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.
Explore Our Discretionary Grants
Showing 5891–5898 of 4734 results
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Grant Recipient
SGA Youth & Family Services
SGA is requesting a general operating grant of $100,000 to support enhanced training and professional development for the staff our early childhood programs, to increase their capacity to identify and address indicators of mental health issues and trauma in caregivers and children. SGA has provided early childhood services for more than twenty years. Currently we have three major programs: Prevention Initiative in Chicago, Cicero and Waukegan, Early Head Start in Chicago, and Early Head Start Child Care Partnership in Chicago. All of our programs are home-based, and serve communities that lack affordable center-based childcare slots. Our early childhood services provide the foundation for SGA’s Cycle of Opportunity, a continuum of care from the cradle to the workforce. SGA, like all early childhood service providers, is facing uncertain times. Suddenly, there seems to be no national consensus that all children, regardless of their background, should enter kindergarten ready to learn. SGA remains steadfast in the belief that the greatest investment we can make is in the first three years of a child’s life. Through culturally relevant, practical parenting education we teach parents to be their child’s first, and lifelong teacher and their strongest advocate. We ensure that children receive all developmental screenings and achieve developmental milestones. When delays are detected, we ensure that children are linked to appropriate resources. We provide opportunities for socially isolated parents and children to interact with their peers in groups that reflect their backgrounds and experiences. We make sure that all of our children are connected to pre-school when they reach the age of three. To deliver this essential work, SGA has a team of more than 60 individuals, most of whom are Home Visitors. It is important to note that several of our Home Visitors are former clients who went back to school with the support and encouragement of their own SGA Home Visitor. SGA has recently restructured the leadership of its early childhood programs under one Early Childhood Manager, Alma Galvan. Alma has been with SGA for more than 10 years and came to us with more than ten years of prior experience. Initially, she managed Prevention Initiative in Chicago, working alongside the managers of the other programs and gaining familiarity with the services. Last year, we brought both the Chicago and suburban Prevention Initiative programs under her management to increase efficiency and consistency. Under her leadership, all of our PI programs achieved Blue Ribbon Affiliate status, a highest quality designation given by the Parents as Teachers curriculum to indicate the programs have achieved fidelity with the model. Most recently, SGA promoted Alma to oversee our Early Head Start and Early Head Start Child Care Partnership childcare homes programs. Alma brings lived experience and a bicultural sensitivity to our largely Latinx staff and families. One of Alma’s challenges is that each of the programs has its own programmatic and funding requirements. At the same time, SGA has its own internal priorities and standards, particularly related to the delivery of trauma-informed care. With all of the programs under the management of one experienced leader, and with the support of SGA's experienced program evaluation team, she can compare training needs and requirements and create a comprehensive trauma and behavioral health training series that is consistent across programs and elevates the level of care our staff can provide. Funding from Chicago Community Trust will support this professional development series. We are proposing to offer Mental Health First Aid to all of our early childhood staff so they can identify warning signs in caregivers and make appropriate referrals. We will also offer a series on trauma-informed care, including identifying the effects of trauma on babies, children and caregivers, strategies to avoid re-traumatization, stress reduction for families and vicarious trauma. Lastly, we will provide workshops for our staff on self-care and stress management so that they can be at their best when working with their clients. Even as we navigate uncertain times, having this opportunity to bolster our staff training with Chicago Community Trust general operating funds underscores our belief in our staff and demonstrates our willingness as an agency to keep investing in them and in the children and families we serve.
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Grant Recipient
Life Is Work
Life Is Work (LIW) is a trans-led, Black- and Brown-led organization based in Chicago that provides culturally competent, trauma-informed services for Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Intersex, Asexual, etc. (TLGBQIA+) individuals and survivors of gender-based violence. As a direct response to critical funding gaps caused by the dismantling of CDC support by the current administration, this grant will help sustain and expand essential programming, including HIV/STD testing and counseling, behavioral health services, peer support groups, and basic needs referrals. LIW is uniquely positioned to meet the needs outlined in the RFP through its integrated, community-rooted care model, built on trust and advocacy for those most marginalized by systemic inequities.
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Grant Recipient
CHICAGO SURVIVORS INC
We are applying for the bridge grant opportunity regarding critical needs covered to support families and youth directly impacted by violent and traumatic death exposures.
