Grants

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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

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Showing 2811–2818 of 4630 results

  • Grant Recipient

    Fathers Families Healthy Communities

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $25,000

    FFHC requests capacity-building support to hire a technical assistant consultant to complete GATA Pre-Qualification requirements and risk assessment. Completing the GATA Pre-Qualification certification process will allow FFHC to pursue government funding opportunities related to community safety.

  • Grant Recipient

    One Million Degrees

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $350,000

    One Million Degrees is deeply honored to be a core evidence-based program working in Chicago advancing outcomes in the priority areas outlined by the Kinship Foundation, Searle Funds and The Chicago Community Trust’s multi-year collaboration, Bridges to Brighter Futures. OMD is proud to have demonstrated measurable results aligned with the core strategies and outcomes of Bridges to Brighter Futures. One Million Degrees is a community-based organization that accelerates community college students’ progress on pathways to economic mobility. Consistent with the Bridges to Brighter Future’s priority of increasing educational accessibility, OMD prioritizes serving scholars from traditionally underserved communities and those most effected by academic gatekeeping; among the 2021-2022 cohort, 89% of scholars identified as BIPOC, 56% were first generation students, 14% have children or other dependents, and over 90% were low income (as defined by federal Pell grant eligibility.) OMD support services include academic support, financial support, personal coaching, and professional development. The program works in conjunction with students’ academic and career goals whether they aspire to transferring to a 4-year institution or obtaining a meaningful job opportunity directly after completing a community college program. OMD also works to inspire the next generation of leaders by connecting scholars to work exposure and readiness activities through partnerships, coaching, and the scholar development program. This allows scholars to observe working environments and build connections with prospective employers. One Million Degrees seeks to holistically prepare scholars from underserved and academically gatekept communities to successfully launch economically mobile careers. Like the Kinship Foundation, OMD brings to this work a commitment to racial equity and workforce development. The OMD program relies on community and partnership to produce its outstanding results, most notably working in partnership with City Colleges of Chicago to ensure comprehensive supports are available to scholars in a way that does not replicate services available elsewhere. Additionally, OMD operates several earn and learn partnerships which connect students with working opportunities to support simultaneous academic and career growth within their targeted field. These programs provide modified services and programming designed to inspire and amplify the next generation of leaders while promoting a culture of inclusivity that breaks down institutional and social barriers for apprentices from marginalized communities.

  • Grant Recipient

    Forefront

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $245,000

    In partnership with BDO, Forefront will design and deliver capacity building services in the areas of financial management, accounting, grants management, and operational practices. Our services will address the technical assistance needs identified during Chicago Community Trust’s open call aimed at building capacity for accessing federal funds. Support will be available as follows: • Capacity Building Initiative - Open Access for Cook County Nonprofits: We will develop and execute an outreach strategy to inform nonprofits throughout Cook County of available support and resources. This will include introducing a self-assessment and eight workshops spanning how to navigate government funding opportunities, successfully manage federal funding, and more holistically improve fiscal infrastructure for the longer term. Funding from Chicago Community Trust will seed the initial outreach and workshop activities of the initiative, which will also be supported by other funding partners. • Organizations Identified by Chicago Community Trust: We will deliver two cohorts each made up of eight to ten nonprofit leadership teams and consisting of five workshops and coaching sessions. The five workshops will incorporate community-centered design, with a focus on incorporating effective adult learning modalities and cultivating a collaborative and supportive group environment by leveraging the unique strengths and experiences of participants. Additionally, each organization will be paired with a coach to prioritize areas from a self-assessment and to translate concepts learned in the workshops into action items.

  • Grant Recipient

    Artisan Grain Collaborative

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $115,000

    Alyssa Hartman, will perform project management and will carry out project work with AGC's staff, Steering Committee, and Coordinating Committee, as well as members across AGC’s network. This year’s funding will in part support the addition of a part-time Operations Manager to the AGC staff, who will provide critical additional capacity to increase AGC’s effectiveness and internal grant tracking and coordination. AGC staff will be supported by April Donnellan, Executive Director of AGC's fiscal sponsor organization, Global Philanthropy Partnership, who will perform administrative (financial, compliance) functions and offer project oversight and support.

