Nancy

What Nancy does

Nancy (一般社団法人Nancy) is a Japanese nonprofit general incorporated association headquartered in Gifu Prefecture, founded in 2015 by representative Ryosuke Suda and formally incorporated in 2019. The organization delivers career, entrepreneurship, and financial education programs to children and youth through three core products: ぎふマーブルタウン (Gifu Marbletown), a child-run virtual city where elementary school students experience employment, elections, taxation, and entrepreneurship in a failure-tolerant in-person simulation (15 editions since 2016, peaking at 791 participants); ハローインタレスト (Hello Interest), a career-exploration program connecting students grades 4 through university with working professionals; and おやこde資産形成アカデミー (Parent-Child Asset Building Academy), a financial-education course in which parent-child pairs open real securities accounts and learn asset-building, endorsed by 151 municipalities across all 47 prefectures and reaching up to 2,846 families per term.

The underlying platform is a curriculum-and-event architecture rather than software; smaller satellite products include きらきらキッズタウン (an entry-level scaled-down version of Marbletown) and a 2022 concept for こどものまちオンライン (Children's Town Online). Nancy monetizes through a diversified donation stack: tiered monthly and one-time individual donations (1,000-50,000 yen monthly; 1,000-60,000 yen one-time), corporate sponsorships (e.g., NOZAWA+CAMPANY), crowdfunding (1,534,333 yen raised from 255 supporters in 2019), a recurring 1% utility-bill donation via Hachidori Electric Power, goods donations through partner platforms (Otakara Aid, Brand Pledge, Kishapon, Kaiuri Daikichi), and—as of 2025—stock/investment-trust and bequest donations through READY FOR.

Go-to-market is community-led: Nancy relies on social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, LINE Open Chat), earned media (Tokai TV, Kansai TV, NTV, Mainichi Shimbun), word-of-mouth (70%+ repeat participation in Marbletown), and co-organization with Gifu City and other municipalities. The organization has received the METI 9th Career Education Award Encouragement Prize (2019), the Gifu Prefecture Regional Child Support Award (2020), and selection into Forbes Japan RISING STAR COMMUNITY (2020), and passed a third-party governance evaluation with 20/20 standards met.

Name

Nancy

Legal name

一般社团法人Nancy

Website

https://gifu-nancy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Literacy, Budgeting & Personal Finance (EDAMAHAE), Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM), Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN), Family & Life-Stage Financial Planning (Marriage, Kids, Caregiving) (EDAAAJAM)

Keywords

• Youth education programs
• Experiential learning services
• Financial literacy education
• Career exploration programs
• Children's entrepreneurship training

Headquarters

HQ city

Gifu

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations (Monthly/One-time): Monthly credit card donations ranging from 1,000円 to 50,000円, and one-time donations from 1,000円 to 60,000円 via credit card or bank transfer. Monthly supporters receive activity reports (PDF).
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Monthly corporate sponsors (e.g., NOZAWA+CAMPANY Co., Ltd.) support the organization's activities. Sponsorships may be processed as advertising expenses for tax purposes.
3. Crowdfunding: In 2019, raised 1,534,333 yen (306% of goal) from 255 supporters via crowdfunding campaign.
4. Stock/Investment Donation: Accepts donations of stocks and investment trusts. Donors can transfer securities to Nancy's designated Rakuten Securities account.
5. Bequest/Legacy Donations: Accepts legacy donations through READY FOR platform, in compliance with the National Legacy Gift Association's ethical guidelines.
6. Goods Donation via Partner Platforms: Accepts goods donations through Otakara Aid, Brand Pledge, and Kishapon platforms. Proceeds support Nancy's activities.
7. Hachidori Electric Power Partnership: As a partner organization, 1% of participants' electricity bills from Hachidori Electric Power (eco-friendly energy provider) supports Nancy's operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Nancy is a Japanese nonprofit that delivers experiential educational programs for children and youth combining career education, entrepreneurship education, and financial education. Its flagship offering is Gifu Marbletown, a child-run virtual city where elementary school students experience employment, elections, taxation, and entrepreneurship. Complementary programs include Hello Interest (career exploration with professionals) and Oya-ko de Asset Building Academy (parent-child financial literacy with real securities account practice).

Product overview

Nancy operates a unified suite of three interconnected educational programs targeting children and youth in Japan. The core offering is ぎふマーブルタウン (Gifu Marble Town), an in-person simulation where children aged 6–12 run a virtual city through employment, entrepreneurship, and democratic voting. Complementing this is ハローインタレスト (Hello Interest), a career exposure program connecting students in grades 4 through university with enthusiastic working professionals. おやこde資産形成アカデミー (Parent-Child Asset Building Academy) rounds out the portfolio as a financial education course where parent-child pairs open real investment accounts and learn asset-building. Smaller spin-off products include きらきらキッズタウン (a scaled-down version for younger beginners) and こどものまちオンライン (an online expansion of the Marble Town concept). All programs share the overarching goal of developing children's 'resilience and ability to live the lives they want' through experiential, failure-tolerant learning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ぎふマーブルタウン: Children-run virtual city program for elementary school students (grades 1-6) where children experience employment, elections, taxation, and entrepreneurship in a safe failure-tolerant environment.
• ハローインタレスト
• おやこde資産形成アカデミー

