Lead with Love

What Lead with Love does

Lead with Love is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2020 that delivers no-cost youth and family programming across six Southside Chicago priority communities: Auburn Gresham, Englewood, West Englewood, Chatham, Greater Grand Crossing, and Roseland — all areas identified in Chicago's top 15 violence priority rankings. Its programs are organized under a four-pillar framework (Mental Health, Physical Health, Education, Exposure) and branded as five initiatives: Love Leads (youth leadership for ages 14-18), Love Heals (wellness classes such as yoga, meditation, drum circles), Love Moves (free dance instruction for ages 5-18), Love Gives (emergency relief including clothing, hygiene products, and food), and Love Educates (after-school and summer programming delivered in partnership with the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation). The organization also operates a Community Center at 7318 South Racine Avenue opened in July 2023, supplementing a network of partner venues (dance studios, parks, schools, YMCA Lake View, skating rinks, 115 Bourbon St.) used for pop-up programming.

Lead with Love has no proprietary technology platform; its digital footprint consists of a Squarespace-hosted website (leadwithlovechi.org), an e-commerce merchandise storefront, email newsletter, and grassroots social media. The business model is donation- and event-driven: primary revenue comes from individual donations routed through Quickpay/Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App, supplemented by ticketed fundraising events (e.g., Women Empowerment Heels Dance Class at $10-$15, annual fundraisers via Eventbrite) and branded merchandise sales (apparel, accessories, and drinkware priced $16-$55). All youth programming is provided at no cost to participants, making donor and grant support the operational backbone rather than service fees.

The organization reports 11-50 employees and operates exclusively within Southside Chicago, with strategic partnerships anchoring program scale: a core institutional partnership with the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation for K-8 extracurriculars, a flagship cultural partnership with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater via its ADMIT ONE program (announced 2022-03-02), and recurring collaborations with local mental health providers and the Coast to Coast Children's Book Expo. No parent company, venture capital backing, or institutional investors are disclosed; the organization is independently operated and founder-led with no published management team.

Name

Lead with Love

Legal name

Lead with Love

Website

https://leadwithlovechi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lead with Love is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 2020 that delivers no-cost youth and family programming in mental health, physical health, education, and exposure across six Southside Chicago priority communities, funded primarily by donations, fundraising events, and branded merchandise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth and Community Development Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ)

Keywords

• Youth development programs
• Community wellness services
• Nonprofit family support
• Free dance training
• Emergency family assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Primary revenue source relying on donations to host events, give away resources to communities, and fund operations. Accepts donations via Quickpay/Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App platforms.
2. Merchandise Sales: E-commerce sales of branded merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, shorts, tote bags, water bottles, mugs, and accessories. Prices range from $16-$55 per item.
3. Event-Based Fundraising: Ticketed events including annual fundraisers, dance classes, wellness fairs, and community celebrations. Events such as Women Empowerment Heels Dance Class charge $10-$15 per participant.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lead with Love is a nonprofit community organization that provides no-cost youth development programs and family support services in Southside Chicago's priority communities. The organization delivers five core initiatives — Love Leads (youth leadership), Love Heals (mental health and wellness classes), Love Moves (free dance training), Love Gives (emergency relief), and Love Educates (extracurricular programming) — addressing mental health, physical health, education, and exposure for youth ages 5-18. The organization also sells branded merchandise and accepts donations via multiple digital payment platforms to fund operations.

Product overview

Lead with Love is a community organization offering five core programs focused on serving youth and families in Southside Chicago's priority communities. The programs are organized under the 'Love' framework: Love Leads (youth leadership), Love Heals (mental health/wellness classes), Love Moves (free dance instruction), Love Gives (emergency assistance), and Love Educates (extracurricular activities). Additionally, the organization operates a merchandise shop selling branded apparel and accessories to support fundraising efforts. The organization does not offer a software product but rather provides in-person community services and programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Love Leads: Youth Leader Program under the Exposure Pillar, designed for high schoolers 14-18 years of age offering mentorship and leadership development.
• Love Heals
• Love Moves
• Love Gives
• Love Educates

