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. Today, that means confronting the racial and ethnic wealth gap.
Explore Our Discretionary Grants
Showing 5511–5518 of 4434 results
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Grant Recipient
Edgar Fellows
The requested $35,000 grant will support the Edgar Fellows Program in two ways. 1. $25,000 will be used to pay for the expenses associated with the nomination and selection and Executive Leadership Training for the 2025 program. The costs associated with this are approximately $10,000 per Fellow. Each class of Edgar Fellows includes 40 participants, selected in a manner closely aligned with the state’s racial demographic makeup and thoughtful inclusiveness. Additionally, the program is intentional about selecting a cohort that is reasonably reflective of the state in terms of gender, political affiliation, and geography. The Selection Committee is also diligent about selecting a varied group of professionals such as elected officials, business and labor leaders, educators, social service providers, and community advocacy representatives, among others. 2. $10,000 will be designated for a Silver Sponsorship for the 2025 Edgar Fellows Fundraising Dinner in Chicago on September 9. This sponsorship includes 10 tickets to the dinner. Estimated goods and services to be received as a Silver Sponsor are valued at $1,150, with the remaining $8,850 considered a charitable contribution.
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Grant Recipient
Crossroads Fund
Cultivate: Women of Color Leadership, organized in cooperation with The Chicago Community Trust, Chicago Foundation for Women, Walder Foundation, & Woods Fund Chicago, is designed for women of color (this includes women, women-identifying, non-binary, and two-spirited leaders of color) social justice advocacy organizations to strengthen their individual leadership, their organizations, and the fields in which they work. Cultivate brings together women working on women’s rights, labor rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, gender-based violence, & more. The program was initiated to equip women leaders of local social justice groups with the tools to consider their work through a gender lens. The collaborative nature encourages participants to learn & grow from each others professional and personal experience. Cultivate provides participants with the skills, knowledge, tools, and experiences necessary for their leadership to be sharpened and amplified and allows for justice, investment transformation for our families, underserved communities, and society as a whole. Through skills building workshops, Executive coaching, and alumni programming we actively fortify our leaders and provide Cultivate members with the tools to better serve, invest in, and support communities made vulnerable or navigating manufactured poverty. The leadership training provided by Cultivate has lead to numerous skills gained, campaign wins and the individual promotions and successes of Cultivate participants including winning a position on the Chicago Board of Education, being promoted to the Executive Director of Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), being hired into prestigious progressive organizations, joining the staff of progressive Alderpeople, joining the leadership team of Cultivate, and progressing in PhD candidacies, all of which have a direct impact on the income and financial assets of members and their communities and has also lead to homeownership and the ability to materially invest in their communities.
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Grant Recipient
Center for Equity Effectiveness and Efficiency in Local Government
The Center for Equity, Effectiveness, and Efficiency (C3E) seeks $75,000 to support the Learning to Operationalize Racial Equity (LORE) program, which equip municipal leaders to embed racial equity principles into local government operations. Since 2022, LORE has engaged 47 participants across 22 municipalities through a cohort-based model designed to prepare them with the skills to address racial equity challenges. C3E plans to redesign and relaunch LORE in 2025 to meet the evolving needs of municipalities, with a focus on creating the conditions to deploy LORE in the Southland region—an area which has faced historic disinvestment, budget constraints, and limited administrative capacity. At a time when municipalities face increasing demands for transparency, inclusivity, and equitable service delivery, LORE offers a structured, actionable approach to addressing these challenges. The updated model will include: - Two cohorts: Fall 2025 (Executives) and Spring 2026 (Executives & Staff). - Monthly in-person sessions, hybrid learning, and tailored coaching. - Pilot projects focused on process change in key municipal functions. Our cohort-based approach will foster cross-community collaboration, strengthen municipal capacity, and promote equity-driven policy improvements that enhance service delivery, build community trust, and attract investment. C3E will engage key partner ILCMA and begin conversations with the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA). LORE advances the Chicago Community Trust’s priorities by: - Developing leaders who drive systemic solutions to close racial wealth gaps. - Strengthening local government capacity to foster community investment. - Supporting regional equity efforts in under-resourced Southland municipalities. The redesign and relaunch will begin in May 2025, with two cohorts running through May 2026. Post-program evaluations will inform future iterations to ensure that LORE remains a sustainable model for equity-driven organizational change.
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Grant Recipient
CHICAGO UNITED FOR EQUITY
Chicago United for Equity (CUE) seeks an $85,000 Collective Power – Leadership Grant from the Chicago Community Trust to support its 2025-26 Fellowship Program. This year-long, cohort-based program empowers 20 civic leaders of color to advance racial equity, drive systems-level change, and build community power across Chicago. Fellows from historically underinvested communities engage in deep learning, power mapping, and collaborative strategy development to challenge inequities and reimagine civic structures. The program supports the broader goal of increasing income and financial assets in these communities by equipping participants with the skills, networks, and opportunities needed for higher salaries, career advancement, and long-term economic mobility. This impact is further reinforced through coalition-building, constituent engagement, and organizational power. Through monthly convenings, coaching, and hands-on equity projects, Fellows strengthen their leadership, mobilize their communities, and drive transformative policies that shift power and create lasting systemic change.
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Grant Recipient
Equiticity
Equiticity is grateful for this opportunity to apply for critical pre-development funds ($100,000) to advance our project, The Go Hub, a community-driven mobility hub planned for North Lawndale. If awarded, Equiticity will conduct a search for a capital campaign consultant, including requesting proposals and interviewing at least three consultants; we will use the funds to compensate our chosen consultant’s collaboration with us to develop and implement a capital campaign strategy. We expect to publicly announce our campaign later in 2025 and commence raising investments for the construction and three years of operation of The Go Hub. Equiticity is developing The Go Hub, our community’s vision for a mobility hub in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. Equiticity and community stakeholders reimagined the traditional mobility hub model to explicitly serve Black and Brown people living in a low- to moderate-income neighborhood with severe transportation inequities. This new vision for a mobility hub is a physical and digital space where neighborhood residents create community around mobility justice and environmental justice.
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Grant Recipient
CITY COLLEGES OF CHICAGO FOUNDATION
Thrive Strategy: Housing Supports is one prong of a comprehensive approach to addressing basic needs insecurity among City Colleges of Chicago students. Recent data demonstrates that a high proportion of City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) students experience basic needs insecurity (BNI), such as food or housing insecurity, homelessness, access gaps for technology, childcare, or transportation, and the need for emergency financial assistance at times. This is concerning given that studies nationwide have shown that BNI is a barrier to college student persistence and success. In recent years, CCC and partners have invested in supporting students' basic needs. Wide-ranging strategies include mental health supports via campus Wellness Centers and evening/weekend telehealth, food pantries at all seven colleges, limited housing options, discounted CTA Ventra cards, free laptops and Wi-Fi, and limited access to emergency financial assistance. Still, significant gaps exist in CCC's ability to meet students' basic needs, and philanthropic support is needed to help students achieve their goals and to help CCC to achieve its vision as an engine of racial equity and socioeconomic mobility across communities. Nationwide, studies have shown that addressing students' BNI leads to stronger academic outcomes. With funding from Chicago Community Trust, CCC will begin to address some of the gaps in our BNI supports with a specific focus on homelessness and housing insecurity. Grant funds would allow us to focus on research and planning as well as meeting immediate student needs with emergency funds. Funds will be used to contract with a consultant to help research nationwide best practices in housing options for community college students and partner with us to develop an innovative framework that will address the diversity of our students’ housing needs. Additionally, funds will be used to begin a student emergency fund program that will provide financial assistance to students for rent and utility bills. Investments to housing supports for homeless and housing insecure college students can have a lasting impact - by growing student retention and completion outcomes and by setting the foundation for a more scalable, sustainable BNI support infrastructure at CCC.
