A Better Chicago
A Better Chicago is a Chicago venture philanthropy founded in 2010 that deploys donated capital and management support to vetted nonprofits serving low-income and Black youth, reaching more than 135,000 Chicago youth through grantees including Chicago Scholars, One Million Degrees, and The Bloc.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What A Better Chicago does
A Better Chicago is a Chicago-based venture philanthropy, founded in 2010 and structured as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, that invests philanthropic capital in a vetted portfolio of nonprofits serving low-income and Black youth with the goal of disrupting intergenerational poverty in Chicago. The organization positions itself as a "supercharger" — providing grantees not only with multi-year funding but also with strategic guidance and management assistance — and acts as an intermediary that connects high-net-worth donors, corporate sponsors, and foundation funders with rigorously screened nonprofit investments.
Its operational stack includes a small set of proprietary initiatives and a curated grantee portfolio. The Youth Opportunity Dashboard™ is a data visualization platform that tracks education, employment, and well-being indicators across Chicago neighborhoods, supporting both internal due diligence and external thought leadership via the annual State of Our Youth research reports. The Every Day Counts Initiative targets chronic absenteeism in Chicago schools with grant-funded interventions, and the Emergency Relief Fund provides crisis-period grants to youth-serving nonprofits. Grantees — including The Bloc (boxing plus academic coaching, ~$518K invested, 931 students served), Chicago Scholars (college access and persistence, ~$2.7M invested, 6,279 students), and One Million Degrees (community college support, $4.6M+ since 2013, 8,116 students) — collectively account for more than 135,000 youth reached cumulatively.
A Better Chicago generates revenue through philanthropic contributions from individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundation grants, and has secured multi-million-dollar commitments from funders including Ken Griffin, the Chicago Community Trust, and the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. The organization is governed by a board chaired by Adtalem Global Education Chairman/CEO Steve Beard, led day-to-day by CEO Beth Swanson (since March 2019, succeeding founder Liam Krehbiel), and operates from a single Chicago headquarters with an 11-50 person staff. It pursues strategic partnerships with media, civic, and academic institutions — including WTTW and Mikva Challenge — to extend its policy and public-engagement footprint beyond direct grantmaking.
A Better Chicago firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- A Better Chicago
- Legal name
- A Better Chicago
- Website
- https://abetterchicago.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- A Better Chicago is a Chicago venture philanthropy founded in 2010 that deploys donated capital and management support to vetted nonprofits serving low-income and Black youth, reaching more than 135,000 Chicago youth through grantees including Chicago Scholars, One Million Degrees, and The Bloc.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
A Better Chicago industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Philanthropy / Youth Development Grantmaking
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)
Keywords
Where A Better Chicago is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
A Better Chicago business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Donations and Grants: A Better Chicago generates revenue through donations from individual philanthropists, corporate sponsors, and foundation grants. The organization functions as a venture philanthropy, deploying charitable capital to nonprofit portfolios.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels10 records
A Better Chicago product offering
Product offeringCore offering
A Better Chicago is a venture philanthropy that raises charitable capital from donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations and deploys it as multi-year unrestricted grants, strategic guidance, and management assistance to a vetted portfolio of youth-serving nonprofits across Chicago. The organization also operates targeted initiatives (Every Day Counts chronic absenteeism program, Emergency Relief Fund) and publishes data-driven research (Youth Opportunity Dashboard, State of Our Youth reports) to inform its investments.
Product overview
A Better Chicago is a venture philanthropy organization that provides a portfolio of programs, initiatives, and investments rather than a unified tech product. Its core offerings include the Youth Opportunity Dashboard™ (a data visualization platform tracking Chicago youth outcomes), the Every Day Counts Initiative (chronic absenteeism intervention), Emergency Relief Fund (crisis grants), and State of Our Youth research reports. The organization also maintains an investment portfolio of nonprofit grantees including Chicago Scholars, One Million Degrees, and The Bloc, which receive funding and strategic support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Youth Opportunity Dashboard™
Quantifiable outcome
- More than 135,000 Chicago youth reached to date with resources and opportunities
Companies that use A Better Chicago
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
A Better Chicago technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
A Better Chicago partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.
