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Growing Grassroots Nonprofits

The fractional back office for grassroots nonprofits
in Chicago and across Illinois.

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Whether you're all-volunteer, newly funded, or ready to grow,
we meet you where you are.

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Partnering with 11 grassroots nonprofits
Nearly $5 million in grants won together

Who We Serve

  • Executive Directors, Founders, and CEOs of small to mid-sized nonprofits

  • Grassroots and community-based organizations, particularly those rooted in disinvested neighborhoods

  • Boards seeking stability, clarity, and operational confidence

  • Foundations, governments, and institutions supporting cohorts or portfolios of grassroots nonprofits​

Nonprofit leader presenting to a room of grassroots founders
Client Spotlight

A few of our growing grassroots partners 

Raw Talent Performing Arts Logo
Intergenerational Computer Education Logo
House of Mercy and Grace logo
LEDGE of Hope Foundation logo

The Brandl Operations Difference

We are former nonprofit executive directors — not generic consultants.

Our approach is grounded in real leadership experience, sector knowledge, and a deep understanding of how nonprofits truly function day-to-day.

 

Instead of fragmented vendors and one-off fixes, we offer integrated support that saves time, reduces costs, and creates long-term capacity.

The Challenge Facing Grassroots Nonprofits:

Running a growing nonprofit is tough. Most grassroots organizations cannot afford a full operations staff, so they build it piecemeal — a grant writer for a particular proposal, a bookkeeper for the monthly close, a friend with IT experience for the email accounts. Everyone is capable, but also working from a partial view of your organization. That leaves you in the middle, translating between them, and it is one of the most common reasons a promising organization stalls out when it should be growing.

Leaders don't need to carry this burden alone — it's a structural problem we can solve.​​

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The Brandl Operations Solution:

Brandl Operations provides the operational support larger nonprofits take for granted — finance, fundraising, human resources, compliance, evaluation, grant administration, and more — coordinated through a single executive partner who knows your organization well. When a project calls for a specialist, we bring one in and manage that relationship ourselves, so you have just one partner to deal with.

Meet the Founder

Jack Brandl, MSW, LSW, has spent more than a decade building grassroots nonprofits — most recently as Executive Director of Boxing Out Negativity, where he raised millions and helped grow a beloved Chicago program into a multi-site youth development and violence prevention powerhouse.

He started Brandl Operations on a simple belief:

Grassroots nonprofits change lives, but most stay small because they lack resources and the systems needed to grow.

Today, Jack works alongside founders and executive directors, often working around a kitchen table, to put real infrastructure and resources behind innovative and transformational missions.

Jack Brandl, MSW, LSW, founder of Brandl Operations

Work With Us

Our partnerships are:
  • Fair — sliding-scale pricing for your budget
  • Efficient — saving time, money, and bandwidth
  • Flexible — growing as your organization grows

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When you win, we win. 

Let's Connect

Request a 30-minute free consultation to ask questions and determine if a partnership is right for your organization.

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