Community Spaces Network
Community Spaces Network is a peer-driven, North America-wide membership organization supporting the social purpose real estate field through annual dues, biennial summits, regional roundtables, online courses, and project-based consulting for nonprofit operators, foundations, CDFIs, and government practitioners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Community Spaces Network does
Community Spaces Network (CSN), formerly the Nonprofit Centers Network, is a 20-year-old peer-driven membership organization that serves as the primary convening body for the social purpose real estate (SPRE) field across North America. Founded circa 2004 from a small Bay Area convening and rebranded in 2024, CSN is a fiscally sponsored project of Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco. Its membership of 450+ individual professionals spans 39+ US states and Canadian provinces across 10 regional chapters, representing nonprofit shared space operators, developers, foundations, CDFIs, architects, planners, and government practitioners working on community-serving real estate.
CSN delivers value through four integrated pillars: membership (standard annual dues plus a SPRE Champion tier with tax-deductible gifts), events (biennial SPRE Summit, four regional roundtables per year, webinars at $40 each for non-members), resources (three online courses, a research and publication library, funding opportunity listings), and fee-for-service consulting that covers the full project lifecycle from feasibility through operations. The underlying technology stack is conventional: a WordPress-based website, a member portal at connect.communityspaces.org, email newsletter distribution, and the Whova conference app for the SPRE Summit. No proprietary software platform or AI capabilities are described.
The business model blends recurring annual membership dues with project-based consulting revenue, biennial conference registration income, and charitable contributions channeled through Tides Center. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: referrals within the network, regional roundtables, and the rotating SPRE Summit generate membership conversion and consulting pipeline. A 2025 Annual Report is published, and named customers span arts organizations, health-focused nonprofits, CDFIs, and foundations, indicating a distributed, cross-sector client base rather than concentrated anchor accounts.
Community Spaces Network firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Community Spaces Network
- Legal name
- Tides Center
- Website
- https://communityspaces.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Community Spaces Network is a peer-driven, North America-wide membership organization supporting the social purpose real estate field through annual dues, biennial summits, regional roundtables, online courses, and project-based consulting for nonprofit operators, foundations, CDFIs, and government practitioners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Community Spaces Network industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Professional Organizations (81392), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Interest-Based Communities & Forums (BPAMABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL), Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC), Social Q&A & Knowledge Communities (BPAMABAI)
Keywords
Where Community Spaces Network is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Community Spaces Network business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Annual Membership Dues: CSN operates a membership-based model where nonprofit centers, developers, and SPRE professionals pay annual fees for access to the network. Membership tiers include standard membership and SPRE Champion memberships which carry an additional tax-deductible donation on top of the annual fee. Members receive access to the member portal, regional roundtables, webinars, online courses, consulting hours, and the annual conference.
- Consulting Services: CSN provides fee-for-service consulting to nonprofit organizations, foundations, and government entities undertaking social purpose real estate projects. Consulting engagements cover the full project lifecycle from feasibility assessment through operations planning. Services are available to both members and non-members.
- Conference and Event Registration: Revenue is generated from SPRE Summit registration fees (biennial) and webinar attendance fees for non-members ($40 per webinar). The SPRE Summit 2025 was held in Los Angeles with hundreds of attendees.
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: CSN receives tax-deductible donations through its fiscal sponsor Tides Center. SPRE Champion members make additional charitable contributions beyond their membership dues. The organization also references grant funding from foundations as part of its ecosystem.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Non-member webinar attendance |
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Annual Membership |
| Subscription | Annual | SPRE Champion Membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Community Spaces Network product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Community Spaces Network (CSN) is a peer-driven membership organization and capacity-building convener for the social purpose real estate (SPRE) field across North America. It sells annual memberships (Standard and SPRE Champion tiers), delivers customized consulting engagements covering the full project lifecycle for nonprofit centers, and operates a calendar of events including the biennial SPRE Summit, Regional Chapter Roundtables, and webinars, alongside online courses and a research/resource library.
Product overview
Community Spaces Network (CSN) offers a comprehensive suite of services for the social purpose real estate field, organized around four key pillars: membership, events, resources, and consulting. The core offering is the Membership Program, which provides access to a peer network of nonprofit shared space operators across North America. Events include the biennial SPRE Summit conference, quarterly Regional Chapter Roundtables, and periodic Webinars covering nonprofit center operations and strategy. The education portfolio features Online Courses such as 'Beyond Office Space' and 'Managing & Animating SPRE.' Consulting Services provides customized support for organizations developing or operating community spaces, covering the full project lifecycle from readiness assessment through operations planning. A premium SPRE Champion Membership tier offers additional exclusive benefits while supporting broader network access. Additionally, CSN runs the Healthy Democracy Civic Spaces Initiative for nonpartisan voter registration. The organization does not offer a software product or technology platform; all services are delivered through direct engagement, events, and human consulting.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SPRE Summit: The Social Purpose Real Estate Summit, a biennial conference bringing together community real estate professionals and practitioners interested in all aspects of commercial community spaces across North America.
