Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association

What Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association does

Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association (NISRA) is a non-profit special recreation association founded in 1976 and headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, that delivers year-round recreation programs, camps, special events, and trips for children and adults with disabilities across 13 member communities in northern Illinois. Its service portfolio includes dedicated program lines — Cultural Arts, Inclusion, LIFE Program for adults, Special Olympics training and competition, Summer Day Camp, and the Sage TR Center — all registered through a single integrated enrollment workflow. Technology is built around a conventional SaaS stack: WebTrac (CivicRec/VSI) for online program registration, ePact for participant medical and emergency records, ADP Workforce Now for payroll, Rainout Line for real-time cancellation notifications, DonorPerfect for foundation fundraising, and a WordPress-based public site and information portal maintained with ExcalTech. NISRA does not operate proprietary software; its differentiated capability lies in the operational and therapeutic-recreation delivery model, not in technology. Revenue is generated from six streams: participant program and camp registration fees, underwriting from 13 member park districts under Illinois special recreation association law, NISRA Foundation donations and corporate sponsorships (including the Annual Spring Shootout Golf Outing), grants from entities such as the McHenry County Mental Health Board and the Community Foundation for McHenry County, and ancillary spirit wear merchandise sold via Freundly Designs. Pricing is set per program in seasonal brochures and billed pay-as-you-go via WebTrac; specific price points are not publicly disclosed at the headline level. The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on owned digital channels (website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, email newsletter), seasonal brochures, and event-driven foundation outreach, with the member park district network functioning as the primary distribution and referral channel for residents with disabilities.

Name

Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association

Legal name

Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association

Website

https://nisra.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association, founded in 1976 and based in Crystal Lake, Illinois, delivers year-round recreation programs, camps, and special events for children and adults with disabilities across 13 northern Illinois member communities through a cooperative of local park districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Recreation Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Parks, Recreation & Protected Areas Administration (BPAIAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Outdoor Fitness & Park Bootcamps (HSADABAC)

Keywords

• Special recreation services
• Disability inclusion programs
• Therapeutic recreation services
• Adaptive sports programs
• Community recreation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Crystal Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Program & Camp Registration Fees: Recurring revenue from participant-paid program, camp, trip, and special event registrations collected through WebTrac across the seasonal brochure cycle (e.g., Summer 2026 brochure).
2. Member District Funding / Tax Allocation: Underwriting from 13 member park districts, which partner to fund NISRA services for residents with disabilities across northern Illinois communities.
3. Foundation Fundraising & Donations: Charitable giving through the NISRA Foundation, including the 50th Anniversary campaign (raised over $47,000 in May 2026) and recurring donor programs via DonorPerfect.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue tied to events such as the Annual Spring Shootout Golf Outing and other foundation fundraisers, plus corporate partnerships.
5. Grants from Public/Community Funders: Grant funding from entities such as the McHenry County Mental Health Board and the Community Foundation for McHenry County supporting mental-health and inclusion programming.
6. Merchandise / Spirit Wear Sales: Revenue from NISRA Spirit Wear and NISRA Knights Spirit Wear sold through freundlydesigns.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association provides year-round recreation activities for people with disabilities, including weekly programs, summer day camps, cultural arts, Special Olympics training and competition, the LIFE Program for adults, and inclusion support co-delivered into member park district programs. Programs are delivered across 13 northern Illinois communities funded by member park districts, participant registration fees, foundation fundraising, corporate sponsorships, and public grants.

Product overview

NISRA operates a single integrated community-recreation service rather than a multi-product software platform. Its core "product" is the delivery of inclusive year-round recreation experiences (programs, camps, special events, and trips) for people with disabilities, supported by an online registration and program-information website (powered by WebTrac and ePact) and a family of named programs: Cultural Arts, Inclusion, LIFE Program, Special Olympics, Summer Day Camp, and the Sage TR Center. These named programs are not separate software products but distinct service lines housed under the NISRA umbrella, all enrolling through the same WebTrac/ePact registration workflow.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NISRA Foundation: The fundraising arm of NISRA, hosting events such as the Annual Spring Shootout Golf Outing and accepting donations to support NISRA's mission.
• NISRA Knights

Products and services

• Year-round Recreation Programs Weekly recreation programs, special events, camps, and trips delivered year-round to children and adults with all ability levels across NISRA's 13 northern Illinois member communities. The umbrella offering under which all NISRA programs are organized.
• Cultural Arts Specialized NISRA program line focused on arts and creative-expression activities for participants with disabilities, delivered through cultural arts instructors.
• Inclusion Services Program line supporting participants with disabilities to take part in programs offered by partner park districts and community recreation providers, with trained inclusion support staff co-deployed into member district programs.
• LIFE Program Dedicated NISRA program line for adult participants with disabilities, focused on life-skills, socialization, and ongoing recreation engagement.
• Special Olympics Special Olympics training and competition program providing athletic opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities through the Special Olympics framework.
• Summer Day Camp Annual seasonal day-camp offering providing structured daily recreation for participants with disabilities during the summer months, detailed in NISRA's Summer Day Camp Brochure.
• Sage TR Center Specialized therapeutic-recreation center functioning as both a service sub-initiative and the training resource hub for NISRA staff, volunteers, and interns.
• NISRA Foundation Fundraising and grant-making arm of NISRA supporting program delivery through corporate partnerships, sponsorships, and events such as the Annual Spring Shootout Golf Outing and the 50th Anniversary campaign.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, operational and minor.

