Feeding Change in Our Region
The Chicago Region Food System Fund is a group of funders and community partners working together to build a more resilient local food…
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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Cultivating a Bright Future in Little Village
Little Village, or La Villita, has a long history of welcoming immigrant communities, starting with the German, Czech and Polish residents who flocked…
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Boosting Impact: The Amplification Fund
The Amplification Fund is an opportunity for donors to participate directly in the Trust’s grantmaking and join a community of philanthropists with similar…
All Stories
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A Global Activist Reflects on Marching with MLK
In 1966, Rozell W. “Prexy” Nesbitt was 22 years old, fresh from a year studying in Tanzania and eager to join the Chicago Freedom Movement.…
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The 64 Great Ideas Sparking Change in Chicagoland Communities
Across the Chicagoland region, our collective civic pride is deeply rooted in the steady determination to bring about the very best conditions of life for…
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Access, Equity, Opportunity: Building a Moral Economy
How can communities access full employment, fair credit, early childhood education and an increased health and life expectancy in the American heartland? These were the…
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Through Collaboration and Community, a New Model of Leadership
Reflecting the recent passing of the 26th anniversary of the ADA I had those words in mind: “Let the shameful walls of exclusion finally come…
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Giving a Voice to Children in Foster Care
Almost 18,000 children are in foster care in Illinois. Many of these youth face a challenging and disrupted childhood, as they are placed in a…
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Fifty Years Later, Chicago Pastor Continues MLK's Local Legacy
On August 5, 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a diverse group of 700 civil rights activists, religious leaders and courageous community members marched…
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Setting Tables Across America for Community Conversation
Since On the Table debuted in 2014, thousands of people from across the Chicago region have gathered to forge new relationships and foster fresh discussions about making…
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Remembering a Son, and a Community of Compassion
In the early 1980s, Tom Graziano and his wife adopted a baby boy named John. John was constantly sick, but his doctors were never able…
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Fighting Homelessness for a New LGBTQ Generation
Hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer young people in Chicago have no place to stay tonight. Longtime activist Richard Turner is helping to…
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Remixing the Art of Protest
“How can we conduct ourselves in this space in a way that is counter to all of what is oppressive outside of this space?” [pullquote]At…
