What Centro Hispano does

Centro Hispano, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1983 and headquartered at 2403 Cypress Way, Madison, Wisconsin. The organization serves the Latinx community in Dane County through programs targeting youth, families, workforce development, and immigrant support. It operates from two locations — its Madison headquarters and a satellite office at 1632 W Main St in Sun Prairie — and runs flagship programs including the Lucía Núñez Becas Scholarship Program (awarding $4,500 to high school seniors, $10,000 to undergraduate students through graduation, and $20,000 to graduate students), the Cultura Y Finanzas financial literacy initiative, the Mercadito weekly community farmer's market, and the new Calli building on Madison's South Side, which opened in 2024 to host community events and cultural programming. Distribution is community-led, delivered directly through physical offices and off-site events rather than a proprietary technology platform; no software product, mobile app, or API surface is disclosed.

The organization does not operate on a conventional revenue model — community services are delivered free of charge and operations are funded through individual donations, corporate support, and grants. A notable $3 million grant was awarded in April 2026 to establish a tech and workforce development hub. Community engagement is driven through newsletters, a podcast on Buzzsprout, Facebook, press releases, and recurring events including an annual gala (now in its 42nd year), Tres Reyes, Mercadito, and youth poetry events. Governance and execution rest with Director of Programs Norma Gallegos Valles (promoted in 2024 after joining in 2019), Board Chair Suzanne Johnson, Founder Ilda Thomas, and President Nancy Francisco. The organization has built a coalition with United Way of Dane County (co-developing the Spanish-language 211 Wisconsin app) and has joined the Own It: Building Black Wealth initiative alongside Anesis Therapy to deliver financial wellness and mental health services to Black and brown communities in greater Madison.

Name

Centro Hispano

Legal name

Centro Hispano, Inc.

Website

https://micentro.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centro Hispano is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1983 that serves the Latinx community in Dane County, Wisconsin, through education scholarships, financial literacy, workforce development, immigrant support, and community programming from offices in Madison and Sun Prairie.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Centro Hispano accepts donations from individuals to support its programs and services, including the Lucía Núñez Becas scholarship program.
2. Grants: The organization received a $3 million grant to establish a tech and workforce development hub.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Centro Hispano is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community services organization that empowers Latinx youth, strengthens families, and engages the Latino community in Dane County, Wisconsin. It delivers free programs including the Lucía Núñez Becas Scholarship Program for Latinx students, the Cultura Y Finanzas financial literacy program, the Mercadito community farmer's market, workforce development services, youth and family support programs, and immigrant defense resources through its Madison and Sun Prairie offices and the Calli community building.

Product overview

Centro Hispano is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving the Latinx population in Dane County, Wisconsin. The organization operates as a community services agency with multiple programmatic offerings centered on its mission of empowering youth, strengthening families, and engaging the community. Its core programs include the Lucía Núñez Becas Scholarship Program providing financial assistance to Latinx students from high school through graduate studies; Cultura Y Finanzas, a financial literacy initiative; and Mercadito, a weekly community farmer's market. The organization also provides services for youth, families, workforce development, and the broader community through its main location in Madison and a satellite office in Sun Prairie.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lucía Núñez Becas (Scholarship) Program: Scholarship program awarding $4,500 to high school seniors, $10,000 to college students, and $20,000 to graduate students
• Mercadito
• Cultura Y Finanzas
• Calli

