West Side United

What West Side United does

West Side United is a 501(c)-style nonprofit health equity coalition founded in 2017 and headquartered in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood. It coordinates health, economic, and food access programs for residents of Chicago's West Side across approximately 10 neighborhoods, including Austin, Garfield Park, North Lawndale, and surrounding communities. The organization operates two overarching program tracks: Live Healthy West Side (Wellness West provider collaborative, Live Healthy Chicago, Healthy Chicago Equity Zones, West Side Healthy Parents and Babies, Hospital Food Pantry Network, Food Equity Collaborative) and Thrive West Side (Local Procurement, Impact Investing, Workforce Development, Small Business Accelerator, Fillmore Center Laundry Linen enterprise). Its primary stakeholders include West Side residents, healthcare anchor institutions (Rush University Medical Center, Lurie Children's Hospital, Sinai Chicago, UI Health, Cook County Health, Humboldt Park Health), community-based organizations, and West Side small businesses.

The organization's business model is non-commercial: programming is funded through grants, corporate partnerships, institutional donations, and impact investing capital channeled via Community Development Financial Institutions. West Side United does not sell a software product or service; rather, it functions as a coalition coordinator that convenes institutions, redirects procurement and hiring capacity, and deploys philanthropic capital. Its technical footprint is minimal, consisting of a Squarespace-hosted website, a Vimeo content library, and a Career Resource Hub built on the RiseKit third-party workforce platform that provides job search, training program discovery, resume building, and employer connections. Anchor partner commitments include over $237M redirected to West Side vendors through local procurement (2018-2024), 7,600+ West Side residents hired cumulatively, 1,100+ jobs supported through impact investing, and $19.4M in capital lent to CDFIs. Notable development assets include the Sankofa Wellness Village in West Garfield Park (catalyzed by a $10M Chicago Prize from Pritzker Traubert Foundation and over $50M in total development) and the Fillmore Center Laundry Linen enterprise in North Lawndale targeting 300 jobs at full scale.

Name

West Side United

Legal name

West Side United

Website

https://westsideunited.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

West Side United is a Chicago-based nonprofit coalition coordinating health, economic, and food access programs for historically under-resourced West Side residents across approximately 10 neighborhoods, in partnership with major hospital anchors, community-based organizations, and philanthropic funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Health Coalition

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Business Service Centers (56143)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Health & Health Equity/Social Determinants Units (HLAJAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL), Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Community health coalition
• Health equity programs
• Economic development initiatives
• Workforce development services
• Place-based investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

West Side United is a nonprofit coalition that brings together healthcare institutions, community-based organizations, residents, and businesses on Chicago's West Side to close the 16-year life expectancy gap between the Loop and West Side neighborhoods. It coordinates place-based programs spanning health care access, local and minority-owned business procurement, workforce development, food equity, and impact investing. The coalition aligns anchor institutions and community partners around shared strategies to drive health and economic equity in historically under-resourced communities.

Product overview

West Side United is a coalition combining healthcare institutions, community organizations, and residents to drive economic investment and improve health outcomes on Chicago's West Side. The organization operates two overarching program tracks: Live Healthy West Side (health equity programming including Wellness West, Live Healthy Chicago, Healthy Chicago Equity Zones, West Side Healthy Parents and Babies, and the Hospital Food Pantry Network) and Thrive West Side (economic vitality initiatives including Local Procurement, Impact Investing, Workforce Development, the Small Business Accelerator, and the Fillmore Center Laundry Linen enterprise). Supporting infrastructure includes the Career Resource Hub (powered by RiseKit), the COLLAB Network for CBO capacity building, the Food Equity Collaborative, and the Sankofa Wellness Village development project. The organization does not offer a traditional software product but rather coordinates community programs and initiatives through partnerships with hospitals and community organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Organizations Learning Lifting and Building (COLLAB) A capacity-building initiative that helps community-based organizations access funding, develop skills, and strengthen their ability to deliver services in West Side neighborhoods.
• Fillmore Center Laundry Linen A hospital laundry and linen processing facility established at the Fillmore Center to create local jobs and source services from the West Side community.
• Food Equity Collaborative A collaborative initiative that brings together partners to improve food access, affordability, and nutrition across West Side neighborhoods.
• Local Procurement Program A program that redirects procurement spending by healthcare and institutional anchors to local and minority-owned businesses on the West Side.
• Impact Investing A place-based impact investing initiative that deploys capital into projects and businesses on Chicago's West Side to generate measurable social and economic returns.
• West Side Healthy Parents and Babies A maternal and infant health program providing support and services to improve birth outcomes for parents and babies on the West Side.
• Wellness West

