FAQs: Our Strategic Plan

What is the Trust’s strategic goal? 

As a community foundation, the Trust is committed to addressing challenges that stand in the way of a thriving Chicago region where everyone has opportunities. As part of that mission, the Trust will always support meeting people’s critical needs such as secure housing, healthy food and public safety, and responding to regional crises such as COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, we also know our region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap is a major contributing factor to issues such as health disparities, gun violence, and uneven economic growth. We are committed to reducing this gap so that our region and all of its residents can meet their potential.  

How did the Trust land on this strategic direction?

The Trust has been focused on narrowing the region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap since 2019. Since then, we and our community partners have gained knowledge and collected data pointing ever more clearly toward both the ramifications of and reasons for the gap. We remain committed to this issue because the wealth gap is at the root of homelessness, food insecurity, the education gap, health disparities, gun violence, the life expectancy gap, regional population loss, uneven economic growth, and other societal challenges.  

Research shows that historically underinvested communities that are suffering from a lack of wealth equity are largely home to Chicago’s Black and Latine residents. The 2024 Color of Wealth in Chicago report highlights the scope of the gap, finding the net worth of white Chicagoans far outstrips Black, Mexican (both U.S. and foreign born), and Puerto Rican households. As we work to improve wealth-building and well-being in Chicago, we will continue to look to research and data pointing us to the communities, populations and interventions we need to focus on.  

What does the strategic goal mean for donors? 

The Trust’s evergreen commitment to serving donors and their professional advisors has not changed. As the Chicago region’s community foundation, we will continue to assist all donors in identifying and realizing their philanthropic goals regardless of issue, whether plans begin during their lifetimes, through their estates, or both. The Trust also works to educate donors about the underlying aspects of its strategic priorities and explore opportunities to collaborate in addressing those priorities. 

How does the Trust’s strategic goal impact donor advised funds (DAFs)? 

Donors who have donor advised funds can continue to recommend grants to qualified charitable organizations of their choosing, across the U.S. and internationally. Donors will have continued access to the subject-matter expertise of the Trust’s knowledgeable staff and are encouraged to participate in opportunities to learn more about a broad array of organizations and issues affecting the Chicago region. In addition, the Trust is here to work with donors who are excited about the impact they can have by partnering with us to invest in work that advances our strategic goal.  

Why is the Trust focusing specifically on Black and Latine communities? 

Research shows that historically underinvested communities that are suffering from a lack of wealth equity are largely home to Chicago’s Black and Latine residents. The 2024 Color of Wealth in Chicago report highlights the scope of the gap, finding the net worth of white Chicagoans far outstrips Black, Mexican (both U.S. and foreign born), and Puerto Rican households. As we work to improve wealth-building and well-being in Chicago, we will continue to look to research and data pointing us to the communities, populations, and interventions we need to focus on.  

If the Trust is focusing on narrowing the racial and ethnic wealth gap, what does that mean for people in need who aren’t Black or Latine? 

For 110 years, the Trust has been here for all Chicagoans, addressing challenges that stand in the way of a thriving Chicago region where everyone has opportunities. The wealth gap is at the root of some of our region’s greatest challenges, including housing insecurity, unacceptable health disparities, and gun violence. By working toward a day when every Chicagoan has enough wealth to care for their family and invest in their future, we are working toward a stronger region for everyone. Our role as a community foundation also means we are forever committed to meeting people’s critical needs such as secure housing and healthy food, public safety, and regional response to crises such as COVID-19.   

How will policy play a role in the Trust’s work? 

Grantmaking is a tool in the Trust’s toolkit and one of the ways it advances its vision, but grantmaking alone will not help us realize our vision for the Chicago region. In many ways, it is policies that got the region to where it is today; the Trust believes that policy reform is critical to sustainable change.  

We believe that effective policies are grounded in evidence, the real-life experiences of community residents, and the expertise of the many Chicago-based nonprofits that have worked for years to find and advance ways to create opportunity across the region. As such, the Trust supports its partners and grant recipients to effect policy change and has led policy reform efforts aligned with our vision of a thriving, equitable and connected Chicago region. 

How does the Trust know if what it is doing is working? 

The Trust sets annual organizational objectives and measures progress to ensure we are using our resources effectively. We fund research and evaluation projects to close gaps in knowledge, monitor progress, and identify emerging innovations to address our goals. We are dedicated to tracking and sharing progress, lessons learned, challenges, and successes. 

How can I make a difference? 

We’ve put together a list of suggestions for what you can do in your community, place of work and business.