Stories of Impact 2022: We Rise Together

In the wake of the pandemic and the inequities it exposed, the philanthropic community has the chance to make transformational investments to strengthen long-disinvested communities and, in turn, the entire Chicago region.

We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a funder collaborative working in partnership with community members to address the urgent economic needs of Black and Latinx communities.

This work is critical to the Trust’s strategic focus on closing the region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap, which the pandemic further widened. We Rise Together invests in new development, strengthens employment, and supports locally owned businesses in Black and Latinx communities.

Two years into We Rise Together, shovels are going into the ground, ribbons are being cut, and residents’ dreams for more vital and vibrant communities are being realized.

North Austin Center

More than 700 people attended the February 2023 grand opening of this stunning 10-acre sports campus on Chicago’s West Side, a partnership between Grace and Peace Church, By the Hand Club for Kids, and Intentional Sports. The center will provide North Austin youth and families with recreation, tutoring, and other activities that make for a stronger, safer, healthier community.

A $1.5 million grant from We Rise Together allowed the project to quickly resolve unexpected costs and put construction back on schedule. With more flexibility than any other form of capital, philanthropic dollars can be the pivotal investment that brings a large, high-impact project over the finish line.

Each year the Center expects to:

• Serve 25,000 area residents
• Welcome 250,000 visitors
• Generate $10 million in local economic activity

PODER Headquarters

PODER is an immigrant integration center that prepares Spanish-speaking adults to seize opportunities in Chicago through comprehensive and tuition-free English classes, civic education, and job training programs. In January 2023, PODER cut the ribbon on its first-ever dedicated headquarters: a beautifully renovated Gage Park building that will allow the organization to serve almost 2,500 clients each year (nearly double its current total).

Transparent walls and natural light throughout the center embody the warmth and openness that PODER strives to provide its clients and community. In addition to its own services, PODER anticipates hosting many partner events and programs each year.

A $70,000 grant from the Trust’s Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment strategy and a $1 million grant from We Rise Together were instrumental in helping this project gain momentum and additional funding.

“It’s always been PODER’s dream to have a highly visible space in the community where people know we’re here for them and feel like they belong. To finally have that dream come true is an awesome feeling,” said Griselda Piedra, Community Relations Manager at PODER.