Church Community Services

What Church Community Services does

Church Community Services (CCS) is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered at 907 Oakland Avenue, Elkhart, Indiana, founded in 1968 by 11 area churches to provide emergency assistance and long-term stabilization services to residents of Elkhart County. The organization operates five integrated programs: (1) a client-choice food pantry — the largest in Elkhart County — serving 1,000+ families monthly (4,200+ people), with a monthly homebound grocery delivery route and a solar-powered facility; (2) Seed to Feed, an agricultural program with 23 community gardens and a greenhouse that supplies fresh produce to CCS and other county pantries; (3) Soup of Success, a women's empowerment and job/life-skills training program running since 1997 that produces and sells handcrafted goods and historically retains graduates in production roles; (4) Teen Growers, a youth internship program in sustainable agriculture and landscaping operating in spring, summer, and fall seasons; and (5) Financial Services, which delivers emergency assistance for rent, utilities, and prescriptions via phone and appointment with bilingual case coordinators. Additional offerings include the Men Alive holistic workforce-readiness program for men and the Impact Center Campaign, a 2024 capital initiative targeting $1,175,000 to fund a new multi-purpose facility.

The organization is supported by a faith-based ecosystem of 50+ partner churches and 900+ active volunteers, with only 16 full-time staff — a roughly 56x volunteer-to-staff leverage ratio. Its revenue model is donation- and grant-driven, with no fee-for-service pricing: individual donations flow through the GiveLively platform at givetoccs.com, institutional funding comes from entities including the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, Crossroads United Way, SCAN Inc., the City of Elkhart Community Development Block Grant, Monogram Loves Kids Foundation, and Beacon Health Systems, and event-based revenue is generated through initiatives such as 'A Night to Be Heard' (with corporate sponsors Welch Packaging, Personnel Partners, and individual donors). The documented beneficiary base is 5,500+ families annually across Elkhart County, with a 50% increase in new families reported alongside concerns about demand surging two- to three-fold amid a recent lapse in federal SNAP benefits.

Name

Church Community Services

Legal name

Church Community Services

Website

https://churchcommunityservices.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Church Community Services is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1968 serving Elkhart County, Indiana through the county's largest food pantry, emergency financial assistance, women's job training (Soup of Success), youth agricultural internships (Teen Growers), and 23 community gardens (Seed to Feed).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

Keywords

• Community food assistance
• Emergency financial services
• Workforce development programs
• Community gardening initiative
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Elkhart

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible charitable donations from individuals, facilitated through GiveLively platform at givetoccs.com
2. Grants and Foundation Funding: Funding from Community Foundation of Elkhart County, Crossroads United Way, SCAN Inc., Community Development Block Grant through City of Elkhart, Monogram Loves Kids Foundation, Beacon Health Systems
3. Event Fundraising: Revenue from special events like A Night to Be Heard benefiting Soup of Success, with corporate sponsorships from Welch Packaging, Personnel Partners, and individual donors
4. Capital Campaign Donations: Impact Center campaign raising $1,175,000 with 75% designated for facility development and 25% for sustaining existing programs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Church Community Services is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that provides emergency food assistance through a client-choice food pantry and community gardens, emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, and prescriptions, and intensive job and life-skills training programs for women, men, and teens in Elkhart County, Indiana.

Product overview

Church Community Services (CCS) operates as a unified social services organization offering multiple interconnected programs addressing food insecurity, financial hardship, and workforce development in Elkhart County. The core service portfolio consists of five primary programs: the Food Pantry provides emergency food assistance; Seed to Feed supplies fresh produce through community gardens; Soup of Success offers women's empowerment with job skills training; Teen Growers provides youth agricultural internships; and Financial Services delivers emergency financial assistance. An active capital campaign (Impact Center) seeks to expand physical infrastructure to sustain and grow these programs. The organization serves over 5,500 families annually with 16 staff members and over 900 volunteers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Soup of Success: Women's empowerment and job training program
• Seed to Feed
• Teen Growers
• The Impact Center
• The Acres at Jamestown

