From the Archives: 1994 – The Origins of Young Leaders Fund
National Philanthropy Day, observed around the world on November 15th, celebrates the contributions of philanthropists of all backgrounds who dedicate their time, talents,…
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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2025 End-of-Year Charitable Giving: Important Dates & Deadlines for Gifts & Grants
The end of the year is approaching and we at The Chicago Community Trust are committed to making your year-end giving and grantmaking…
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Neighborhood Development Champions Support a Strong Pipeline of Community-Led Projects
For the Chicago region to thrive, all communities must prosper. Disinvestment in the South and West Sides has limited wealth-building and harmed neighborhood…
“Partnerships & Initiatives” Stories
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From Crisis to Change: Lessons from Year One of We Rise Together
As we mark the one-year anniversary of We Rise Together: For an Equitable and Just Recovery, it seems fitting to reflect on all we have…
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LGBTQ Community Fund Provides Critical Grant Making During the Pandemic
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LGBTQ Community Fund provided its largest annual grant making total in 2020, awarding $813,000 in total grant…
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COVID Recovery: What We Need to Set Us Up for Future Success
There is so much we can learn from a crisis. Crises reveal the weaknesses in our systems, but they also have a way of augmenting…
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Community Desk Chicago: Unlocking Access to Capital
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. It was and still is a predominately Black community. I remember…
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Young Leaders Fund Capacity-Building Grants Focus on Digital Divide and Wealth Gap
Last year, The Chicago Community Trust asked the Young Leaders Fund (YLF), one of the Trust’s affinity funds, to identify and support 10 past grant recipients that…
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The Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund: Lessons in Collaboration Amid Crises
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund (CCRF). The moment is not lost on us. To date, 5,056 Chicago…
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We Rise Together: For an Equitable and Just Recovery for Metropolitan Chicago
*As of March 2021, the initiative has changed its name to “We Rise Together: For an Equitable and Just Recovery.” The Chicago region is at…
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Nuestro Futuro Grant Helps Latinx Families Prepare for Kindergarten in a Virtual Setting
This past year, the Highwood Public Library launched Camino a la Escuela (“Path to School”) to teach an initial cohort of 16 Latinx families from…
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The Chicago Community Trust Launches On the Table Conversations with Racial Healing Theme
The Chicago Community Trust kicks off its seventh annual On the Table initiative on Monday, Oct. 12, recognized as Indigenous People’s Day by the City of Chicago, to…
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How to Build an Equitable COVID Recovery for Chicago
This op-ed appeared in Crain’s Chicago Business on October 8, 2020. Before the pandemic upended our lives, Chicago appeared to be on the upswing from…