Products and services

• Love Leads — Youth Leader Program A free youth leadership program for high schoolers aged 14-18 offering mentorship, leadership skill development, community service projects, personal development workshops, and exposure trips, designed to develop agents of change in Southside Chicago communities.
• Love Heals — Community Classes Free community wellness and healing classes including yoga, meditation, support groups, and drum circles offered year-round in pop-up style formats to community members in Southside Chicago.
• Love Moves — Free Dance Program A free community dance program providing professional-level training, technique, flexibility, and creative expression for youth ages 5-18 with no previous dance training required.
• Love Gives — Emergency Need Response Emergency assistance program providing immediate relief to families in need through the distribution of clothing, hygiene products, and food.
• Love Educates — Extracurricular Programs After-school and summer programming offered in partnership with the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC), including sports, fitness, art, social-emotional learning, yoga, tutoring, health and wellness, and music production for kindergarten through 8th grade students.
• Branded Merchandise Shop

Quantifiable outcome

• Free programs for youth ages 5-18 including dance classes, leadership development, and community events provided at no cost
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Local Mental Health Organizations and ProviderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2022Partnership with local mental health organizations and providers to support families experiencing loss during the holidays. Youth completing wish lists are grieving immediate family members. Partner organizations help provide resources and support to affected families.
• Alvin Ailey American Dance TheaterflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2022Through the ADMIT ONE program, Lead with Love received 15 free tickets to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance for youth exposure and cultural enrichment. The organization provided bus transportation from Barton Elementary to the theater.
• Coast to Coast Children's Book ExpominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 June 2021Collaboration with Coast to Coast Children's Book Expo to provide free diverse books for youth at MLK Skating Rink event.
• The Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with GAGDC provides Lead with Love access to AG Gold Elementary Schools for extracurricular after-school and summer programming. Programs offered include sports & fitness, art, social-emotional learning, yoga, tutoring, health & wellness, and music production for kindergarten through 8th grade students.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UCAN (Uhlich Children's Advantage Network): Chicago nonprofit serving youth and families through trauma-informed counseling, youth development, and foster care services. Comparable in delivering multi-pillar youth and family services in Chicago's underserved communities with mental health as a core focus.
• After School Matters: Chicago nonprofit providing after-school and summer programming in arts, sports, STEM, and communication for teens, primarily in underserved communities. Comparable target audience (Chicago teens), program model (free extracurriculars), and partnership-based delivery through schools and community sites.
• Chicago Youth Centers: Multi-site Chicago nonprofit offering youth development programming including academic support, athletics, and arts across underserved neighborhoods. Comparable in delivering holistic, no-cost youth programming with multiple program pillars and a community-center-based delivery model.
• The Children's Place Association: Chicago nonprofit providing child welfare, family support, and youth development services to vulnerable children and families, including those impacted by trauma and violence. Comparable in serving at-risk Chicago youth with holistic support services and family-centered programming.
• BUILD Chicago: Chicago-based nonprofit focused on youth development in underserved neighborhoods through mentoring, violence prevention, and college/career readiness. Directly comparable as a youth-serving nonprofit in Chicago's priority communities with similar violence-intervention framing.
• Chicago Freedom School: Chicago nonprofit focused on youth leadership development and social justice education for teens in underserved communities. Comparable in targeting Chicago youth with leadership/empowerment programming and emphasizing social change agency among participants.

Broad incumbents

• YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: Major regional nonprofit providing youth programming, wellness classes, and community services across the Chicago metro area, including Southside locations. Comparable in offering free and low-cost wellness/youth programming but operates as a broad incumbent rather than a community-embedded specialist.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago: Established national-affiliate nonprofit operating club facilities offering youth programming, education, athletics, and mentorship in Chicago's underserved communities. Comparable mission and target population but operates at significantly larger scale as an incumbent.

Regional players

• Bright Star Community Outreach: Chicago nonprofit providing trauma-informed youth and family services, mental health support, and violence prevention programming in Southside communities. Comparable mission overlap in mental health and violence intervention for Chicago youth, though anchored in a different specific geography.

Others

• K.A.R.M.A. (Korean American Resource & Cultural Arts) and similar Asian-American community nonprofits: Small, community-embedded youth and family service nonprofits serving priority neighborhoods in other U.S. cities. Comparable as grassroots, donation-dependent, multi-program community nonprofits targeting underserved youth, but not direct Chicago peers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LeadWithLoveChi
• Facebookfacebook.com/leadwithlovechicago
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lead-with-love-chi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Lead with Love