Paving the Path to Homeownership for Housing Choice Voucher Holders
Since the mid-20th century, homeownership has been one of the most important vehicles for building wealth in the United States. According to research from the…
Grants
Featured
Our Grantmaking Strategy
For more than 100 years, The Chicago Community Trust has convened, supported, funded, and accelerated the work of community members and changemakers committed to strengthening the Chicago region. From building up our civic infrastructure to spearheading our response to the Great Recession, the Trust has brought our community together to face pressing challenges and seize our greatest opportunities.
Explore Our Discretionary Grants
Showing 5851–5858 of 4727 results
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Grant Recipient
Taskforce Prevention and Community Services
Task Force Prevention and Community Services (TaskForce) respectfully requests $50,000 in general operating support to sustain and expand our vital, life-affirming programs for LGBTQ+ youth of color in Chicago. Based in the heart of the Austin community—a neighborhood deeply affected by systemic disinvestment—TaskForce serves as one of the only safe, affirming hubs for over 3,500 LGBTQ+ youth, offering integrated services that address the intertwined challenges of HIV prevention, mental health, gender-based violence, and food insecurity. This application will outline: Our Mission and Values: A community-rooted commitment to the sexual health, wellbeing, and empowerment of LGBTQ+ youth of color through a trauma-informed, culturally responsive model of care. Organizational History and Urgency: Founded in 1990, TaskForce operates in one of Chicago’s most underserved areas. As demand for our services surges—up 40% from 2023—we face rising costs and urgent needs from youth navigating housing insecurity, violence, and limited access to affirming healthcare. Core Programs and Services Including: Health Services: Free, on-site HIV/STI testing, PrEP navigation, hormone therapy, and wraparound care. Mental Health and Violence Prevention: Referrals, expressive therapies, youth mental health training, and case management for survivors of gender-based violence. Essential Needs: A growing food pantry, gender-affirming clothing closet, legal aid, and warm meals. Community Engagement: The Vogue School, CPS outreach, and employment readiness programs rooted in cultural pride and identity. Impact and Reach: In 2024 alone, we provided 600+ HIV tests, distributed 2,400+ produce bags, served 1,100+ families through our food pantry, and engaged over 2,000 youth in our Vogue School—all at no cost to participants. Vision for 2025: With your support, we aim to reach 4,000 youth, deepen partnerships for on-site care, grow food access by 10%, and expand trauma-informed, gender-affirming programming citywide. Why Now: LGBTQ+ youth of color—especially Black and Latinx youth—face unprecedented barriers to basic healthcare, safety, and stability. Amid rising attacks on gender-affirming care and widening health disparities, TaskForce is often the only place many youth feel safe, seen, and supported. Without increased funding, our ability to meet this moment is at risk. We ask for your partnership to protect and expand access to services that save lives, affirm identities, and build brighter futures for LGBTQ+ youth of color in Chicago. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
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Grant Recipient
Brightpoint
As a leader in early childhood education in Illinois, Brightpoint has continued to provide quality early childhood care and education to young children from families facing poverty-related challenges while also offering wrap-around support, so families have the help they need to overcome financial barriers. We operate five centers in the Chicago Metropolitan region including: the Mitzi Freidheim Child & Family Center in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, the Marletta Darnall Child & Family Center in Schaumburg, Community Child Care Center of Palatine Township in Palatine, El Hogar Del Niño in Pilsen/ Little Village, and Brightpoint Child & Family Center in Carpentersville. These centers reach over 1,000 children 0-6 and their families each year. All of Brightpoint’s Early Childhood Centers (ECE’s) support the unique needs of children who are at high risk of academic failure. Each center maintains priority of enrollment for children considered at-risk, including children of adolescent parents, victims of child abuse or neglect, and children from households experiencing low-income. Staff work hard to provide a comprehensive range of care that is designed to foster cognitive, social, physical, and emotional development. In recent months, news of funding freezes for essential programs, mass deportations, and ICE raids have put additional strain on families and program staff at our Metro early childhood centers. In the first couple of weeks of January, attendance at our Pilsen center decreased by 30% due to growing fears of being targeted by ICE. Our staff and families report feeling overwhelmed, afraid, stressed, and helpless. In this uncertain and scary time, it is imperative that we continue to provide our