- SPRE Champion Members
Quantifiable outcome
- 500+ community spaces identified representing 19 million square feet, housing 8,500 organizations and employing 35,000 people across North America
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Community Spaces Network
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Community Spaces Network technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Community Spaces Network partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Community Vision Capital and ConsultingcoreCommunity Vision CA served as co-presenter of SPRE Summit 2025 in Los Angeles alongside CSN. Community Vision is a community development financial institution and SPRE Champion member that actively promotes CSN events and the broader SPRE movement.
- Stanford Graduate School of BusinessminorCSN has partnered with Stanford Graduate School of Business, specifically engaging their Alumni Consulting Team (ACT) for projects supporting the SPRE field.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Community Spaces Network competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): LISC is a national CDFI providing capital and technical assistance for community development, including SPRE projects. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the same community development space; LISC partners with CSN as a panelist at the SPRE Summit but operates at substantially larger scale with capital deployment.
- Candid (formerly Foundation Center + GuideStar): Candid operates a knowledge platform providing data, research, and resources on the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. Comparable to CSN as a knowledge and resource authority serving foundations and nonprofits, but at much greater scale and broader scope.
- Enterprise Community Partners: Enterprise Community Partners is a national nonprofit that invests in affordable housing and community development, including shared space and SPRE-related projects. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the affordable housing and community real estate space, operating with much larger capital and program resources than CSN.
Direct peers
- NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network): NTEN is a membership organization serving nonprofit technology professionals through an annual conference, online courses, community, and professional resources. Highly comparable business model — peer membership, annual/biennial flagship conference, courses, and a professional community — though focused on nonprofit tech rather than real estate.
- NetHope: NetHope is a membership-based consortium of humanitarian and international development nonprofits that convenes members for peer learning, capacity building, and shared technology initiatives. Comparable to CSN as a peer membership consortium model serving nonprofits with cross-organization knowledge exchange and capacity building.
- Boardsource: Boardsource is a membership-based nonprofit leadership and governance organization serving nonprofit board members and executives through training, resources, and consulting. Comparable to CSN in its professional-association model combining membership, events, courses, and consulting for a specific nonprofit sub-community.
- Opportunity Finance Network: Opportunity Finance Network is the national membership association for CDFIs, providing training, peer exchange, policy advocacy, and an annual conference. Directly comparable to CSN as a peer membership network for community finance practitioners operating across the US.
- Independent Sector: Independent Sector is a national membership organization of charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs that convenes the nonprofit sector for research, advocacy, and peer exchange. Directly comparable to CSN's role as a cross-sector convening body for the SPRE field, operating at a larger scale and broader scope.
- National Council of Nonprofits: The National Council of Nonprofits is a network of nonprofit organizations that serves as a peer learning and advocacy body for the U.S. nonprofit sector. Highly comparable to CSN as a membership-driven, state-based network organization serving nonprofits with peer exchange, consulting-style resources, and policy advocacy.
- CompassPoint Nonprofit Services: CompassPoint is a nonprofit consulting, training, and research organization serving Bay Area and national nonprofits. Comparable to CSN in its combined consulting + training + peer-learning model, though CompassPoint focuses on nonprofit leadership and management broadly rather than the SPRE niche.
Market position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Community Spaces Network social profiles
Digital presenceCommunity Spaces Network financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Community Spaces Network leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Community Spaces Network funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Community Spaces Network M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Community Spaces Network
What does Community Spaces Network do?
Community Spaces Network (CSN) is a peer-driven membership organization and capacity-building convener for the social purpose real estate (SPRE) field across North America. It sells annual memberships (Standard and SPRE Champion tiers), delivers customized consulting engagements covering the full project lifecycle for nonprofit centers, and operates a calendar of events including the biennial SPRE Summit, Regional Chapter Roundtables, and webinars, alongside online courses and a research/resource library.
Is Community Spaces Network a public or private company?
Community Spaces Network is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Community Spaces Network founded?
Community Spaces Network was founded in 2004. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Community Spaces Network based?
Community Spaces Network is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Community Spaces Network make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Annual Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are consulting Services, conference and Event Registration and donations and Charitable Contributions.
Who are Community Spaces Network's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Candid (formerly Foundation Center + GuideStar) and Enterprise Community Partners. Direct peers are NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network), NetHope, Boardsource, Opportunity Finance Network, Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services.
Does Community Spaces Network have an API?
No public API is recorded for Community Spaces Network.
What industry is Community Spaces Network in?
Community Spaces Network's product category is Nonprofit Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMABAC, Interest-Based Communities & Forums, with a secondary code of BPAGAEAL, Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services. Its NAICS code is 813 and its SIC code is 8600.