Young Leaders Fund Awards $69,000 in 2023 Grants to Small, Start-Up Nonprofits

The Young Leaders Fund (YLF), an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust, provides young professionals with an innovative way to make a difference, empowering them to manage the grant making process. With support from the Trust, YLF members research innovative grassroots organizations, conduct site visits, evaluate grant requests, and make award decisions. Through this process, members become more effective volunteers and more knowledgeable civic leaders, paving the way for them to develop as the next generation of philanthropists. 

This year, YLF made 13 grants totaling $69,000 to small, start-up nonprofits in the areas of Arts & Culture, Child Development & Education, and Community & Economic Development.

Learn more about their 2023 grant recipients below: 

Arts & Culture 

• D-Composed is a Black chamber music collective whose mission is to uplift and empower society through the power of Black composers by providing accessible, culturally-based spaces that reflect the Black experience. YLF’s grant supported their “A Musical Story Time” series, which pairs compositions by Black composers with children’s books written by Black authors, performed live by the D-Composed string ensemble and local storyteller. 
• ILA Creative Studio provides collaborative platforms, intentional programming, and empowering spaces to celebrate, educate, and elevate Black artists. YLF’s grant supported ILA’s connectivity platform (BLACC), which connects Black artists to resources and sort, manage, and organize their creative needs. 
• MPAACT is a multidisciplinary theatre arts organization focused on developing, nurturing, and sustaining Afrikan Centered Theatre. YLF’s grant supported development and distribution of podcast play recordings to make their work more accessible to a wider audience. 
• Pivot Arts develops innovative and multidisciplinary performances through residency programs and an arts incubator program at Loyola University. YLF’s grant supported “The Memory Place,” a unique multi-arts experience about cultural memory and hidden histories that celebrates the diversity of Chicago communities. 
• Simply Destinee supports youth mental health awareness through dance and the arts. YLF’s grant supports expansion of their services to provide workshops on college readiness and life skills. 

Child Development & Education 

• Camp 1302 provides an accessible summer camp for youth in Englewood providing a safe environment, fun activities, and continued education. YLF’s grant supported the camp’s urban agriculture program, the Soul Garden. 
• Divinely Orchestrated provides creative and unique recreational programs to build positive outcomes for young people in at-risk communities. YLF’s grant supported increased outreach and capacity-building. 
• The Answer Inc. provides persons with disabilities support for job readiness, vocational skills, long-term employment, and self-sufficiency. YLF’s grant supported their Workforce Development Program, which provides vocational and functional skills training for people with autism and developmental disabilities between ages 14 – 35. 
• Serving People with a Mission provides leadership and professional development programs for low-income and BIPOC high school students from Little Village and West Town to gain the tools they need in order to become servant leaders. YLF’s grant supported expansion of their programs to two new high schools. 

Community & Economic Development 

• Apple Runway is an online portal where teachers can request critical classroom supplies for their students. YLF’s grant supported providing supplies and a new program for students to develop projects to better their communities. 
• Black Millennial Renaissance is a network of Black Millennials and their allies fighting to end systemic racism through organizing, education, and empowerment. YLF’s grant supported their 2024 Justice & Equity Fellowship, a five-week internship program for future community organizers and leaders. 
• Illinois Worker Cooperative Alliance empowers workers to form and grow cooperatives through education, advice, financing, and advocacy. YLF’s grant supported organizational capacity building including strategic planning, board recruitment and development, and applying for 501c3 status. 
• People Empowering People enhances the financial security of low-income families in the Chicago region through capacity-building, financial education, and career coaching programs. YLF’s grant supported “We Got You Period,” a 12-week program for youth between 18-24 impacted by the criminal justice system to gain skills training, mentorship, and employment placement support.