Grants

Grant Recipient

GAP Community Center

Awarded: May 2025 Awarded Amount: $10,000

GAP Community Center (GAPCC) continues its work with immigrants and low-income communities. Through strategic partnerships with Grace and Peace Church, The Unity Initiative, the City of Chicago, and the Chicago Food Depository, we have strengthened our ability to provide critical support to immigrant and low-income communities. At a time when shifting political policies have left many immigrants in an even more precarious position—facing uncertainty, misinformation, and dwindling resources—GAPCC stands as a beacon of stability and trust. As state and federal policies become more restrictive, many immigrants are left without clear pathways to legal assistance, employment, or even basic survival resources. Now more than ever, our organization serves as a critical lifeline, ensuring that immigrant families have access to food, shelter, and the tools needed to build a secure future. Understanding that food insecurity is often the first barrier faced by newly arrived immigrants, we have transformed our Food Bank into a dignified Food Store, where individuals and families can select the culturally appropriate items they need twice a month. This innovative model fosters dignity and trust, making GAPCC a safe and reliable resource for those navigating displacement and hardship. Recognizing the importance of fresh, nutritious food, we have installed walk-in refrigerators and freezers to ensure access to high-quality fruits, vegetables, and staple foods, with 50% of our food supply consisting of fresh produce. By prioritizing cultural dietary needs—such as beans, greens, tomatoes, onions, and rice—we affirm our deep understanding of the immigrant populations we serve, predominantly Black and Latin American families. GAPCC remains not only prepared to meet the challenge but also well-positioned to scale further, thanks to our efficient operational model and strong network of partnerships. Our collaboration with Amazon and Target allows us to minimize food waste while expanding our reach, ensuring surplus food is redistributed to other communities in need. Equipped with dedicated vans and drivers, we extend our impact beyond our immediate location, serving as the largest food provider in Chicago. Yet, food is just the beginning. The Food Store serves as an entry point for broader support services, allowing us to identify and assist immigrants in securing stable housing, legal aid, ESL education, job permits, medical care, and school enrollment for their children. Our emergency shelter, in partnership with The Unity Initiative and local police departments, provides immediate refuge for those without safe housing, reinforcing our role as a trusted pillar of support. For 25 years, GAPCC has stood as a beacon of hope and advocacy for immigrant and low-income communities. As political and economic pressures intensify, our role has never been more essential. Families who once had access to resources through other channels are now turning to GAPCC as one of the few trusted places where they know they will receive help, not hostility. Our resilience, adaptability, and unwavering commitment continue to drive meaningful, systemic change for those who need it most. Now, more than ever, we are dedicated to expanding our reach and deepening our impact as we respond to this pressing humanitarian crisis. With the necessary resources, we can ensure that no immigrant family is left without food, shelter, or a pathway to self-sufficiency—regardless of the political climate.

Grant Recipient

TALLER DE JOSE

Awarded: May 2025 Awarded Amount: $10,000

Taller de José serves Chicago’s Hispanic/Latinx and immigrant communities through our Accompaniment Program and case management services, which connect and advocate for individuals seeking access to immigration, legal, financial, healthcare, and other essential services. We respectfully submit this proposal requesting funding from Nuestro Futuro to ensure long-term organizational sustainability by focusing on staff retention, professional development, and building a pipeline of future social service professionals.

Grant Recipient

CENTRO ROMERO

Awarded: May 2025 Awarded Amount: $10,000

Centro Romero is seeking $50,000 in grant funds for our Community Navigator program. Our community navigators have been at the forefront in serving our immigrant community. From long-standing immigrants to the most recent asylum seekers, all have received a service and or referral to the resources they need. Some of these services include legal immigration services, KYR, access to healthcare, including mental health workshops, becoming a US citizen, and how to be engaged and advocate for themselves.

Grant Recipient

Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project

Awarded: May 2025 Awarded Amount: $15,000

Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP) is applying for a $15,000 grant from Nuestro Futuro to extend its comprehensive support programs over a 12-month period. This funding will enhance FLAP's ongoing efforts to empower Latine immigrants across the Chicago metropolitan area, including the substantial communities in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties. FLAP's initiatives are especially designed to address the systemic disparities faced by Latine immigrants who transition from their professional careers in their home countries to often underappreciated and underpaid roles in the U.S., thereby reinforcing their critical role in local economies and communities.

Grant Recipient

Expanded Mental Health Services of Chicago NFP

Awarded: May 2025 Awarded Amount: $10,000

Expanded Mental Health Services of Chicago NFP (EMHS) is an organization dedicated to community centered mental health care that is culturally responsive, equitable, and accessible. First establishing The Kedzie Center in 2014 and LoSAH Center of Hope in 2024, these organizations are TWO of Chicago’s first community funded mental health organizations. Each center provides mental health programming for people of all ages in Albany Park, Irving Park, and Sauganash, North Park; and Avondale, Hermosa, and Logan Square - some of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Chicago and historic points of entry for immigrant families. Equity is at the forefront of what we do – each of our centers is staffed with bilingual therapists. We offer trauma-informed therapy and early childhood programming—such as Abriendo Puertas, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, our Lil' Explorers playgroup, and culturally attuned parent workshops. These services center the needs of families navigating all types of trauma including migration trauma, parent-child attachment, and systemic barriers to care - regardless of a family’s insurance status or ability to pay. In FY23, 57% of our clients had Medicaid, 19% had private insurance, 18% were uninsured, and 6% had Medicare. We are noting a trend of more uninsured and underinsured residents in our communities. We continue to proactively seek families who are most likely to benefit from our services but least likely to engage through routine channels—particularly newly arrived, undocumented, or under-resourced families. Our families appreciate programming: at the end of a cycle, one parent shared, “El programa fue muy bonito. Realmente lo vamos a extrañar” (“The program was very beautiful. We will truly miss it.”). For many families, this begins their participation in multiple activities at our centers. As anxiety about deportation, housing instability, and separation continues to rise—especially among undocumented and asylum-seeking families—the need for safe, healing spaces for young children grows. EMHS remains steadfast in our mission: to reduce barriers, expand care, and nurture emotional wellbeing from the very beginning of life.

Grant Recipient

Northside College Preparatory High School

Awarded: June 2025 Awarded Amount: $5,000