What Palenque LSNA does

Palenque LSNA is a Chicago-based nonprofit community organizing organization founded in 1962 as the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and rebranded under its current name in April 2022. The organization operates from its headquarters at 2840 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL, and serves Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities across Logan Square, Avondale, Hermosa, and Humboldt Park on Chicago's Northwest Side. It is led by Executive Director Juliet de Jesus Alejandre, who assumed the role in May 2020, and employs approximately 45 staff.

The organization delivers a portfolio of programs rather than technology products. Core offerings include the Parent Mentor Program (operating in more than 200 Illinois schools and reaching over 40,000 students daily), the Parent Engagement Institute (a state-funded joint initiative with Southwest Organizing Project that exports the model to other states), the Here to Stay Community Land Trust (acquiring and preserving affordable housing), immigration services including Know Your Rights resources and rapid response coordination, youth leadership development, Community Learning Centers, and sanctuary programming for new arrivals. Programs are delivered free of charge through community-based presence, school embedding, and coalition partnerships.

Palenque LSNA operates on a nonprofit funding model drawing from foundation grants (Chicago Foundation for Women, Field Foundation, LISC Chicago, Nuestro Futuro), state appropriations ($5M for community land trust in 2023), federal funding ($1M for affordable condos in 2025), and individual donations. It has no traditional customers, pricing model, or revenue-generating product; instead, the organization monetizes social impact through grants tied to programmatic outcomes. Strategic priorities center on anti-displacement, educational equity, immigrant rights, and collective power-building for historically divested communities.

Name

Palenque LSNA

Legal name

Palenque LSNA

Website

https://palenquelsna.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Palenque LSNA is a Chicago-based nonprofit community organizing organization serving Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities on the Northwest Side through parent engagement programs, housing advocacy, immigration services, youth leadership, and a community land trust.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (624110), Educational Support Services (611710), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & School System Navigation (Parent Engagement, Youth Services) (EDAAADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural, Multilingual & Immigrant Family Engagement Programs (EDACALAL), Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH), Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH), Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Community organizing services
• Affordable housing advocacy
• Parent engagement programs
• Immigrant rights services
• Youth leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Palenque LSNA operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations and grants from foundations, government sources, and individual contributors. The organization accepts donations through its website and has received grants from various foundations including Chicago Foundation for Women, Field Foundation, Nuestro Futuro (Chicago Community Trust), and LISC Chicago.
2. Program Services Revenue: State funding for Parent Mentor Program and other community programs. The Parent Engagement Institute, run jointly with Southwest Organizing Project, receives state funding to support parent mentor coordinators across Illinois schools.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Palenque LSNA is a community organizing nonprofit that delivers direct services and advocacy programs for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities on Chicago's Northwest Side. Its core offerings include the Parent Mentor Program (serving 40,000+ students daily in 200+ Illinois schools), the Parent Engagement Institute (state-funded model replication partner), Here to Stay Community Land Trust affordable housing preservation, immigrant Know Your Rights resources and rapid response to ICE activity, youth leadership development, Community Learning Centers, and member-led advocacy campaigns. All programs are provided free of charge to community members and are funded through grants and donations.

Product overview

Palenque LSNA (formerly Logan Square Neighborhood Association) is a community organization offering a portfolio of social service programs rather than a technology product. Programs include Community Learning Centers, the Parent Engagement Institute (state-funded initiative in partnership with Southwest Organizing Project), the Parent Mentor Program (operating in 200+ Illinois schools), Youth Leadership, Housing advocacy (including Here to Stay Land Trust), Immigration Services, Culture & Wellness, and Sanctuary Resources. The organization focuses on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities in Chicago's Northwest Side.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Learning Centers Educational facilities offering learning resources, support services, and meeting space to community members in Logan Square, Avondale, Hermosa, and surrounding Chicago neighborhoods.
• Parent Mentor Program Program engaging Latina and Black mothers (parent mentors) to support students directly in classrooms and address educational equity gaps; operates in more than 200 schools across Illinois, with 132 parent mentors credentialed to become school aides.
• Parent Engagement Institute State-funded initiative run jointly by Palenque LSNA and Southwest Organizing Project that helps organizations across Illinois and other states start their own Parent Mentor Programs; operates across more than 200 Illinois schools and has exported the model to Boston, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Colorado.
• Housing Programs (Here to Stay Community Land Trust) Affordable housing advocacy, anti-gentrification initiatives, and community land trust programs to prevent displacement of low-income and working-class families; delivers 89 affordable housing units through the Encuentro Square development for households earning no more than 60% of Chicago Area Median Income.
• Immigration Services Support services for immigrant communities including Know Your Rights education (English and Spanish resources), immigration legal support, sanctuary organizing, and rapid response to ICE activity in collaboration with the Northwest Side Rapid Response Team.
• Youth Leadership Program Program fostering leadership development, civic engagement, and school safety advocacy among youth from the community, including high school and college students involved in organizing efforts.
• Culture & Wellness Programs Cultural programming and wellness initiatives celebrating Latino heritage and community well-being, including cultural celebrations, community events, and wellness activities for neighborhood residents.
• Member Action Council (MAC) Organizing body for member engagement and collective action initiatives, enabling community members to participate in advocacy campaigns and decision-making at Palenque LSNA.

