The Valedictorian Project
The Valedictorian Project is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides mentorship, coaching, and direct financial support to high-achieving first-generation college students across Massachusetts through a dual-mentor model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Valedictorian Project does
The Valedictorian Project (TVP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in Winter 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts, in direct response to a January 2019 Boston Globe investigative series profiling the untapped potential of Boston-area public school valedictorians. The organization runs a college-persistence and career-launch program for high-achieving, first-generation students graduating from urban public schools across Massachusetts (Boston, Lawrence, Worcester, Brockton, Chelsea, and surrounding areas). Its core service is a dual-mentor model in which each scholar is matched with a peer mentor (recent graduate or early career) and a senior mentor (established professional), supplemented by one-on-one coaching across academics, career, and personal wellbeing.
TVP layers direct financial support on top of mentorship: the Futures Fund provides approximately $500 stipends to cover unanticipated college expenses, and the TVP-Rappaport Summer Fellowship provides $5,000 stipends for internships and career-building summer opportunities. Programmatic operations are managed through TVP Connect, a web-based portal hosted at tvpconnect.org that handles mentor applications, background checks, mentor-mentee matching, and ongoing program coordination. Supporting services include year-round workshops on financial literacy, on-campus mental health, and resume building.
The organization's revenue model is entirely donation-based as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable entity (EIN 85-2099157). It receives individual donations, securities transfers, corporate partnerships (including sponsorship, employee mentoring, and talent recruitment), and foundation grants. Named institutional supporters include the Rappaport Foundation, Shields Family Foundation, M&T Bank, MFS, Red Sox Foundation, Eversource, Eastern Bank, and Holland & Knight. All scholar services are provided free of charge. The organization has no paid product, no app, no public API, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. TVP reports 230+ active scholars, 60+ alumni, a 3.6 average scholar GPA, and over $570,000 awarded in Summer Fellowships to date.
The Valedictorian Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Valedictorian Project
- Legal name
- The Valedictorian Project
- Website
- https://thevalproj.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Valedictorian Project is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides mentorship, coaching, and direct financial support to high-achieving first-generation college students across Massachusetts through a dual-mentor model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Valedictorian Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Mentorship Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)
Keywords
Where The Valedictorian Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Valedictorian Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: The Valedictorian Project relies on donations from individuals and the community. Contributions are tax-deductible as it is a 501(c)(3) organization. EIN: 85-2099157.
- Corporate Partnerships: Companies can sponsor TVP programs, match employee donations, or provide in-kind support through corporate partnerships.
- Foundation Grants: Rappaport Foundation provides $5,000 stipends for the TVP-Rappaport Summer Fellowship. Shields Family Foundation enabled expansion to new cities.
- Securities and Stock Donations: Gifts of securities are welcome. Contact for information on securities transfers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free mentorship program for eligible students |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Valedictorian Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Valedictorian Project is a Massachusetts nonprofit that supports high-achieving, first-generation college students from urban public schools through a dual-mentor model pairing each scholar with a peer mentor and a senior mentor, supplemented by direct financial stipends (Futures Fund and Rappaport Summer Fellowship), one-on-one coaching, and workshops. Services are free to mentees and funded by individual donations, corporate partnerships, and foundation grants.
Product overview
The Valedictorian Project is a mentorship program for high-achieving first-generation college students in Massachusetts, operating a Dual-Mentor Model where each scholar is matched with two mentors. The core offering includes one-on-one coaching across academics, career, and personal wellbeing, supplemented by the Futures Fund (financial stipends) and the TVP-Rappaport Summer Fellowship ($5,000 summer stipends). The program is accessible via TVP Connect, the organization's online portal, and includes workshops on financial literacy, mental health, and career preparation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Futures Fund: Financial support program providing $500 stipends to mentees to cover unanticipated expenses during college.
- TVP-Rappaport Summer Fellowship
Products and services
- Dual-Mentor Mentorship Program Core service in which every TVP scholar is matched with two dedicated mentors — a peer mentor (recent graduate or early career) and a senior mentor (established professional) — who together provide consistent guidance through college and into careers.
