Mt. Airy Learning Tree, Self

What Mt. Airy Learning Tree, Self does

Mt. Airy Learning Tree (MALT) is a community-based nonprofit corporation founded in 1981 by Barbara Bloom that delivers adult education and recreational programming to Northwest Philadelphia residents under a 'Neighbors Teaching Neighbors' model. The organization operates 250+ courses three times per year (fall, winter, and spring terms) spanning arts, fitness, cooking, languages, technology, civics, and special interests, taught by a rotating roster of 200+ community instructors and serving over 3,800 students annually across the Mt. Airy, Germantown, and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods. Courses are priced at $8–$12 per hour with individual course fees ranging $25–$110, supplemented by a $6 non-refundable per-term registration fee, gift certificates, an annual Hidden Gardens Tour fundraiser (which raised $18,000 in 2026), a co-hosted West Mt. Airy Historic House Tour, merchandise (neighborhood maps and branded apparel), and tax-deductible donations processed via PayPal.

MALT's operational backbone is the ACEweb course management platform from ACEware Systems, which handles online registration, scheduling, student/instructor accounts, shopping cart, and credit card payment processing. Registration is also supported through phone, mail-in check/credit card, and walk-in channels at the 6601 Greene Street headquarters, with marketing driven by a Mailchimp newsletter, an embedded Instagram feed, and earned media including a June 2026 New York Times neighborhood feature. The organization runs on a small part-time staff plus a volunteer Board of Governors under Executive Director Janet, with main sponsorship from Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital and need-based tuition assistance provided through the Fern Bell Scholarship Fund at 25–50% coverage.

Name

Mt. Airy Learning Tree, Self

Legal name

Mt. Airy Learning Tree

Website

https://mtairylearningtree.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Mt. Airy Learning Tree is a Philadelphia nonprofit offering 250+ adult education and recreation courses three times yearly to 3,800+ students in Northwest Philadelphia under a 'Neighbors Teaching Neighbors' community-instructor model, supported by donations and an annual Gardens Tour fundraiser.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Education

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Other Schools and Instruction (6116), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Interpretation & Ranger-Led Education Programs (Visitor Education) (THAAAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Adventure Multi-Sport Camps & Skills Academies (THAAAKAM), Outdoor & Wilderness Education Schools (Field-Based Learning) (THAAAOAA)

Keywords

• Community education
• Adult education classes
• Recreational learning
• Nonprofit education
• Continuing education courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

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, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Course Registration Fees: Individual course fees charged per student per term. General pricing of $8-$12/hour for courses, with specific course fees ranging from $25 to $110 depending on duration and materials required.
2. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from community supporters to sustain programs and expand impact. Annual Hidden Gardens Tour serves as major fundraiser.
3. Gift Certificates: Gift certificates sold in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $200 for purchase toward any course.
4. Event Tickets and Merchandise: Revenue from special events including Hidden Gardens Tour and Historic House Tour, plus merchandise like maps and posters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mt. Airy Learning Tree is a community-based nonprofit that offers 250+ adult education and recreational courses three times per year (fall, winter, spring) across diverse subjects including arts, fitness, cooking, technology, civics, and languages, delivered in-person at community venues and online. Courses are priced at $8-$12/hour and are taught by community members under the "Neighbors Teaching Neighbors" model.