Products and services

• Food Pantry Emergency food assistance program serving as the largest food pantry in Elkhart County, allowing guests to select food items in a client-choice model similar to a grocery store.
• Seed to Feed Agricultural program with 22+ community gardens providing solutions to local hunger through fresh produce distributed to food pantry guests and other pantries across Elkhart County.
• Soup of Success Women's empowerment and job/life-skills training program producing handcrafted soups, shower melts, mittens, and candles for sale, providing participants with employment skills and personal development.
• Teen Growers Youth internship program teaching sustainable agriculture and landscaping practices, offered in spring, summer, and fall seasons to train teens in gardening skills and career pathways.
• Financial Services Emergency financial assistance program helping individuals and families avoid eviction and utility shutoffs, and covering prescription medication costs through case assessment and coordination with other agencies.
• Men Alive Holistic job readiness and life-skills program for men seeking to strengthen themselves and contribute to the community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,500+ families served annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• Food Bank of Northern IndianasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCS became an associated distributor organization, acquiring food and distributing it to 30+ food pantries and meal sites across Elkhart County through the Food Bank of Northern Indiana (2013-2015)
• Faith MissionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating agency for coordinating crisis resolution and services; early location of CCS Food Pantry at Faith Mission (1971)
• Salvation ArmysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating agency for coordinating emergency assistance and crisis resolution services
• Watershed ConsultingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting partner supporting translation of print materials and signage for Latinx community outreach

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Salvation Army of Elkhart: Named collaborating agency for coordinating emergency assistance with CCS in Elkhart County. Operates a broad portfolio of faith-based social services (food, shelter, financial assistance) overlapping with CCS offerings as part of a wider national/multi-state network.
• Feeding America: National network of food banks; CCS participates through distribution relationships. Operates broadly across food insecurity mitigation at national scale, comparable to CCS's food pantry and Seed to Feed mission.
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend: Faith-based social services organization serving the broader Northern Indiana region including Elkhart. Comparable faith-rooted service portfolio (food, financial assistance, case management) at larger geographic scope.
• Goodwill Industries of Northern Indiana: Regional workforce development and job-training nonprofit offering programs comparable to CCS's Soup of Success and Men Alive. Larger, mission-aligned peer in employment readiness serving the broader Northern Indiana region.

Others

• SCAN Inc. (Stop Childhood Abuse and Neglect): Local Elkhart funder and family services provider that granted emergency financial assistance to CCS during COVID. Operates in adjacent family-welfare space and serves overlapping client populations.
• Crossroads United Way: Funder and community convener in Elkhart and LaGrange Counties providing grants to CCS (Latinx food, COVID financial assistance, Thrive Grant). Operates in the same funding ecosystem and supports overlapping nonprofit service providers.
• Community Foundation of Elkhart County: Local community foundation that is a key institutional funder of CCS (Latinx outreach, A Night to Be Heard, other grants). Sits in the same Elkhart funding ecosystem and supports many peer social-services nonprofits.

Direct peers

• Food Bank of Northern Indiana: Regional food bank that previously partnered with CCS as a distributing associate organization (2013-2015), acquiring food and distributing to 30+ pantries across Elkhart County. Direct peer in food distribution and pantry support serving the same geography.
• Faith Mission: Faith-based social services agency in Elkhart collaborating with CCS on crisis resolution and emergency assistance. Originally hosted the CCS food pantry in 1971. Direct peer in faith-based community support serving the same client base.

Regional players

• Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County: Elkhart-focused nonprofit addressing housing stability through home construction and repair — services adjacent to CCS's emergency financial assistance for rent/utilities. Comparable faith-affiliated community-development footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/churchcommunityservices
• Instagraminstagram.com/churchcommunityservices
• Xx.com/ccselkhart
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/church-community-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Church Community Services