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

Filters

Showing 5731–5735 of 4589 results

  • Grant Recipient

    The Chicago Community Foundation/The Fund for Equitable Business Growth

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $750,000

    Over the past four years, the Fund for Equitable Business Growth (FEBG) has focused on strengthening the small business ecosystem through funding individual business serving organization (BSO) partnerships, building those individual partnerships into a networked coalition of service providers, piloting approaches to enhancing data infrastructure, and addressing barriers to capital access. The BSO Collective is the foundation of the work of FEBG, informing the other work of the fund by providing insight into the challenges and needs of Black and Latine small businesses. To date, FEBG funding – over $10 million since 2019 – has provided resources for BSOs to develop the capacity provide more robust services to entrepreneurs. For the first 3 years, the FEBG has supported partnerships of BSOs on the theory that a collective of BSOs working together can provide better, more cohesive service to business owners than individual BSOs. In the current year, FEBG is focusing on the cross-collaboration of BSO partnerships to further build the social and knowledge capital of the business advisors and entrepreneurs, thus strengthening the broader network of entrepreneurial support.

  • Grant Recipient

    Chicago Community Foundation/We Rise Together

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $1,000,000

    We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a coalition of public and private funders and communities accelerating equity in the Chicago region’s economic recovery so everyone who lives here can reach their full potential. To catalyze an equitable economic recovery in our region from the COVID recession, We Rise Together focuses on grantmaking and engagement in communities hardest hit by COVID and those that are a majority Black and Latine because they are the places and people disproportionately affected by the pandemic. We are funding activities in three areas that we believe will have a substantial impact on the recovery of communities and populations in the City and County. These three funding strategies include: • Investing in community anchor real estate projects in communities hit hardest by COVID • Strengthening and supporting local businesses • Supporting access to quality and sustainable employment and job access. This grant will allow us to further invest in and support real estate projects, workforce development, and small businesses that boost economic activity and growth in long disinvested areas of the Chicago region.

  • Grant Recipient

    Historic Chicago Bungalow Association

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $2,000,000

    UnBlocked Englewood is a community-driven home repair and stabilization initiative focused on preserving homeownership, supporting aging in place, and strengthening historically disinvested Black and Brown communities in Englewood. The program centers Black homeowners—especially aging and senior residents—who face systemic barriers to maintaining their homes and have long endured wealth extraction through predatory housing practices, disinvestment, and undervaluation. Led by the Chicago Bungalow Association (CBA), UnBlocked builds on two years of trust, results, and deep relationships with residents on the 6500 S Aberdeen pilot block. The initiative prioritizes direct program impact—repairs, stabilization, and vacant lot coordination—while also investing in visibility, research, and community learning. At the heart of UnBlocked is a strategic leadership team rooted in CBA: Tonika Johnson, CBA’s artist-in-residence and an internationally recognized artist and Englewood native, and Amber Hendley, CBA’s researcher-in-residence and respected housing justice expert. Their roles bring vision, accountability, and lived experience to every part of the process—making UnBlocked as much about data and systems change as it is about physical repairs. This three-year expansion will complete work on the pilot block, extend to a newly identified block, and continue refining a replicable strategy for equitable, block-level stabilization—anchored in the leadership and resilience of long-time homeowners. UnBlocked challenges the mainstream gentrification narrative by proving that in communities like Englewood, higher home values do not equate to displacement risk. Unlike rapidly developing neighborhoods, data shows that market pressures do not threaten long-term Black homeowners here in the same way. Instead, the real threat has been decades of systemic disinvestment and wealth extraction. Amber Hendley will expand on this research, demonstrating how reinvestment in Englewood serves to restore homeownership security and generational wealth rather than displace residents. This investment will help reverse decades of undervaluation, ensuring that Black homeowners benefit from rising property values rather than being left behind by them. CBA seeks $2.2 million from the Chicago Community Trust (CCT) to continue scaling UnBlocked Englewood while refining best practices, deepening learning through trusted contractor partnerships, and ensuring long-term stability for Black and senior homeowners in Englewood.