early education and support services to families in each community. Brightpoint respectfully requests a grant of $100,000 from the Chicago Community Trust in support of our Early Childhood Education Centers in the Chicago Metropolitan region. In the face of threats to federal funding for early childhood, this grant will bolster our ongoing programming and provide essential capital improvements including kitchen repairs, classroom and bathroom repairs, re-painting interior spaces, and enabling the installation of new phone lines and intercom to our outdated system at the Mitzi Freidheim Englewood Child & Family Center. Replacing and repairing damaged flooring and walls in kitchen, classroom, and bathroom spaces and applying fresh coats of paint will create a cleaner, safer and more nurturing environment for children and families. A new phone and centralized intercom system will allow for more stable, reliable communication, which will improve daily operations and increase safety, especially in emergency situations. Private funds are essential as our public funding does not cover the costs needed to keep our Early Childhood Centers open and safe for our families. A generous grant from Chicago Community Trust will allow us to continue providing high-quality care to the children and families we serve.
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Grant Recipient
Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund
The Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund (IECEF) will continue to engage coalition partners and educate decision-makers in an effort to create a stronger, more resilient local food economy in Chicagoland and throughout Illinois.
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Grant Recipient
Chicago Children's Advocacy Center
Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, ChicagoCAC, and The Chicago Community Trust share a vision of a safer, more equitable Chicago where opportunity and healing are accessible to all. Founded in 1999 by former Mayor Richard M. Daley, ChicagoCAC was created to transform the city’s response to child sexual abuse. Today, we lead a co-located, multidisciplinary team—including DCFS, Chicago Police, Cook County State’s Attorney, and, offsite, Lurie Children’s Hospital—to respond to 2,000+ reports annually of abuse, violence, and trafficking and accessible to clients 24 hours, seven days a week, year-round. Through our core programs—Advocacy & Investigative Services, Clinical Services, Education, Outreach & Prevention, and CAN Hope—we reduce barriers to justice, healing, and safety. ChicagoCAC is accredited by the National Children’s Alliance. Our building structure is child-centered and all our services are trauma-informed, evidence-based, offered in English and Spanish, and provided free of charge. With the support of partners who believe in equity and community-led solutions, we are changing lives and strengthening futures. Together with The Chicago Community Trust, we can build a Chicago where every child can heal, thrive, and be protected. We are grateful for the opportunity to have been invited to submit a grant application for general operating support grant for FY26, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
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Grant Recipient
Expanded Mental Health Services of Chicago NFP
Expanded Mental Health Services of Chicago (EMHS), operating as The Kedzie Center and the LoSAH Center of Hope, seeks funding to expand and strengthen our early childhood mental health programming through three initiatives: Little Explorers/Pequeños Exploradores, Abriendo Puertas, and Help the Helper. These programs support children ages 0 to 6 and their caregivers by providing therapeutic playgroups, culturally grounded parent education, and mental health training and reflection for childcare providers. Over a 12-month period, we aim to increase enrollment in our cohorts of Little Explorers and Abriendo Puertas, while enhancing the capacity of childcare providers in our community; as well as enhance our clinic staff capacity through Child-Parent Psychotherapy focused on dyadic care for parents and children who have experienced trauma. Our work directly aligns with the Trust's priorities of culturally competent, bilingual care that supports the development of young children and supports safe and nurturing early learning environments. Our approach is grounded in the belief that early childhood mental health is foundational to individual and family well-being as well as community wellness. By equipping caregivers, parents, and early childcare providers with tools, knowledge, and therapeutic support, we aim to: • Strengthen individual strengths and community assets • Enhance the emotional and social development of children ages 0–6 • Increase access to culturally competent and bilingual mental health services for parents and children. This work aligns with The Trust’s priority to build community wealth and transform underinvested neighborhoods. As a community-funded mental health organization, we are committed to sustaining community-centered programming, empowering youth and families, and investing in early intervention, trauma-informed care, and building a trusted local infrastructure.
