Life Span

What Life Span does

Life Span is a 501(c)(3)-style nonprofit organization founded in 1978 that provides free, trauma-informed counseling, civil legal representation, immigration legal services, and policy advocacy to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in Chicago and Suburban Cook County, Illinois. The organization operates two physical offices — a downtown Chicago headquarters at 70 E. Lake Street Suite 600 and a suburban office at 701 Lee Street in Des Plaines — and delivers services in English, Spanish, Polish, and Arabic, with interpretation available for additional languages including Czech, Assyrian, and Greek. Life Span operates a horizontally integrated service model rather than a discrete product portfolio: core programs include Counseling (individual and group), Domestic Violence Legal Services, Sexual Assault Legal Services, an Immigration Program (VAWA self-petitions, U Visas, battered woman spouse waivers), and Policy Advocacy. Three specialized projects extend the model to Human Trafficking survivors, Criminalized Survivors (in partnership with the Illinois Prison Project, ENLACE, and Ernestine's Daughter), and Survivor Leadership development.

Life Span's business model is a grant-and-donation-funded nonprofit with no fees charged to clients. Revenue streams comprise foundation grants (Polk Bros Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Chicago Bar Foundation, Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, Illinois Bar Foundation, Community Memorial Foundation, Magnificent Mile, Mary Lou Downs Foundation), federal/state/municipal government grants (U.S. DOJ Office on Violence Against Women, Illinois Attorney General's Office, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Illinois Department of Human Services, Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, multiple townships), and corporate and individual donations including from JPMorgan Chase and GPH. Donor-advised funds and monthly sustainer gifts are accepted. The organization runs on a small team of 11-50 employees and reaches thousands of survivors annually.

Name

Life Span

Legal name

Life Span

Website

https://life-span.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Life Span is a Chicago-based nonprofit providing free counseling, civil legal representation, immigration legal services, and advocacy to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking across Chicago and Suburban Cook County, operating from two offices in English, Spanish, Polish, and Arabic.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Il Chiaro

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: Funding from private foundations including Community Memorial Foundation, Chicago Bar Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, Illinois Bar Foundation, Magnificent Mile, Mary Lou Downs Foundation, and Polk Bros Foundation.
2. Government Funding: Federal, state, and municipal government grants including U.S. Dept. of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, Illinois Attorney General's Office Violent Crime Victim Assistance, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Illinois Dept of Human Services, Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, and various townships.
3. Individual and Corporate Donations: Donations from individuals and corporations including JPMorgan Chase and GPH. Monthly sustainer gifts and legacy giving options available.
4. Donor-Advised Funds: Accepts gifts through donor-advised funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Life Span provides free, comprehensive counseling, civil legal representation, immigration legal services, and policy advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking across Chicago and Suburban Cook County. Services are delivered in person through two office locations and include individual and group counseling for adults, teens, and children, as well as specialized projects for human trafficking survivors, criminalized survivors, and survivor leadership development. All services are provided at no cost to clients and are funded through private foundations, government grants, corporate donations, and individual contributions.

Product overview

Life Span is a non-profit organization providing a comprehensive suite of services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The organization operates as a single integrated service model rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Core services include Counseling (individual and group), Domestic Violence Legal Services, Sexual Assault Legal Services, Immigration Program, and Policy Advocacy. Specialized Projects include the Human Trafficking Project, Criminalized Survivors Project, and Survivor Leadership Project. Services are available in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Polish, Arabic) and are provided across Chicago and Suburban Cook County through two office locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Counseling Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Helps thousands of survivors and their children annually start new lives free from fear and violence

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 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.

• Illinois Prison ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Life Span on the Criminalized Survivor Project to provide trauma-informed advocacy for survivors involved in the criminal legal system.
• ENLACEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization working with Life Span on Criminalized Survivor Project initiatives.
• Ernestine's DaughtercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization collaborating with Life Span on criminalized survivor advocacy.
• Illinois Coalition Against Domestic ViolencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState coalition providing advocacy and support for domestic violence services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): National anti-sexual-violence organization operating the national sexual assault hotline and funding local service providers — comparable mission around sexual assault survivor services, but at national scale rather than direct local delivery.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: National 24/7 hotline and resource hub for DV survivors — operates as a referral and resource layer that frequently routes clients to local providers like Life Span, making it an adjacent ecosystem participant.
• NCADV (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence): National membership and policy coalition for DV service providers and survivors — Life Span's policy advocacy and community-partnership work sits in a comparable role at the local level to NCADV's national work.
• Safe Horizon: NYC-based large nonprofit operating DV hotlines, shelters, counseling, and legal services — comparable service breadth but materially larger scale and broader geographic reach than Life Span.

Regional players

• WINGS Program: Illinois-based nonprofit providing housing, counseling, and advocacy for DV survivors across suburban Chicago — overlapping service geography and population with Life Span's suburban Cook County footprint.

Direct peers

• Between Friends: Chicago-based nonprofit providing counseling, advocacy, and education to DV survivors. Competes for the same local funders, court referrals, and client base as Life Span within the Chicago metro.
• A Safe Place: Chicago-area nonprofit offering DV shelter, counseling, and court advocacy across Lake County and suburban Cook County — directly overlaps Life Span's service territory and core service offerings.
• Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE): Chicago-based nonprofit providing legal advocacy and counseling specifically for sexual assault survivors — directly comparable legal-services-plus-counseling model within the same Chicago metro.
• Apna Ghar: Chicago nonprofit providing shelter, legal advocacy, and counseling for survivors of domestic violence, particularly serving immigrant and South Asian communities — overlapping multilingual/cultural service niche with Life Span.
• Sanctuary for Families: NYC-based nonprofit providing the same integrated model of civil legal representation, counseling, and advocacy for DV and trafficking survivors. Most directly comparable peer in structure and service mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LifeSpanIL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/life-span
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifespan_il/?hl=en
• Xx.com/LifeSpanIL

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 Life Span