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 5751–5758 of 4640 results
-
Grant Recipient
La Casa Norte
La Casa Norte is requesting $100,000 to support the development and launch of its Non-Congregate Shelter (NCS), a trauma-informed, youth-centered housing initiative in Chicago. The NCS will provide safe, private accommodations for homeless youth ages 18-24, ensuring stability, dignity, and access to comprehensive services. This funding will help cover essential pre-launch program costs, including facility preparation, staffing, and service development. By expanding access to stable housing and holistic support, La Casa Norte aims to empower young people toward long-term independence and self-sufficiency.
-
Grant Recipient
Bethel New Life Inc
Helmed by Bethel New Life Inc, developed by OASES, and programmed in partnership with the K and Sesenergi Eco Solutions, Harvest is a multifaceted initiative spearheaded by Bethel New Life, a long-standing community organization with a 50-year history of service in West Garfield Park. Harvest aims to be a transformative economic catalyst within the Madison-Pulaski corridor. The primary services Harvest will offer are twofold: food service operations and workforce development programs focused on sustainable systems certification. Food Service: Harvest will operate a farm-to-table diner, serving light fare and offering catering services. This diner is designed to fill a market gap in the neighborhood and provide a community gathering space. The food service aspect is also intended to support local food entrepreneurs by making the kitchen space available for catering businesses and sourcing ingredients from local farms and food processors through partnerships like the Austin Food Ecosystem Initiative. Workforce Development: In partnership with Sesenergi Eco Solutions, an accredited renewable and sustainable systems facilitator, Harvest will provide a comprehensive certification program in sustainable systems that covers everything from solar systems install and maintenance to sustainable leadership development. This program, and others launched in the space, are designed to equip community members, particularly young professionals aged 16-25, with industry-recognized credentials for high-paying careers in the renewable energy and sustainability sectors (jobs in the $80,000-$150,000 range). The project aims to certify 100 community members annually. These programs are directly linked to career pathways and entrepreneurship through a partnership with The K business hub. The primary customers and beneficiaries of Harvest are: Residents of West Garfield Park and surrounding communities: They will be served as customers of the diner, participants in the workforce development programs, and beneficiaries of increased economic activity and community vibrancy. Local Entrepreneurs and Chefs: Harvest will provide a platform for them to launch catering businesses and gain access to a commercial kitchen. Young Professionals (16-25 years old): The certification programs are specifically designed for this demographic to provide pathways to high-paying careers, addressing youth disenfranchisement and lack of career opportunities. Resident Elders in Bethel New Life's Apartment Complex: They will have opportunities for part-time employment in the diner, creating intergenerational connections and supplementing their income. The K's entrepreneurs and co-working space users: They will become a natural customer base for the diner and participants in joint workshops and programs. Participants of Sankofa Wellness Village programs: They will have access to a food service provider in Harvest's diner and potential pathways to career certification through Harvest's programs. Students and staff of nearby educational institutions: They will be customers of the diner and potential participants in youth-focused sustainability education initiatives. Activities that will occur in the Harvest space include: Diner Operations: Daily food preparation, service, and customer interaction in the farm-to-table diner setting. Catering Operations: Food preparation and management for catering orders, potentially run by local chefs utilizing the kitchen space. Workforce Development and Certification Programs: Classroom instruction, hands-on training, and certification processes for sustainable systems programs. Workshops and Training Sessions: 75 workshops annually in partnership with local organizations, the AFEI, Sesenergi and The K Entrepreneurship Support Activities: Business development, technical assistance, and entrepreneurial training in partnership with The K, potentially including mentoring and networking events. Community Events and Markets: Potential for hosting outdoor markets and events in partnership with the West Garfield Park Sanctuary Development Plan’s next door our Sanctuarii space, as well as existing outdoor places such as PopGrove! Community Plaza and Garfield Park Community Plaza. Intergenerational Activities: Opportunities for resident elders and youth to interact through employment and mentorship. Partnership Meetings and Collaborations: Regular meetings and collaborations with partners like The K, Sisenergi Eco Solutions, Austin Food Ecosystem Initiative, Garfield Park Right to Wellness Collaborative, and others. The Harvest space will be a dynamic hub of activity, combining food service, education, entrepreneurship, and community engagement to create economic growth and opportunity in West Garfield Park.
-
Grant Recipient
The Night Ministry
The Night Ministry (TNM) is a Chicago-based organization whose mission is to provide human connection, housing support, and health care to those who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. Founded in 1976, TNM began with one staff member, Tom Behrens, hired by 18 diverse congregations in the Lakeview and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. Behrens’ mission involved reaching out to unhoused people in these communities at night. Behrens offered what TNM calls a ‘ministry of presence’, listening, empathizing, and sharing resources: acts that turned into our core service area of human connection. With his guidance, TNM grew from a one-person operation touching hundreds of lives to a diverse organization serving thousands of individuals, each year. Our programs fall under two categories: Youth Services and Outreach and Health Ministry (OHM). The programs operate on a continuum, offering low- to high-touch housing support; case management; food, hygiene, and survival supplies; and social support for unhoused and precariously housed Chicagoans. The Youth Outreach Team connects with youth who are not engaged in programs in fixed locations or who need additional support. The Crib, TNM’s low-threshold emergency overnight shelter, offers food and a safe place to sleep on an as needed, nightly basis. The Interim Housing Program provides up to 120 days of shelter alongside case management, health and supportive services, including life skills instruction to young people ages 14 – 21. Parenting with Purpose and Pathways represent the longest levels of housing engagement (up to two years) for TNM clients between the ages of 16 and 24. Finally, TNM supports young people who live in subsidized, scattered site apartments throughout Chicago through the Flexible Housing Pool (via a partnership with Center for Housing and Health). Aftercare services are offered to all former clients, lasting well beyond their exit from our programs. OHM serves all people who are unhoused, in poverty, or otherwise in need. While the program is open to everyone, most OHM clients are adults. OHM demonstrates TNM’s signature approach to caring for unhoused people; OHM staff proactively visit the places where individuals who are unhoused live, to help meet their most basic needs and rebuild their social safety nets. TNM serves young people and adults who are unhoused and/or struggling with poverty in Chicago. Youth come from across the city to shelter in our housing programs. We also meet people where they are with our outreach programs. Most of our clients come from racial or ethnic minority backgrounds (85%) and are male (71%). 60% of the clients we serve are black. 69% of clients are between the ages of 15 and 24. Most people who receive our services come from areas of Chicago with high crime and low economic opportunity, including the far South and West sides of Chicago.