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Grant Recipient
RESPOND NOW
Respond Now respectfully requests support from the Chicago Community Trust for our Food Pantry and SNAP Outreach programs—two essential initiatives that provide critical hunger relief across 22 south suburban Chicago communities we’ve proudly served for over 55 years. Our Food Pantry operates Monday through Friday and uses a client-choice model, empowering individuals and families to select the groceries that best meet their needs. Community members may visit up to twice per month and take home as many groceries as they can carry—typically two to three full-sized paper bags. In parallel, our SNAP Outreach program assists eligible individuals in navigating the complex enrollment process to access federal nutritional benefits. With the support of the Chicago Community Trust, we aim to strengthen and expand the reach of both programs to ensure that food insecurity is met with dignity, access, and practical support wherever the need exists. This work remains timely, as systemic disinvestment and structural racism continue to drive long-term socioeconomic challenges in the communities we serve. Indeed, this assistance would come at an urgent time, when cuts to Federal programs tied to food insecurity initiatives have become regular and aggressive. While those sources of funding are contracting despite growing hunger, Respond Now is expanding to fight it: in the final stages of our capital campaign to expand our pantry at 1439 Emerald Ave., construction is set to be completed in July of 2025. This will allow us to assist more than ever, and just in time: we are seeing nearly twice the pantry visits we were in 2022.
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Grant Recipient
Metropolitan Tenants Organization
The Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO) requests a $50,000 general operating grant. A 39-year old grassroots nonprofit in Chicago, MTO is a membership organization made up of tenants, tenant organizations, community members and groups who support the mission of MTO to educate, organize, and empower tenants to have a voice in the decisions that affect the affordability, availability, and sustainability of safe, decent, and accessible housing. MTO works on its mission through three primary programs: a Tenants Rights Hotline serving close to 9,000 people annually, many of whom are facing eviction and most of whom live in Chicago's predominantly African-American communities; an Affordable Housing Preservation Program, engaging and aiding renters to advocate for their rights as tenants; and a Healthy Homes Program that addresses home-based health hazards. MTO’s primary population is low income and minority. Our relationship with tenants and the community drive everything we do. Every interaction with a tenant is an opportunity to empower and build relationships that align with their needs, involve them in broader housing policies, and connect them to campaigns that promote systemic change. MTO is a key partner in citywide coalitions such as the Chicago Housing Initiative (CHI); Chicago Housing Justice League (CHJL), and; Proactive Addressing Substandard Housing (PASH). We offer regular training sessions for community-based groups such as Garfield Park Community Council, Pilsen Alliance, Night Ministry, Enlace, Access Living, Apna Ghar, and Lugenia Burns Hope Center which amplify our work and strengthen community voices to push for policy changes.
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Grant Recipient
The HANA Center
HANA Center (HANA) builds the power of Korean, Asian American, and multiethnic immigrant communities in Chicagoland through social services, education, culture, and community organizing to advance human rights. HANA began in February 2017, as a merger of Korean American Community Services (est. 1972) and Korean American Resource and Cultural Center (est. 1995). HANA means “one” in Korean, symbolizing unity and wholeness. By combining over 75 years of experience, HANA created a one-stop which breaks down barriers for immigrants to access critical resources and builds an informed and engaged community working together to uplift their collective lives. HANA engages 16,000 Korean and multiethnic immigrants annually in Chicago and northwest suburbs. HANA respectfully requests $40,000 from the Trust for general operating support, which will allow the organization to deepen the impact of its services, advance its strategic goals, and meet the urgent and growing needs of immigrant communities across Chicago. Detailed goals and objectives are listed below under Learning and Outcomes.