Products and services

• ぎふマーブルタウン (Gifu Marble Town) A child-run virtual city where elementary school students (grades 1-6) experience employment with salaries, city taxes, elections to choose leaders, and starting businesses to sell handmade or service-based products. Designed to foster independence, creativity, and cooperation through real-world social simulation in a failure-tolerant environment.
• ハローインタレスト (Hello Interest) A career exploration and job-shadowing program where children interact with working professionals and businesspeople who are passionate about their work, moving beyond simple job exposure to help children discover excitement about future careers and broaden their options.
• おやこde資産形成アカデミー (Parent-Child Asset Building Academy) A financial education course for parents and children where participants open real securities accounts, research investment opportunities, and learn asset-building fundamentals. Instructors are financial planners who do not sell financial products. Endorsed by 47 prefectures and 151 municipalities; sessions have reached over 2,800 participating families.
• きらきらキッズタウン (Kirakira Kids Town) A scaled-down version of Gifu Marbletown designed for younger or first-time participants, providing a more accessible entry point to the children's city experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70%+ of Gifu Marbletown participants return for multiple events
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• 角川アスキー総合研究所様minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Participating as financial institution role in 'Gifu Entrepreneurship Program' hosted by Kadokawa Ascii Research Institute at Gifu and Tonami venues, supporting entrepreneurship education.
• 買取大吉様 (Kaiuri Daikichi)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership for 'Mono Bokurin' (物品募金/ goods donation) program allowing people to support Nancy through donating items for resale.
• 新公益連盟 (New Public Interest Federation)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Joined the New Public Interest Federation (新公益連盟), a network of public interest corporations working on social issues.
• お宝エイド (Otakara Aid)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership enabling in-kind donations to Nancy through the Otakara Aid platform where people can donate unwanted items (jewelry, books, games, toys, instruments) that are then sold with proceeds supporting Nancy.
• ボーダレスジャパン様・ハチドリ電力 (Borderless Japan / Hachidori Electric Power)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020First organization in the Chubu region to partner with Hachidori Electric Power, an eco-friendly electricity provider that donates 1% of participants' electricity bills to Nancy. This enables sustainable funding through everyday electricity usage.
• 認定特定非営利活動法人D×P (D×P)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Representative Sumita selected as student for D×P's special seminar on 'NPO Operations and Growth' led by D×P Representative Imai Noriaki.
• Life is Tech! (水野雄介代表)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020World's second-largest programming school. Dialogue event held between Sumita and Life is Tech! Representative Mizuno to explore collaboration in technology education for children.
• 認定特定非営利活動法人ETIC. (ETIC.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Representative Sumita selected as cohort member (5th cohort) of ETIC.'s MAKERS UNIVERSITY program for emerging social entrepreneurs.
• 岐阜市 (Gifu City)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Gifu City selected Nancy's activities for the 'Gifu City Citizens' Activities Support Project' in 2017. The city has co-organized major events as part of Gifu Media Cosmos anniversary celebrations (8th, 9th, and 10th anniversaries).
• 一般社団法人はいかがでしょうか様 (Hogakuka)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership for 'Migration Challenge' program, collaboration on initiatives connecting people to regional revitalization opportunities.
• なごや☆子どもCity様・ミニかさ横丁様coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Collaborated to host the 'National Children's City Summit in Tokai' (全国こどものまちサミットin東海), bringing together children's city programs from across Japan.
• 特定非営利活動法人G-net (NPO G-net)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Presented at G-net's 'Challenge Forum,' a major platform for social entrepreneurs and NPO leaders in the Chubu region.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Direct peers

• NPO法人ETIC. Japan's leading social entrepreneur support NPO. Nancy's representative was selected for ETIC.'s MAKERS UNIVERSITY cohort, indicating comparable scale, mission, and target audience (emerging impact NPOs in Japan).
• NPO法人なごや☆子どもCity: Direct peer running the same child-operated city simulation format in Nagoya. Nancy explicitly partnered with them for the National Children's City Summit in Tokai, indicating shared model and audience.
• 認定NPO法人D×P: Japanese NPO focused on supporting youth facing economic and family challenges. Nancy's representative attended D×P's NPO operations seminar, indicating direct overlap in nonprofit operating practices and youth beneficiary focus.
• NPO法人ミニかさ横丁: Another children's city program that co-organized the National Children's City Summit in Tokai with Nancy. Runs the same experiential child-run town model at smaller scale.
• 認定NPO法人Teach For Japan: Major Japanese education NPO addressing educational inequity through teacher leadership. Comparable nonprofit scale, government/funder relationships, and youth-development mission.
• 認定NPO法人カタリバ: One of Japan's largest youth education NPOs running experiential learning programs for middle and high school students. Comparable in mission (developing youth agency) and nonprofit funding model.
• こどものまち全国協議会: National coordinating body for the children's city simulation movement in Japan, of which Nancy's programs (Gifu Marble Town) are an active member and where Nancy served as secretariat for the 2025 national conference in Minoh.

Regional players

• NPO法人G-net: Gifu-based NPO support organization. Nancy has presented at G-net's Challenge Forum and board member Nojiri serves as Secretary General, indicating tight operational overlap with the Gifu civic/NPO ecosystem.

Others

• ボーダレス・ジャパン / ハチドリ電力: Social venture operator running eco-friendly electricity (Hachidori Electric Power) with a donation-back model. Nancy is a Chubu-region partner, and Borderless is a comparable Japanese social-enterprise scaling pattern that informs Nancy's growth path.
• 株式会社Money Shift: Financial education media company founded by Nancy's Vice Chairman Tatsuya Taniguchi. Closely allied organization driving Nancy's financial education content and YouTube distribution strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nancy_gifu
• Facebookfacebook.com/Nancy.gifu
• Instagraminstagram.com/gifu.nancy

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 Nancy