Young Leaders Fund Awards $105,000 in its 2026 Grantmaking Cycle
Young Leaders Fund (YLF), an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust, has been paving the way for start-up nonprofits and the next generation…
Community Development
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent
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Pride, Progress, and Purpose: A Conversation with Jennie Brier & Ray Crossman
Each June, Pride Month offers a time to celebrate the achievements, contributions, and resilience of LGBTQ communities. An important vehicle for that work…
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Protecting the Rights & Dignity of All: National Immigrant Justice Center
Founded in 1984, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) believes that immigrants’ rights are human rights, and that every individual deserves to be…
“Partnerships & Initiatives” Community Development
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Community Visions Brought to Life
In October 2025, we celebrated the culmination of We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery, a five-year initiative supporting resilience and revitalization in…
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Neighborhood Capital Fund Fuels South and West Side Corridor Revitalization
Underinvestment has limited economic mobility and contributed to higher rates of poverty across Chicago’s South and West sides. Combined with depopulation, it has left vacant…
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Connecting Community Through Equitable Transit-Oriented Development
Proximity to reliable transit makes a big difference for the well-being of people and communities — physically, socially, and economically. Good policies and leadership can…
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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…
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Moving Equitable Development to the Front of the Bus: ETOD as Policy in Chicago
I like to call myself a product of the public transportation system. My hometown, a mid-size city in the north of Spain, runs a network…
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Community Desk Chicago: Unlocking Access to Capital
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. It was and still is a predominately Black community. I remember…
