2024 Annual Report

Because when our neighbors do better, we all do better. Explore our Annual Report.

For 110 years, The Chicago Community Trust has united generous donors, committed nonprofits, and caring residents to meet our region’s most pressing needs and effect lasting change for Chicagoans. As the region’s community foundation, we’re here to steward a vision – and the actions that bring it to life – for a stronger, more vibrant Chicago.

It’s what we’ve always done, and what we’ll always be here to do.

Our 2024 Annual Report

We believe firmly in our neighbors’ collective capacity for making good things happen. We know that the people we get to work with today are shaping Chicago’s next 100 years, and we want our grandchildren and great grandchildren to live in the future they’re building! Their work represents good philanthropy, good public policy, and good business. Through this report, we’re bringing you a few of their stories.

Meanwhile, as with many of our community foundation peers, we are monitoring how shifting federal policies and economic conditions will affect our nonprofit community and the people they serve. At this moment, we know there are countless donors, nonprofit leaders, and residents channeling their passions and energies into making a positive difference for our region. Their commitment demonstrates what is possible when we come together, united in purpose and dedicated to the ongoing work of making our home a place where all can realize their potential.

We remain committed to listening, staying informed, and working together to determine how we can best meet this moment while advancing our vision for the future. May the stories of these changemakers and the legacy of the Trust’s commitment to Chicago inspire each of us to imagine actions we can take for the good of all our communities.

Because when our neighbors do better, we all do better.

A Central Force for Good

The Trust is driven by a fundamental commitment to making Chicago better for all. We’re a community of philanthropists dedicated to strengthening the broader community around us. We partner with donors, nonprofits, business and civic leaders, and community members to improve the lives of people in metropolitan Chicago and beyond.

Our work is made possible by the visionary donors whose gifts — past and present — fuel our strategic grantmaking in perpetuity. From working to meet Chicagoans’ basic human needs to fueling an inclusive economy, we focus on a range of issues impacting our region’s vitality.

Download: 2024 Annual Report

2024 Highlights: By the Numbers

  • $262M

    In Support for the Chicago Region

    Through Donor Advised Fund Grants to Nonprofits and Contributions to Trust Initiatives

  • $49M

    In Grants to Nonprofits

    Supported by Gifts from Wills, Trusts, Retirement Accounts, and Other Assets

  • $10M

    In Grantmaking Towards Community Investments

    From the We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery Funder Collaborative

  • $2M

    In Contributions to Unity Fund

    Distributed to Support Organizations Serving Chicagoans’ Most Urgent Needs

  • $1.6M

    In Grants

    Awarded to 13 Local News Organizations from the Press Forward Chicago Initiative

  • $1.3M

    Distributed by Affinity Funds

    Groups of Donors United by a Shared Heritage, Interest, or Common Identity

Our Region. Our Reason.

Addressing Chicagoans’ critical needs is a foundational commitment of the Trust. In 2024, we responded to the crisis of homelessness through two major initiatives.

Learn How We Care for Our Neighbors

Our Commitment to Building Well-Being

Take a look at 2024’s stories of impact and dig deeper into our neighborhood profiles.

Together, we make good things happen for Chicago.

Learn more from our generous donors and committed corporate partners.

With your support, we will continue to make good things happen for our region.

2024 Grants + Financials

In an effort to inspire philanthropy broadly, the Trust sponsors its own donor advised fund program as well as donor advised fund programs for financial institutions. As of September 30, 2024, the Trust’s consolidated assets totaled $6.1 billion. In addition, during the fiscal year, the Trust received new gifts totaling $1.8 billion and made combined grant commitments totaling $1.5 billion across the Trust and affiliated donor advised fund programs.

View our full list of grants and financial highlights below.

Contributions

During fiscal year 2024, The Chicago Community Trust received contributions of $1,862,806,441. This pie chart is an analysis of these contributions by fund type.

Growth

These bar graphs compare the total assets, contributions, and combined grant commitments of the past five years for The Chicago Community Trust for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024.

Previous Annual Reports

We invite you below to view and download our past annual reports and explore highlights from the Chicago region.

2023Because when our neighbors do better, we all do better. It’s a simple idea rooted in the core truth that we are all connected. We can’t truly thrive as a region until every individual has the opportunity to reach their potential.
2022What If? Asking “what if” sparks hope and inspires action. At The Chicago Community Trust, we start with the question and, through partnerships, seek answers
that lead to lasting change.
2021All of Us. We all have the power to take action that makes our Chicago region better for all.
2020We Are Greater Than. 2020 was a year like no other—one that tested each of us as individuals, and our region as a whole, in ways many had never imagined before.
2019Equity. Opportunity. Prosperity. These three words encapsulate perfectly what The Chicago Community Trust stands for.