communitygrows

What communitygrows does

CommunityGrows is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1994 and fiscally sponsored by Tides Center, that cultivates youth through garden-based environmental and health education programs in low-income San Francisco neighborhoods (Western Addition, Fillmore, and Haight). The organization runs three primary program lines: BEETs (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens), a paid fellowship for youth ages 14-25 focused on environmental justice, job skills, and leadership; Seed to Mouth, a cooking and nutrition education program connecting garden harvest to kitchen skills; and Environmental Education, garden-based outdoor lessons for K-12 students. Supporting offerings include a Leadership Crew track for advanced BEETs participants, individual volunteer placements requiring eight-week commitments, and corporate team-building workdays at garden sites.

Program delivery is anchored in physical garden spaces — notably Koshland Community Park and Learning Garden — and embedded directly within partner schools including Rosa Parks Elementary, John Muir Elementary, and Marshall Elementary, totaling approximately 20 school partnerships across San Francisco. The organization's core technology is experiential curriculum rather than software, with a WordPress/Elementor website, email newsletter, and Instagram serving as the primary digital surfaces; no proprietary platform, app, API, or AI/ML capability is evidenced. Operations are supported by a small staff of 1-10 employees under Executive Director Nolizwe Nondabula (since June 2020), with named program leads covering BEETs, garden programs, and community engagement.

CommunityGrows generates revenue exclusively through donations, grants, and corporate workday fees — no fee-for-service pricing exists for youth programming, which is delivered free of charge. Named institutional funders include the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (supporting water/Hetch Hetchy curriculum), Aetna Foundation (Local Roots Program at Alemany Farm), and Tides Center as fiscal sponsor. Additional revenue flows from individual donations with employer matching, corporate volunteer workday fees (tax-deductible, supporting staff and supplies), and event-based fundraising such as Chipotle fundraisers and GivingTuesday campaigns. There is no equity capital, venture funding, or commercial product line; the organization is structurally a grant-dependent nonprofit with mission-aligned community distribution rather than a market-rate business.

Name

communitygrows

Legal name

CommunityGrows

Website

https://communitygrows.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CommunityGrows is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1994, that delivers garden-based environmental, nutrition, and leadership education programs to youth in low-income neighborhoods through 20 partner schools and a paid teen fellowship (BEETs), funded by donations, grants, and corporate workday fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Garden Education Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Community Food Services (62421), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Outdoor Education & Adventure Programs (School-Run) (EDAJAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nature-Based / Forest School Early Learning Programs (EDACADAD), Environmental Science & Sustainability Programs (Ecology, Climate, Conservation) (EDAMABAD), Outdoor & Wilderness Education Schools (Field-Based Learning) (THAAAOAA)

Keywords

• Youth garden education
• Environmental education programs
• Nutrition education services
• Youth workforce development
• Community garden programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from supporters, including matching gift programs from employers
2. Grants: Grant funding from organizations including San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Aetna Foundation
3. Fiscal Sponsorship: Organization is fiscally sponsored by Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CommunityGrows provides garden-based environmental, nutrition, and cooking education for youth in low-income, diverse San Francisco communities through schools and neighborhood gardens. Its core programs are Seed to Mouth, Environmental Education for K-12 students, and BEETs, a paid fellowship for ages 14-25 that adds environmental-justice education, job skills, and leadership development.

Product overview

CommunityGrows is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of youth education programs centered on garden-based learning in San Francisco's low-income communities. The core offerings include BEETs (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens), a paid fellowship for youth 14-25; Seed to Mouth cooking and nutrition education; and Environmental Education garden lessons for K-12 students. Supporting programs include Leadership Crew for advanced BEETs participants, and volunteer opportunities (individual and group/corporate workdays). The programs focus on environmental justice, nutrition education, civic involvement, leadership development, and job training for neighborhood youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BEETs (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens)
• Seed to Mouth
• Environmental Education
• Group & Corporate Workdays

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants develop scientific thinking and curiosity about nature and environment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Rebuilding TogethermajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Partnership for National Rebuilding Day projects including garden improvements, new planter boxes, and beautification at Koshland Community Garden.
• SheBuildsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Women's volunteer team that participated in Rebuilding Day projects at Koshland, with over 60 women donating time and skills.
• SF Rec and ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Government partner managing community gardens including Koshland Park, providing garden maintenance and support.
• Green Gulch FarmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarm partner providing field trip opportunities for youth to learn about organic farming, watersheds, meditation, and environmental stewardship at their Marin County location.
• RecologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntegrated resource recovery company providing educational field trips about recycling, composting, and waste management for BEETs participants.
• Youth Art Exchange (YAX)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on meditation pavilion project where BEETs teens and YAX teens worked with architecture students on design and construction.
• Western Addition BeaconcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAfter-school program partner providing youth participants for garden education programs.
• Buchanan YMCAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAfter-school program partner (Rosa Parks ExCEL) providing youth for garden and cooking classes.
• Booker T. Washington Community Service CentercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-standing summer science and garden education partner serving Western Addition youth.
• Up-on-Top Summer ProgramminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSummer program partner for field trips to Green Gulch Farm and garden activities.
• 18 ReasonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for cooking education programming at Marshall Elementary School.
• Mo'MagicminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollaborating organization for Mind, Body and Soul Pop-Ups and Annual Health and Wellness retreat, connecting CommunityGrows with additional youth and community resources.
• Bi-Rite GroceryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrocery store partner providing educational visits for BEETs teens to learn about food systems and sourcing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Green Guerillas: New York nonprofit that transforms vacant lots into community gardens and runs youth stewardship programs; directly comparable urban-community-garden-and-youth model.
• Big Green: National nonprofit that builds Learning Gardens in low-income schools and trains educators to use them; closely overlaps CommunityGrows' school-garden delivery model and target population.
• The Edible Schoolyard Project: Alice Waters-founded nonprofit that integrates gardening, cooking, and classroom instruction in schools; directly comparable curriculum and K-12 audience as CommunityGrows.
• FoodCorps: National nonprofit that places service members in schools to teach garden-based nutrition and food education; directly comparable to CommunityGrows' Seed to Mouth and Environmental Education programs and shares a low-income, K-12 focus.
• REAL School Gardens: Nonprofit that builds outdoor learning classrooms in high-need elementary schools; comparable mission of bringing nature-based experiential learning to underserved K-6 students.
• Life Lab: California-based nonprofit providing garden-based science curriculum, educator training, and the Garden Classroom; overlaps CommunityGrows' Environmental Education curriculum and teacher-training angle.

Others

• Center for Ecoliteracy: Berkeley-based nonprofit focused on ecological education in K-12 systems through publications and leadership programs; complementary rather than directly competitive, sharing the same Bay Area environmental-education ecosystem.
• Slow Food USA: National nonprofit promoting local food, cooking, and garden-based education; thematically adjacent to CommunityGrows' Seed to Mouth nutrition curriculum though serving a broader audience.

Regional players

• Green Mountain Farm-to-School: Vermont-based nonprofit running school garden, farm, and food education programs in rural communities; same garden-and-food-education model but operates outside CommunityGrows' Bay Area geography.

Emerging players

• Urban Adamah: Berkeley-based nonprofit combining urban farming, social-justice education, and Jewish community programming for youth and adults; comparable urban-garden-youth-education model in the Bay Area but with a distinct faith-based lens.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/communitygrows
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/communitygrows

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 communitygrows