What The Balance Project does

The Balance Project is a U.S. non-profit organization founded in 2020 and domiciled in Illinois, with operations centered in the Northshore School District 112 / broader Illinois region. Its mission is to help families and individuals access emotional wellness support, with explicit emphasis on prevention and early intervention rather than crisis response. The organization does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its "products" are a collection of human-delivered services and content: donation tiers (one-time at $100/$200/$300 and flexible $10–$1,000, plus monthly recurring at $50/$100/$300), an Emotional Wellness Resources content hub, a Provider Referral Program and Provider Partnership Program that curate local mental health professionals, and year-round community events and workshops such as the Garden Walk fundraiser. Underlying infrastructure is a standard WordPress-based website (thebalance-project.org) with an online donation/checkout flow, supplemented by Facebook and Instagram organic channels and partner referrals.

The business model is donation-driven: 100% of contributions go to mission activities, and the organization is entirely volunteer-run, governed by a seven-member board covering Finance, Communications, Research, Community Relations, Inclusion, and Information Systems. Founder/President Agueda "Agi" Semrad (Masters in Community Counseling) leads a director team that includes clinically licensed staff (a Licensed Clinical Social Worker serving as Director of Community Relations and a PhD-level Director of Research and Education). Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging partnerships with organizations such as Waukegan To College (Core, announced 2021-12-06) and NAMI Chicago (Core) to extend reach, supplemented by a provider referral network that routes beneficiaries to vetted mental health professionals.

Customer/beneficiary segments are primarily individuals and families in Illinois facing financial barriers to mental health care, with secondary segments including K-12 and first-generation college students (via Waukegan To College) and community organizations seeking mental health programming partnerships. Pricing is not commercial; the model relies on distributed small-dollar donations and recurring monthly gifts, with documented impact statements linking donation size to the number of individuals helped. No external investment, parent company, or formal funding rounds have been disclosed.

Name

The Balance Project

Legal name

The Balance Project

Website

https://thebalance-project.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Balance Project is an Illinois-based non-profit founded in 2020 that helps families and individuals access emotional wellness support through donations, community workshops, educational content, and a curated provider referral network targeting underserved Illinois residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Mental Health Support Services

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Mental health support
• Emotional wellness services
• Community mental health
• Nonprofit mental health
• Therapy referral services

Headquarters

HQ city

Illinois City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: The Balance Project operates as a non-profit organization funded entirely through donations. One hundred percent of donations go towards their mission of helping individuals and families access emotional wellness support. They offer both one-time and recurring monthly donation options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Balance Project is a non-profit organization that helps individuals and families access emotional wellness and mental health support. It builds mental health awareness through education and community programming, connects individuals to treatment resources and trusted mental health professionals, and works to eliminate financial barriers to accessing mental health care before individuals reach a point of crisis.

Product overview

The Balance Project is a non-profit organization that operates as a single-service platform focused on connecting individuals and families to mental health and emotional wellness support. The organization's offerings consist primarily of donation-based fundraising products (including one-time donations at $100, $200, and $300 levels, customizable amounts from $10-$1,000, and recurring monthly donations at $50, $100, and $300 tiers) alongside educational community programs including emotional wellness resources, a provider referral program, and events/workshops. The product portfolio does not represent a unified software platform but rather a collection of support services funded through donations, designed to eliminate financial barriers to mental health care access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emotional Wellness Resources Curated collection of articles, guides, and resources on mental health topics including COVID-19 response, talking to children about coronavirus, mental health habits, support groups, and quarantine wellness, offered to individuals and families seeking educational content on emotional wellness.
• Provider Referral Program Program that builds relationships with local mental health professionals to identify trusted providers who can deliver support services to participants, connecting individuals referred by The Balance Project to vetted local clinicians.
• Events and Workshops Year-round mental health awareness workshops and community events (including Garden Walk) focused on emotional wellness education and connecting participants to mental health resources.
• Provider Partnership Program Partnership initiative that enables mental health providers to collaborate with The Balance Project to reach more individuals and deliver support services, including through NAMI Chicago virtual support groups and other community partnerships.
• Donation Program Donation offering that funds The Balance Project's mission, available as one-time donations ($100, $200, $300, or custom amounts between $10 and $1,000) or recurring monthly donations ($50, $100, or $300 per month). 100% of donations support mission activities, with each contribution framed by impact (e.g., $100 helps one person start receiving help).

Quantifiable outcome

• 160 individual therapeutic sessions or 72 mental health workshops provided from 2021 Garden Walk support
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Waukegan To CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 December 2021Waukegan To College (W2C) partners with The Balance Project to provide mental health workshops to students and parents. The partnership has expanded W2C's services to include mental health programming delivered through workshops, proving to be an incredible resource for their community.
• NAMI ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAMI Chicago partnership provides virtual support groups for people with mental health symptoms and conditions, including Peer Support Groups and Family and Friends Support Groups. The Balance Project directs individuals to NAMI Chicago resources as part of their service continuum.
• Debt StoppersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner organization, though specific partnership details are not elaborated in the available source material.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Child Mind Institute: Nonprofit focused on children's mental health, providing education, clinical resources, and family support. Comparable family-and-youth mental health support framing and resource-connection model, though operating at substantially larger scale.
• The Jed Foundation: Nonprofit dedicated to protecting emotional health and preventing suicide among college students and young adults. Directly comparable to TBP's K-12 and college student segment focus, with overlapping prevention education and resource connection services.
• Crisis Text Line: Nonprofit providing free, 24/7 mental health support via text, focused on crisis intervention and resource connection. Comparable mission of removing access barriers to mental health support, with overlapping referral and resource-connection functions.
• Active Minds: Youth-focused nonprofit that empowers students to speak openly about mental health and connects them to resources through campus chapters. Comparable target audience (K-12 and college students), comparable awareness-and-connection mission, and comparable workshop/peer-support model.
• Bring Change to Mind: Nonprofit co-founded by Glenn Close that builds mental health awareness through youth-led programs and education campaigns. Direct peer in mental health education programming and youth-driven community engagement.
• NAMI Chicago: Regional mental health nonprofit providing support groups, education, and advocacy in the same Chicago/Illinois geography as The Balance Project. TBP actively refers individuals to NAMI Chicago as part of its service continuum, making it both a peer and a partner in the same local ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: National nonprofit funding research, education, and survivor support, with local chapters across the U.S. Overlaps with TBP in mental health education and community-based awareness programming; broader scope but similar prevention-oriented community engagement.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): The largest U.S. grassroots mental health organization, offering education programs, support groups, and advocacy across all 50 states. Operates the same nonprofit mental health support model at massive national scale, serving as both peer category and the broader umbrella under which NAMI Chicago operates.
• Mental Health America: Long-standing national nonprofit focused on mental health awareness, screening, prevention, and early intervention — directly overlapping with TBP's prevention-and-education positioning. Operates at national scale with affiliate network, representing an incumbent in TBP's mission category.

Emerging players

• The Trevor Project: Nonprofit focused on crisis intervention and mental health support for LGBTQ+ young people. Adjacent in youth mental health category with overlapping education and crisis-prevention mission, but specialized in a narrower population segment than TBP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tbproject
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebalance_project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Balance Project