  • Grant Recipient

    Resurrection Project

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $1,200,000

    The Resurrection Project (TRP) requests $1,200,000 over two years from The Chicago Community Trust to launch the Stay in Place Forgivable Loan Program (Stay in Place). Stay in Place is a place-based home repair initiative to support longtime residents of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood by providing zero-interest, forgivable loans to eligible homeowners for critical repairs to owner-occupied 2- to 4-unit residential buildings.

  • Grant Recipient

    Forefront

    Awarded: Awarded Amount: $1,050,000

    Established in 1974 Forefront began as a membership organization to connect funders with nonprofits. Over the past 50 years, Forefront has grown and built a rich history rooted in supporting the nonprofit sector in Illinois and advancing social impact. Over the past 10 years, Forefront has grown and built out its advocacy and policy efforts, which has led to organizations across Illinois to look to us for guidance on policies affecting the sector. With the advent of the current administration, now more than ever, it has become clear that nonprofits in Illinois are once again looking to Forefront for that vital guidance, and collective action to address the current instability to federal policies and laws in the United States. The need for a social impact triage Hub in Chicago has never been more urgent as Illinois nonprofits are navigating a rapidly shifting landscape of government policies that directly impact their ability to address systemic inequities. Recent attempts to change federal policy surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have created additional challenges for organizations that have long worked to advance racial and social justice. These changes undermine the very missions of nonprofits dedicated to dismantling systemic inequities in communities across Illinois. As these organizations face uncertainty about funding, compliance, and organizational priorities, a centralized, responsive Hub is critical to providing them with the immediate support they need. Forefront is launching the Mission Support & Sustainability Hub (MSSH), a collaborative initiative designed to address the critical needs of Illinois nonprofits facing unprecedented challenges. Building upon Forefront's Mission Sustainability Initiative (MSI), the MSSH will enhance, expand, and deepen the existing services we provide to nonprofit organizations across the state. The Hub will be a partnership between five expert organizations, each dedicated to strengthening the capacity and resilience of nonprofits. The partners include Forefront, which serves as the statewide association for nonprofit and grantmaker resources; BDO, with expertise in nonprofit financial management; The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF), a leader in providing pro bono legal services to nonprofits; the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (CLC), advocates for racial equity and nonprofit legal support; and IFF, a Community Development Financial Institution with expertise in nonprofit finance and development. Forefront is seeking a generous contribution of $1,050,000 over three years ($350,000 each year) to establish and scale the core identity of the Mission Support & Sustainability Hub, ensuring that Illinois nonprofits have the necessary resources, expertise, and support to navigate the complex and rapidly evolving challenges they face. A portion of these funds will be allocated to cover the Trust’s membership dues. The design of the MSSH integrates Forefront's public policy and advocacy team into every aspect of the initiative, enabling them to build knowledge among stakeholders and advocate for nonprofits at both the state and federal levels. Forefront is committed to creating a sector where leaders are equipped, informed, connected, and empowered to advocate for their missions and communities. We recognize the critical need for advocacy at the local, state, and federal, and to support Illinois nonprofits, grantmakers, and their allies. The policy landscape remains essential for driving change and advancing key priorities. Forefront’s mission to build a vibrant social impact sector for all Illinois residents can only be achieved if policies at all levels of government support and advance the work of social impact organizations. In Illinois, the social impact sector: • Employs 11.4 percent of private employees via nonprofits • Generates $133 billion in revenue via nonprofits • Encompasses 6,281 grants made by grantmakers/foundations • Supports 50,780 operating nonprofits Currently, no other entities lead advocacy for the entire nonprofit sector in Illinois on critical issues such as charitable tax policy, sector regulation, and government contracting. This gap positions Forefront’s policy and advocacy work as essential to the success of the MSSH. The MSSH will provide targeted services, including legal guidance, grant assistance, and strategic support, to help nonprofits navigate these policy shifts while continuing to serve their communities effectively. With over a century of combined experience in nonprofit support, legal counsel, financial management, and organizational restructuring, the partner organizations bring a wealth of expertise. However, to fully implement and scale this initiative, additional staffing is needed to support both the Hub’s operations and Forefront’s advocacy efforts within it. These new positions will include: Director Level: This position will provide strategic leadership and guidance, enabling flexibility in shaping and advancing the Hub and policy work as needs evolve. Manager Level: This position will support the director in executing all Hub-related efforts and policy initiatives as required.