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.
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Grant Recipient
Shriver Center on Poverty Law
The Shriver Center on Poverty Law (Shriver Center) requests a renewal $150,000 general operating grant from the Chicago Community Trust to support its leadership and meaningful work across multiple coalitions, including the Transit Table, Cost of Living Refund Coalition, Housing Policy Roundtable, Illinois Domestic Workers Coalition, and Responsible Budget Coalition. We will leverage these networks throughout the grant period as they strive to promote economic and racial justice, strengthen families and communities, and advance policies and reforms that address the racial wealth gap. Our advocates generally serve as the primary legal and policy experts of these tables, increasing the strength and ultimate success of each coalition.
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Grant Recipient
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights
We seek renewed support for our Impact Division, which leads our policy work to close the racial and ethnic wealth divide in Illinois, such as work on economic security, income supports, asset building, ending wealth stripping, consumer protections, and fines/fees reform. This has included retirement and Children’s Savings Account programs, earned income credit and child tax credit expansion, lending/debt reforms, and driver's license suspensions. Our priorities are developed in coalition and with an equity lens. We use data to understand racial disparities, and center and engage impacted people in our work. We seek support for leading the coalition Financial Inclusion for All Illinois, and providing advocacy and subject matter leadership in other coalitions connected to these issues.
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Grant Recipient
AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER
• Project Name Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation • Application Summary Located at the corner of Madison St. and Central Avenue (5500 W. Madison), the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation is a multi-use facility development project to renovate and repurpose the (87,000 square feet) former Robert Emmet Public Elementary School into a coordinated community hub with industry sector training center that will service youth and out-of-work individuals with in-demand skill sets and small business supports. The Aspire Center (meaning, place of directing the hopes of the people) will be composed of several workforce training, career development and entrepreneurial skills providers all housed within the re-purposed and renovated Emmet School. The development will offer: * a high tech manufacturing training center for working age youth and adults * a business incubator for start ups * a restaurant with indoor/outdoor dining and social events * a bank and other neighborhood building businesses • Total Project Budget $27,995,000
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Grant Recipient
Woodstock Institute
Woodstock seeks support to collaboratively: • Convene / lead the Community Reinvestment Act Coalition • Convene / lead the Illinois Predatory Loan Prevention Coalition • Steering Committee member of Financial Inclusion for All Illinois Coalition • Support policy and research agenda of Transit Table Coalition • Participate in the Housing Policy Roundtable and the Housing Task Force We play three primary roles in each: • Conduct applied research that helps stakeholders understand impediments to creating more equitable economic systems • Develop policy recommendations to address racial and economic disparities • Advocate for policy changes in collaboration with community partners that encourage investment and protect consumers in racially and economically segregated neighborhoods.
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Grant Recipient
Sarah's Inn
Sarah's Inn respectfully requests a $25,000 grant from the Chicago Community Trust to support our Intervention Program. Our Intervention Program provides Advocacy and Counseling to victims of domestic violence. These critical services work to help our clients heal from trauma, stabilize their families and help to create a non-violent future for them and their children. We provide emergency services and assistance, case management, supportive services, legal services and counseling, and our holistic approach means clients receive trauma-informed, best practice services throughout a variety of interventions. Intervention services are confidential, bilingual (English/Spanish) and offered free of charge to survivors and their children.
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Grant Recipient
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND FAMILY ISSUES
COFI exists to build the power and voice of parents, primarily mothers and grandmothers from Black and Brown communities, to shape the public decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families. Through COFI, over 5,000 low-income parents of color have been trained as civic leaders in communities and, with POWER-PAC IL, in policy advocacy at city/state/federal levels. Closing the racial wealth/income gaps are top priorities of POWER-PAC IL, with particular focus on reducing debt burdens and increasing wages/savings opportunities – especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant will help us continue to ensure that low-income parents are full, participating members of coalitions fighting the racial wealth gap.
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Grant Recipient
APNA GHAR INC OUR HOME
Apna Ghar’s mission is to provide critical, comprehensive, culturally competent services, and conduct outreach and advocacy across communities to end gender violence. Intervention services (crisis and long term) at Apna Ghar are the focus of this proposal and have a framework that brings together community-driven strategies and local partners to empower our program teams to intervene with those at the highest risk of experiencing violence, while also working with the broader community to transform their understanding of gender-based violence. Our work through this grant will continue our increased efforts of pandemic response and ensure services to prevent violence, case management and counseling, access to legal services, street outreach, training and technical assistance and shelter, and housing programs can continue to meet the needs of our local communities.
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Grant Recipient
Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) respectfully requests renewed funding for its advocacy work to prevent and end homelessness. As a systemic advocacy nonprofit, CCH leads campaigns to address the causes of homelessness, including lack of affordable housing, fair wage jobs, health care access, and equal opportunity for systemically marginalized communities. By combining organizing, policy advocacy, and legal aid, CCH strives to center the experiences and expertise of people with lived experience to build power and make change. General operating support from the Trust would support: Bring Chicago Home (BCH): BCH advocates a progressive real estate transfer tax (RETT) increase on property sales over $1 million, with funds dedicated to permanent supportive housing and homeless services. State Legislation: CCH is leading advocacy on HB5265 (waives school fees for low-income charter school students); HB4432 / SB3123 (increases in grant amounts / equity reforms to TANF); HB2775 (removes source of income discrimination in housing); and SB3747/HB4242 (ensures childcare for parenting youth in the child welfare system). State Budget: CCH advocates level or increased funding to all homelessness line items in the Illinois state budget (Homeless Youth, Homeless Prevention, Emergency and Transitional Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing).