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.
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Grant Recipient
South Shore Chamber Community Development Corporation
1735 Collective will be the first property acquired and redeveloped for the South Shore We The People Community Investment Vehicle (CIV), a resident-driven ownership model that enables local stakeholders to collectively invest in their neighborhood’s revitalization. The property is a mixed-used development that will be transformed to bring a full-service restaurant, community office space, naturally affordable housing and short-term rentals via Airbnb to capture the economic benefits of tourism near the Obama Presidential Center. 1735 Collective is a transformative mixed-use development located at 1735 E. 71st Street, aimed at contributing to the revitalization of South Shore’s 71st Street Corridor. This project features a full-service restaurant, community office space, and a mix of naturally affordable residential units, including short-term Airbnb accommodations designed to capture economic benefits from tourism. By fostering sustainable economic growth and preserving community ownership, the development aligns with South Shore’s vision of creating a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly commercial district that attracts visitors, strengthens local businesses, and provides high-quality, attainable housing. Strategically positioned near public transit, key retail corridors, and cultural landmarks such as the upcoming Obama Presidential Center, this project will help establish South Shore as a thriving hub for commerce, hospitality, and community engagement. This project is the first property within the We The People Community Investment Vehicle (CIV), a resident-driven ownership model that enables local stakeholders to collectively invest in their neighborhood’s revitalization. The CIV is designed to promote wealth-building and economic empowerment, ensuring that South Shore’s redevelopment benefits long-time residents rather than external investors. Through partnerships with community organizations, development advisors, and local businesses, this project will serve as a replicable model for equitable real estate development, reducing blight while creating commercial spaces and quality housing. The incorporation of shared ownership will minimize long-term debt, making the project financially sustainable and maximizing economic returns for community members involved in the CIV. By addressing gaps in capital, securing critical funding, and implementing a community-centered development strategy, the 1735 Collective will act as a catalyst for broader economic revitalization. This project directly advances the objectives outlined in the South Shore Quality of Life Plan (QLP) and CorridorLive! South Shore, aligning with key strategies to revitalize underutilized commercial properties, create job opportunities, and enhance tourism-driven economic activity. With strong community support, strategic location advantages, and a focus on shared economic prosperity, this project represents a major step toward ensuring that South Shore remains a thriving, self-sustaining neighborhood for generations to come.
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Grant Recipient
Love Unity & Values Institute
The Love, Unity & Values (LUV) Institute is the lead organization for the Chicago Community Trust’s Pre-Development grant as a part of a coalition of eight youth-serving not-for-profit organizations that work on Chicago’s South Side. Together, we hope to build the BEACON (the Bronzeville Empowerment and Community Outreach Network Center) Youth Center. The eight organizations in the collaborative identified Bronzeville as a neighborhood of high need, however, one with community resources that could be utilized to support a community center focused on youth and their families, that, in turn, would support the overall community. The organizations identified the building at 4150 S. Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, currently owned by the Centers for New Horizons, as one that could be renovated to meet the agencies’ requirements and provide additional space for community gatherings. Our premise is that by locating these organizations together in an area of high need, we will be better able to serve youth and families and strengthen the community surrounding the center. The mission of the BEACON Youth Center is to create a holistic environment where young people and their families can access resources and programs that promote academic performance, mentorship, personal development, health, wellness, and career readiness, thereby empowering youth to become resilient and active community members. By providing programs that support young people socially, emotionally, and academically, we hope to help youth stay in school. With workforce training programs, we hope to help youth find employment that can put them on the first rung of a career path in a high need industry. Together the programs of the proposed BEACON Youth Center cover academics, art, social and emotional healing, mental and physical health and wellness, and workforce training. Having all of the services of all of the organizations in one building means that youth can easily access the resources they need. Supporting youth means also supporting their families and their communities. The BEACON Youth Center will have a large space for community gatherings. In addition, member organizations felt strongly that bringing people together to plant, tend, and harvest a community garden would help build relationships between family members and between community members while supporting good health with fresh produce and mental health with a green space in which to be restored. Replacing a flat roof with plants is also healthy for the environment. Because the building currently has only one story, the organizations plan to add another floor to the building to create more space for programs and for holding community meetings. Our collective goal is for the BEACON Center to become a hub for the surrounding community by offering services to youth and families, providing community gathering spaces, healthy food options, and a restorative green space. We believe that the BEACON Center will become a draw to local business corridors and help build local businesses through increased consumer traffic.
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Grant Recipient
QUAD COMMUNITIES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NFP
Oakland, Kenwood, Grand Boulevard and Douglas
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Grant Recipient
Southeast Chicago Chamber of Commerce
South Shore, Calumet Heights, Avalon Park, Greater Grand Crossing
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Grant Recipient
Street Vendors Association of Chicago
Street Vendors Association of Chicago Seeks Pre-Development funding for architectural and design renders for the expansion of the currently owned shared kitchen workers cooperative in North Lawndale to increase service capacity to fulfil city requirements of cleaning, storage and maintenance. Additionally, a farm and fresh market cooperative and training facility designed to combat food and employment insecurity while providing economic advancement and professional development. This project seeks to provide infrastructure and walkable amenities while preventing displacement by registering the land parcels in a Community Land Trust.
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Grant Recipient
Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation
The Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC) is developing an approximately 10,000-square-foot Women’s Wellness Center in Auburn Gresham that will serve more than 6,000 patients annually. The Women’s Wellness Center, located at 7900 S. Halsted, will offer comprehensive medical care and health services that are not easily accessible in our neighborhood including cancer screenings, imaging, physical therapy, and maternity care.
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Grant Recipient
Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America Inc NFP
FORA is an organization dedicated to restoring the rights of literacy and education to preliterate refugee students, some of the most disadvantaged children in the world, through our programs of individualized and intensive High Impact Tutoring and wrap-around school-support services. We are seeking General Operating Support from the Chicago Community Trust to expand our programming to cover more refugee students, enhance our effectiveness in improving student outcomes, and improve our client data system through the implementation of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
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Grant Recipient
Big NFP
We are seeking to complete a gut rehabilitation and buildout of a building we own at 6437-39 S. Cottage Grove Ave. as a mixed-use retail/office space for our expanding needs. We have completed preliminary design and need of additional pre-development support to advance the plans/pricing, do updated market analysis, and other items to obtain full project financing.