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $237M redirected to West Side businesses through local procurement (2018-2024)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Rush University Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead healthcare partner in multiple WSU initiatives including Live Healthy Chicago, Fillmore Center Laundry Linen, Sankofa Wellness Village, and Food Equity Collaborative. Provides procurement opportunities, co-investment in workforce programs, and clinical expertise for health equity initiatives.
• Lurie Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in Wellness West provider collaborative and West Side Healthy Parents and Babies initiative. Provides care coordination for maternal and infant health programs. Signed on for partial service at Fillmore Center Laundry Linen.
• Sinai ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partner in Wellness West network and workforce development initiatives. Sinai Health System contributes to health equity programming and local hiring efforts.
• UI Health (University of Illinois Hospital)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare anchor institution partner in workforce development programs. Provides employment opportunities and career pathway training aligned with healthcare roles including phlebotomy, CNA, and Medical Assistant positions.
• Garfield Park Community Council (GPCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time grassroots partner leading neighborhood-level food programming. Co-leads Garfield Park Grocer Initiative and Food Equity Collaborative. Provides community organizing and resident engagement expertise.
• Chicago Urban LeaguecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorkforce intermediary partner assisting with training, recruitment, and placement for workforce development programs. Co-hosts career fairs and hiring events with WSU.
• Erie Family Health CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederally Qualified Health Center partner providing primary and dental care services at Sankofa Wellness Village. Contributes to community health programming.
• YMCAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner in Sankofa Wellness Village development. Provides community programming and wellness services at the multi-building campus.
• Yellow Banana/Save A LotmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrocery operator that took over Save A Lot location in West Garfield Park. Worked with residents and WSU to redesign store based on community preferences for better produce, improved conditions, and reasonable pricing.
• Allies for Community BusinesssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBusiness development organization that helps identify key vendors who can meet hospital procurement needs. Supports Local Procurement initiative vendor identification.
• One on OnesupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorkforce intermediary partner supporting training, recruitment, and placement services for workforce development programs.
• North Lawndale Employment NetworksupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorkforce agency that collaborated with WSU to recruit, train, place, and provide sustained support for employees at Fillmore Center Laundry Linen.
• Skills for Chicagoland's FuturesupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorkforce agency partner for Fillmore Center recruitment and training support.
• Equal HopesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner providing breast cancer support services at Sankofa Wellness Village. Co-hosts health equity programming including vaccination town halls.
• Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity agency leading Healthy Chicago Equity Zones initiative. Funds and provides public health guidance. WSU serves as Community Lead within the West Side Equity Zone.
• Humboldt Park HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospital partner in Wellness West provider collaborative contributing to the network of 6 hospitals coordinating community health services.
• Cook County HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty healthcare system participating in vendor diversity and procurement programs through Local Procurement initiative.
• KearneysupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting firm with food access strategy expertise (Grocer on Racine project). Conducted community-informed feasibility study for preferred grocery models including co-ops or publicly-owned stores.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Democracy Collaborative: Research and development organization that originated and disseminates the 'anchor institution' playbook West Side United explicitly applies; it is the conceptual parent of the model and a key peer for strategy and replication.
• Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ): Pioneering place-based nonprofit offering a cradle-to-career pipeline of education, health, and social services within a defined neighborhood boundary; broadly comparable as a multi-program, geography-anchored social-equity coalition.
• Trinity Health — Transforming Communities Initiative: National nonprofit health system funding place-based community partnerships focused on social determinants of health—an incumbent healthcare-anchor practitioner comparable in approach to WSU's Live Healthy West Side programs.
• Bon Secours Mercy Health — Community Health Programs: Large nonprofit health system with explicit community-development investment arms that operate housing, workforce, and small-business programs adjacent to their facilities—a hospital-led analog to WSU's anchor partnership model.
• CommonSpirit Health — Community Health Improvement: One of the largest nonprofit US health systems, pursuing hospital-anchored community health strategies; relevant as a broader incumbent demonstrating scaled anchor strategy across multiple regions.

Direct peers

• Build Healthy Places Network: National organization that convenes leaders at the intersection of community development and health to address social determinants of health—comparable as a coalition-oriented peer working across hospitals, CBOs, and developers on equity outcomes.
• Purpose Built Communities: National nonprofit that partners with local residents, institutions, and philanthropies to revitalize disinvested neighborhoods through cradle-to-career education, mixed-income housing, and community wellness—directly comparable as a place-based, multi-stakeholder coalition model tackling education, housing, and health equity in parallel.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community development nonprofit combining capital deployment (CDFI loans), workforce programs, and local procurement partnerships with place-based revitalization in disinvested neighborhoods—directly comparable to WSU's Thrive West Side track.
• Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN): National network of 70+ hospital systems that coordinate local hiring, purchasing, and investment strategies to address community health—the umbrella organizing body for the very anchor-institution strategy that West Side United operationalizes through its six hospital partners.

Emerging players

• National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW): Membership organization supporting community health workers—the same workforce embedded across Wellness West's 17 CBOs—making it a workforce-model peer for the largest single program in WSU's portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/westsideunited
• Xx.com/WSUnitedChi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 West Side United