For more than 92 years, The Chicago Community Trust has worked hand in hand with thousands of local residents who see how good Chicago can be and who want to be part of a promising future. We are dedicated to this region and to endowing its future. Together with our donors, the Trust continues to address our region’s pressing challenges and most promising opportunities.
We provide critical charitable resources in the arts, community and economic development, education, health and wellness, hunger and homeless alleviation, legal services; programs for youth, the elderly, and people with disabilities; and services to assure that basic human needs are met for all members of our community.
For the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2006, the Trust and our donors awarded $77 million to more than 1,200 not-for-profit organizations. Our giving generally falls into five broad areas:
Individuals, families, organizations, and businesses work with the Trust to manage their charitable giving through the establishment of individual, named funds or the support of existing funds dedicated to different community needs. Funds are then used to make grants to a variety of not-for-profit organizations.
You can learn more about the Trust's mission and vision in our strategic plan for 2008 - 2010.
The mission of The Chicago Community Trust is to improve the lives of the people in metropolitan Chicago. We believe that the diversity of our community is a fundamental strength of our region. Our mission is best fulfilled when we embrace diversity as a value and a practice.
We maintain that achieving diversity requires an enduring commitment to inclusion that must find full expression in our organizational culture, values, norms, and behaviors. Throughout our work, we will support diversity in all of its forms, encompassing but not limited to age, disability status, economic circumstance, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
Leading by example we aspire to make diversity a core and abiding strength of the nonprofit sector.
The Chicago Community Trust recognizes that its effectiveness will be enhanced and its mission well served when the practice of diversity is reflected in all aspects of the organization, and specifically when:
The Executive Committee of the Trust reflects the rich diversity of the Chicago metropolitan area.
The Trust shares its commitment to diversity as a value and a practice with its current and potential donors and it encourages donors to consider and embrace these values.
The staff of the Trust reflects the communities of metropolitan Chicago. Staffing at every level of the organization should reflect the diversity of the metropolitan region. The Trust anticipates that its demonstrated commitment represents an organizational standard for the non-profit sector.
The Trust’s grant making is representative of the community it serves and each potential and current grantee demonstrates a commitment to diversity as a value and a practice. A demonstrated commitment is reflected in staffing, board composition, vendors and program partners, and organizational philosophy.
The Trust’s vendor community demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion as a practice. This commitment is reflected in governance practices, hiring practices, and/or organizational philosophy. Preference is given to vendors with a proven record of this commitment to diversity.
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