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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Love With Impact: Philanthropy and the Act of Community Caretaking
Helping people have a positive impact in the world has been my life’s passion—although not through an obvious path. In my college yearbook I mused…
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Taking on the Racial Wealth Gap? Isn’t That Risky?
Disinvested neighborhoods. Segregation. Sluggish economic growth. African Americans leaving the Chicago region in droves. All these phenomena are exacerbated when we factor in race, and…
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Connectedness and Power: Seeing Chicago’s Black and Latinx Communities
Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded a song about my hometown, Youngstown, Ohio. When I first heard the track, it was instantly familiar. Springsteen’s raspy voice…
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We All Benefit When Everyone Reaches Their Potential
At the young age of 18, my mother left South Korea for Wuppertal, Germany to study nursing. How did a young woman from a rural…
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Twelve Innovative Partnerships to Help Businesses of Color Grow
Small business owners drive economic empowerment, both through their direct economic impact and as anchors and job-creators for the communities they serve. We know that…
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Helping Latinx Families Build Healthy Habits that Sustain Generations
For nearly 150 years, Erie Neighborhood House has been an institution for Chicago’s immigrant families. Originally founded as a settlement house to help Dutch immigrants…
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A Passion for Cooking Becomes a Career Path in East Garfield Park
Between the Garfield Park Conservatory and rows of worn Green Line tracks sits Inspiration Kitchens. Each year more than one hundred people come here to…
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Fund for Safe & Peaceful Communities Makes Neighborhood Impact, Draws National Support
Mass shootings. Deadly violence in neighborhoods. Unfortunately, these headlines too often dominate our daily newsfeeds. It is reasonable to feel overwhelmed and powerless to help…
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Nothing About Us Without Us
There are a handful of people in life that make you stop, listen and act. Marca Bristo is one of those people. A pioneer of…
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Our Brothers’ Keepers: Why Frank Clark Reaches Out and Gives Back
In celebration of Black Philanthropy Month, the Trust is featuring a series of conversations with Black philanthropists making their impact across the Chicago region. This…