Quantifiable outcome

• 132 parent mentors credentialed to become aides
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

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

• LUCHAmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024LUCHA joined Palenque LSNA in organizing rallies and advocacy efforts, including the May 2026 rally at Avondale Elementary School calling on Governor Pritzker to reconsider the BUILD Act's impact on affordable housing.
• Association HouseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Association House joined Palenque LSNA in the May 2026 rally on affordable housing and community concerns.
• Here to Stay Community Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Palenque LSNA founded and operates the Here to Stay Community Land Trust to acquire and preserve affordable housing in Logan Square and surrounding neighborhoods. The trust receives donations of homes and has purchased properties to keep them affordable for working-class families.
• Bickerdike Redevelopment CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Nonprofit focused on developing affordable housing on Chicago's Northwest Side, collaborated on housing development advocacy and policy.
• Access LivingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Disability justice organization honored Palenque LSNA as Community Partner of the Year for work with students with disabilities at Carl Schurz High School.
• Southwest Organizing ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011LSNA partnered with Southwest Organizing Project in 2011 to form the Parent Engagement Institute, which helps organizations around Illinois and the country start Parent Mentor Programs. The institute operates across 200+ schools in Illinois.
• Northwest Side Rapid Response TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPalenque LSNA works with the Rapid Response Team to track arrests and sightings of ICE agents and coordinate community response to immigration enforcement.
• Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPalenque LSNA is part of the coalition led by ICIRR working on immigrant and refugee rights issues, including rallies and advocacy at City Hall.
• Bring Chicago Home CoalitionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPalenque LSNA is part of coalition advocating for raising the real estate transfer tax to combat homelessness, working with Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and Mayor Brandon Johnson.
• Mi Tocaya AntojeriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogan Square restaurant partnered with Palenque LSNA for 'Todos Ponen' project providing thousands of meals during pandemic to undocumented workers and those in need.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation: Northwest Side Chicago nonprofit focused on developing and preserving affordable housing, with overlapping service geography and partnership ties to Palenque LSNA. Directly comparable in affordable housing development, community land trust work, and anti-displacement advocacy.
• Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP): Chicago-based community organizing nonprofit that co-founded the Parent Engagement Institute with Palenque LSNA in 2011. Operates an almost identical community-organizing model on Chicago's Southwest Side, serving Black and Brown working-class communities with comparable housing, education, and immigration programming.
• The Resurrection Project: Faith-rooted, Latino-led community organization in Chicago's Pilsen, Little Village, and Austin neighborhoods delivering organizing, housing, immigration legal, and education programs. Closely comparable mission (Liberating Spaces–adjacent framing), beneficiary base, and multi-issue service mix.
• LUCHA (Latin United Community Housing Association): Chicago Latino-led affordable housing and community organizing nonprofit that jointly rallies with Palenque LSNA on housing and immigration issues. Highly comparable in target population, geographic focus, and intersection of housing advocacy with community organizing.
• Little Village Community Council: Active Palenque LSNA coalition partner and fellow Chicago-based community organizing nonprofit on the Southwest Side. Delivers immigration rapid response, walking school buses, and community advocacy with a virtually identical operating model and beneficiary population.
• Northwest Side Housing Center: Chicago nonprofit serving the same Northwest Side immigrant communities as Palenque LSNA, with overlapping programming in housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, and immigrant integration. Direct geographic peer in affordable housing and family services.
• Brighton Park Neighborhood Council: Chicago community organization serving a predominantly Latino working-class neighborhood with comparable programming in immigrant rights, youth leadership, community development, and parent engagement. Operates under similar nonprofit, grant-funded model with comparable scale and GTM motion.
• Association House: Chicago-based community services nonprofit offering youth, education, and family support programs to Hispanic communities. Coalition partner with Palenque LSNA and operates a comparable hybrid direct-service plus advocacy model in the same city.

Broad incumbents

• Chicago Coalition for the Homeless: Larger Chicago-wide advocacy organization operating in the same housing justice and anti-displacement policy space. Less focused on direct service in a single neighborhood but closely aligned on policy advocacy (e.g., Bring Chicago Home coalition partner).

Emerging players

• Howard Brown Health: Chicago-based nonprofit delivering health and social services to LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities. Comparable nonprofit operating model, mission-driven care for underserved populations, and grant-funded scale, though focused on healthcare rather than community organizing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PalenqueLSNA
• Facebookfacebook.com/logansquareneighborhoodassociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/palenquelsna

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Palenque LSNA