Grants

Grant Recipient

Catchafire, Inc.

Awarded: December 2022 Awarded Amount: $150,000

Since September 2020, the Chicago Community Trust has supportedCatchafire Chicago, a program aimed at strengthening Chicago organizations with immediate, high-quality, responsive pro bono consulting through Catchafire’s innovative platform. Since launching the partnership, 146 nonprofits have received pro bono assistance on 555 unique needs, delivering a total impact into those organizations of $1,875,695 for a total return on investment of 3.4X. The most in demand advisory call needs have been tech systems, website, human resources, organizational strategy and marketing strategy. The most in demand project needs have been impact report graphic design, print materials design, marketing strategy, and Salesforce database customization.This grant aims to expand this support to Chicagoland nonprofits in order to provide an opportunity for more program teams to leverage the Trust’s Catchafire program on behalf of their grantees.

Grant Recipient

Reader Institute for Community Journalism Inc

Awarded: December 2022 Awarded Amount: $75,000

The Chicago Reader respectfully requests $75,000 in support of our mission to create and curate political and cultural coverage by and for Chicago, including highlighting underrepresented communities and stories. As the first free weekly newspaper in the U.S. and now a nonprofit organization, we aim to be a model for independent nonprofit media in our coverage, collaboration, corporate responsibility, and community partnership. Our editorial strategy is focused on community-driven journalism through which we engage in dialogue with communities to assess their needs and respond appropriately, and we support the local media ecosystem through our project, the Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA).

Grant Recipient

Mujeres Latinas En Accion, Inc.

Awarded: December 2022 Awarded Amount: $80,000

Since our early days, Mujeres Latinas en Acción saw how cultural, and systems of oppression can be challenged through community engagement, mobilization, and collective leadership. With our unique position as a place of healing within the Latina immigrant community, Mujeres’ early founders and staff saw how women became emboldened as they recognized their own strength, and together worked to lift the voices and power of other women. This request will allow a growth and reinforcement of our efforts to connect more Latina immigrants with grassroots organizing & leadership, both within Mujeres and with our external partners. And finally, Mujeres wants to be an effective institutional leader on key issues and grassroots movements that are most vital to the immigrant communities of Chicago, especially those that impact immigrant survivors of violence. Mujeres, in partnership with UIC’s Greater Cities Institute, will facilitate focus groups and interviews with immigrant community members to engage in deep conversations about key issues facing the Latina immigrant and survivor community. We will develop a Position Paper with policy and advocacy recommendations and through a community centered engagement process, select campaigns based on the recommendations. In late Spring 2022, Mujeres understood that the our unique position that we occupy could address the deepening concern about national legislative and cultural pressure to limit contraceptive and reproductive access, and the disproportionate impact it has on Latina/x/e bodies. In 2018, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (NLIRJ) commissioned PerryUndem and worked with the University of Chicago to better gauge Latina views and experiences regarding reproductive health. Here are some key findings: •Four in ten Latina/o voters under age 45 (41%) have gone without the birth control method they wanted in the past two years because of access issues. •One in three respondents (37%) says the political environment around immigration and race is having a negative impact on their health or wellbeing. •One in four respondents (24%) says they have a close family member or friend who has put off getting health care because of fear around immigration issues, and one in five (19%) says the same about reproductive health care. Mujeres will educate our communities on their reproductive rights options and will empower Latina leader who want to support grassroots support for body autonomy.

Grant Recipient

Crossroads Fund

Awarded: December 2022 Awarded Amount: $120,000

Cultivate: Women of Color Leadership, organized in cooperation with The Chicago Community Trust, Chicago Foundation for Women, Walder Foundation, & Woods Fund Chicago, is designed for women of color in social justice advocacy organizations to strengthen their individual leadership, their organizations, and the fields in which they work. Cultivate brings together women working on women’s rights, labor rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, gender-based violence, & more. The program was initiated to equip women leaders of local social justice groups with the tools to consider their work through a gender lens. The collaborative nature encourages participants to learn & grow from each others professional and personal experience.

Grant Recipient

The Chicago Community Foundation/Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability

Awarded: December 2022 Awarded Amount: $100,000