What Kalamazoo Youth Development Network does

Kalamazoo Youth Development Network (KYD Network) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit intermediary organization founded in 2000 that coordinates the out-of-school time (OST) sector across Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties in Southwest Michigan. It convenes approximately 60 youth-serving organizations through a formal cohort model, providing continuous quality improvement coaching, professional development workshops, affinity group sessions, and grant administration services. Its core products include the Afterschool Program Finder, Summer Program Finder, and Employment Finder — self-serve web directories that allow families to search for youth programming by location, focus area, grade level, and cost — as well as the Kalamazoo County and Calhoun County Youth Cabinets, which give youth ages 13–21 a structured voice in shaping community priorities.

The organization standardizes program quality through evidence-based third-party instruments: the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA) from the David Weikart Center and the Hello Insight SEL assessment, replacing DESSA in 2021. It also administers public funding flows, notably a $678,134 City of Kalamazoo ARPA Summer Program Fund that distributes $20,000–$75,000 grants per project, and operates an Employment Finder job board connecting youth with local employers.

KYD Network's revenue is derived primarily from charitable donations, foundation and municipal grants, and in-kind support from founding partners (City of Kalamazoo, Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, Hispanic American Council). Cohort membership is offered at no disclosed fee, and program discovery and employment-matching services are provided free to families and youth. The organization is led by Executive Director Abra Smith under a Shared Leadership Model adopted in 2024, with a small staff of 10–15 distributed across Quality Coaching, Systems & Operations, Community Engagement, and Development functions.

Name

Kalamazoo Youth Development Network

Legal name

Kalamazoo Youth Development Network

Website

https://kydnet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kalamazoo Youth Development Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit intermediary that coordinates the out-of-school time sector across Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties, Michigan, serving approximately 60 youth-serving organizations and the families and youth they reach through cohort coaching, program finders, and youth cabinets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Out-of-School Time Youth Development Coordination

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Safety, Wellbeing & SEL Technology (Monitoring, Reporting) (EDAJAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

School-Based Mental & Behavioral Health Services (EDAJAIAB), Safeguarding, Child Protection & Reporting Services (EDAJAIAD), Attendance, Engagement & Truancy Intervention Services (EDAJAIAI)

Keywords

• Out-of-school time programs
• Youth development services
• Nonprofit intermediary coordination
• Program quality assessment
• Social emotional learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Kalamazoo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. ARPA Grant Administration: KYD Network administers the City of Kalamazoo Summer Program Fund, a $678,134 ARPA grant designated to fund innovative and effective Youth Development Summer programs. Grant awards range from $20,000 to $75,000 per project/program.
2. Donations and Contributions: The organization accepts charitable donations to support their mission of creating liberated communities where all youth thrive. They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
3. Cohort Membership Services: Organizations join KYD Network's cohort through an application process and receive continuous quality improvement support, professional development, coaching, and access to resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

KYD Network operates as the intermediary organization for the Out-of-School Time (OST) sector in Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties, coordinating approximately 60 youth-serving organizations and connecting families with afterschool, summer, and employment programs. It administers grant funding, delivers program quality coaching and professional development to member organizations, and convenes youth advisory cabinets. Its products include the Afterschool Program Finder, Summer Program Finder, Employment Finder, and Youth Cabinets, which together support a youth-driven, anti-racist OST ecosystem.

