CHIC

What CHIC does

CHIC (Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities) is a Denver, Colorado-based nonprofit founded in 2017 by Sadé Cooper and Hilari Smith. The organization operates three integrated direct-service programs — CHIC Education (social, emotional, cultural, and academic enrichment delivered inside partner schools across elementary through high school), CHIC Re-Entry / R3 (intensive individual, group, and family mentorship and case management for women and girls impacted by violence or the criminal justice system), and CHIC Workforce (career enrichment including the Career Essentials program and the Essential Skills Pre-Apprenticeship Program (ESPA) for construction trades). A fourth initiative, Justice for Black Coloradans (JBC), extends the mission into racial and economic justice policy work in partnership with the Colorado Attorney General's Office and the City of Denver.

The organization serves Black and Latina women and girls, families impacted by poverty and violence, and individuals involved with the criminal justice system in the Denver metropolitan area. Programs are delivered free of charge through partner schools (KIPP Colorado, East HS, Manual HS, Stedman, Hallett, CHSC and others), community locations, and direct referrals from the judicial system via ReEntry Judicial Specialists. The team of 14 staff members operates out of a single headquarters at 1525 Josephine Street, Denver, CO 80206.

CHIC's business model is donation- and grant-funded: revenue is sourced from individual donations (via PayPal), foundation grants (The Denver Foundation, The Colorado Health Foundation, Women Foundation of Colorado, Kettering Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, Launch Foundation, Margulf Foundation, Moonshot, Grant Beacon), corporate support (Xcel Energy), and government contracts (City of Denver, Colorado Attorney General's Office, Colorado Works). There are no earned-revenue streams or fee-for-service pricing. The organization is currently undergoing a founder transition, recruiting its second CEO to succeed Sadé Cooper.

Name

CHIC

Legal name

Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities

Website

https://chicdenver.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CHIC is a Denver-based nonprofit providing direct-service education, workforce, and reentry programs for Black and Latina women, girls, and families in Colorado, funded by donations, foundation grants, and government partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Other Individual and Family Services (62419)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL), Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO)

Keywords

• Community social services
• Youth education enrichment
• Workforce development
• Reentry support services
• Nonprofit family programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: CHIC is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations (via PayPal), grants from foundations, and partnerships with government entities and community organizations to fund its programs and operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CHIC (Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities) is a Denver-based nonprofit that delivers free, culturally-relevant, whole-family programs for women, youth, and families across three integrated pillars: CHIC Education (social, emotional, cultural, and academic enrichment in partner schools), CHIC Re-Entry/R3 (mentorship and case management for women impacted by violence and the criminal justice system), and CHIC Workforce (career readiness and the Essential Skills Pre-Apprenticeship Program in construction trades).

Product overview

CHIC (Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities) is a nonprofit organization offering a suite of community programs focused on empowering women, youth, and families. The organization operates three core integrated programs: CHIC Education provides social-emotional and academic enrichment in partner schools; CHIC Re-Entry (R3) offers mentorship and case management for women impacted by the criminal justice system; and CHIC Workforce delivers career enrichment through the Career Essentials program including the Essential Skills Pre-Apprenticeship Program (ESPA) for construction trades. These programs are designed to work together to break intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence by strengthening women and girls through culturally-relevant, whole-family supports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Justice for Black Coloradans (JBC): A program focused on confronting systemic harm, dismantling inequities, and building pathways for Black communities to thrive across Colorado.

