Coconut Grove Cares

What Coconut Grove Cares does

Coconut Grove Cares, Inc. is a Florida-domiciled not-for-profit organization founded in 1948 by Elizabeth Virrick and Father Theodore Gibson to address social injustice in West Coconut Grove, Miami. Originally structured as a Slum Clearance Project, the organization evolved through civil rights work in the 1960s and ex-offender programs in the 1970s before launching The Barnyard Community Center in 1983 as its current operating vehicle. The Barnyard, located at 3870 Washington Avenue in Coconut Grove Village West, is a single-site, in-person community center delivering free after-school and summer camp programming to children ages 5-13 from families experiencing financial and domestic hardships.

The program portfolio at The Barnyard spans academic support (Homework + IReady tutoring), athletics (First Serve Miami tennis), arts and culture (Arts4Learning, Cleveland Orchestra music workshops, dance, performing arts), mental health services directed by Dr. Marc Greenfield, PsyD, and environmental education (Eco Planet Earth Community Garden and Kampong Botanical Garden field trips), plus the Girls Who Run The World leadership program. Programming is delivered through an in-kind partnership ecosystem that includes the University of Miami, Ransom Everglades school, and Arts4Learning, alongside paid and volunteer staff. The organization employs between 11 and 50 people and is governed by a board chaired by Catherine Pennekamp.

Coconut Grove Cares is funded entirely through donations from individuals, organizations, and funding partners, accepted via mail, phone, and online (PayPal). Pricing listed on the website (e.g., $11/day after-school, $145/week summer camp, $30/year accident insurance, $99/year field trips) represents suggested sponsorship levels rather than fees, since all services are provided at no cost to participating families. The go-to-market is community-led, relying on word-of-mouth, volunteer referrals, a single physical site, and lightweight social media (Instagram @thebarnyardcgc, Facebook) for outreach and enrollment.

Name

Coconut Grove Cares

Legal name

Coconut Grove Cares, Inc.

Website

https://coconutgrovecares.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Coconut Grove Cares is a Miami-based not-for-profit that operates The Barnyard, a single community center providing free after-school, summer camp, and enrichment programs to children ages 5-13 from families with financial and domestic hardships in West Coconut Grove.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community-Based Youth Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Enrichment Camps (General Studies) (EDAMALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community & Nonprofit Before/After Care Programs (Early Years) (EDACAHAD), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

Keywords

• Youth community services
• After-school enrichment
• Summer camp programs
• Nonprofit child programs
• Community youth center

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a not-for-profit organization, Coconut Grove Cares generates revenue through donations from individuals, organizations, and funding partners. Donations support after-school programs, summer camps, field trips, and operational costs. The organization accepts donations via mail, online (PayPal), and phone.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Coconut Grove Cares operates The Barnyard, a physical community center in Coconut Grove Village West, Miami, providing free after-school and summer camp programs for children ages 5-13 from families experiencing financial and domestic hardships. Programs are delivered in-person and cover homework assistance, literacy (IReady), arts, music, dance, tennis, robotics, gardening, field trips, mental health services, and parental engagement workshops. All services are offered at no cost to participating families, with the organization's operations funded by charitable donations.

Product overview

Coconut Grove Cares operates The Barnyard, a single unified community center product offering free after-school and summer camp programs for children ages 5-13 in Miami's West Coconut Grove. The Barnyard provides a comprehensive portfolio of programs including academic support (Homework + IReady), sports (First Serve Miami Tennis), arts (Arts for Learning, Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Performing Arts), mental health services, environmental education (Eco Planet Earth Community Garden, Botany Workshops), and enrichment activities (Conflict Resolution Workshops, Cultural Enrichment, Girls Who Run The World Leadership Program, Cleveland Orchestra music workshops). Programs are offered at no cost to children facing financial and domestic hardships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Safe, supervised environment for children ages 5-13 in West Coconut Grove
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered program partner.

• Arts4Learningprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram partner providing arts education services and volunteers to The Barnyard programs.
• First Serve Miamiprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerTennis program partner providing instruction and programming to children at The Barnyard.
• Eco Planet Earthprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental education partner supporting the Eco Planet Earth Community Garden program at The Barnyard.
• The Kampong Botanical Gardenprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerBotanical education partner providing field trips and botany workshops for children at The Barnyard.
• Ransom Evergladesprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner school offering free services and volunteers to The Barnyard.
• Dr. Marc Greenfield, PsyDprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMental health professional providing psychological services to children at The Barnyard.
• University of Miamiprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigher education partner providing volunteers and educational resources to The Barnyard programs.
• Cleveland Orchestraprogram partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner providing interactive music workshops for children at The Barnyard.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Overtown Youth Center: Hyperlocal Miami community center serving at-risk youth with after-school programming, sports, and enrichment in the Overtown neighborhood — the closest peer in terms of scale, mission, and single-site neighborhood-center model.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade: Largest network of youth-serving community centers in Miami-Dade offering after-school, summer, sports, arts, and academic programs to children from low-income families — directly comparable mission, programming mix, and target population to Coconut Grove Cares.
• Police Athletic League of Miami: Miami-based nonprofit providing after-school and summer programming with sports, recreation, and academic support to underserved youth — directly comparable free community-center model serving similar demographics.

Emerging players

• City Year Miami: National youth-development nonprofit deploying near-peer mentors in Miami-Dade public schools for attendance, academic, and social-emotional support — comparable youth-development mission with a different delivery model.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami: Miami youth-mentoring nonprofit focused on one-to-one mentoring for at-risk children — comparable in mission and target demographic but delivers services through volunteer matching rather than a physical community center.

Broad incumbents

• YMCA of South Florida: Regional YMCA operator running multi-site community centers with after-school care, summer camps, sports, and youth development programs across South Florida — broader incumbent with overlapping offerings in the same geography.
• Miami Children's Museum: Miami-based educational nonprofit offering hands-on learning programs, field trips, and enrichment for children — comparable educational enrichment mission but as a museum/attraction model rather than community-center model.
• After-School All-Stars: National nonprofit providing free after-school and summer programs to low-income youth with academic, arts, sports, and enrichment components — comparable programming mix delivered at scale across multiple U.S. cities.

Others

• Catalyst Miami: Miami-based nonprofit focused on youth leadership, civic engagement, and family economic opportunity — adjacent mission serving overlapping demographics in Miami's underserved communities.

Regional players

• Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department: Public-sector provider of after-school and summer recreation programming across Miami-Dade — a broad regional incumbent offering free/low-cost programs that partially overlap with Coconut Grove Cares' recreational offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thebarnyardcgc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coconut-grove-cares

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Coconut Grove Cares