Building brighter futures through dynamic youth development and social services for all.
Founded: Began supporting Chicago youth in 1964, and became a formal nonprofit in 1991
Location: Chicago, IL
Chicago Lights began working with UpMetrics in 2023 as part of our Chicago Cohort, sponsored by Foglia Family Foundation.
Mission
Chicago Lights partners with youth and adults to build brighter futures through supportive relationships and life-changing programs.
Vision
Chicago Lights believes every person should have access to the resources they need to overcome economic and social barriers so they may achieve their ambitions.
Values
Access
Support
Community
Programs & Impact Approach
Chicago Lights offers four signature programs, serving over 4,000 individuals across Chicago annually.
Tutoring - Supporting academic and personal growth for students
Their tutoring program provides 200 1st to 12th grade students with weekly one-to-one tutoring and mentoring to provide needed academic and social opportunities. The relationships between students and tutor/mentors, combined with innovative educational and enrichment resources, mindfulness practices, and career development, help prepare students for post-secondary education and future jobs.
Summer Day - Promoting dynamic summer learning and enrichment
A six-week program for 100 1st to 9th graders - focuses on creative academic learning, supplemented by arts and enrichment programming to combat summer learning loss and provide a safe space for students in the summer. Summer Day is a bridge from one school year to the next where students sharpen Literacy and Math skills and engage in art, music, drama, dance, mindfulness, and weekly field trips.
Urban Farm - Growing food, community, and job skills
The Urban Farm is a green oasis in the middle of a bustling city. They cultivate a thoughtful and engaged community of 600 young people and adults through educational and economic opportunities, hands-on experiences, and access to fresh, local, and sustainably grown produce.
Social Service Center - Self-development through supportive services
At the Chicago Lights Social Service Center, they believe that all people deserve to have their basic needs met and the opportunity to pursue and reach their goals toward achieving greater stability. Chicago Lights annually provides food, clothing, case management, and housing assistance to 2,000 adults experiencing hunger, homelessness, or other poverty-related challenges.
Using Data & UpMetrics to Drive their Mission Forward
For nearly two decades, Chicago Lights struggled to find a way to capture both the measurable results and the deeper meaningful impact of their work.
Traditional tools like Logic Models or Theories of Change felt too rigid and often left them unsure if they were tracking the right things. Those frameworks just didn’t reflect the full, complex story of their programs.
Then they began working with UpMetrics as part of the Chicago Cohort, sponsored by Foglia Family Foundation.
“The UpMetrics Impact Framework clicked almost immediately for us,” shared Alex Cornwell, Director of Evaluation and Impact. “For the first time, we had access to a structure that not only made sense—but made our data come alive.”
With UpMetrics’ flexible and easy-to-use Impact Framework—built around Who, What, Quality, Better Off, and Community Collaboration—Chicago Lights was finally able to organize and understand their data in a way that truly reflected all the work they do.
Instead of trying to force their story into someone else's mold, they could now show the full impact of all four of their programs, from tutoring and summer enrichment to the Urban Farm and Social Service Center.
With a shared language and clear Impact Framework, Chicago Lights has been able to:
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Unify previously siloed metrics into a single, organization-wide story of impact.
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Save time and improve confidence in their reporting by simplifying complex analysis into digestible insights.
Perhaps most importantly, Chicago Lights now has a tool that builds internal alignment and inspires external confidence. Whether they're applying for grants or walking a new funder through their strategy, they can hand over their Impact Framework and say, “Here’s how we know we’re making a difference—and where we’re headed next.”
“Being able to provide stakeholders a copy of our well-organized Impact Framework shows our commitment to being a data-driven organization focused on continuous improvement.”
From scattered spreadsheets to a strategic, cohesive approach to measurement and learning, UpMetrics has helped Chicago Lights turn data into momentum.
Over the coming months, Chicago Lights plans to further their use of UpMetrics by creating visually compelling dashboards that support fundraising, stakeholder updates, and internal decision-making.
Together, we’re not just counting outputs—we’re amplifying outcomes.
