The Alliance Center

What The Alliance Center does

The Alliance Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating a 36,000-square-foot, six-story historic brick building (originally a 1908 warehouse) at 1536 Wynkoop Street in Lower Downtown Denver, one block from Union Station. It provides coworking space, private offices, event space, and 14 reservable conference rooms to a community of 40+ climate, sustainability, and justice-focused nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, as well as to external event hosts. The building has been carbon neutral since 2008 and holds eight LEED certifications including the first LEED v4 Existing Buildings Operations + Maintenance Platinum in Colorado (2017), plus a WELL Health-Safety Rating (2019); it uses roughly half the energy of comparable buildings and diverts more than 85% of waste. Operational technology includes 1 Gig high-speed wired and wireless internet, hybrid meeting technology (video conferencing, screen sharing, whiteboard walls), a Direct Current Microgrid Project, EV charging via the Blink network, and a Proximity-powered member portal and mobile app for reservations and access.

The organization generates revenue through monthly coworking memberships, private office leases at below-market nonprofit rates, event and meeting room rentals, a Convivio Café partnership (a women-owned, bilingual café on the first floor), pay-as-you-go parking and printing services, and charitable donations. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: a monthly newsletter reaches 8,000+ subscribers, 50+ events and programs are hosted annually, and prospective tenants book tours through Acuity Scheduling. Distribution is direct-to-organization and self-serve for member bookings, with the building positioned as a hub for cross-organizational collaboration rather than a transactional coworking product. Programming has expanded beyond workspace into collective-impact initiatives including the Coalition for a Regenerative Future and the Green Jobs Board.

The entity was founded in 2004 by John Powers as the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, rebranded to The Alliance Center in May 2023, and is currently led by Executive Director Alison Carlman (appointed May 2024) with an 11-member board including recent additions Sara Sutton, Sarah Zak Borgman, and Susan Graf. The organization operates as a standalone nonprofit with no parent company and no disclosed external investment or funding rounds.

Name

The Alliance Center

Legal name

The Alliance Center

Website

https://thealliancecenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Alliance Center is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a LEED Platinum, carbon-neutral historic building as coworking, private office, and event space for 40+ climate, sustainability, and justice-focused organizations in Colorado.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Coworking and Event Workspace

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Conference Centers & Dedicated Meeting Venues (THAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Convention & Exhibition Centers (Public Convention Centers, Civic Centers) (THAHAAAA)

Keywords

• Sustainable coworking space
• Nonprofit office rental
• Green event venue
• Mission-aligned workspace
• Climate collaboration hub

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Coworking Memberships: Flexible desk and membership options providing access to community, meeting rooms, and building amenities. Includes tiered membership levels with varying benefits.
2. Private Office Space Rental: Private offices for teams and organizations with below-market nonprofit rates. Includes access to all building amenities and community.
3. Event and Meeting Room Rental: Certified green event space less than a block from Union Station. Flexible layouts for workshops, receptions, and hybrid events. Nonprofit discounts available.
4. Convivio Café Partnership: On-site café partnership providing food and beverage services. Women-owned, bilingual café with sustainably sourced products.
5. Donations and Charitable Support: 501c3 nonprofit accepting donations to support the space where climate collaboration happens.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Alliance Center provides flexible office space, coworking memberships, and certified green event and meeting rooms in a LEED-certified historic building in downtown Denver for climate, sustainability, and justice organizations. It functions as a hub that combines workspace rental with convening infrastructure for mission-driven tenants, supplemented by an on-site café partner, a hard-to-recycle station, and a member portal. The organization monetizes recurring memberships and below-market nonprofit office leases alongside per-use meeting/event rentals and donations.

