More Than a Paycheck: What It Takes to Get Ahead
Two days before my brother’s 10th birthday, my family was on the brink of bankruptcy. My parents’ small business hadn’t hit its growth…
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 27: Fueling Small Business Growth in Chicago
Small businesses are essential to stabilizing neighborhood economies. They create jobs, activate commercial corridors, and provide the goods and services that help communities…
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“Can I Invest in Community to Do Good?” Samuel Muñeton Jr. Shows Us How.
For Samuel Muñeton Jr., his philanthropy has come full circle. In his youth, Sam benefited directly from mentors and others in his community…
“Community Spotlight” Stories
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Southeast Side Residents Advocate for Positive Community Development
When people hold the power to shape their collective destiny, anything is possible. This year, as part of the Trust’s strategy to close the racial…
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Continuing a Legacy: Claude Robinson Awarded Second Donald Stewart Fellowship
Two years after his passing, the legacy of Donald Stewart lives on. In March, The Chicago Community Trust and African American Legacy awarded their second Donald Stewart Fellowship to Claude Robinson,…
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Changemakers Network Building Trust, Muscle—and Power
What does it take for a group of strangers to build trust among one other when they can only gather virtually? How can philanthropy help…
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Uniting Funders to Help Businesses of Color Grow and Thrive
When it comes to closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap, small businesses can be a force multiplier, helping people build wealth, creating jobs and…
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Creating a Sustainable Grain Hub
Illinois is known as a major producer of corn and soybeans for the world market. But if more grains like barley, wheat and oats were…
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Fighting the Cause and Effect of Hunger
How does an organization feed more than 800,000 people each year and tackle the root causes of hunger? Since 1979, the Greater Chicago Food Depository—a…
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Amplifying Voices to Stop the Spiral of Debt
For Chicagoans with low incomes, a parking ticket can be so much more than an annoyance. It can be a penalty that forces gut wrenching…
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Fueling Economic Growth in the South Suburbs
It takes a lot to revitalize a community. Beyond ambitious development plans and the right lenders and agencies, it requires a central player—the glue binding…
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Pullman Rising
Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood on the city’s South Side is fast becoming a national model for revitalization, with new jobs, retail, housing and a recreational center…
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Black History Month: Honoring Donald Stewart with Named Fellowship
Tim King, founder and CEO of Urban Prep Academies, remembers being surprised that someone as esteemed as Donald Stewart took an interest in his work.…
