|.
Photo: My Block, My City, My Hood

Press Release Dec 16 2019

Now Open: Grant Applications to Support Community Organizers Leading Social Change

The Chicago Community Trust will award 10-12 grants of up to $200,000

CHICAGO (December 16, 2019) – The Chicago Community Trust issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) from local community organizations and resident leaders interested in participating in a pilot initiative aimed at building the capacity of community organizing efforts.

The pilot Changemakers Network, provides grant funding to community organizers to learn from each other, share best practices, strengthen community voice, and co-create the movement-building strategies needed to make long-term change possible.

“The Trust’s commitment to building a connected and thriving Chicago region requires us to help create the conditions for resident relationship networks to develop and expand at the community level,” said Daniel Ash, senior vice president of community impact at the Chicago Community Trust. “This pilot initiative seeks to strengthen community-led efforts in Chicago and underscores the belief that power emerges when people set their own agendas rather than respond to ones set by others.”

The Trust intends to grant 10-12 awards of up to $200,000 over two years (a maximum of $100,000 per year) to allow organizations to participate in this peer-learning cohort and support their on-going community organizing efforts.

In November 2019, the Trust announced its new strategic plan, which focuses its discretionary funds on addressing the region’s fundamental challenge: racial and ethnic wealth inequity. To achieve our vision, our strategic plan will focus on: advancing equity in household wealth, catalyzing community-driven investment and building collective power. This RFP underscores our commitment to building collective power through stronger and connected networks that help communities plan and implement projects, respond to a crisis or mobilize to achieve the change they seek.

The Changemakers Network RFP proposals are due by January 14, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

Information sessions to answer questions about the Changemakers RFP will take place on the following dates and times:

Recent Stories