Trust Talks, The Podcast – Episode 15: We Rise Together: For An Equitable & Just Recovery
In this episode of Trust Talks, we discuss We Rise Together’s impact and what’s next, including how the initiative—and donors—can continue to fuel the…
Community Wealth
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.
Community Wealth: 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 wealth 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:
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Advance pre-conditions for development by: Supporting public sector reforms to improve permitting and approval processes, and innovating on shared ownership model
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Advance specific projects by: Investing in predevelopment infrastructure, and making large capital investment
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Invest in community-led approaches by: Supporting community-based anchor organizations’ planning and development, and exploring new approaches to community engagement/visioning for development
Our Vision
We are working toward 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.
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.
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.
The Community Wealth team works closely with the following funder collaboratives housed at or co-led by The Chicago Community Trust:
- 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.
- Food:Land:Opportunity: A multi-year initiative to create a resilient local food economy that protects and conserves land and other natural resources while promoting market innovation.
- We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery: A funders’ collaborative working with community members to respond to the urgent economic needs of underinvested communities in the South and West sides of Chicago and southern suburbs.
Join Us
Whether you are a donor, a community leader, work for a nonprofit, lead a company, or serve as a local government representative, we invite you to join us in increasing opportunities for Chicagoans to build wealth to create a stronger Chicago region.
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How You Can Take Action
Interested in learning more or partnering with us?
Please contact Christen Wiggins, Senior Director of Community Wealth, at cwiggins@cct.org, or Adele Nandan, Director of Donor Engagement, at anandan@cct.org.
