A Forever Resource: Nuestro Futuro Nears a $10 Million Endowment

Chicago’s diverse Latine communities are an economic and cultural force in our city. From small businesses that anchor neighborhoods to the food, art, and traditions that contribute to Chicago’s vibrancy, these communities help shape our region and our future.

As Hispanic Heritage Month invites reflection on the histories, contributions, and future of Latine communities, Nuestro Futuro (NF) invites you to be a part of achieving a major milestone—a $10 million endowment dedicated to strengthening Latine-serving nonprofits across the Chicago region in perpetuity.

More than two decades ago, a group of Latine civic leaders and The Chicago Community Trust saw both a need and an opportunity: Chicago’s Latine community was growing rapidly, but the philanthropic infrastructure supporting Latine-serving organizations had not kept pace. Their answer was Nuestro Futuro, an affinity fund founded in 2003 to elevate Latine philanthropy and create a lasting vehicle for collective giving.

Since then, Nuestro Futuro has grown into the largest affinity fund in the nation dedicated to Latine philanthropy, awarding millions of dollars to more than 100 organizations across the Chicago region in areas such as early childhood education, immigration, capacity building, and rapid response.

Nuestro Futuro unites a community of donors who believe in a simple idea: when people give together, they can do more than any one of them could do alone. As Nuestro Futuro co-chair Karin Prangley puts it, “It isn’t just your individual dollar, it’s what happens when that dollar joins everyone else’s.”

There are multiple ways to support this critical community resource, including a gift to the endowment fund, participation in Nuestro Futuro’s donor network, or by sharing the Fund’s work with others who care about strengthening Latine communities across the region. Reach out to us at nuestrofuturo@cct.org, or learn more at www.cct.org/nuestrofuturo.

A Forever Resource for the Community

Nuestro Futuro’s endowment gives it the staying power to provide ongoing grant support, plan for emerging needs, and invest in organizations trusted by the communities they serve. It is a permanent resource that community members and supporters can help grow for generations to come. Nuestro Futuro is committed to supporting emerging organizations and staying with them as they grow. Many of these nonprofits started as small, grassroots efforts and are now anchor organizations for their communities. For example, Partners for Our Communities (POC), one of Nuestro Futuro’s earliest grant partners, started in a single apartment unit and has grown into a multi-site community hub supporting immigrant, underserved, and marginalized residents as they move form immediate need toward long-term stability.

NF Steering Committee Member Samuel Muñeton Jr notes that in his youth, he benefited from mentors and philanthropic initiatives in his community. “People invested in me and supported the communities I was a part of. Now, I aim to do the same and inspire a new generation of giving.”