Products and services

• Lucía Núñez Becas Scholarship Program Scholarship program awarding $4,500 to high school seniors, $10,000 to college students through graduation, and $20,000 to a graduate student, with continuing annual support for up to four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate studies, accompanied by academic guidance. The program is aimed at Latinx students facing financial barriers to higher education.
• Cultura Y Finanzas Financial literacy program designed to bring financial growth to the Hispanic community through education and guidance on personal finance topics.
• Mercadito Community Farmer's Market Community farmer's market held every Thursday from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at 2403 Cypress Way, Madison, featuring local vendors with hot foods, fresh produce, artisanal goods, community seating, and kids' games, celebrating Latin American culture and culinary traditions.
• Immigrant Defense Fund Funded program providing support services, legal resources, and community defense for immigrants in Dane County facing ICE activities and immigration challenges.
• Youth Development Programs Programs supporting Latinx youth through leadership development, cultural enrichment, and educational opportunities including poetry events and youth engagement activities.
• Family Support Services Programs providing Latinx families in Dane County with tools for success, upward mobility, cultural connection, and access to community resources.
• Workforce Development Services Workforce training, job skills development, and employment support services for Latinx community members in Dane County, including a planned tech and workforce development hub.

Quantifiable outcome

• Scholarships awarded: $4,500 for high school seniors, $10,000 for college students through graduation, $20,000 for graduate students

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Own It: Building Black WealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership announced with Own It: Building Black Wealth, a private sector network of Madison-area professionals focused on advancing financial education, homeownership, and economic prosperity within Black and brown communities. Centro Hispano joins Anesis Therapy as the second new nonprofit partner.
• Anesis TherapyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Anesis Therapy announced alongside Centro Hispano under the Own It: Building Black Wealth initiative to provide mental health and financial wellness services to Black and brown communities in the greater Madison area.
• United Way of Dane CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Spanish version of the 211 Wisconsin app, expanding access to community resources for Spanish-speaking residents in Dane County.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• UnidosUS: Largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization (formerly NCLR), operating affiliate-based community programs in education, workforce, and immigration. Broader incumbent because it sets the national agenda and convenes many of the same community-based centers that Centro Hispano represents at the local level.
• Hispanic Federation: National umbrella organization funding and supporting a network of Latino-serving nonprofits across the U.S. - directly analogous to Centro Hispano at a national scale, with overlapping youth, education, and economic-empowerment focus areas.

Direct peers

• Casa de Maryland: Mid-Atlantic Latino immigrant-services and workforce-development nonprofit offering legal, education, housing, and community programming. Highly comparable to Centro Hispano's mix of immigrant defense, workforce training, youth scholarships, and community gathering spaces.
• United Way of Dane County: Centro's named partner and the regional community-services backbone in Dane County, funding and convening many of the same Latinx-facing programs and 211-style resource navigation. Closest local peer because of geographic overlap, shared donor base, and co-developed Spanish 211 app.
• Urban League of Greater Madison: Local Urban League affiliate delivering workforce development, youth education, and family services in Dane County. Direct peer because of identical geography, overlapping workforce-development and youth-education programming, and shared donor pool.
• La Raza Community Resources: Wisconsin-based Latino services organization offering education, youth, and family programming in Dane County and surrounding areas. The most directly comparable intra-state peer given overlapping geography and similar mission scope.
• Spanish-Speaking Community Council / Council for the Spanish Speaking: Wisconsin nonprofit historically serving Spanish-speaking families through education, advocacy, and community programming. Comparable to Centro Hispano on language access, regional footprint, and education-plus-family-support service mix.
• Centro Legal de la Raza: Bay Area-based 501(c)(3) that combines immigration legal services, youth education, and community programming for the Latino community. Direct peer because Centro Hispano shares the bilingual social-services-plus-education-plus-immigration-defense model on a different geography.

Others

• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger: National nonprofit funding community-based anti-hunger and food-access organizations. Relevant as an adjacent funder/ecosystem participant supporting community-food work analogous to Centro's Mercadito market.

Emerging players

• National Hispanic Center for Philanthropy / Hispanics in Philanthropic Leadership: National network advancing Latino-led and Latino-serving philanthropic infrastructure. Peer because it channels funding toward organizations like Centro Hispano and operates as an emerging capacity-builder in the same ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubebuzzsprout.com/1976201
• Facebookfacebook.com/centro.hispano.5
• Xx.com/MiCentro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centro-hispano-of-dane-county

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Centro Hispano