LGBTQ Community Fund Grants $420,000 to Support Youth, Seniors and the Arts in 2024
The LGBTQ Community Fund, an affinity fund of The Chicago Community Trust, unites donors to support Chicago’s LGBTQ community. Since its founding in 2010,…
LGBTQ Community Fund
Supporting Chicago’s LGBTQ community through philanthropy.
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$4.25 Million
Dollars Raised
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$2.5 Million
Dollars Granted
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148
Active Donors
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45
Organizations Impacted
2025 Request for Proposals (RFP)
The LGBTQ Community Fund is pleased to announce that we will be accepting applications for our 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP) beginning Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
Organizations in the Chicago metropolitan region serving and/or engaging the LGBTQ community are eligible to apply. For this grant cycle, the LGBTQ Community Fund will be funding proposals serving/in LGBTQ youth and/or seniors. For more details, click here to view our full RFP.
A virtual information session will be held on Thursday, August 7, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. CT via Zoom. Click here and register to join. The session will be recorded and posted on our webpage for those that are unable to attend.
Applications are due on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Please note that staff support is not available after 5:00 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.
Visit the Trust’s grant portal, GrantCentral, to begin your application.
About the Fund
In 2010, civic leaders joined in a commitment to addressing a broad range of needs within the LGBTQ community, through strategic support to nonprofit organizations that serve it.
Through an operating grant from The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust and funding support from The Chicago Community Trust, the LGBTQ Community Fund serves as a tool to educate the region about LGBTQ issues and promote effective philanthropy to achieve strategic change.
To learn more about our grants recipients and donors, click here.
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LGBTQ Community Fund Grants Support Housing, Health, and Mental Health in 2023
The LGBTQ Community Fund, an affinity fund of The Chicago Community Trust, unites donors to support Chicago’s LGBTQ community. Since its founding in 2010,…
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10 Years of the LGBTQ Community Fund
2020 marked the 10th anniversary of the LGBTQ Community Fund (the Fund) at The Chicago Community Trust, and 2021 marked the beginning of…
Our Values
Community: We are part of, and invested in, an inclusive community; we act and collaborate with empathy and social responsibility.
Justice: We respect and celebrate human diversity and difference; we work to dismantle homophobia, racism and transphobia to address historical and systemic marginalization.
Connection: We seek to connect the Chicago region’s LGBTQ population and its organizations to ideas, research, and one other.
Courage: We champion leadership, innovation, and creativity; we act on principle and challenge the status quo.
Pragmatism: We support research to understand our community and its needs; we support real-world solutions and measurable results.
Our Mission & Vision
MISSION
To advance the Chicago region’s LGBTQ Community through research, connection, and focused grantmaking.
VISION
The LGBTQ Community Fund envisions the Chicago region’s LGBTQ Community thriving in a safe, equitable, and supportive environment.
Our Team
| Steering Committee | Life Members |
|---|---|
| Bernard Bartilad, Co-Chair | Prue Beidler |
| Luis Roman, Co-Chair | Denise Foy |
| Jennifer Brier | Adnaan Hamid |
| Raymond Crossman | Ken O’Keefe |
| Katie Eccles | Ryan VanMeter |
| Marguerite Griffin | |
| Caronina Grimble | Founding Co-Chairs |
| Dara Ignacio | James L. Alexander |
| Kristin Scott | Prue Beidler |
| Justin Sia | |
| Lorenza Taylor | |
| Ronald Tuan-Mu | |
| Tom Tunney | |
| Carla Wheeler |
A Better & Safer Place for All
The fund works toward the vision of a region where Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer residents live responsibly in harmony with all communities, enjoying the same freedoms and quality of life, and with the same opportunity to make the region a better and safer place for all to live.
The LGBTQ Community Fund is also an endowed fund, which also dedicates its endowment income to providing strategic grant support for nonprofit agencies. With this permanent resource, the most pressing needs of Chicago’s LGBTQ community can be met in perpetuity—no matter what challenges emerge in years ahead.
Questions?
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Give to the Fund
Our work is made possible through the generous donations of individuals, foundations, and corporations. Nearly 200 donors have supported our work since the Fund’s founding.
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Stay Connected
To stay up-to-date with the work of the LGBTQ Community Fund, please complete an interest form to receive future communications from Affinity Funds.
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Explore Affinity Funds
Affinity funds are groups of donors united by a shared heritage, identity, or common interest. They offer an efficient way to support a specific group of people and the nonprofits that aid them by leveraging contributions through collective giving.