Products and services

• CHIC Education Social, emotional, cultural and academic enrichment education delivered in partner schools across elementary to high school, including curriculum development, adult learning support, and systems improvement in partnership with schools and school systems. Designed for Black and Brown youth and the partner schools serving them.
• CHIC Re-Entry (R3) Intensive individual, group, and family mentorship and case management for women and girls impacted by violence and/or the criminal justice system. Provides support for re-entry populations in partnership with judicial system referrals.
• CHIC Workforce Social, emotional, cultural and career enrichment for women facing barriers to economic mobility. Built on foundations of healing, wellness, and essential employability skills, and includes industry-specific training such as the construction trades pre-apprenticeship (ESPA).
• Essential Skills Pre-Apprenticeship Program (ESPA) A pre-apprenticeship program in construction trades delivered as part of CHIC Workforce, providing essential skills training for women facing economic barriers. Delivered through cohort-based sessions, with ongoing cohorts (e.g., Cohort #23 running October 6-23, 2025).
• Justice for Black Coloradans (JBC) Initiative focused on confronting systemic harm, dismantling inequities, and building pathways for Black communities to thrive across Colorado through policy design, affordable housing, preventive health care, food sovereignty, and youth leadership.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• KIPP ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partner providing CHIC programming in KIPP schools for social, emotional, and cultural enrichment.
• East High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partner where CHIC provides youth programming and enrichment activities.
• Manual High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partner where CHIC delivers programming to students.
• Colorado High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partner for CHIC programming delivery.
• Elevate InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for community programming.
• Impact EmpowermentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for empowerment programming.
• Kids Above EverythingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner focused on children's welfare and programming.
• Denver WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce development partner supporting CHIC's employment and career programming.
• Colorado Works (CO Jobs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState workforce development agency partner for employment and training programs.
• Attorney General's OfficemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner supporting justice initiatives and Justice for Black Coloradans program.
• City of DenvermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner for community programs and services.
• DenMon GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner organization.
• Work NowminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce readiness partner organization.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mi Casa Resource Center: Denver-based nonprofit advancing economic mobility for Latino families through workforce training, youth programs, and family services. Directly comparable to CHIC in geography, target community (communities of color), and program mix (workforce + youth + family wraparound supports).
• Girls Inc. National nonprofit providing direct services and advocacy for girls and young women, with a focus on underserved populations. Highly comparable to CHIC in mission (empowering girls/women) and programming model (enrichment + wraparound supports), with CHIC specifically serving girls/women of color in a single metro area.
• YWCA Denver: Denver-based YWCA affiliate delivering direct services to women and families including workforce development, housing, and advocacy. Operates in the same geography as CHIC with overlapping program areas (workforce, family support) and serves similar populations affected by poverty and systemic barriers.
• Urban League of Metropolitan Denver: Denver-area Urban League affiliate delivering workforce development, education, and civic engagement programs for Black and underserved communities. Closely comparable to CHIC's Justice for Black Coloradans work and CHIC Workforce, with overlapping partner ecosystems and target demographics.

Others

• Women's Foundation of Colorado: Colorado-focused foundation that funds gender equity and economic mobility initiatives for women and girls — including CHIC itself as a major grant partner. Listed as a peer because of its role as both a comparable funder and ecosystem convener for the women-and-girls-of-color agenda CHIC delivers against.

Emerging players

• Project Voyce: Colorado-based nonprofit amplifying youth voice in systems that affect them. Comparable to CHIC Education and the JBC initiative in centering youth leadership and systems-change advocacy, though narrower in scope.

Broad incumbents

• National Urban League: National civil rights and direct-services organization with local affiliates delivering workforce, education, and justice programming. Comparable to CHIC at a national scale on mission and program mix; CHIC's JBC initiative mirrors aspects of the Urban League's equity and justice agenda.
• National Council of Negro Women (Denver Chapter): National advocacy and service organization for Black women and girls with local chapter activity. Comparable in mission to CHIC's women-and-girls-of-color focus, but operates primarily as an advocacy/chapter network rather than direct-service provider.

Regional players

• Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning: Denver-based nonprofit serving immigrant and refugee communities through language, integration, and family support programs. Comparable to CHIC in operating model (community-rooted, culturally responsive family services in Denver) but serving a different demographic focus.
• Denver Indian Center: Denver-based community organization serving urban Native American communities through cultural, educational, and family-support programming. Comparable to CHIC in operating as a culturally-rooted, community-based nonprofit delivering wraparound services in Denver for an underserved community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CHICDENVER
• Instagraminstagram.com/chicdenver
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/collaborative-healing-initiative-within-communities

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 CHIC