Kindling Group

What Kindling Group does

Kindling Group is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit documentary media studio, founded approximately two decades ago and operating with 1-10 employees from its headquarters at 5501 N. Clark St. The studio produces feature-length documentaries and cross-platform documentary series on social issues including early childhood education (No Small Matter), faith and religious leadership (The Calling, Radical Grace), veterans reintegration (Veterans Coming Home), healthcare access (Do No Harm), teen pregnancy and birth justice (A Doula Story), public education (The School Project), political reform (The 39th), neurodiversity (The Future of Normal), and media literacy (Pulling The Thread). Its underlying methodology is a proprietary six-pillar Impact Campaign Framework that integrates content production with day-one community engagement, platform-agnostic distribution, mutually beneficial partnerships, defined project ethos, and iterative optimization to drive measurable social change rather than treating impact as a post-production afterthought.

The studio's go-to-market operates through event-driven and community-led motions: film festival premieres (40+ festivals worldwide for Radical Grace alone), PBS/Independent Lens broadcast deals, grassroots community screenings (1,300+ for No Small Matter across all 50 states), and deep partnerships with advocacy organizations such as Families USA, Physicians for a National Health Program, Health Connect One, Active Voice, and Doc Society. Distribution spans national PBS broadcast, Vimeo On Demand, iTunes, Amazon, direct DVD sales through the kindlinggroup.org shop, licensed community and educational screenings, and film festival circuits. Audience reach is substantial for a small nonprofit: Veterans Coming Home reached 5+ million viewers, The Calling reached 4.5-5+ million on PBS, and 4.6 million people engaged with Radical Grace online.

The revenue model blends donations/grants (preset tiers of $50, $100, $250, $500, $750, $1,000 plus custom and monthly options), foundation funding (e.g., Corporation for Public Broadcasting underwriting), screening licenses ($300 per community screening for Radical Grace), DVD sales ($29.95 per title), and merchandise ($15-$20 per t-shirt). The organization is led by Executive Director Danny Alpert, who is also co-founder of See3 Communications, and draws talent and co-production capacity from partnerships with Kartemquin Films and Siskel/Jacobs Productions in Chicago. Customer segments are nonprofit and advocacy organizations, educational institutions, broadcast/streaming partners, and government agencies working on issues ranging from early childhood development to veterans services.

Name

Kindling Group

Legal name

Kindling Group

Website

https://kindlinggroup.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit documentary media studio producing award-winning feature films and series on social issues, paired with proprietary impact campaigns that drive measurable community change through PBS broadcast, advocacy partnerships, and grassroots screenings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Production

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries (MPADADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Branded Documentary / Nonfiction (Corporate & NGO) (MPADADAK)

Keywords

• Documentary filmmaking
• Social impact campaigns
• Nonprofit media production
• Impact documentary films
• Social issue storytelling

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Kindling Group receives donations and foundation grants to fund documentary production and impact campaigns.
2. DVD Sales: Sale of home DVDs for films including Do No Harm ($29.95), @home, The Calling, Radical Grace, and A Doula Story through the organization's online shop.
3. Screening Licenses: Licensing fees for community and educational screenings of documentary films, with Radical Grace screening license at $300.
4. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts (Holy Shift Shirt, Radical Grace T-Shirt, Vintage Shirts ranging from $15-$20) related to documentary films.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kindling Group is a Chicago-based nonprofit documentary studio that produces feature-length documentaries and digital documentary series on social issues (early childhood education, faith, homelessness, veterans reintegration, healthcare, public education, neurodiversity) and designs accompanying impact campaigns to drive measurable change. The studio distributes its films through PBS broadcast, Vimeo/iTunes/Amazon streaming, home DVD sales, community screening licenses, educational licenses, and film festivals, and accepts donations and grants to fund production.

Product overview

Kindling Group is a Chicago-based nonfiction media studio producing documentary films and digital impact campaigns. Their portfolio includes feature-length documentaries (No Small Matter, @home, Radical Grace, A Doula Story, Do No Harm, The Last Strike, The 39th) and documentary series (The Calling, Veterans Coming Home, The School Project, Pulling The Thread, Smart Power Illinois, Legal Lens, The Future of Normal). Products are distributed as DVDs, digital downloads (Vimeo, iTunes, Amazon), and screening licenses for community and educational use. The company also produces associated engagement campaigns that combine social media trainings, community screenings, and broadcast distributions to drive impact on social issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• No Small Matter Feature documentary exploring early childhood education in America, examining the importance of the first five years of life and the impact of quality early care and education on children's development and America's social and economic future.
• The Calling Four-hour PBS documentary series following seven young Muslim, Catholic, Evangelical Christian, and Jewish Americans as they prepare for religious leadership, exploring faith and calling across different denominations.
• Radical Grace Documentary following three nuns who risk their place in the Catholic Church to follow a higher calling to social justice, exploring tensions between the Vatican investigations of American nuns and progressive faith-based activism.
• A Doula Story Documentary following Loretha Weisinger, a community doula empowering pregnant teenagers on Chicago's West Side with skills and knowledge to become confident, nurturing mothers.
• @home Feature documentary following formerly-homeless activist Mark Horvath on a road trip across America, making homelessness visible through personal stories and digital media.
• Veterans Coming Home Cross-platform documentary series bridging America's military-civilian divide by telling stories, challenging stereotypes, and exploring what veterans need to truly reintegrate into civilian life.
• The School Project Cross-platform documentary exploring challenges to public education in America using Chicago as a microcosm, examining inequity of resources, school privatization, and race.
• The Last Strike Feature documentary examining the 1981 PATCO strike, exploring how the firing of 11,345 air traffic controllers paved the way for modern America's inequality and job insecurity.
• The 39th Documentary following young politician Will Guzzardi's campaign against Toni Berrios in Chicago's 39th district, exploring the political machine's resistance to change.
• Do No Harm Documentary telling the story of two whistleblowers in Albany, Georgia who expose hospital corruption and aggressive collections tactics at non-profit hospitals, exploring the plight of the uninsured.
• Pulling The Thread Digital documentary series unraveling America's most popular conspiracy theories, revealing emotional, cognitive, and social forces that lead rational people to believe irrational things.
• Smart Power Illinois

