Between Friends

What Between Friends does

Between Friends is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1986 that operates a comprehensive domestic violence prevention and survivor support platform across the Chicagoland region. Its core service portfolio is organized into two functional pillars: survivor support, comprising a 24/7 crisis hotline (1-800-603-4357), adult/teen/child/family/group counseling with childcare, court advocacy inside two Cook County courthouses, free legal clinics via Zoom, Orders of Protection assistance, and safety planning; and prevention/education, comprising the REACH teen dating violence prevention program, YCARE peer ally program, and a community education and training practice delivered in hospitals, schools, and salons. The organization reaches more than 7,000 lives annually, delivers services in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and operates with 11-50 employees.

The business model is a hybrid donation-and-grant nonprofit with a small earned-revenue stream. Survivor services are provided free of charge. The organization relies on individual donations via its Give donation portal, corporate sponsorships (e.g., You Got Construction as premier sponsor for Light Up the Lakefront), federal VOCA grants (currently subject to 44% historical cuts with potential additional 43% reduction), and professional training fees ($255 per individual / $200 per person for organizational cohorts for the ICDVP-required 40-hour DV training). An additional vertical was added in April 2025 with Illinois Salon Professionals CE Training for cosmetology license renewal. Technology infrastructure is conventional: a WordPress-based website, standard telephony/text crisis response, and Zoom for remote legal clinics and training.

Between Friends operates under a horizontal segmentation model targeting four personas: domestic violence survivors (primary), children of survivors, teenagers and adolescents at risk of teen dating violence, and community members/professionals seeking training and education. Distribution is entirely direct: hotline, on-site counseling, school-based programs, courthouse-embedded court advocacy, and community education settings. Strategic positioning rests on a 38-year community trust base, ICDVP-approved training and supervision site status, and an integrated legal/clinical/educational referral network with Life Span Legal Aid, Legal Aid Chicago, Ascend Justice, and Apna Ghar. The organization's primary near-term strategic risk is federal funding contraction, which it is partially offsetting through programmatic diversification into regulated professional training verticals and Associate Board-led community fundraising events.

Name

Between Friends

Legal name

Between Friends

Website

https://betweenfriendschicago.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Between Friends is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1986, that provides free domestic violence survivor services, court advocacy, counseling, and prevention education across Chicagoland, supported by donations, federal VOCA grants, and ICDVP professional training fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Domestic Violence Support Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

School Counseling Services (Individual & Group) (EDAKAMAB)

Keywords

• Domestic violence services
• Crisis intervention support
• Survivor counseling services
• Community violence prevention
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individual supporters via website donation portal (Give platform), supporting all domestic violence services including crisis hotline, counseling, and prevention programs.
2. Corporate Giving & Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors support events like Light Up the Lakefront. You Got Construction was premiere sponsor for 2024 event.
3. Professional Training Fees: 40-hour domestic violence training costs $255 for single participant, $200 per person for organizations sending multiple participants. Fulfills Illinois Domestic Violence Act training requirement for ICDVP certification.
4. Government Grants: Federal VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) funding supports survivor services, though facing 44% reduction. Additional government funding streams support operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Between Friends is a Chicago-based nonprofit that delivers free, confidential crisis intervention, individual counseling, and court advocacy services to survivors of domestic violence, along with prevention education programs for youth and fee-based professional training for service providers. All direct survivor services are provided at no cost, while structured training programs are offered to organizations and individuals at a published fee.

