Unity Fund: A Look at Impact in 2025
The Chicago Community Trust’s Unity Fund is a testament to the power of collective giving. Since its founding in 2008 at the height…
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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Financial Health in Cook County: Why it Matters and How Policy Impacts Financial Well-Being
In 2025, The Chicago Community Trust, with support from JPMorganChase, commissioned the Financial Health Network to update the findings of its Financial Health…
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Responding to Chicago’s Urgent Needs in 2025
As the region’s community foundation, The Chicago Community Trust exists to respond to the needs of our region and the people who call…
All Stories
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Leveraging Community-Based Media to Promote Equitable Homeownership
A Q&A with Lynnette McRae and Lauren Woods Black and Latinx Chicagoans face a myriad of challenges in accessing homeownership. These include a lack of…
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Making the Case for Nonprofit Policy Advocacy
As a Senate staffer on Capitol Hill in the early 2000s, I spent many hours meeting with people wanting to express their positions on issues…
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Leveraging Education, Quality Work Opportunities, and Financial Health to Increase Income for Workers of Color
Higher education is often viewed as a stepping stone for economic mobility and building long-term wealth. However, research shows that the high costs of student…
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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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Confronting the Homeownership Gap with New Pathways to Opportunity
*Based on supplemental analysis of data collected from the Financial Health Pulse® Chicago 2022 Report. For more information, contact learning@cct.org. The homeownership gap continues to…
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Pre-Development Fund: Mayfair Arts Center
In 1957, Chicago tap dancer and choreographer Tommy Sutton opened the Mayfair Academy to provide dance classes and education to South Side youth, particularly Black…
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Building Pathways to Stability Through Increased Access to Essential Services
The Chicago Community Trust’s Addressing Critical Needs team recognizes that people cannot reach their full potential when basic human needs are not met, whether that…
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Black Philanthropy Month Spotlight: Kafi Moragne-Patterson
Kafi Moragne-Patterson is the Senior Program Director of College and Career Success at the UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab where she manages a complex portfolio of…
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Black Philanthropy Month Spotlight: Troy Boyd, Jr.
Troy Boyd, Jr. is the chief operating officer of Urban Prep Academies, educating young men in Chicago’s Bronzeville, Englewood, and Near West Side communities. A…
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Fueling Potential with Philanthropy: We Rise Together
When the new North Austin Center opened on Chicago’s West Side in February of this year, Santiago Navarro registered his son, Julian, for By the…
