The new online publication was initially funded with a Kickstarter campaign and with capital from the Civil publishing platform.

[1][2][4][5][6][7] Block Club Chicago was founded in order to supply a neighborhood-focused coverage.

[8] It therefore adopted a geographic, rather than topical, structure, in which each reporter is assigned a "neighborhood beat".

[3] As of 2021, Block Club Chicago had a newsletter circulation of 140,000 and a paid subscribership of 15,500.

[8] As of 2023, the website had 20,000 paid subscribers, and offered news coverage of 45 of Chicago's 77 community areas.