  • Grant Recipient

    Project OneTen, NFP

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $25,000

    Black and Latino/x boys face the largest education disparities in Chicago and across the country. These inequities have only exacerbated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, aftermath, and recovery. Project OneTen seeks to address the achievement gap between Black and Latino/x boys and their peers through our Freshman Success Program which provides essential and holistic leadership development programming to support Black and Latino/x boys in achieving academic success when transitioning from eighth grade to high school. Through quality mentorship, access to academic coaching, and workshops that focus on cognitive skill development, social and emotional learning, self-awareness, Project OneTen seeks to create an environment where Black and Latino/x students can learn to recognize and engage with supportive leaders and peers, identify their strengths and areas of growth, and feel empowered to be the young leaders they aspire to be on their high school campuses and beyond. Funds from the Elevating Community Leaders RFP will support our ability to increase our organization capacity and recruitment efforts as we look to double our cohort size for the 2024 school year. These funds would support three major components, (1) Recruitment and Community cultivation efforts, (2) Student Recruitment staff member, and (3) training and support for our volunteer mentors. Next year we will increase our cohort size from 20 to 40 boys of color. To ensure that we reach this ambitious organizational goal, we are bringing on a Student Recruitment staff member to manage our recruitment efforts. This additional person will lead our recruitment and community cultivation efforts which will include hosting both in person and virtual partner meetings, participating in community and school events, and introducing our program to new audiences through presentations in our 12 target neighborhoods on the south and west sides of our city. Finally, we will invest in our volunteer mentor training and support throughout the program year. Our volunteer mentors play a key role in our program outcomes and the ongoing support of our young leaders. Focusing on a relationships first model, such as the framework created by The Search Institute, we engage five critical elements of developmental relationships: express care, challenge growth, provide support, share power, and expand possibilities. Project OneTen embeds each of these key areas in our program, weaving a strong web of support to prevent students from failing. Mentors focus on social, emotional, and cultural experiences; academic coaches serve as tutors and advisors; Project OneTen leaders develop programs and host workshops where students are exposed to Black and Latino/x leaders spanning diverse sectors; cohort peers give a sense of belonging, shared experiences, and motivation to persist; and parents help reinforce values and capabilities.

  • Grant Recipient

    Contextos NFP

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $80,000

    ConTextos requests an $80,000 grant to address critical gaps in our capacity to secure, manage and thrive by leveraging the current influx in public funding opportunities designed to impact community healing, violence prevention and public safety at a moment of unprecedented urgency in Chicago.

  • Grant Recipient

    WHAT ABOUT US CHARITABLE ENTERPRISES INCORPORATED

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $25,000

    My name is Dorin McIntyre, Executive Director of What About US Charitable Enterprises in the Austin Community on Chicago's West Side. The community affectionately calls me Pastor Mac. What About Us Charitable Enterprises is a 501(C)3 Not for Profit with 20 years of experience in community engagement. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for the underprivileged and socially challenged to be more productive members of society.

  • Grant Recipient

    Metropolitan Planning Council

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $15,000

    To unpack the legacy of structural racism and causes and consequences of segregation and its impact on the homeownership gap, it is essential to start with shared understanding of the issues. MPC proposes Change Lab, which is a two-phase learning lab to address the systemic conditions that have led to homeownership gap. For Phase I, MPC will facilitate a three-part conversation series about the gap. MPC will develop surveys and host listening sessions with program participants to evaluate the impact of Phase I. For Phase II, MPC will facilitate workshops about co-designing solutions to the gap. MPC will assemble a diverse, cross-sector team of stakeholders and advisors to guide the development of phase II.