Product overview

Mt. Airy Learning Tree is a community-based nonprofit offering adult education courses under the 'Neighbors Teaching Neighbors' model. The organization operates a core course catalog of 200+ courses three times yearly (fall, winter, spring) spanning arts, crafts, cooking, fitness, technology, civics, languages, and special events. The primary products are the MALT Course Catalog and the ACEweb-powered Course Registration System. Ancillary offerings include the annual Hidden Gardens Tour (MALT's largest fundraiser), the West Mt. Airy Historic House Tour (co-hosted with WMAN), gift certificates, merchandise (neighborhood maps and branded apparel), and the Fern Bell Scholarship Fund providing financial assistance. The organization serves over 3,800 students annually through in-person and online classes held at community venues throughout Northwest Philadelphia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MALT Course Catalog A catalog of 250+ adult education courses offered three times yearly (fall, winter, spring) across diverse subjects including arts, fitness, cooking, technology, languages, civics, and more, serving Northwest Philadelphia communities.
• Hidden Gardens Tour MALT's largest annual fundraiser, a self-paced, self-guided tour of approximately 7-8 private gardens in the Mt. Airy neighborhood with docents, native plant strolls, and raffle prizes.
• West Mt. Airy Historic House Tour A collaborative fundraising event with West Mt. Airy Neighbors (WMAN), offering self-guided tours of distinctive 19th- and 20th-century historic homes with knowledgeable docents, including Georgian Revival and Colonial Revival architectural styles.
• MALT Gift Certificates Gift certificates available in denominations of $25, $50, $100, and $200, or custom donation amounts, redeemable toward any course offering with no expiration date.
• Fern Bell Scholarship Fund Need-based scholarship program offering 25-50% tuition assistance for individuals who cannot afford course fees, ensuring community access to educational programming.
• Neighborhood Maps (Mt. Airy & Chestnut Hill) Detailed printed maps of Mt. Airy (28" x 40") and Chestnut Hill (25" x 38") neighborhoods, designed by local architect David Schaaf and sold for $20 each.
• MALT Merchandise Store Branded merchandise including t-shirts available through the Bonfire.com platform, featuring MALT branding.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,800+ students served annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Temple Health-Chestnut Hill HospitalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMain sponsor of MALT, providing support for community educational programming.
• Philadelphia Flying Phoenix Dragon Boat TeamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for dragon boat racing courses. Team's Head Coach Lynne Franks-Meinart serves as instructor for women's dragon boat classes.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Arlington Community Education (ACE): Community education nonprofit offering hundreds of enrichment classes per term to Arlington, MA residents. Operates on the same multi-term cadence and community-taught model as MALT with comparable price points.
• Cambridge Center for Adult Education: Nonprofit community-based adult education provider offering short courses in arts, wellness, languages, and more across a similar 'neighbors-as-teachers' model. Operates in Cambridge, MA with comparable course catalog depth and price-point philosophy to MALT.
• Brookline Adult & Community Education: Community adult education program serving Brookline, MA with diverse enrichment courses (arts, fitness, language, technology). Same hyper-local nonprofit delivery model and similar fee-per-course structure as MALT.

Broad incumbents

• 92nd Street Y (92Y): Large NYC-based cultural and community institution offering adult education classes, lectures, and arts programming. Operates a much broader portfolio than MALT but uses a similar in-person community-class model with neighbors/instructors and significant scholarship support.
• The New School Continuing Education: Major New York institution running a substantial continuing education catalog in arts, design, languages, and liberal arts for adult learners. Much broader institutional footprint but competes with MALT for the same lifelong-learner demographic at higher price points.

Emerging players

• Outschool: Online marketplace for small-group classes taught by community instructors, primarily for kids but expanding into adult enrichment. Competes with MALT on the community-taught supply side and on convenience/pricing for enrichment categories MALT offers.
• MasterClass: Premium online learning platform offering high-production video classes taught by experts across cooking, writing, wellness, and more. Competes with MALT primarily on the 'learn from a great teacher' value proposition at a different price tier ($15-$20/month) and online-only delivery.

Others

• Meetup: Platform for organizing local interest-based groups and classes. While not a direct course provider, it is an ecosystem substitute for the community-meetup function MALT serves through its in-person classes and special events.

Regional players

• Chestnut Hill Community Association: Neighborhood civic association serving the Chestnut Hill section of Northwest Philadelphia, overlapping MALT's service area. Runs complementary community programming and events; potential partner more than direct competitor, but adjacent in mission and geography.
• Free Library of Philadelphia - Adult Education: Philadelphia's central library system runs free adult education, ESL, and enrichment programming across multiple branches. Serves the same metro area as MALT with a similar civic-anchored model but with institutionally funded free courses that compete on price.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/mtairylearningtree

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Mt. Airy Learning Tree, Self