versus Changeist's Saturday community model.
• DoSomething.org: DoSomething.org is one of the largest youth-centered nonprofits in the U.S., mobilizing millions of young people around social impact campaigns and volunteer action. It is a direct peer to Changeist in target audience (ages 11-26) and civic/activism orientation, though at vastly greater scale and with a digital-first delivery model.

Regional players

• LEAD California: LEAD California is a civic engagement organization that trains and supports California high school students to advocate on issues affecting their schools and communities. It is a regional peer to Changeist — operating in the same state, serving overlapping middle/high school youth demographics, and focused on civic advocacy skill-building.

Emerging players

• Civic Nation: Civic Nation is a nonprofit that builds campaigns and programs to increase civic participation, particularly among younger and historically underrepresented Americans. It is an emerging-player peer to Changeist in civic empowerment mission and youth/adult crossover audience, with overlap in voter engagement and community-change programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/changeistla
• Xx.com/changeistla
• Facebookfacebook.com/changeistCA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-citizen-hub

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Changeist