Product overview

The Alliance Center is a workplace for Colorado's climate, sustainability, and justice organizations offering private offices, coworking, and convening space in downtown Denver. The product portfolio centers on flexible workspace solutions (Coworking + Office Space) and event/meeting room rentals (Event + Meeting Rooms), supported by a Proximity-powered membership platform for reservations and access management. Additional offerings include member benefits (yoga, printing, events), the Convivio Café partnership, a Hard-to-Recycle Station, and the Green Waves Garden—creating an integrated ecosystem for mission-driven organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Convivio Café: A bilingual, women-owned café offering sustainably sourced coffee and Guatemalan-inspired food, located on the first floor of the Alliance Center building.
• The Coalition for a Regenerative Future

Products and services

• Coworking + Office Space Flexible workspace solutions including private offices and coworking desks for individuals and teams, serving Colorado's climate, sustainability, and justice organizations in downtown Denver with below-market rates for nonprofits.
• Event + Meeting Rooms Certified green event space and meeting room rentals for workshops, receptions, and hybrid events, with flexible layouts, hybrid AV, and full-service convening support.
• Convivio Café On-site bilingual, women-owned café offering sustainably sourced Guatemalan coffee, teas, and Central American-inspired food, open to the public 8:00am-2:00pm Monday through Friday.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82% of community members report feeling welcomed and included in spaces
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Convivio CafécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen-owned, bilingual café partnership providing on-site food and beverage services. Located on first floor of Alliance Center, open to public 8:00am-2:00pm Monday through Friday. Each visit supports regenerative producers committed to the health of the planet.
• Conservation ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing tenant and coalition partner. Founder John Powers serves as board member. Organization leads environmental initiatives and civic engagement.
• Colorado Energy OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partnership for energy initiatives including Better Buildings Challenge showcase project
• Colorado Soil Health ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState partnership supporting regenerative agriculture initiatives through collective impact projects
• Colorado Department of TransportationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Cleantech Workforce Pathways Program expanding student access to green career pathways

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Galvanize: Denver-headquartered coworking and tech-education operator with multiple downtown locations. Competes for the same downtown Denver coworking and event venue demand, though its brand skews tech/startup rather than climate/social justice mission.

Broad incumbents

• Industrious: Large national coworking and flexible office operator with premium enterprise positioning. Competes for the same private office, meeting room, and event space demand in Denver, though with a corporate rather than mission-aligned community.
• WeWork: Global coworking incumbent with significant Denver presence. Competes for the same flexible office, meeting room, and event space demand pool, but serves a corporate rather than mission-aligned tenant base and lacks the sustainability positioning.
• Office Evolution: National coworking franchise with multiple Colorado locations including Denver. Competes for small-team private office and meeting room demand, though without the climate/sustainability positioning.

Emerging players

• Workplaces for Change: Network of mission-aligned coworking spaces for nonprofits and social enterprises. Comparable mission and target tenant base (nonprofits, social change organizations), though operating at smaller scale and focused on specific cities.
• Civic Works Denver / Civic Center for Nonprofit Management: Nonprofit hubs providing coworking, training, and convening space to community organizations. Comparable in mission (serving nonprofits), operating model, and offering mix of office space + programming, though typically smaller and less sustainability-positioned.
• Shared_Studios: Operator of 'Portals' connecting communities across geographies via immersive video, plus convening and event space. Comparable in using physical space as a platform for cross-organization convening and climate/social impact work, though technology-led rather than real estate-led.

Direct peers

• Impact Hub: Global network of mission-driven coworking and innovation spaces for social entrepreneurs and impact organizations. Most directly comparable peer: similar hybrid coworking + convening + event space model targeting impact-focused tenants, operating in multiple cities.
• Convene: Premium meeting, event, and flexible office space provider focused on enterprise clients. Comparable in meeting/event space delivery and hybrid-AV-equipped venues, though serving a higher-end corporate segment rather than mission-driven nonprofits.
• Green Spaces: Sustainability-focused coworking and event space operator (originally NYC-based) targeting eco-conscious tenants and green events. Closest peer on the sustainability differentiation axis, though smaller and geographically concentrated.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thealliancecntr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 The Alliance Center