From the Archives: 2004 – The Creation of the Disabilities Fund
December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which celebrates the achievements of people with disabilities and raises awareness of the challenges…
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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Trust Talks, The Podcast – Episode 23: Understanding the Impact of Public Benefits
When most people picture hunger in America, they think of food pantries. Yet for every meal a pantry provides, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…
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Asian Giving Circle Awards $100,000 in its 2025 Grantmaking Cycle
Asian Giving Circle, an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust, is a grassroots philanthropic initiative uniting donor to make a greater collective impact…
“Grantmaking” Stories
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"Collaborative Fund" is a New Source of Capital for Groups Advancing Neighborhood Investment
In 2020, the Trust’s Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment team launched the Flexible Funding Program. The program supports and builds the capacity of organizations to engage with community partnerships,…
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2021 Q4 Grants Highlight Trust’s Dual Focus on Wealth Gap and Pandemic Recovery
Throughout The Chicago Community Trust’s 2021 fiscal year—October 2020 to September 2021, including 347 discretionary grants totaling $29.1 million—COVID-19 remained a persistent challenge.* The year’s…
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Trust Cohort Identifies Key Barriers and Potential Solutions for Equitable Homeownership
In 2020, the Trust’s Protecting & Advancing Equitable Homeownership grant initiative brought together nine local housing organizations to identify key barriers and potential solutions for…
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2021 Q3 Grants Foster Partnerships for Equity
More than a grant maker, the Chicago Community Trust aims to close the region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap by being a changemaker. Change at…
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The Collaborative: Bringing Together Advocates, Policymakers, and the Voices of the Formerly Incarcerated
There are so many nonprofit organizations and activists engaged in changing the Illinois criminal legal system that it often is challenging to keep track of…
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Promoting Wellbeing by Building an Infrastructure of Care
Each one of us is both in need of care and a caregiver. Sometimes we are both at once, as many have acutely experienced during…
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2021: Coalitions for Equity in Wealth Policy Leverages Efforts to Address Inequity
The Chicago Community Trust launched the Coalitions for Equity in Wealth Policy funding strategy in 2020 just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.…
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2021: Protecting & Advancing Equitable Homeownership
The Chicago Community Trust is committed to closing the Chicago region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap and increasing the share of economic prosperity for Black…
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Bi-Directional Feedback Leads to Systems & Policy Innovations
Investing in people is a winning strategy. For over 100 years, The Chicago Community Trust has partnered with local nonprofit organizations to address the most…
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2021 Q2 Grants Support Policy and Systems Change, Community Engagement
As the Trust pursues its moonshot goal of closing the region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap, it is clear that discriminatory policies and systems helped…