- Chicago Design Challenge Partnersstrategic$7 million investment initiative partnering with foundations and public/private sector entities to identify holistic youth support programs for potential city-wide adoption, including learning recovery and mental health innovations.
- WTTWstrategicPartnership on FIRSTHAND: Living in Poverty documentary series exploring poverty in Chicago from the perspectives of five Chicagoans experiencing intergenerational poverty. Series included panel discussions and community events.
- Chicago Blackhawks FoundationcoreThree-year partnership investing at least $2 million in leaders and programs from Chicago's West Side. The One West Side initiative supports community-based organizations creating opportunities for Black and Latinx youth. Combined capital and capacity-building support.
- Mikva ChallengestrategicJoint hosting of State of Chicago Youth virtual town hall event featuring youth policymakers from Citywide and Neighborhood Youth Councils presenting policy recommendations on health, education, juvenile justice, housing, and policing.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
A Better Chicago competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Spencer Foundation: National education-focused grantmaker supporting research and practice to improve education. Overlaps with ABC's education mission and State of Our Youth research reports.
- Lumina Foundation: National foundation focused on postsecondary education access and completion - directly analogous to ABC's One Million Degrees and Chicago Scholars investments but at national scale.
Direct peers
- Polk Bros Foundation: Chicago-based family foundation that funds education, youth development, and human services across the city. Highly comparable regional grantmaker operating in the same donor ecosystem.
- Chicago Community Trust: Chicago's largest community foundation and direct co-funder of ABC's pandemic learning recovery initiative. Both are Chicago-based grantmakers focused on regional equity and education, making them the closest comparable.
- Crown Family Philanthropies: Chicago-based family philanthropy investing in education and youth opportunity. Operates in the same high-net-worth Chicago donor network as A Better Chicago.
- The Chicago Foundation for Women: Chicago-area grantmaker focused on equity and opportunity for women and girls. Operates with a similar venture philanthropy-style portfolio model targeting underserved Chicago communities.
- Robert R. McCormick Foundation: Major Chicago-area foundation with strong emphasis on early childhood and education equity. Overlaps with ABC on K-12 attendance and learning recovery funding.
Emerging players
- New Schools Venture Fund: Venture philanthropy nonprofit dedicated to education innovation, particularly for underserved students. Closest national peer to ABC's "venture philanthropy" model applied to education.
- Forefront (formerly Donors Forum): Illinois-based membership association for nonprofits and grantmakers. Provides infrastructure and convening for the same philanthropic ecosystem in which A Better Chicago operates.
Others
- One West Side Initiative (collaborative): Co-led by ABC and the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. While not a peer, this type of collaborative West Side youth-focused initiative is the primary adjacent vehicle through which ABC extends its reach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
A Better Chicago social profiles
Digital presenceA Better Chicago financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
A Better Chicago leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
A Better Chicago funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
A Better Chicago M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about A Better Chicago
What does A Better Chicago do?
A Better Chicago is a venture philanthropy that raises charitable capital from donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations and deploys it as multi-year unrestricted grants, strategic guidance, and management assistance to a vetted portfolio of youth-serving nonprofits across Chicago. The organization also operates targeted initiatives (Every Day Counts chronic absenteeism program, Emergency Relief Fund) and publishes data-driven research (Youth Opportunity Dashboard, State of Our Youth reports) to inform its investments.
Is A Better Chicago a public or private company?
A Better Chicago is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was A Better Chicago founded?
A Better Chicago was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is A Better Chicago based?
A Better Chicago is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does A Better Chicago make money?
One revenue line is on record: philanthropic Donations and Grants.
Who are A Better Chicago's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Spencer Foundation and Lumina Foundation. Direct peers are Polk Bros Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, Crown Family Philanthropies, The Chicago Foundation for Women and Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Emerging players are New Schools Venture Fund and Forefront (formerly Donors Forum). One West Side Initiative (collaborative) is listed as an others.
Does A Better Chicago have an API?
No public API is recorded for A Better Chicago.
What industry is A Better Chicago in?
A Better Chicago's product category is Venture Philanthropy / Youth Development Grantmaking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAK, Education Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAE, Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries. Its NAICS code is 813211.