"This Work Is Personal": A Q&A with Luis Roman on Identity, Advocacy and Community
Luis Roman didn’t plan to become a changemaker. But what began as a post-college internship focused on LGBTQ+ immigrant integration quickly evolved into…
Stories
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent Stories
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Pre-Development Fund: Helping Communities Realize Their Visions for Thriving Neighborhoods
When I first arrived at The Chicago Community Trust, I was really focused on understanding the place-based factors driving the region’s wealth gap.…
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Dreaming Beyond the Boundaries: Jennifer Hodges Awarded Sixth Donald Stewart Fellowship
Jennifer Hodges is the co-founder and vice president of KIPP Chicago’s Whole Child Initiative, a program that supports students, teachers and families through…
“Trust Talks Podcast” Stories
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Trust Talks, The Podcast – Episode 18: Supporting Our Immigrant Communities
The truth about immigration in the United States is that unless you are Native American, we all came from somewhere else. Yet, in 2025, the…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast – Episode 17: Leveraging the Power of Data
The Chicago Community Trust’s strategic focus on addressing the racial and ethnic wealth gap was informed by data on the stark differences in health, education…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast – Episode 16: Working Collaboratively to Address Community Safety
In this episode of Trust Talks, Jai Jones, Program Specialist for the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, is joined by Esther Franco-Payne (Executive Director,…
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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 visions communities…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast – Episode 14: Building a Robust Local Media Landscape
In this episode of Trust Talks, we explore the current state of the media, how to reverse the decline in local news outlets, and the…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast - Episode 13: Planning for Equitable Neighborhood Development
In this episode of the Trust Talks podcast, we explore the role of planning in neighborhood development, current efforts to increase investment in Chicago neighborhoods,…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast - Episode 12: Closing the Homeownership Gap
In this episode of the Trust Talks podcast, we explore the work of 3C, how community-centered collaboration can help close the homeownership gap, and what…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast - Episode 11: Accessing Federal Funds for an Equitable Recovery
In this episode of the Trust Talks podcast, we explore the barriers nonprofits face in accessing government funds, as well as opportunities to overcome them.…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast - Episode 10: Creating a Lasting Legacy for the Chicago Region
In this episode of the Trust Talks podcast, we explore how the Trust’s endowment and bequests made decades ago continue to address the most pressing issues…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast - Episode 9: Civic Engagement Through a Racial Equity Lens
Under the Trust’s Building Collective Power strategy, The Chicago Community Trust commissioned the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of…
