Trust Grants $2 Million to Address Critical Needs

Building Pathway to Stability Program Funds 40 Nonprofits Across the Region

The Chicago Community Trust recently announced $2 million in general operating grants to 40 nonprofit organizations addressing critical human needs across the region. The awards, ranging from $25,000 to $75,000, are supporting work to address housing insecurity, provide emergency clothing and supplies, respond to food insecurity, and increase access to health care. In addition to receiving grants, this cohort of cross-sector grant recipients will share best practices and learn together.

“COVID-19 has revealed how many residents in our region were facing unstable circumstances before the health and economic crisis struck,” said Anna Lee, director of community impact for the Trust.  Especially in this moment, we must all do our part to ensure that residents have what they need to meet their full potential. We are all connected and our region’s vitality is dependent on each other. These grants provide opportunities for our residents to build their pathways toward stability.

Of the 40 funded organizations, 23 are new Trust grant recipients. The organizations are:

Addressing Housing Insecurity/Preventing Homelessness

Alexian Brothers Housing and Health Alliance ($50,000)

BEDS Inc. ($50,000)

Facing Forward to End Homelessness ($60,000)

Family Rescue ($50,000)

Franciscan Outreach ($75,000)

Housing Forward ($60,000)

Ignite  (formerly Teen Living Programs) ($60,000)

Inner Voice Incorporated ($60,000)

Inspiration Corporation ($60,000)

La Casa Norte ($75,000)

Lyte Collective ($40,000)

Matthew House ($60,000)

New Moms, Inc. ($55,000)

North Side Housing and Supportive Services ($50,000)

Primo Center for Women and Children ($50,000)

Renaissance Social Services Inc ($50,000)

Respond Now Inc ($60,000)

South Suburban Family Shelter ($25,000)

South Suburban PADS ($50,000)

The Harbour Inc ($30,000)

Unity Parenting and Counseling Inc ($50,000)

Increasing Access to Health Care Services

Enlace Chicago ($60,000)

Equal Hope ($50,000)

Healthcare Alternative Systems Inc. ($60,000)

NAMI Metro Suburban Inc ($30,000)

Saving Lives Inc ($40,000)

Sinai Community Institute Inc ($75,000)

Increasing Food Security

Beyond Hunger ($50,000)

Chicago Fund on Aging and Disability  ($40,000)

Chicago Horticultural Society – Windy City Harvest ($60,000)

Cornerstone Community Development Corporation NFP ($45,000)

Growing Home Inc.  ($40,000)

Lakeview Pantry ($50,000)

Metropolitan Family Services – Chicago Teen Food Literacy ($40,000)

The Experimental Station: 6100 Blackstone ($60,000)

Urban Growers Collective Inc ($40,000)

Providing Emergency Clothing & Supplies

Chicago Period Project ($25,000)

Cradles to Crayons Inc. ($50,000)

Operation Warm Inc ($40,000)

Share Our Spare ($25,000)

In the fall of 2019, the Trust announced a 10-year strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap. This strategy builds on the community foundation’s enduring commitment to address the region’s most pressing human service needs. All of the Building Pathways to Stability grant recipients are serving populations or geographies that are disproportionately impacted by poverty and disinvestment. These organizations use evidence-based, people-centered approaches to delivering human services. They include organizations led by people of color and those serving underserved suburban communities.

About The Chicago Community Trust 

The Chicago Community Trust is a community foundation dedicated to strengthening the Chicago region and improving the lives of the people who call it home. For more than 100 years, the Trust has served as a trusted philanthropic partner, connecting the generosity of donors with community needs by making grants to nonprofit organizations working to create lasting change. Following the creation of a new strategic plan in 2019, the Trust stands committed to addressing Chicago’s legacy of systemic inequity and closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap, while continuing to respond to the critical needs of our most vulnerable residents. The Trust administers more than $360 million in annual grant making as part of its commitment to equity, opportunity, and prosperity for the Chicago region. To learn more, visit cct.org.