Heartland Alliance is one of Chicago's best-known anti-poverty organisations, working in health care, housing, employment and legal aid for people who have been pushed to the margins.
In May 2022 they rented office space with us. Here is why that made sense for them, and what it says about how nonprofits should think about workspace.
The problem with a traditional lease for a nonprofit
Every dollar spent on rent is a dollar not spent on programmes. That is not a slogan; it is the arithmetic that governs how a nonprofit board approves a budget.
Traditional office leases make that arithmetic worse in three ways. They run for years, so a change in funding does not change your cost. They bill separately for utilities, internet, cleaning and meeting space. And they rarely fit an organisation that needs a second location rather than a headquarters.
What they chose instead
Heartland Alliance needed an additional Chicago location — not a new head office. Flexible space solved that:
- Predictable, all-in cost. One payment covering the space, utilities, internet and building services, which is far easier to defend in a budget line.
- Meeting rooms included. Their teams book conference space without a separate charge every time they need to gather.
- A professional environment for staff and for the people they serve, without a capital project to create it.
The practical result is more of their budget going where it was raised to go.
This applies to more than nonprofits
The same logic holds for any organisation whose headcount moves with funding cycles, seasons or contracts — grant-funded programmes, consultancies, agencies between clients, or a growing team that does not yet know its size in eighteen months.
You are trading a small premium per square foot for the ability to change your mind. For most small organisations that is a good trade.
If you are weighing up a Chicago office
We have private offices from $595 a month for one to four people, furnished, with meeting rooms, parking and 24/7 access included. If you need the address more than the room, a virtual office is $75 a month.
Book a tour or talk to us about what your organisation actually needs. If a smaller plan fits better, we will say so.
