Community Development

We are working toward a future when community assets — businesses, land, homes, and commercial real estate — will sustain and increase community well-being, cohesion and prosperity in long underinvested communities, ultimately building household wealth and a more thriving Chicago region.

Photo: North Austin Center

The Chicago Community Trust works towards a future when community assets – businesses, land, homes, and commercial real estate – will sustain and increase well-being, cohesion and prosperity in long underinvested communities, ultimately building household wealth and a more thriving Chicago region.

Our Vision

As we move forward, we are committed to learning together, adjusting, and being responsive. We will use insights from our grantmaking and input from our partners to shape our learning journey and approach. 

Community Development: State of the Space

After decades of underinvestment in Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods, there is a growing recognition that traditional approaches to economic development are insufficient. Community wealth building is gaining traction as an approach to economic development that creates local amenities and promotes shared ownership and control of community assets.

According to data from the Cook County Assessor’s Office, the South and West sides of Cook County have the highest number of vacant and abandoned properties and the lowest average assessment values for those unused pieces of land. One primary reason for this is decades of underinvestment and development in these areas. Underinvested communities often lack amenities and the ability to attract assets such as new homes, small businesses, and anchor developments such as community centers.

Where We Focus

There is a wide range of interventions that can be pursued to build community development across the Chicago region. The Trust believes we can have the greatest impact by prioritizing funding for community-led initiatives aimed at transforming underinvested communities, preserving residents’ stakes in gentrifying areas, and ensuring assets benefit current and future residents. 

​Increase Neighborhood Investments While Minimizing Displacement

For underinvested communities that have faced systemic barriers to development, our goals are to:

  • Advance pre-conditions for development by: Supporting public sector reforms to improve permitting and approval processes, and innovating on shared ownership model

  • Advance specific projects by: Investing in predevelopment infrastructure, and making large capital investment

  • Invest in community-led approaches by: Supporting community-based anchor organizations’ planning and development, and exploring new approaches to community engagement/visioning for development

Collaboration is Needed

The Trust collaborates with a wide range of external partners, including community organizations, local government, and civic and corporate leaders, on ways we can work together or alongside one another to help increase wealth, opportunities and well-being for every Chicagoan.

Opportunities to Engage

  • Neighborhood Capital Fund: A two-year funder collaborative to get late-stage capital into community led brick and mortar projects. This initiative helps neighborhoods build the amenities and services they need that lead to thriving communities. You can make a contribution to the fund on the Trust’s website.
  • Elevated Chicago: A partnership of organizations committed to transforming the half-mile radius around transit stations into hubs of opportunity and connection across our region’s vast transit system. 

Our Team