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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A Death Across the Street Inspires a Movement to Reclaim South Shore
After living for 40 years in South Shore/South Chicago—two adjacent lakefront neighborhoods that have gone from middle-class haven to gang stronghold—Laura Morgan didn’t have much…
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Equality Activist Evan Wolfson on Generosity, Government and Mending the World
Serving as co-counsel in the landmark Hawaii marriage case Baehr v. Miike, which paved the way for the global freedom to marry movement, Evan Wolfson…
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After a Tragic Loss, a Journalist Helps Us Reckon with Death
WGN-TV reporter Randi Belisomo is on a mission to help her fellow Chicagoans learn to think in concrete terms about a very difficult topic—namely, that…
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A Painter and a Sculptor Create Opportunity for Artists with Disabilities
Sometimes life takes you in an unexpected direction. That’s the lesson learned by Rob Lentz and Mark Jackson, co-founders of Project Onward, a gallery and…
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Protecting Oak Tree Ecosystems, One Partnership at a Time
Catherine Game is the director of communications and engagement for Chicago Wilderness, a 200-plus-member alliance of conservation groups, government agencies, businesses and faith groups. Founded…
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In Mt. Greenwood, One Lawyer Carries on Boxing’s Tradition of Giving Back
On Chicago’s South Side, behind a small law office, sits Celtic Boxing Club. Mike Joyce, an attorney by day and boxing instructor by night, started…
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LGBT Youth and Senior Services Gain New Support
The Chicago Community Trust’s LGBT Community Fund kicked off its first round of community grant making at a reception on October 1. The Fund—founded in…
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Young Boxers Gain Leadership, Respect—and the Support of the Chicago Cubs
Professional boxers and players from the Chicago Cubs were in the house on September 2 for “Respect the Main Event,” a charity event hosted by…
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An Army of ‘Angels,’ Making Sure No One Fights Cancer Alone
In 2001, Jonny Imerman was 26, living in Detroit, earning an MBA and working in commercial real estate. He soon found out he had cancer.…
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An Urban Gardener Builds a ‘Plot to Plate’ Movement for Chicago
LaManda Joy grew up in a gardening family. Her parents were of the generation whose legacy included the Great Depression and victory gardens in the…
