Grants

Grant Recipient

THRIVE SCHOLARS

Awarded: August 2022 Awarded Amount: $200,000

Thrive Scholars' mission is to help high-achieving students of color from low-income communities get into and graduate from top colleges equipped to reach their full career potential. Thrive Scholars addresses the racial wealth gap disparities with our signature Summer Academy program and our Career Development Program. We respectfully request a grant of $200,000 to continue scaling our Summer Academy and Career Development Programs for our growing number of Chicago Thrive Scholars.

Grant Recipient

UNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO

Awarded: August 2022 Awarded Amount: $150,000

Funding is requested to support the general operations of the Corporate Coalition of Chicago, an alliance of companies working to reduce racial and economic inequities through the power of their business practices. Members of the Corporate Coalition challenge business as usual and identify and implement new ways to deploy their capital, capabilities, and employee enthusiasm to help build a thriving Chicago region where assets and opportunities are more equitably shared. Members of the Corporate Coalition share a vision of a corporate culture in Chicago where leaders understand that reducing inequities is essential to their business success and to a thriving regional economy, leading them to challenge business as usual in the way they invest, operate, and govern. Funding will support the Corporate Coalition in its three main areas of work: 1. Developing and supporting joint initiatives (e.g., the Corporate Connector, EPIC Fund, second chance hiring) where companies work together to change business practices 2. Public communications, to catalyze a conversation about challenging business as usual to create a more equitable region 3. Sharing of innovative practices across firms Funding will also support the Coalition in retention of an impact assessment and learning partner, an important step in the Coalition’s maturation.

Grant Recipient

The New School

Awarded: August 2022 Awarded Amount: $224,658

Grant Recipient

Sisters in Cinema

Awarded: August 2022 Awarded Amount: $40,000

With support of the Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment, Sisters in Cinema will work to develop and advance a set of targeted capacity building efforts to strengthen our ability to advance our mission and to further a shared vision for a thriving South Side. We will work with the Community Programs Accelerator (CPA) who will provide formal capacity building counsel to assist us in driving forward the development and advancement of key priorities. Sisters in Cinema will build on the work completed in the first year of the program with the CPA. In year one we focused on Operational Plan Design including policies and procedures necessary to effectively run the new Media Arts Center. In year two we will shift to Operational Plan Implementation. We will also conduction an evaluation of the policies and procedures created in year one that were theoretical in nature because the Media Arts Center was still under construction. We will work toward effectively fine-tuning policies and procedures based upon what we learn from practical application. In year one our goal was to work on Program Design and implementation created in collaboration with community members to create new and strengthen current programs serving needs determined by the community. We hosted focus groups with creative organizations, businesses, artists and activists and also implemented a community survey. Since the Media Arts Center is still under construction we have not been able to implement what we have learned from the community. In year two we will begin the Implementation process working with the community in terms of creating community inspired programming at the Media Arts Center.

Grant Recipient

RESIDENT ASSOCIATION OF GREATER ENGLEWOOD

Awarded: August 2022 Awarded Amount: $80,000

Resident Association of Greater Englewood (R.A.G.E.) was founded in November 2010 and our overarching mission is to empower residents to strategize and devise concrete solutions for the betterment of Englewood while actively serving as a credible information resource for the community at-large. R.A.G.E launched the Buy the Block Englewood Housing Program back in 2018, to organize a campaign targeting renters to become first time homebuyers. The goal is to engage & educate residents about the homeowner opportunities in Englewood and work to increase the number of owner-occupied homes. We collect and track data regarding their interest to invest in a home, financial capacity and follow up accordingly to ensure they are on a pathway to homeownership. We want to develop 10-15 new home owners and/or residents who enroll in financial literacy or a credit building program so that they will eventually become a homeowner soon in Englewood. Our goal is to expand this program to reach more renters and strengthen our partnerships.