What NeighborSpace does

NeighborSpace is a nonprofit urban land trust headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1996. Its stated mission is to preserve and sustain gardens on behalf of dedicated community groups, functioning as a long-term steward that holds garden parcels in trust to shield them from development pressure. The organization serves community-garden groups across Chicago by providing land tenure, organizational support, and continuity for grassroots green spaces that would otherwise be exposed to market forces.

The organization operates with a small team of 1-10 employees and is structured as a nonprofit entity rather than a commercial business. There is no disclosed pricing model, no commercial revenue stream, and no customer acquisition motion; support appears to flow from philanthropic and grant funding. The only documented funding event in the source data is a $10,000 contribution dated 2025-08-19 from ComEd (Commonwealth Edison) and Openlands, both consistent with utility- and conservation-aligned funders. No audited financials, budget figures, or programmatic scale metrics were accessible.

There is no evidence of a software product, technology platform, or digital infrastructure underpinning the organization's operations. The website (neighbor-space.org) was not directly crawlable in the data collection, returning only a verification/loading page. No API surface, no AI/ML capability, no proprietary data assets, and no technical team were disclosed, consistent with a small operational nonprofit whose value lies in legal land tenure rather than technology.

Name

NeighborSpace

Website

https://neighbor-space.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NeighborSpace is a Chicago-based nonprofit urban land trust, founded in 1996, that preserves and sustains community gardens on behalf of dedicated community groups across the city through long-term land stewardship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Land Trust / Community Open Space Stewardship

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Real Estate Operators (No Developers) & Lessors (6510), Non-Operating Establishments (9995)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH), Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

Keywords

• Urban land trust
• Community gardens
• Land preservation
• Nonprofit conservation
• Urban open space

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Core offering

NeighborSpace is a nonprofit urban land trust that preserves and sustains gardens on behalf of dedicated community groups in Chicago. It holds garden parcels and supports community-led stewardship, providing long-term protection for urban open space used by local groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Openlands: Chicago-based regional conservation nonprofit that protects natural and open spaces; directly comparable to NeighborSpace as both hold and steward land for community benefit in the same metro and Openlands is even a co-funder of NeighborSpace.
• Groundwork USA: National network of local Trusts focused on restoring and sustaining urban environments including community gardens and green spaces; closely mirrors NeighborSpace's urban garden stewardship model at a federated national level.
• American Community Gardening Association: National nonprofit dedicated to community gardening education, advocacy, and network-building; comparable because it represents the broader community-garden ecosystem NeighborSpace serves through its land-trust function.

Broad incumbents

• The Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit land conservancy that creates parks and protects land for public use; comparable as a larger-scale operator in the same land-trust category, operating broadly while NeighborSpace focuses narrowly on urban gardens.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Major national community development financial institution active in Chicago that finances community open space, housing, and neighborhood revitalization; relevant as a capital provider in the same neighborhood-development space NeighborSpace operates in.

Regional players

• Chicago Botanic Garden: Regional botanical institution in the Chicago metro focused on horticulture, conservation, and education; comparable because of shared mission around plant conservation, urban greening, and community horticulture in the same geography.
• Center for Neighborhood Technology: Chicago-based nonprofit working on sustainable urban development including green infrastructure; comparable as a Chicago-headquartered nonprofit addressing neighborhood-scale environmental and land-use issues.

Emerging players

• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society: Philadelphia-based nonprofit that runs the Philadelphia LandCare program for vacant-lot greening and community gardens; closely comparable as a city-focused urban land-greening and stewardship organization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

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 NeighborSpace