Quantifiable outcome

• 1300+ community screenings in all 50 states for No Small Matter
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 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

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• The Access ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngagement partner for Do No Harm documentary and impact campaign focused on hospital corruption and the plight of the uninsured.
• Physicians for a National Health ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare advocacy partner for Do No Harm impact campaign sharing the film with communities across the nation.
• American Patients UnitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for Do No Harm impact campaign addressing healthcare access and patient advocacy.
• Community CatalystcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare advocacy partner for Do No Harm project working to engage communities in healthcare reform discussions.
• Kartemquin FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago-based documentary collaborative and legendary production company (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) that Kindling Group collaborates with on projects including The School Project and shares talent with.
• Siskel/Jacobs ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago-based documentary production company co-producing No Small Matter and The School Project with Kindling Group.
• See3 CommunicationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital marketing agency for social good that co-produced @home with Kindling Group; also co-founded by Danny Alpert.
• Health Connect One (formerly Chicago Health Connection)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for A Doula Story impact campaign working to replicate the community-based doula model featured in the film across the country.
• Corporation for Public BroadcastingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFunded Veterans Coming Home project and connected Kindling Group with 14 PBS station partners for production and distribution.
• PBS Independent LenscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational broadcast home for The Calling documentary series reaching millions of viewers.
• World ChannelmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational public media television channel distributing Legal Lens documentary series to public media stations across the country.
• ITVScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding and production partner for Pulling The Thread documentary series on conspiracy theories and media literacy.
• Harvard Law SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnique collaboration with Harvard law students producing Legal Lens documentary series exploring how the law shapes everyday Americans.
• Boston GlobemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLegal Lens premiered on Boston Globe's website with additional distribution on social media platforms.
• VoxmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerVideo partnership for Veterans Coming Home launch, creating co-produced content reaching millions of viewers.
• Doc SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of Good Pitch Chicago where Radical Grace filmmakers fundraised for impact and met new partners.
• Active VoicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic engagement partner for A Doula Story impact campaign focused on teen pregnancy and birth justice.
• Nuns and NonescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner for Radical Grace impact campaign bridging secular and faith-based activists.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• POV (American Documentary): Long-running PBS documentary showcase. Comparable in that it curates and broadcasts social-issue nonfiction on public television; broader incumbent with a wider portfolio than any single Kindling film.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Key funder/distributor for Kindling's Veterans Coming Home and connector to 14 PBS stations. Not a direct competitor but a broad incumbent whose policy and funding decisions shape the entire public-media documentary ecosystem Kindling depends on.

Direct peers

• ITVS (Independent Television Service): Public-media funding and production partner on Kindling's Pulling The Thread. Functions both as funder and as a peer organization commissioning and distributing social-issue documentary series on public television.
• Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based nonprofit documentary collaborative (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters). Direct peer because Kindling Group routinely collaborates with Kartemquin on projects including The School Project, shares talent (Rachel Pikelny, Max Asaf, Susanne Suffredin), and competes for the same foundation/public-broadcast funding in the impact documentary space.
• Doc Society: Global impact documentary organization that hosted Good Pitch Chicago where Kindling's Radical Grace filmmakers fundraised. Direct peer in impact-driven documentary production and campaign support.
• Active Voice: Strategic engagement partner on A Doula Story and broader impact-campaign strategy peer. Active Voice runs engagement campaigns around social-issue films, making it a direct peer in the impact-campaign service line.
• Siskel/Jacobs Productions: Chicago-based Emmy-winning documentary production company co-founded by Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel, who co-direct Kindling's No Small Matter and co-produce The School Project with Kindling Group. Closely aligned on subject, geography, and audience as a direct peer.
• Center for Independent Documentary: Nonprofit that supports independent documentary production and impact campaigns. Peer in funding model (501(c)(3) supporting filmmakers) and subject overlap on social-issue films.

Emerging players

• Concordia Studio: Newer impact-driven documentary studio. Comparable in mission to produce social-issue nonfiction, with a higher-capital structure; competes for similar talent and funder attention as Kindling.
• Impact Partners: Film financing and producing fellowship program focused on impact-driven documentaries (Rachel Pikelny is a 2017-2018 Impact Partners Producing Fellow). Comparable in mission and overlaps with Kindling's impact-producers pipeline.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kindlingproductions
• Xx.com/kindlinggroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kindling-group

Compliance1 record

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 Kindling Group