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
Carole Robertson Center for Learning
The Carole Robertson Center’s Grow Your Own, GYO, apprenticeship model allows us to recruit, train, and provide educational and credentialing opportunities to individuals from the communities we serve, addressing both a need for qualified employees within the early childhood sector, and a need for employment and education opportunities for Chicago residents. By addressing the needs of families and the workforce in tandem, the Carole Robertson Center promotes socioeconomic mobility across multiple generations within our communities, while also providing our youngest learners with high-quality, culturally responsive teachers and support staff.
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Grant Recipient
United States Curling Association
We are seeking this grant from the Chicago Community Trust to provide support to the Windy City Curling Club as it prepares to host the 2025 and 2026 Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Nationals, to support our Ice Breakers program and other diversity efforts, and help aging facilities improve infrastructure to allow for continued access to our sport among all ages and backgrounds.
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Grant Recipient
Disability Lead
The ongoing, generous support from The Chicago Community Trust has helped Disability Lead establish itself as the nation’s first and only leadership program for people with disabilities and expand our impact. Disability Lead has forged a vibrant Network of more than 200 emerging and experienced leaders with disabilities. This community provides mentoring and friendship, networking opportunities, and a platform for these leaders to drive transformative change across various sectors. This Network, underpinned by cultivated relationships and shared experiences, promotes sustained growth and advancement for our Members. Disability Lead's work underscores the profound truth that leadership isn't a solitary pursuit; it thrives within a community of understanding, empathy, and shared purpose. Through its multifaceted programs, Disability Lead ensures that individuals with disabilities not only gain the skills to lead but are additionally connected with opportunities to lead with power. Throughout, our Members receive support from a network of peers who advise, inspire and uplift. Continued support from the Trust will allow Disability Lead to further maintain and scale its programs and impact in the Chicago region while continuing our strategies to further long-term growth and sustainability.
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Grant Recipient
Elawa Farm Foundation
To strengthen a network of Northern Illinois farmers to collaborate on market opportunities, build the local food supply in the Chicago region through aggregation and connection to a strong market base, and advocate for policy and resource access as a unified group by supporting the Northern Illinois Young Farmers chapter.
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Grant Recipient
University of Chicago Urban Labs
Since launching a learning agenda five years ago – CCC has made substantial progress using data to improve outcomes for students across the district. Data have informed new rigor around developmental education policies that incorporate GPA into course placement and led to an opt-out offer of the One Million Degrees program that will now be provided to all eligible new students at two campuses with the goal of reaching over 9,000 students annually. Over the same period, completion rates at CCC continue to increase, yet we are cognizant that more work remains, particularly as it relates to ensuring that CCC is providing an equitable education for all students. By pairing learnings from the implementation of the developmental education placement policy rollout with a plan for a new learning agenda, the Inclusive Economy Lab hopes to understand what changes to administrative procedures and policies would be necessary to address racial disparities in associates degree attainment and transfer rates to four-year institutions. With the support of the Lab’s External Affairs Director and its advocacy partners, this information will be disseminated publicly in 2025, with targeted outreach to elected officials in Springfield and Chicago who can raise the visibility of the work.
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Grant Recipient
Star Farm Chicago
Star Farm is applying to be considered for this opportunity as a non-profit urban farm, landscaping company, and retail farmers market co-op. As we enter our eighth year, we look forward to launching multiple projects that have been years in the making, including our three farm sites and Fresh Market and Shared Kitchen project, along with growing our capacity to grow, deliver, and distribute local produce while directly supporting local farmers through access to land, infrasctructure, tools, business support, and equitable market channels.
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Grant Recipient
McHenry County College
The Center for Agrarian Learning was launched almost four years ago, with the goal to support and educate two different audiences: farmers across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, and MCC college students in the Entrepreneurial Agriculture program. Programs and opportunities for both groups will continue this year. Simultaneously, we will take an in-depth look at the Entrepreneurial Agriculture program, its strengths and weaknesses, and the relevance of the courses required to earn the degree and certificates. Our goal is to strengthen the program and ensure that it is serving the needs of our community.
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Grant Recipient
Per Scholas, Inc.
Per Scholas’s mission is to advance economic equity through rigorous training for tech careers, and to connect skilled talent to leading businesses. We prepare individuals historically excluded in tech—women, people of color, & those with at most a high school diploma—for high-growth careers in IT. We partner with employers to build diverse talent pools, connecting our graduates to career opportunities at businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups. Our training supports long-term career growth, & we aim for graduates to be employed in positions that offer competitive compensation and benefits packages, inclusive work environments, & work-life balance. Nationally, in 2022, our employed graduates represented $100 million in earned wages added to their local economies across the US. They accumulated savings, purchased cars and homes. When individuals earn a thriving wage, they can make active choices—investing in themselves, their families, and their communities. We respectfully request a $150,000 Bridges to Brighter Futures grant in support of our work to provide technology training to individuals from the City of Chicago and surrounding counties over a 12-month period, leading to middle-skills employment and thriving-wage careers in tech.