• Park District Risk Management Agency (PDRMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDRMA provides risk management, loss control, and accreditation services to NISRA; NISRA holds Level A Accredited status (highest) under PDRMA's Loss Control Review.
• 13 Member Park Districts in Northern IllinoisflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNISRA is a special recreation association funded and supported by 13 member park districts across northern Illinois; the districts underwrite services, cross-promote programs, and provide the channel through which residents access NISRA.
• CivicRec / VSI (WebTrac)coreTechnology or IntegrationNISRA uses the WebTrac registration platform (ilnisraweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/) provided by CivicRec/VSI for online program registration and participant management.
• ePact NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationePact (portal-us.epactnetwork.com) is integrated into NISRA's registration flow to securely collect participant medical, emergency-contact, and consent information required for safe program delivery.
• ADP (Workforce Now)operationalTechnology or IntegrationADP Workforce Now (workforcenow.adp.com) is used by NISRA as its payroll and HR platform, linked from the Employment/Volunteer page.
• Rainout LineoperationalTechnology or IntegrationRainout Line (rainoutline.com) integration enables NISRA to publish real-time program cancellation and weather-related updates to participants and families.
• Freundly DesignsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFreundly Designs (freundlydesigns.com/nisra and /nisra-knights) hosts the official NISRA Spirit Wear and NISRA Knights Spirit Wear online storefronts.
• ExcalTechminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExcalTech designed and maintains the NISRA website (excaltech.com/services/website-design), as credited in the site footer.
• DonorPerfectoperationalTechnology or IntegrationDonorPerfect (weblink.donorperfect.com/NISRA50thAnniversary) is the online donation platform powering NISRA Foundation fundraising, including the 50th Anniversary campaign.
• Special OlympicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNISRA runs Special Olympics training and competition (nisra.org/special-olympics/) as a core program area, providing Special Olympics pathways for athletes with disabilities across the region.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Easterseals (Chicago / National): National nonprofit providing disability services including recreation, camps, and therapeutic programs across Illinois and the U.S. Overlaps with NISRA in mission but operates a much broader disability-services portfolio beyond recreation.
• National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA): National trade association that confers the Gold Medal Award NISRA has twice received. Provides accreditation, training, and policy support to park-and-recreation agencies; an industry umbrella rather than a direct competitor.
• YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago (Adaptive Programs): Regional YMCA operator offering adaptive swim, sports, and inclusion programming across the Chicago metro. Overlaps with NISRA in adaptive recreation but competes for participant families and runs a much broader facility-based model.

Direct peers

• Northwest Special Recreation Association (NWSRA): Illinois special recreation association serving northwest suburban Chicago communities with year-round recreation, inclusion, and Special Olympics programs for people with disabilities. Closest direct structural and operational peer to NISRA under the same Illinois SRA model.
• Fox Valley Special Recreation Association (FVSRA): Illinois-based SRA providing adaptive recreation, inclusion services, and Special Olympics training to member park districts in the Fox Valley region. Same legal structure, funding model, and program mix as NISRA.
• SEASPAR (Southeast Association for Special Parks And Recreation): Illinois special recreation association serving southeast DuPage and Will County communities. Direct peer operating under the same Illinois SRA cooperative model with comparable programs and member-district funding structure.
• M-NASR (Mundelein/Lincolnshire Area Special Recreation): Lake County, Illinois special recreation cooperative offering year-round adaptive recreation, camps, and inclusion support to member park districts. Nearest geographic peer to NISRA in northern Illinois.
• Western Springs Special Recreation Association (WSSRA): Illinois special recreation association providing adaptive recreation programs to member districts in western Cook County. Operates the same SRA model with shared program categories (inclusion, Special Olympics, LIFE-style adult programming).

Emerging players

• Special Olympics Illinois: State-level Special Olympics organization that NISRA partners with to deliver athletic training and competition. Comparable in mission segment (disability athletics) but operates at state-wide scale rather than community recreation.
• Best Buddies Illinois: National nonprofit providing one-to-one friendship, employment, and inclusive recreation opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Mission-adjacent to NISRA but focused on social inclusion rather than direct recreation program delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NISRACrystalLake
• Facebookfacebook.com/NISRA.org
• Instagraminstagram.com/we.are.nisra
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nisrafoundation

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 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 Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association