- Futures Fund Direct financial support program providing $500 stipends to participating mentees to cover unanticipated expenses during the school year.
- TVP-Rappaport Summer Fellowship $5,000 summer stipend program in partnership with the Rappaport Foundation enabling mentees to pursue internships, research positions, and career-building programs during summer months.
- Workshops Year-round workshops covering financial literacy, mental health services on campus, and resume building delivered to TVP mentees.
Quantifiable outcome
- Average GPA of 3.6 among scholars
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Valedictorian Project
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Valedictorian Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
The Valedictorian Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Corporate Partners (General)supportingMultiple corporate partners support TVP through sponsorship, providing employee mentors, career panels, and talent recruitment. Partners include Rappaport Foundation, M&T Bank, MFS, Red Sox Foundation, Eversource, Eastern Bank, and others shown in partner logos on the website.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Valedictorian Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- uAspire: uAspire focuses on financial aid advising and college affordability for low-income and first-generation students — highly comparable to TVP's direct financial support (Futures Fund, Rappaport Fellowship) layered on top of mentoring.
- College Possible: College Possible delivers near-peer coaching to low-income students through college, with a similar high-touch coaching + financial support model that makes it the closest scaled analogue to TVP.
- iMentor: iMentor pairs low-income high school students with college-and-career mentors — closely mirroring TVP's structured, long-duration mentoring model for first-generation students.
- Matriculate: Matriculate connects high-achieving low-income and first-generation students with undergraduate mentors for college application and persistence support, overlapping with TVP's selective-funnel, mentor-driven approach.
- The Opportunity Network: The Opportunity Network provides college access, career exposure, and professional networks to high-achieving students of color, a closely aligned mission and programmatic structure to TVP's mentor + career-building offering.
- Strive (for College): Strive pairs college students with near-peer mentors to coach high-schoolers through the college application and enrollment process, an analogous volunteer/peer-mentor pipeline model to TVP.
- OneGoal: OneGoal runs a multi-year college success program for low-income students that combines mentoring, coaching, and postsecondary persistence support — directly comparable in duration and programmatic layers to TVP.
- Bottom Line: Bottom Line provides one-on-one college access and success coaching to first-generation students from under-resourced communities — directly comparable to TVP's mentor-plus-coaching plus financial support model for first-gen scholars.
Emerging players
- QuestBridge: QuestBridge connects high-achieving, low-income students to selective colleges via scholarships and a national community — overlaps with TVP on the high-achieving, first-gen funnel and college-persistence support, though at a national scale and with a different funding model.
Broad incumbents
- College Advising Corps: College Advising Corps places recent college graduates as near-peer advisers in under-resourced high schools — a broader, more established comparable model that addresses a similar target population with a near-peer mentoring approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Valedictorian Project social profiles
Digital presenceThe Valedictorian Project compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
The Valedictorian Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Valedictorian Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
The Valedictorian Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Valedictorian Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Valedictorian Project
What does The Valedictorian Project do?
The Valedictorian Project is a Massachusetts nonprofit that supports high-achieving, first-generation college students from urban public schools through a dual-mentor model pairing each scholar with a peer mentor and a senior mentor, supplemented by direct financial stipends (Futures Fund and Rappaport Summer Fellowship), one-on-one coaching, and workshops. Services are free to mentees and funded by individual donations, corporate partnerships, and foundation grants.
Is The Valedictorian Project a public or private company?
The Valedictorian Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Valedictorian Project founded?
The Valedictorian Project was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Valedictorian Project based?
The Valedictorian Project is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Valedictorian Project make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate Partnerships, foundation Grants and securities and Stock Donations.
Who are The Valedictorian Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are uAspire, College Possible, iMentor, Matriculate, The Opportunity Network, Strive (for College), OneGoal and Bottom Line. QuestBridge is listed as an emerging player. College Advising Corps is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does The Valedictorian Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Valedictorian Project.
What industry is The Valedictorian Project in?
The Valedictorian Project's product category is Youth Mentorship Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.