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…
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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Joshua Moreno: On Philanthropy & Showing Up for Others
Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the cultures, contributions, and resilience of the Latine communities in Chicago and across the country.…
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Rooted in Care: Community Partners Are Charting Paths to Housing Stability
Housing instability can significantly impact a person’s health and economic outcomes, including physical, mental and behavioral well-being. Stable housing provides a foundation not…
All Stories
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Chicago Colleges Unite as Citywide Campus, Global Destination
Chicago has long been known as a center of commerce and transportation, and for its world-class public museums and soaring architecture. Now, it’s moving to…
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Barn Dances and Prairie Picnics Build a Publishing Empire
The broadcaster of the prairie, Burridge D. Butler, transformed a farm media empire into a permanent legacy. Born in 1867, Butler was the son of…
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Teen Dance Festival Builds Bridges Across Neighborhoods
On a Saturday morning in August, teens streamed into the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Instead of sleeping in on a lazy summer morning,…
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Elevating Chicago’s Buoyant Dance Community
In fall 2015, Audience Architects honored Sarah Solotaroff Mirkin with its inaugural Distinguished Service to the Dance Field Award. Under her leadership at The Chicago…
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Arts Teachers, Time & Quality Increase in Chicago Public Schools
More than 30,000 students in Chicago Public Schools now have greater access to arts instruction than in previous school years. That’s according to data from…
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‘Soul Train’ to Stock Exchange: Chicago’s Barrier-Breaking Black Entrepreneur
When he became the first African-American to sit on the Trust’s Executive Committee in 1976, George E. Johnson, Sr. was the most prominent black businessman…
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Why Nonprofits Aren't Merging
With the persistent funding crisis that has faced Illinois nonprofit human service providers since the start of the recession, the question is increasingly asked: Why…
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The Music Coalition Creating Peace Through Jazz
On a blustery Tuesday evening, a small group of musicians are gathered in a three-story greystone at 38th and Michigan, tuning their instruments and warming…
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An Elvis Lunchbox Sparks “Life-Changing” Club for Fans with Disabilities
Jeanne Curtin has worked for many years as a cashier at Jewel-Osco. Throughout the years, she became friends with many of her coworkers who lived…
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Planting the Seeds of Chicago’s Backyard Garden
The city of Chicago was incorporated in 1837 as “Urbs in Horto”: a “city in a garden.” In 1972, with the assistance of the Trust,…
