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
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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.
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Grant Recipient
NEW LIFE CENTERS OF CHICAGOLAND NFP
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Grant Recipient
THE WESTSIDE WRITING PROJECT NFP
Westside Media Project (WMP) is in its 17th year of providing media/arts related programming to area youth on Chicago's west side. The organization recently expanded its programming to add a College and Career Awareness Initiative that inspires area youth to develop skill sets that will allow them to compete for jobs in today's highly technical global economy. WMP is seeking general operating funds to continue its long standing work and to expand its school partnerships to bring our programming into five total schools during the 2023-2024 school year.
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Grant Recipient
CHICAGO VIDEO PROJECT
Shame of Chicago is a 5-part documentary film series that tells the story of how Chicago became one of the most racially segregated cities in the world, and how that history illuminates our divided present. This largely unexamined story will challenge viewers understanding of our city as it explains the origins of black poverty and the roots of Chicago’s racial wealth gap. It will take aim at timeworn racist tropes and abet organizations seeking racial healing and repair. WTTW will air the 5-part documentary, now in production, in September and October of 2023. Partnerships with WVON and WBEZ, an aggressive 2-year outreach plan and an educational website will make a groundbreaking contribution to civic storytelling that strengthens our collective understanding of the structures of racism in our city.
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Grant Recipient
Investigative Project on Race and Equity
The mission of the Investigative Project on Race and Equity is to train journalists in data-driven reporting and collaborate with news organizations to uncover systemic racism. Our partnerships add needed resources to the coverage of underrepresented communities and help to build capacity within newsrooms to pursue in-depth projects. By working together, we also expand the reach of reporting on race and equity and amplify its impact. Training includes apprenticeships for early-career journalists — focusing on people of color — and workshops on finding stories in data and other investigative techniques. Our training mission is to help strengthen Chicago’s journalism ecosystem while helping to build a pipeline of diverse journalists. Using data and documents, the Investigative Project reports facts, not opinions. We offer proof of known patterns of abuse and failed oversight. And we elevate the voices of people affected by discrimination and inequality while being respectful of the trauma they have endured. Our stories highlight solutions and share information that community members can use to effect change, including data hidden in plain sight.
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Grant Recipient
On the Road Lending
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Grant Recipient
One Roof Chicago
Chicago's LGBTQ+ community is facing pressing needs at both ends of the lifespan - a crisis in youth homelessness, accelerated aging among people living with HIV, and an acute lack of culturally competent support for seniors. At the same time, the national political climate presents an existential threat to our community, with Illinois becoming a sanctuary state for individuals fleeing discriminatory and deadly policies elsewhere. One Roof Chicago is a transformative initiative to build a welcoming and inclusive intergenerational community on the South Side of Chicago for older adults and young people. * Affordable housing centered around the needs of LGBTQ+ elders, as well as older adults living with HIV * Supportive housing at the same site for LGBTQ+ young adults impacted by homelessness * Focused job training in culturally competent senior care ORC is designed to provide proof of concept for the kinds of infrastructure and policy models that our community needs, now and with increasing urgency as time passes. 2023-34 is a pivotal time for ORC, as we transition from 4 years as an all-volunteer working board to hiring our first full-time director, itself reflecting our transition from an inspiring idea into a full capital development project. In 2023-24, we will move forward on several fronts, announcing our final site selection and proceeding from pre-development to the financing phase of the project, and taking our first steps in the capital campaign with Low Income Housing Tax Credit applications. With our new level of staff support, it is our goal to break ground in 2025.
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Grant Recipient
Youth Outlook
Youth Outlook serves LGBTQ+ youth in the far suburbs of Chicago and rural northern Illinois. We have 14 drop-in centers for youth and families in 8 counties. Discussion topics at drop-in centers include physical and mental health, legal rights, LGBTQ+ history, healthy relationships and dating violence, local issues that affect youth (such as food insecurity or homelessness), and more. This proposal focuses on improving health access for LGBTQ+ youth, who struggle to access the healthcare system due to discrimination and other factors. Our youth and parents are often overwhelmed with navigating a complex healthcare system that is not built for LGBTQ+ people.
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Grant Recipient
Lawrence Hall
Lawrence Hall is requesting support for the planning phase of transforming our Edgewater property into a suitable home for LGBTQ youth in state care who are preparing for independence.