Chosen

What Chosen does

Chosen, Inc. of Wisconsin is a Christian nonprofit organization founded in 2015 that delivers material, financial, and spiritual support to foster, adoptive, and kinship families across Southeastern Wisconsin. Its flagship program, The Family Closet (opened 2017), provides free access to gently used clothing, shoes, baby equipment, and adaptive equipment to eligible families, with a Mobile Family Closet extension launched in 2025 to bring services directly into neighborhoods, churches, and partner locations. Since inception, the organization reports gifting over 95,000 essential items to more than 1,700 children from 775 families across 15 counties, with supplementary programs including Boxes of Blessings gift boxes, a Prayer Support initiative, the "Equip. Engage. Encourage." educational program, and a co-founder-authored adoption book. The organization is led by co-founders Jason Bowling (Advisory Board Chair) and Amalie Bowling (Director of Programs and Impact), with Karen Schlindwein as Board President and Abigail Daun as Director of Business and Operations; a staff of 1-10 is supplemented by volunteers and community sponsors.

Chosen's revenue model is diversified across individual donations (PayPal, Venmo, Network for Good, Thrivent Choice Dollars), corporate sponsorships (event and year-round), barter-based in-kind support through a partnership with International Monetary Systems, and grants such as a $5,000 Catholic Community Foundation award in February 2025. All beneficiary services are provided at no cost, with distribution occurring through the Waukesha Family Closet facility (expanded June 2024 to include space for a future education center), the Mobile Family Closet, and case manager referrals. The organization maintains a partnership network that includes Waukesha County Foster Care, Wellpoint Care Network, The Edge Contracting, Once Upon a Child Brookfield, Norris Beyond Fostering, and Catholic Community Foundation. The technology footprint is minimal: a Squarespace website, social media presence, and standard donation platforms; there is no proprietary software, app, or AI component described in the available data. Chosen is privately held (a 501(c)(3)-equivalent Wisconsin nonprofit), headquartered in Waukesha, and operates exclusively within the United States.

Name

Chosen

Legal name

Chosen, Inc. of Wisconsin

Website

https://choseninlove.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chosen, Inc. of Wisconsin is a Christian nonprofit that provides free clothing, equipment, and support services to foster, adoptive, and kinship families across 15 Southeastern Wisconsin counties, having served over 775 families and 1,700 children since 2015.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foster Care and Adoption Support Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAJAKAK

Family Advocacy, Parent Training & Support Services

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/K–12 Special Education Services

SECONDARYHSAAAIAC

Down Syndrome & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Childcare

Home & Personal Services/Childcare, Babysitting & Nanny Services/Special Needs & Inclusive Childcare Services

Keywords

• Foster care support
• Adoption assistance
• Kinship family services
• Nonprofit family outreach
• Children's clothing bank

Headquarters

HQ city

Waukesha

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, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute to support Chosen's programs and operations. Donations are accepted online through Network for Good and other platforms.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Business sponsors provide financial support through event sponsorships and year-round partnerships, helping fund programs and operational costs.
3. Barter Donations: Partnership with International Monetary Systems (IMS) allows businesses to make tax-deductible trade donations to Chosen's barter account, enabling access to goods and services without cash expenditure.
4. Investment Capital: For the skincare brand CHOSEN: Series A funding of USD 5 million led by Fireside Ventures with participation from BOLD, L'Oréal's venture fund, and Alkemi Growth Capital.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Chosen, Inc. of Wisconsin is a Christian nonprofit that distributes free tangible goods (gently used clothing, shoes, toys, baby equipment, diapers, wipes, and adaptive equipment) to foster, adoptive, kinship, and guardianship families in Southeastern Wisconsin through its Family Closet and Mobile Family Closet programs. It supplements material support with spiritual encouragement (Prayer Support), educational resources (Equip. Engage. Encourage.), and gift boxes (Boxes of Blessings) to help stabilize families navigating foster care and adoption.