-
Grant Recipient
Illinois Arts Alliance
Arts Alliance Illinois is requesting funding to support infrastructure planning and preparation for Phase I of our Creatives @ Work pilot initiative. This grant will help support our work with partners on this phase of our pilot program.
-
Grant Recipient
Puerto Rican Cultural Center
The Puerto Rican Cultural Center’s El Rescate LGBTQ+ Homeless Youth Shelter and Transitional Living Program is requesting funds to expand support services for youth ages 18-24. This funding will enhance El Rescate Essential Service Program, allowing for broader coverage of critical services for homeless youth. The requested funds will help financially assist homeless youth up to age 24 in securing permanent housing by covering rental deposits and the first month’s rent. Additionally, these funds will enable the program to support youth with sliding-scale fees for mental health services, medication co-pays, and transportation to appointments through bus and Uber cards. Funds will also be used to purchase hygiene products and clothing for homeless youth and to cover other services not covered by insurance, ensuring that their basic needs are met. El Rescate has proven to be a pivotal space for ensuring a smooth transition from homelessness into stable private living. This has resulted in integration into the community that would not have been possible without El Rescate as an intermediary.
-
Grant Recipient
Outwest Gallery & Cafe
Outwest Gallery & Cafe is a cultural and community hub under development on the Westside of Chicago, dedicated to fostering artistic expression, entrepreneurship, and economic revitalization in the Austin community. This project builds upon ongoing efforts to create a vibrant, community-centered arts corridor along Chicago Avenue, offering a space where artists, residents, and visitors can gather, create, and engage in meaningful cultural experiences. To advance the development of Outwest Gallery & Cafe, we are requesting predevelopment funding to cover essential soft costs associated with the build-out of the space. These funds will support architectural and other critical preconstruction expenses necessary to ensure the successful execution of the project. Investing in these foundational elements will allow us to move forward with construction efficiently, securing a solid framework for the long-term sustainability of the gallery and cafe. As part of our vision, we are actively exploring a worker-owned cooperative business model, ensuring that the space not only serves as a cultural hub but also fosters shared ownership and economic empowerment. We will provide training for staff on cooperative principles while also engaging the broader community in conversations about cooperative economics, collective ownership, and sustainable business models. With the support of this grant, Outwest Gallery & Cafe will become a cornerstone for creative placemaking and economic opportunity in the Austin community. This investment in predevelopment will help bring this vision to life, strengthening the cultural and economic fabric of the Westside.
-
Grant Recipient
REDF
This grant will support the REDF and CWFA Employment Social Enterprise Initiative, as outlined in the JPMorgan Chase grant awarded to CWFA.
-
Grant Recipient
South Shore Chamber Community Development Corporation
1735 Collective will be the first property acquired and redeveloped for the South Shore We The People Community Investment Vehicle (CIV), a resident-driven ownership model that enables local stakeholders to collectively invest in their neighborhood’s revitalization. The property is a mixed-used development that will be transformed to bring a full-service restaurant, community office space, naturally affordable housing and short-term rentals via Airbnb to capture the economic benefits of tourism near the Obama Presidential Center. 1735 Collective is a transformative mixed-use development located at 1735 E. 71st Street, aimed at contributing to the revitalization of South Shore’s 71st Street Corridor. This project features a full-service restaurant, community office space, and a mix of naturally affordable residential units, including short-term Airbnb accommodations designed to capture economic benefits from tourism. By fostering sustainable economic growth and preserving community ownership, the development aligns with South Shore’s vision of creating a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly commercial district that attracts visitors, strengthens local businesses, and provides high-quality, attainable housing. Strategically positioned near public transit, key retail corridors, and cultural landmarks such as the upcoming Obama Presidential Center, this project will help establish South Shore as a thriving hub for commerce, hospitality, and community engagement. This project is the first property within the We The People Community Investment Vehicle (CIV), a resident-driven ownership model that enables local stakeholders to collectively invest in their neighborhood’s revitalization. The CIV is designed to promote wealth-building and economic empowerment, ensuring that South Shore’s redevelopment benefits long-time residents rather than external investors. Through partnerships with community organizations, development advisors, and local businesses, this project will serve as a replicable model for equitable real estate development, reducing blight while creating commercial spaces and quality housing. The incorporation of shared ownership will minimize long-term debt, making the project financially sustainable and maximizing economic returns for community members involved in the CIV. By addressing gaps in capital, securing critical funding, and implementing a community-centered development strategy, the 1735 Collective will act as a catalyst for broader economic revitalization. This project directly advances the objectives outlined in the South Shore Quality of Life Plan (QLP) and CorridorLive! South Shore, aligning with key strategies to revitalize underutilized commercial properties, create job opportunities, and enhance tourism-driven economic activity. With strong community support, strategic location advantages, and a focus on shared economic prosperity, this project represents a major step toward ensuring that South Shore remains a thriving, self-sustaining neighborhood for generations to come.