Product overview

KYD Network operates as an intermediary organization for the Out-of-School Time (OST) sector in Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties, providing a coordinated ecosystem of program discovery and youth engagement tools. The core offerings include the Afterschool Program Finder and Summer Program Finder (collectively accessible via the Program Finder), which serve as directories connecting families with youth development programs; the Employment Finder, a youth-focused job board; and the Youth Cabinets (Kalamazoo County Youth Cabinet and Calhoun County Youth Cabinet), which provide youth leadership opportunities. These products work together to support KYD Network's mission of ensuring youth have agency within a youth-driven, anti-racist, high-quality OST system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Afterschool Program Finder Online directory enabling families in Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties to search and discover afterschool programs with filters for focus area, grade level, cost, and location.
• Summer Program Finder Online directory listing summer programs for youth in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, filterable by organization, focus area, neighborhood, grade level, cost, transportation, and meals.
• Employment Finder Job board connecting local employers with youth job seekers in Kalamazoo, with filters for position type, organization, location, age requirement, pay, and industry. Free for both job seekers and employers.
• Youth Cabinets (KCYC and CCYC) Youth advisory councils convening youth ages 13-21 twice monthly to lead initiatives promoting identity, belonging, and agency within the OST sector across Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties.
• Program Finder
• Cohort Membership Program Application-based cohort membership for youth-serving organizations providing continuous quality improvement coaching, YPQA observations, 35 annual professional development workshops, 33 affinity group sessions, MOU partnerships, and access to grant funding.
• ARPA Summer Program Fund Administration Administration of the $678,134 City of Kalamazoo ARPA Summer Program Fund, awarding $20,000-$75,000 per project to innovative and effective youth development summer programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 91% of youth surveyed have at least three adults in their life who believe they will succeed (building social capital)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• David Weikart Center for Youth Program QualitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024KYD Network is part of the David Weikart Center's network of communities implementing the Youth Program Quality Intervention (YPQI), providing evidence-based quality assessment framework.
• National Summer Learning AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024KYD Network organizes National Day of Summer Learning events as part of this national initiative, celebrated by communities across the country to raise awareness for summer learning importance.
• City of KalamazoocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000KYD Network began as a collaborative effort among the city of Kalamazoo, the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, and the Hispanic American Council to provide networking opportunities for youth-serving organizations. The city continues to partner through ARPA grant administration.
• Hispanic American CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000One of the founding partners that collaborated to create KYD Network, representing the Latinx community's interests in youth development.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Every Hour Counts: National coalition of city-level OST intermediaries (including KYD Network-adjacent organizations) that convenes leaders, advocates for federal funding, and shares best practices across the OST intermediary field. Comparable as a peer-network convener operating in the same OST backbone space.
• Forum for Youth Investment: National intermediary focused on improving youth outcomes through policy, systems change, and quality frameworks — including the Ready by 21 and Youth Thrive frameworks. Comparable as a higher-tier intermediary operating in the same youth development systems-change space.
• David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality: The national organization that developed the YPQI/YPQA framework KYD Network implements. Functions as both a methodology licensor and a peer network convener across OST intermediaries; comparable as the upstream standards body whose frameworks define KYD Network's core offering.

Others

• Panorama Education: K-12 SEL and climate survey platform used by schools and districts. Comparable as a potential competitor or complement to KYD Network's Hello Insight-based SEL measurement, particularly if Panorama expands into OST program quality assessment at the regional level.

Direct peers

• LA's BEST: Los Angeles-based OST intermediary operating across multiple school districts, providing coordinated afterschool programming with quality standards and measurement frameworks. Comparable as a regional OST backbone organization with municipal and foundation funding support.
• Boston After School & Beyond: Boston-based OST intermediary that builds partnerships among youth-serving organizations, funds programming, and provides program quality measurement — closely mirroring KYD Network's cohort membership, quality coaching, and program finder model in a different regional market.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo: Named KYD Network partner organization providing direct afterschool and summer programming. Functions as a downstream cohort member receiving KYD Network's quality coaching, while also representing the type of large provider organization the intermediary model is designed to support.
• ExpandED Schools (formerly TASC): New York City-based intermediary organization that coordinates afterschool and OST programs across multiple providers, similar in function to KYD Network's intermediary role in Kalamazoo/Calhoun. Both organizations operate as backbone conveners providing quality improvement, professional development, and funding administration to youth-serving organizations.

Regional players

• Michigan After-School Partnership: Michigan statewide afterschool network that aligns statewide OST policy, professional development, and quality standards. Operates one administrative layer above KYD Network as the state-level intermediary, sharing policy advocacy and funder alignment responsibilities for the same population.

Emerging players

• National Summer Learning Association: National nonprofit that KYD Network partners with to organize National Day of Summer Learning events. Operates as a national advocacy and resource body for summer programming — comparable as a higher-tier convener in KYD Network's ecosystem and a potential funder/capacity-building partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KYDNetwork
• Instagraminstagram.com/kyd_network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Kalamazoo Youth Development Network