Product overview

Chosen, Inc. of Wisconsin is a Christian nonprofit organization offering a suite of family support programs designed to strengthen foster, adoptive, and kinship families across Southeastern Wisconsin. The core program, The Family Closet, provides free shopping access to gently used clothing and new essential items for families. This is complemented by the Mobile Family Closet, which extends services directly to communities. Additional offerings include Boxes of Blessings for tangible support during transitions, the Prayer Support Program for spiritual encouragement, and the Equip. Engage. Encourage. educational resource program. The organization also published the book 'Dear Lois: Our Adoption Journey.' Together, these programs form a comprehensive support ecosystem addressing the tangible, emotional, and spiritual needs of families navigating the foster care and adoption journey.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Family Closet A free shopping program providing gently used clothing, shoes, and new essential items (diapers, wipes, toys, baby equipment, adaptive equipment) to foster, adoptive, kinship, and guardianship families in Southeastern Wisconsin.
• Mobile Family Closet A mobile extension of The Family Closet designed to bring essential clothing, comfort items, and practical support directly to foster and adoptive families in their neighborhoods and communities.
• Boxes of Blessings
• Prayer Support Program Spiritual encouragement and prayer support services for foster, adoptive, and kinship families navigating complex journeys.
• Equip. Engage. Encourage. An educational program providing resources and support to equip foster and adoptive families with practical tools and knowledge.
• Dear Lois: Our Adoption Journey (Book) A book co-authored by Chosen co-founder Amalie Bowling and her mother Karen Schlindwein, offering a personal perspective on adoption through letters written by adoptive parents to birth mothers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95,000+ essential items gifted to children in care
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

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 core and minor.

• International Monetary Systems (IMS)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIMS is a barter exchange company that has partnered with Chosen since 2018, enabling their 16,000 business partners to make tax-deductible trade donations. IMS helped raise nearly $25,000 in barter to build Chosen's infrastructure.
• The Edge Contracting, LLCcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent and Year-Round Sponsor that partnered with Chosen to make the new Waukesha Family Closet facility possible. Major supporter of ribbon cutting events.
• Once Upon a Child BrookfieldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYear-Round Sponsor supporting Chosen's events and operations.
• Norris Beyond FosteringminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYear-Round Sponsor providing support for foster family programs.
• Wellpoint Care NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYear-Round Sponsor and partner in supporting foster and adoptive families in Wisconsin.
• Waukesha County Foster CareminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYear-Round Sponsor and county partner for foster care services.
• Catholic Community FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGrant-making foundation that awarded a grant to help foster and adoptive families.
• IMS Barter PartnershipcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAllows IMS's 16,000 business partners to make tax-deductible trade donations to Chosen, enabling access to goods and services through barter exchange.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Baby2Baby: National nonprofit providing children living in poverty with diapers, clothing, and other basic essentials. Highly comparable mission (material support for vulnerable children) and similar donation- and corporate-sponsorship-driven model, but at much larger national scale.
• Together We Rise: Nonprofit focused on foster youth providing tangible items (sweet cases, birthday boxes, scholarships) and support services. Closest direct peer in terms of foster-care-specific mission and free material-goods distribution model.
• Foster Love: Nonprofit serving current and aging-out foster youth with birthday boxes, laptops, and college support. Operates a similar donation-and-volunteer-driven model targeting the same foster/adoptive family population.
• Comfort Cases: Nonprofit providing backpacks and essential items to children entering foster care. Direct peer in supplying tangible goods to foster children at transitions, with a national volunteer-driven distribution model.
• A Sense of Home: Nonprofit providing furniture and household goods to young adults aging out of foster care. Comparable in donation-driven, volunteer-powered model supplying tangible goods to the foster community, though focused on housing transition rather than ongoing family support.

Broad incumbents

• Raise the Future (formerly CACFP): Adoption and foster-care nonprofit providing post-adoption support, education, and advocacy. Broader incumbent operating across multiple states with a more programmatic/advocacy-oriented model that overlaps with Chosen's family support mission.
• Goodwill Industries International: Large nonprofit operating thrift-based retail that funds workforce and family programs. Comparable donation-and-thrift-driven funding model, though with much broader scope and commercial retail operations.
• National CASA / CASA Association: National nonprofit supporting Court Appointed Special Advocates for foster children. Overlaps in the foster-care family support mission but operates through volunteer advocacy rather than material-goods distribution.

Regional players

• Diapers Bank of Wisconsin: Wisconsin-based nonprofit providing diapers and baby essentials to families in need. Regional peer operating in the same geography with a similar model of sourcing and distributing tangible baby/child essentials.
• Hunger Task Force: Milwaukee-area anti-hunger nonprofit distributing food and essentials to families. Regional peer in the Wisconsin social services ecosystem with comparable volunteer- and donation-driven distribution model, though focused on food rather than clothing/equipment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ourchosenfamily

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Chosen