driving forward

What driving forward does

Driving Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2020 by Marvin Richardson, Claire Pederson, and Kate Neal to help first-generation and under-resourced college students transition from college into professional careers. The company's core offering is the Flagship Program, a 10-week paid winter internship that combines internship placement, team-based business project work, professional skills development workshops, and one-on-one mentorship matched to each student's target industry; students also receive a $1,000 scholarship upon completion. Driving Forward complements the Flagship Program with a Personalized University Toolkit serving 40+ partner universities and a Resource Center, both aggregating school-specific career services, internship funding, student organizations, and alumni networks.

The organization operates a community-led model delivered through approximately 40 university partnerships (including University of Chicago, Northwestern, UIC, Loyola Chicago, University of Michigan, Illinois Wesleyan, and DePaul), a network of 300+ active volunteer mentors drawn from corporate partners, and a 250+ alumni network. Students apply through an online Google Forms application, are screened, and are matched with mentors and paid internship placements. The underlying technology layer is modest, consisting primarily of Zoom for virtual mentorship and Google Forms for applications rather than a proprietary platform. Since inception, over 250 students have completed the program; alumni report an average starting salary of $103,000 and 140+ are employed full-time across finance, technology, healthcare, and consulting, with 40 alumni enrolled in graduate programs.

Driving Forward is primarily volunteer-driven with a small core team and does not publicly disclose revenue or a parent company. Its revenue model rests on corporate sponsorships priced at $5,000 per cohort (covering five students' participation including mentorship, professional development, and scholarships) and tax-deductible individual donations. Sponsors include Trexin (Platinum), Accenture and PwC (Silver), Creospan, Simplify Healthcare, and Machinify (Gold), and in-kind contributors Microsoft, Salesforce, and Udemy, with multiple sponsor representatives and university leaders serving on the board. Operations are U.S.-based with a New York contact address.

Name

driving forward

Legal name

Driving Forward

Website

https://drivingforward.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Driving Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2020 that runs a 10-week paid internship, mentorship, and professional development program for first-generation and under-resourced college students, delivered through 40+ university partnerships and a network of 300+ volunteer mentors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career Development Programs

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership, Service Learning & Volunteer-to-Career Pathways (EDAMAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Internship-to-Apprenticeship & Early Talent Pipeline Programs (EDAMAKAL), Community College / Training Provider Workforce Pathways Programs (EDAAAOAO)

Keywords

• Career development programs
• Paid internship placement
• Student mentorship programs
• Nonprofit career services
• First-generation student support

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorships: Organizations sponsor the program at $5,000 per cohort, which funds 5 students' participation including mentorship, professional development, and scholarships. Sponsors receive resume books, networking opportunities with students, and recognition.
2. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting student career development. Donations fund scholarships, programming, and mentorship matching.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Driving Forward operates a 10-week paid internship and professional development program that pairs first-generation and under-resourced college students with industry mentors, team-based business projects, professional skills workshops, and employer introductions. The organization also delivers a free Personalized University Toolkit providing school-specific career services information across 40+ partner universities, and a Resource Center with broader career development materials. The flagship program is delivered annually during winter and has graduated 250+ students since 2020.

Product overview

Driving Forward is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of career development programs for first-generation and under-resourced college students. The core offerings include the Flagship Program (a 10-week paid internship combining internship placement, team-based business projects, professional skills development, and one-on-one mentorship), the Personalized University Toolkit (school-specific career resources for partner university students), and the Resource Center (general career development materials). The organization operates primarily as a program-based nonprofit rather than a technology platform, connecting students with corporate sponsors, volunteer mentors, and university partners to facilitate career pathways.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flagship Program A comprehensive 10-week winter program combining a paid internship placement with team-based business project work, professional skills development workshops, and one-on-one mentorship matched to students' target industries. For first-generation and under-resourced college students at 40+ partner universities.
• Personalized University Toolkit A free online toolkit providing students at 40+ partner universities with a detailed, school-specific breakdown of career services, internship funding, student organizations, and alumni networks in one place.
• Resource Center Collection of career resources and materials supporting student professional development and career exploration.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average starting salary of $103k among alumni
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and secondary.

• University of ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing student recruitment through career services (Metcalf Program, Career Advancement, CCRF). Students from UChicago participate in the flagship program.
• Northwestern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing student recruitment through career services (SIGP Funding, NCA, Medill Residency).
• University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing student recruitment through career services.
• Loyola University ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner with staff involvement (Geni Harclerode, Assistant Vice President for Career Services, serves on Driving Forward board).
• TrexinflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum Sponsor. Partner and Midwest Geography Leader Bhoopendra Singh serves on Driving Forward board.
• AccenturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilver Sponsor providing financial support and access to business professionals for intern projects.
• PwCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilver Sponsor. Doug Smith, PwC Principal-Cloud & Infrastructure Operations, serves on Driving Forward board.
• MicrosoftsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-Kind Sponsor providing technology resources and tools.
• SalesforcesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-Kind Sponsor providing technology resources and tools.
• UdemysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-Kind Sponsor providing learning platform access for professional development.
• CreospansecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGold Sponsor providing financial support.
• Simplify HealthcaresecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGold Sponsor providing financial support.
• MachinifysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGold Sponsor providing financial support.
• RZ StrategiessecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilver Sponsor providing financial support and business expertise.
• University of MichigancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing student recruitment through career services.
• Illinois Wesleyan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing student recruitment through career services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Year Up: Year Up is a workforce-development nonprofit pairing young adults from under-resourced backgrounds with paid internships, corporate sponsors, and mentors — operating the same internship-plus-mentorship model Driving Forward delivers for college students, but with a broader young-adult demographic.
• College Possible: College Possible provides near-peer coaching and career access support for first-generation college students through partnerships with colleges and corporate funders — operating the same cohort-coaching-plus-employer-introductions model as Driving Forward.
• Bottom Line: Bottom Line is a college-success nonprofit for first-generation students that pairs intensive advising with career-development support, including employer connections — directly comparable in target persona and program mix.
• America Needs You (ANY): America Needs You runs intensive mentorship and career development programs for first-generation college students, with strong corporate sponsor ties — overlapping closely with Driving Forward's flagship intensive format.
• Braven: Braven is a nonprofit career accelerator for first-generation and under-resourced college students that combines mentorship, skill-building, and employer connections — directly aligned with Driving Forward's flagship program model and target persona.
• Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT): MLT equips high-achieving underrepresented students (many of whom are first-generation) with career coaching, professional development, and employer introductions — serving the same corporate-talent-pipeline niche that Driving Forward's sponsors fund.
• iMentor: iMentor pairs first-generation college students with one-on-one long-term mentors supported by partner schools — the most direct national peer to Driving Forward's mentorship backbone, with greater geographic scale and similar mission.
• INROADS: INROADS is a nonprofit placing high-achieving underrepresented students into paid corporate internships with major sponsors; it is among the longest-tenured peers in Driving Forward's exact niche of internship-based early-talent development.
• CareerSpring: CareerSpring is a nonprofit providing paid internships, mentorship, and career support specifically to first-generation college students — virtually identical mission and beneficiary profile to Driving Forward.
• SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity): SEO provides mentorship, training, and internship programs to underrepresented students entering competitive careers (finance, consulting, tech) — a near-twin of Driving Forward's career-launch model with a larger historical scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drivingforward
• Instagraminstagram.com/drivingforward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 driving forward