The Program Inc. It's About Change

What The Program Inc. It's About Change does

STRIVE Initiatives, formerly The Program, It's About Change, is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)-style nonprofit founded in 1979 that delivers a coordinated suite of reentry and pre-entry support services to justice-involved individuals and at-risk youth across Dauphin, York, and Lancaster Counties. Its service portfolio spans six core programs: Workforce Development (job training, certifications, employment placement), Housing Assistance (rental and transition support), Fatherhood Reentry Program (cognitive behavioral intervention, one-on-one counseling with Licensed Social Workers, and parent-child bonding), Mentoring, a modular Life Skills Workshop curriculum covering eight topics including computer literacy, budgeting, health, and job-search skills, and Pardons Assistance for criminal record remediation. Delivery is in-person at the organization's York, PA office (140 N Duke Street), with intake driven by referrals from York County Prison, parole officers, and community partners, supplemented by direct outreach through the organization's website and social channels.

The business model is a donation-and-grant-funded nonprofit: services are delivered at no cost to participants, with revenue sourced from individual charitable donations (accepted via PayPal) and institutional grants, of which WellSpan's funding of the Life Skills Workshops is the named example. The organization operates with a 1-10 person staff including Licensed Social Workers and is governed by a Board of Directors. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on trust-based referral relationships with the corrections system and grassroots word-of-mouth rather than paid acquisition or a digital platform. There is no proprietary technology product, no mobile application, and no AI component disclosed; the entire service layer is human-delivered.

In 2025 the organization underwent a strategic repositioning: it rebranded to STRIVE Initiatives (Supporting Transformation, Reentry, Impact, Values & Empowerment Initiatives), extended coverage into Lancaster County, and added Pardons Assistance to broaden the participant lifecycle it addresses. The brand carries established credibility from its 1979 origins, and its wraparound, multi-domain service model is positioned as a differentiator versus single-domain reentry providers in the region.

Name

The Program Inc. It's About Change

Legal name

The Program It's About Change

Website

https://strivepa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

STRIVE Initiatives is a York, Pennsylvania nonprofit (founded 1979) delivering workforce development, housing assistance, fatherhood reentry, mentoring, life skills, and pardons support at no cost to justice-involved individuals and at-risk youth across Dauphin, York, and Lancaster Counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reentry and Social Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Reentry Programs (Justice-Involved) (EDAAAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

Keywords

• Reentry services
• Workforce development
• Housing assistance
• Life skills training
• Fatherhood programs

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit organization, STRIVE relies on charitable donations from individuals and organizations, as well as grant funding from organizations like WellSpan to support their programs and services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

STRIVE Initiatives (formerly The Program, It's About Change) is a nonprofit organization delivering in-person reentry support services for justice-involved individuals and at-risk youth across Dauphin, York, and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania. Its coordinated suite of programs covers workforce development, housing assistance, a fatherhood reentry program, mentoring, life skills workshops, and pardons assistance, all delivered at no cost to participants and funded through donations and grants.

Product overview

STRIVE Initiatives (formerly The Program, It's About Change) is a nonprofit social services organization offering a coordinated suite of reentry support programs for justice-involved individuals and at-risk youth. The organization operates across Dauphin, York, and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania. Its core programs include Workforce Development, Housing Assistance, Fatherhood Reentry Program, Mentoring, Life Skills Workshops, and Pardons Assistance. Life Skills Workshops are the most modular offering, encompassing eight distinct workshop topics (Cell Phone Use, Computer Literacy, Health & Wellness, Emotional Intelligence & Communication Skills, Job Searching & Interview Skills, Budgeting & Financial Management, Healthy Meals on a Budget, and Community Engagement and Giving Back). These services work together to help individuals rebuild after incarceration by providing support, skills, and opportunities for meaningful employment and family reunification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Workforce Development

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% of ex-offenders do not have a high school diploma - STRIVE addresses this through life skills and educational support
• +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

One partnership is on record.

• York County PrisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYork County Prison refers eligible justice-involved individuals to STRIVE's Fatherhood Reentry Program. Referrals are accepted from both the prison and the community for fathers seeking reentry support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Safer Foundation: Chicago-based reentry organization providing employment, housing, and mentoring services to formerly incarcerated individuals. Direct comparable on workforce reentry and wraparound case management, with substantially more disclosed outcomes data.
• Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR): Virginia-based reentry nonprofit providing case management, employment assistance, housing support, and mentoring for justice-involved individuals. Closely comparable mission, service mix, and community-based delivery model to STRIVE.
• A New Way of Life Reentry Project: Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing housing, reentry support, and advocacy for formerly incarcerated women. Comparable on housing-assisted reentry and wraparound model, with a narrower gender focus than STRIVE's mixed population.
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): CEO is one of the largest U.S. nonprofits providing immediate, transitional, and long-term employment services to people returning from incarceration. Highly comparable to STRIVE's workforce development core, though operating at national scale with published RCT-grade outcome data.
• The Fortune Society: New York-based reentry nonprofit offering wraparound services including workforce development, housing, mentoring, and counseling for justice-involved individuals. Mirrors STRIVE's integrated service model and licensed social-worker staffing approach.
• Project Return: Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing reentry support including housing, employment, and life skills to formerly incarcerated men and women. Comparable wraparound approach with regional rather than national footprint.

Emerging players

• Cabrini University — Center on Immigration: While primarily a higher-education institution, the center runs reentry and workforce programs that overlap with STRIVE's mission. Included as an adjacent emerging player in the Pennsylvania/Mid-Atlantic reentry ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Goodwill Industries International: National nonprofit network providing workforce development, job training, and placement services — including dedicated programs for justice-involved individuals. Comparable on workforce development, but operates at vastly larger scale and as part of a broader retail/thrift-funded mission.
• Community Resources for Justice (CRJ): Massachusetts-based nonprofit providing reentry services, behavioral health, and community justice programs. Comparable on reentry case management and counseling, but with a multi-state, multi-program structure.
• Volunteers of America: Large national human services nonprofit operating reentry, housing, workforce, and family programs across the U.S. Comparable on the fatherhood reentry and supportive housing dimensions, but as a diversified portfolio player rather than a reentry specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/striveinitiatives

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Program Inc. It's About Change