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Grant Recipient
Bethel New Life Inc
Helmed by Bethel New Life Inc, developed by OASES, and programmed in partnership with the K and Sesenergi Eco Solutions, Harvest is a multifaceted initiative spearheaded by Bethel New Life, a long-standing community organization with a 50-year history of service in West Garfield Park. Harvest aims to be a transformative economic catalyst within the Madison-Pulaski corridor. The primary services Harvest will offer are twofold: food service operations and workforce development programs focused on sustainable systems certification. Food Service: Harvest will operate a farm-to-table diner, serving light fare and offering catering services. This diner is designed to fill a market gap in the neighborhood and provide a community gathering space. The food service aspect is also intended to support local food entrepreneurs by making the kitchen space available for catering businesses and sourcing ingredients from local farms and food processors through partnerships like the Austin Food Ecosystem Initiative. Workforce Development: In partnership with Sesenergi Eco Solutions, an accredited renewable and sustainable systems facilitator, Harvest will provide a comprehensive certification program in sustainable systems that covers everything from solar systems install and maintenance to sustainable leadership development. This program, and others launched in the space, are designed to equip community members, particularly young professionals aged 16-25, with industry-recognized credentials for high-paying careers in the renewable energy and sustainability sectors (jobs in the $80,000-$150,000 range). The project aims to certify 100 community members annually. These programs are directly linked to career pathways and entrepreneurship through a partnership with The K business hub. The primary customers and beneficiaries of Harvest are: Residents of West Garfield Park and surrounding communities: They will be served as customers of the diner, participants in the workforce development programs, and beneficiaries of increased economic activity and community vibrancy. Local Entrepreneurs and Chefs: Harvest will provide a platform for them to launch catering businesses and gain access to a commercial kitchen. Young Professionals (16-25 years old): The certification programs are specifically designed for this demographic to provide pathways to high-paying careers, addressing youth disenfranchisement and lack of career opportunities. Resident Elders in Bethel New Life's Apartment Complex: They will have opportunities for part-time employment in the diner, creating intergenerational connections and supplementing their income. The K's entrepreneurs and co-working space users: They will become a natural customer base for the diner and participants in joint workshops and programs. Participants of Sankofa Wellness Village programs: They will have access to a food service provider in Harvest's diner and potential pathways to career certification through Harvest's programs. Students and staff of nearby educational institutions: They will be customers of the diner and potential participants in youth-focused sustainability education initiatives. Activities that will occur in the Harvest space include: Diner Operations: Daily food preparation, service, and customer interaction in the farm-to-table diner setting. Catering Operations: Food preparation and management for catering orders, potentially run by local chefs utilizing the kitchen space. Workforce Development and Certification Programs: Classroom instruction, hands-on training, and certification processes for sustainable systems programs. Workshops and Training Sessions: 75 workshops annually in partnership with local organizations, the AFEI, Sesenergi and The K Entrepreneurship Support Activities: Business development, technical assistance, and entrepreneurial training in partnership with The K, potentially including mentoring and networking events. Community Events and Markets: Potential for hosting outdoor markets and events in partnership with the West Garfield Park Sanctuary Development Plan’s next door our Sanctuarii space, as well as existing outdoor places such as PopGrove! Community Plaza and Garfield Park Community Plaza. Intergenerational Activities: Opportunities for resident elders and youth to interact through employment and mentorship. Partnership Meetings and Collaborations: Regular meetings and collaborations with partners like The K, Sisenergi Eco Solutions, Austin Food Ecosystem Initiative, Garfield Park Right to Wellness Collaborative, and others. The Harvest space will be a dynamic hub of activity, combining food service, education, entrepreneurship, and community engagement to create economic growth and opportunity in West Garfield Park.
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Grant Recipient
The Night Ministry
The Night Ministry (TNM) is a Chicago-based organization whose mission is to provide human connection, housing support, and health care to those who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. Founded in 1976, TNM began with one staff member, Tom Behrens, hired by 18 diverse congregations in the Lakeview and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. Behrens’ mission involved reaching out to unhoused people in these communities at night. Behrens offered what TNM calls a ‘ministry of presence’, listening, empathizing, and sharing resources: acts that turned into our core service area of human connection. With his guidance, TNM grew from a one-person operation touching hundreds of lives to a diverse organization serving thousands of individuals, each year. Our programs fall under two categories: Youth Services and Outreach and Health Ministry (OHM). The programs operate on a continuum, offering low- to high-touch housing support; case management; food, hygiene, and survival supplies; and social support for unhoused and precariously housed Chicagoans. The Youth Outreach Team connects with youth who are not engaged in programs in fixed locations or who need additional support. The Crib, TNM’s low-threshold emergency overnight shelter, offers food and a safe place to sleep on an as needed, nightly basis. The Interim Housing Program provides up to 120 days of shelter alongside case management, health and supportive services, including life skills instruction to young people ages 14 – 21. Parenting with Purpose and Pathways represent the longest levels of housing engagement (up to two years) for TNM clients between the ages of 16 and 24. Finally, TNM supports young people who live in subsidized, scattered site apartments throughout Chicago through the Flexible Housing Pool (via a partnership with Center for Housing and Health). Aftercare services are offered to all former clients, lasting well beyond their exit from our programs. OHM serves all people who are unhoused, in poverty, or otherwise in need. While the program is open to everyone, most OHM clients are adults. OHM demonstrates TNM’s signature approach to caring for unhoused people; OHM staff proactively visit the places where individuals who are unhoused live, to help meet their most basic needs and rebuild their social safety nets. TNM serves young people and adults who are unhoused and/or struggling with poverty in Chicago. Youth come from across the city to shelter in our housing programs. We also meet people where they are with our outreach programs. Most of our clients come from racial or ethnic minority backgrounds (85%) and are male (71%). 60% of the clients we serve are black. 69% of clients are between the ages of 15 and 24. Most people who receive our services come from areas of Chicago with high crime and low economic opportunity, including the far South and West sides of Chicago.