$830,000 in Grants Awarded to Support Workforce Development Efforts in Underinvested South and West Side Communities in Cook County

Grants were awarded by The Together Fund, an initiative of We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery in partnership with community leaders who helped choose grant recipients  

CHICAGO (September 15, 2025) – The Together Fund, a community-led grantmaking effort, today announced eight grants totaling $830,000 to support workforce development efforts in underinvested South and West side communities in Cook County. The Together Fund is an initiative of We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery, a funders collaborative led by The Chicago Community Trust working to strengthen neighborhood economies to support a thriving region.

Since We Rise Together began making grants in September 2021, the initiative has invested nearly $47 million to support real estate projects, workforce development, and local businesses in underinvested communities. The Together Fund is a unique grantmaking approach, rooted in We Rise Together’s focus on investing in community-led projects, where local residents nominated by community members helped select grant recipients for a portion of We Rise Together’s grantmaking.

Through a series of meetings and discussions, the Together Fund community advisors identified their objective for funding: to expand the capacity of workforce organizations serving youth in underrepresented communities. These objectives align with the overall goals of We Rise Together and The Chicago Community Trust, which works to create pathways that build wealth to improve opportunities and well-being for all Chicagoans.

“At a time when funding cuts are leaving many youth-serving after school and summer programs to scramble for new sources of funding, these grants are very timely,” said Maryah Phillips, program manager, We Rise Together. “As funders, we may worry that including more voices will slow down decisions, but participatory grantmaking through the Together Fund is getting money out the door toward programs and organizations that are meeting the community’s needs.”

The Together Fund also announced its first round of grants in June—$800,000 to support entrepreneurial efforts in the same geographic areas.

This second set of Together grants will support the following initiatives:

Urban Roots Alliance: $120,000 for one year
Funding will support the Hustled to Hire program serving youth ages 14 to 24 in Auburn Gresham and Ashburn with paid apprenticeships, hands-on training, and industry-recognized certifications in construction and skilled trades, as well as wraparound support such as childcare and transportation stipends.

BUILD: $120,000 for one year
Funding will support the College and Career Pathways program for low-income, underrepresented youth ages 14 to 24 in Austin with skill-building, access to post-secondary education, job placement, and professional development.

Mikva Challenge Grant Foundation Inc.: $100,000 for one year
Funding will support Mikva expanding their Youth Organizing Academy program, which provides year-long civic workforce development training for youth ages 16 to 18 across Chicago.

Taskforce Prevention and Community Services: $120,000 for one year
Funding will support the Youth Empowerment and Economic Resilience Initiative, which advances the career growth of underrepresented youth ages 14 to 24 across Chicago by building skills such as effective interviewing, financial management, and resume development, as well as providing mentorship and wraparound supports.

Brighton Park Neighborhood Council: $120,000 for one year
Funding will support Brighton Park Neighborhood Council to expand their workforce programs for low-income youth ages 16 to 24 in Brighton Park, which provides holistic support for housing, healthcare, mental health, education, and safety as well as navigating employment opportunities.

Jackson Park Golf Association (JPGA): $75,000 for one year
Funding will support the JPGA’s Caddy Program, a paid, six-week program in South Shore for youth ages 13 to 23 to become certified as caddies and in CPR, gain work experience and earn money, and earn credits toward a scholarship should they pursue college.

Towers of Excellence: $75,000 for one year
Funding will support the Pathways to Excellence initiative, which offers Austin-area youth ages 14 to 24 support including mentorship, career readiness, workforce development, and college preparation.

Boxing Out Negativity: $100,000 for one year
Funding will support the creation of a computer lab where students who participate in Boxing Out Negativity’s free boxing and mentorship programs, located in North Lawndale, can create resumes, seek and apply for jobs on-site and complete online job readiness trainings.

About We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery

We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a funders collaborative working with community members to respond to the urgent economic needs of underinvested communities on Cook County’s South and West sides. Our model for community investment at scale supports coordinated, community-led commercial and economic development in neighborhoods that were hit hardest by COVID-19 and the economic recession that followed. Through strategic grants to community-directed real estate development projects that leverage additional investment, we are building thriving neighborhoods and a stronger Chicago. 

Learn more at www.cct.org/werisetogether.