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Grant Recipient
Chicago Commons
Chicago Commons respectfully requests a $95,000 general operations grant. Generous support from Chicago Community Trust will allow us to continue serving families across generations. For more than 130 years Chicago Commons (Commons) has been driven by our mission to empower communities to overcome poverty and systemic barriers, embrace opportunities, and thrive across generations. For our community’s youngest members, Commons provides high-quality, year-round early childhood education to children in underserved communities from 6 weeks to 5 years old. Our four directly-operated early childhood education centers empower children through the Reggio Emilia approach for self-directed, experiential learning. We also have 18 Head Start/Early Head Start subgrantee early childhood education sites across 15 other underserved areas. We provide services that help seniors and adults with disabilities maintain their independence and quality of life. Our Adult Day Service center provides individualized care in a community-based group setting, and our Home Care Aides assist seniors throughout Chicagoland with their daily needs. Finally, our Family Hub empowers the parents/caregivers of our children and seniors through financial empowerment, entrepreneurship, workforce and skill development, degree/accreditation attainment services, mental/physical wellness workshops, and self-advocacy. Commons serves approximately 3,500 individuals across all programs annually. Commons works with families from across the Chicagoland area, but our main service sites are the Lower West Side (Pilsen), New City (Back of the Yards), Grand Boulevard, and Humboldt Park. Research has repeatedly shown the importance of early childhood education (ECE) equity in closing the gap between low-income students and their wealthier peers, as well as building a foundation for success later in life. In the neighborhoods we serve, only 33% of children from birth to three are reached by Early Head Start services. Our diverse participants include homeless families, teen parents, immigrants, children with disabilities, and those involved in the child welfare system. 98% of our families are below 100% of the Federal Poverty guideline, making them Head Start eligible. Many face significant economic hardships, with an average household income of $15,050. About 60% of participants identify as Black/African American and 30% as Latino/a/x. 95% of primary caregivers of our ECE students are single mothers. Finally, studies have linked social isolation to a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults, as well as an increased vulnerability to abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 84% of Adult Day Services clients are over the age of 60; 85% live alone. Commons’ multigenerational approach exceeds what can be achieved through separate services for parents and children. Our approach combines high quality Early Childhood Education with holistic family services, leading to better long-term outcomes and the potential to interrupt intergenerational poverty.
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Grant Recipient
Heartland Human Care Services Inc
Heartland Human Care Services (HHCS) respectfully requests $130,000 in general operating support from the Chicago Community Trust’s Essential Services Grant to strengthen its internal infrastructure and ensure long-term sustainability of its critical programs serving Chicago’s most vulnerable communities. HHCS addresses poverty, displacement, and injustice, delivering trauma-informed services through four core portfolios: Housing, Asset Building, and Traveler’s Aid; Youth Residential Services; Workforce Development; and Refugee and Immigrant Community Services. This grant will support the launch of a dedicated resource development team to expand and diversify philanthropic funding, enabling HHCS to maintain and grow high-quality, integrated services that address housing instability, unemployment, trauma, and barriers to good health and self-sufficiency. The initiative aligns with a clear theory of change: by investing in organizational capacity, HHCS will solidify and grow stakeholder support and deepen its partnerships for maximum impact. HHCS is an active collaborator across the Chicago region, maintaining formal agreements with sector partners in housing, healthcare, refugee resettlement, and anti-trafficking networks. Through these partnerships, HHCS delivers coordinated, client-centered care and contributes to citywide efforts to advance equity and address root causes of poverty and exclusion. Data is central to HHCS’s learning and improvement strategy. With improved fundraising infrastructure and stronger data systems, HHCS will be well-positioned to scale its work, strengthen sector alignment, and contribute to a more just, thriving Chicago region.
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Grant Recipient
The Leadership Center for Attorney General Studies
State Attorneys General (AGs) play a critical role in defending civil liberties and protecting state residents from harm. As AGs stand up to for our values and constitutional rights, the Leadership Center for Attorney General Studies (LCAGS) is their key platform for support and the hubs from which they will draw resources and engage with national partners. This grant will fund a program placing experienced legal fellows in the Illinois AG's office, providing the office with capacity to protect Illinois residents at a time when resources are limited and threats are great.
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Grant Recipient
Southland Human Services Leadership Council
This Bridge Grant Request by the Southland Human Services Leadership Council is intended to continue to deepen and strengthen the Council’s cross-sector systems leadership by drilling down and focusing on filling gaps in workforce development delivery, across the agencies that make up the whole of the Council and across multiple forms of job types. SHSLC will continue to act as a convenor and leader for dozens of agencies across the region, holding regular meetings to network members and identify regional needs and service gaps. But this plan and future vision for the region is based on implementing program vision to fill gaps and provide connective tissue among the agencies in the membership.
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Grant Recipient
Small Business Advocacy Council
The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will support four communities through its newly launched Commercial Corridors program. This project will select and fund ten small businesses transitioning into new brick-and-mortar locations or expanding their current spaces in these four communities. This project will provide these businesses with funds and resources to proceed with the first stages of their projects while waiting on additional city funding. The project will provide marketing and coaching opportunities and assistance to these businesses.