Product overview

Between Friends is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing domestic violence and ending the cycle of abuse. The organization offers a comprehensive suite of free services organized into survivor support (24-hour crisis hotline, adult/teen/child/family/group counseling, court advocacy, legal clinics, Orders of Protection assistance, safety planning) and prevention/education programs (REACH teen dating violence prevention, YCARE youth education, and community education & training including 40-hour professional DV training). Key programs include A Night Out for survivor community building and specialized services like the Illinois Salon Professionals CE Training. The organization is not a technology company but a direct service nonprofit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 24-Hour Crisis Helpline

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 7,000 lives touched by the organization in a single year

Named customers3 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

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Circuit Court of Cook CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBetween Friends provides court advocacy services at the Third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows and the First Municipal District Domestic Violence Courthouse in downtown Chicago, supporting survivors navigating the justice system.
• Partner AgenciesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClients referred by partner agencies including police departments, schools, therapists, and resource officers across Chicagoland.
• Life Span Legal AidminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral resource for survivors needing additional legal services beyond Between Friends' court advocacy; intakes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30am-12:00pm at (312) 408-1210.
• Legal Aid ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral resource for free legal services; phone intakes Monday to Friday, 8:00am-10:00am at (847) 475-3703 (northern suburbs) and (312) 341-1070 (Chicago).
• Ascend JusticeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImmigration legal services partner for survivors needing VAWA immigration relief or U-Visa assistance; contact (312) 971-5932.
• Apna GharminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImmigration support partner for DV-related immigration relief referrals; contact (773) 883-4663.
• You Got ConstructioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPremier sponsor for 2024 Light Up the Lakefront event, providing generous financial support and lending van and personnel for transporting event supplies.
• NorthShore University Health SystemscoreOthersHonored as Friends of the Year 2023 alongside Swedish Hospital and individual supporters for organizational contributions.
• Swedish HospitalcoreOthersHonored as Friends of the Year 2023 alongside NorthShore University Health Systems for organizational contributions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence: Illinois state-wide coalition of DV service providers offering training, technical assistance, and policy advocacy. Regional peer working with member agencies including Between Friends; competes for state-level training and policy funding.

Direct peers

• Apna Ghar: Chicago nonprofit providing domestic violence and human trafficking services, including emergency shelter, counseling, and immigration legal support. Already a referral partner of Between Friends; direct peer in both geography and service mix.
• Resilience (formerly Chicago Metro Battered Women): Chicago-based nonprofit providing domestic violence crisis intervention, counseling, court advocacy, and prevention services. Operates in the same Chicagoland geography with overlapping service lines, directly competing for survivors, donors, and government grants.
• KAN-WIN: Chicago-based DV and sexual assault agency serving Asian American communities with crisis intervention, counseling, court advocacy, and prevention education. Comparable service model and Chicagoland geography; competes for similar donor and grant funding.
• A Safe Place: Lake County, Illinois domestic violence agency offering crisis hotline, emergency shelter, counseling, and court advocacy. Direct peer with overlapping service model and overlapping Chicagoland-area catchment, competing for similar grant and donor dollars.
• WINGS (Women in Need Growing Strong): Metropolitan Chicago-area nonprofit providing shelter, counseling, advocacy, and prevention education for domestic violence survivors. Operating in a similar geography with comparable service mix and revenue model (donations + grants).
• Ascend Justice: Chicago-based legal services nonprofit providing immigration legal aid and family law representation for DV survivors. Existing referral partner of Between Friends; comparable Chicagoland focus with overlapping survivor client base.

Broad incumbents

• Safe Horizon: New York City-based large DV and victims services nonprofit offering hotline, shelters, counseling, and court advocacy. Comparable service lines; broader incumbent at substantially larger scale, useful as a benchmark for mature DV nonprofit operating models.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: National 24/7 crisis hotline and resource hub for DV survivors. A broader incumbent operating the federal communications backbone (loveisrespect) that Between Friends' local hotline complements; competes for national corporate and federal funding.
• YWCA Metropolitan Chicago: Large regional YWCA chapter operating DV shelters, sexual violence services, and economic empowerment programs across Chicagoland. A broader incumbent with overlapping DV services but also a much wider program portfolio and donor base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/between_friends
• Facebookfacebook.com/BetweenFriendsChicago
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/between-friends
• Instagraminstagram.com/betweenfriendschi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Between Friends