Women's Lunch Place

What Women's Lunch Place does

Women's Lunch Place (WLP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social services organization founded in November 1982 and headquartered at 67 Newbury Street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. It operates as a day shelter and advocacy center serving over 2,300 women annually who are experiencing hunger, homelessness, and poverty in Greater Boston. The organization delivers an integrated suite of five core programs: Individualized Case Management (one-on-one advocacy for 1,275+ guests in FY25), Housing & Stabilization (including a 65-bed overnight shelter-to-housing program launched in January 2025 and a post-housing stabilization program with a 98% housing stability rate across 330 women since 2020), Healthcare (on-site medical, mental health, psychiatric, and addiction recovery services in partnership with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program), Day Shelter Community (trauma-informed environment with hygiene, mail, laundry, and creative programming), and Healthy Meals (165,718 scratch-made meals served in FY25, plus a restaurant-style service model). A full-time Greater Boston Legal Services attorney has been embedded on-site since February 2023.

WLP's core technology stack is limited to standard nonprofit operational tools — Volgistics for volunteer scheduling, Paylocity for HR and recruiting, Mailchimp for donor email, and an unspecified donor database. There is no proprietary platform, no AI/ML capability disclosed, and no mobile or web application product. Service delivery is fundamentally in-person and location-based at the Newbury Street facility, with walk-in access (no appointment required) Monday through Saturday, 7am-2pm.

The business model is donation-funded. FY25 financial contributions of nearly $9.8 million came from 5,535 supporters across four primary streams: individual donors (35% of revenue, including monthly Gardeners Circle giving at $10-$250/month and legacy planned giving), foundation grants (20%, including Cummings Foundation's $250K-$500K over 10 years and Liberty Mutual Foundation support), signature events (10%, led by the Spaghetti Dinner at $725K and eat LUNCH give at $350K+), and corporate partnerships (8%). The organization additionally receives approximately $650,000 in annual in-kind donations and benefits from 22,000+ volunteer hours, equivalent to 12 full-time staff. There is no fee-for-service revenue; all client services are provided free of charge to guests.

Name

Women's Lunch Place

Legal name

Women's Lunch Place, Inc.

Website

https://womenslunchplace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Women's Lunch Place is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1982 that provides integrated day shelter, meals, case management, healthcare, and housing stabilization services to over 2,300 women experiencing homelessness and poverty annually, funded primarily through individual donations, foundation grants, and signature fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless Shelter and Social Services for Women

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221), Community Food Services (62421), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Senior Social Clubs & Community-Based Day Programs (Non-Clinical) (HSABANAK)

Keywords

• Day shelter services
• Homeless services
• Case management
• Housing stabilization
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

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, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donors: The largest revenue source at 35% of annual revenue comes from individual donors who contribute through one-time gifts, monthly giving programs (Gardeners Circle), and legacy/planned giving.
2. Foundation Grants: Foundation support represents 20% of annual revenue, including grants from Liberty Mutual Foundation (over $1,000,000 since 2010), Cummings Foundation ($250,000-$500,000 over 10 years), and other foundation partners.
3. Signature Annual Events: Events including Spaghetti Dinner, eat LUNCH give, and Harvest Festival generate approximately 10% of annual revenue, with the Spaghetti Dinner alone raising over $725,000.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate giving represents 8% of annual revenue through direct donations, employee matching programs, volunteer engagement, and event sponsorships.
5. In-Kind Donations: The organization receives approximately $650,000 annually in in-kind donations including food, personal care items, clothing, and other supplies needed for shelter operations.
6. Volunteer Hours: Volunteers provide more than 22,000 hours of service annually, equivalent to 12 full-time staff members, representing significant value to operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Women's Lunch Place is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit day shelter and advocacy center that provides integrated services to over 2,300 women annually in Boston's Back Bay, including three scratch-made meals daily, individualized case management, an overnight shelter-to-housing program, on-site healthcare, and a trauma-informed day shelter community. All services are delivered free of charge to women experiencing hunger, homelessness, and poverty, funded primarily through individual donations, foundation grants, corporate partnerships, and signature fundraising events.

Product overview

Women's Lunch Place is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social services organization operating since 1982 that provides integrated shelter and support services for women experiencing hunger, homelessness, and poverty in Boston. The organization offers a coordinated suite of five interconnected core programs: Individualized Case Management (one-on-one advocacy for 1,275+ guests annually), Housing & Stabilization (overnight shelter for 65 women plus post-housing support with 98% success rate), Healthcare (on-site medical clinic with mental health and recovery services), Day Shelter Community (trauma-informed environment with survival services and programming), and Healthy Meals (165,718 scratch-made meals in FY25). These programs are supported by fundraising events (eat LUNCH give, Spaghetti Dinner, Mother's Day Cards), corporate and individual giving programs (monthly Gardeners Circle, Legacy Giving, meal sponsorship), and volunteer engagement. The integrated model uses shared spaces, unified advocate relationships, and co-located services to create pathways from homelessness to stability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individualized Case Management
• Housing & Stabilization
• Healthcare
• Day Shelter Community
• Healthy Meals
• 50-Bed Transitional Shelter-to-Housing Program
• Gardeners Circle Monthly Giving Program
• Sponsor a Meal
• Legacy Giving
• Corporate Partnership Program
• eat LUNCH give
• Spaghetti Dinner
• Volunteer Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of 330 women maintained housing stability since 2020
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

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

• Ted & Andrea KillorymajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Presenting Sponsor of the 2026 eat LUNCH give fundraiser. Multiple corporate sponsors including TJX Companies, MFS Investment Management, New England Development, PSG, and Jean Tempel.
• Greater Boston Legal ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Full-time GBLS attorney on-site at Women's Lunch Place since February 2023, working directly with guests to resolve legal issues affecting housing, safety, and stability. Attorney is supervised by GBLS and integrated with WLP case management team.
• City of Boston Office of Urban AgricultureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Community garden funded by grassroots grant from City of Boston's Office of Urban Agriculture, located at Newbury and Berkeley streets in front of Women's Lunch Place. Maintained by guests during Horticultural Therapy exercises.
• Liberty MutualcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Liberty Mutual has contributed over $1,000,000 to Women's Lunch Place since 2010, including $300,000+ in multi-year foundation grants. Partnership includes employee volunteering (475+ hours), Cookies and Careers mentoring program, board involvement, event sponsorship, and employee giving programs.
• Boston Health Care for the Homeless ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical services at WLP are provided under the supervision of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. All healthcare providers are trained in trauma-informed care for women who have experienced sexual violence.
• National Women's Shelter NetworkminorOthersWLP is a member of the National Women's Shelter Network, connecting with similar organizations across the country.
• Music for FoodminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMusic for Food organizes benefit concerts whose proceeds go entirely to food providers including Women's Lunch Place. Contributed $22,918.12 last year helping serve 111,009 healthy meals.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WomensLunchPlace
• Xx.com/wlpboston

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 Women's Lunch Place