2026 End-of-Year Charitable Giving: Important Dates & Deadlines for Gifts & Grants
The end of the year is approaching and we at The Chicago Community Trust are committed to making your year-end giving and grantmaking…
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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A Forever Resource: Nuestro Futuro Nears a $10 Million Endowment
Chicago’s diverse Latine communities are an economic and cultural force in our city. From small businesses that anchor neighborhoods to the food, art,…
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More Than a Paycheck: What It Takes to Get Ahead
Two days before my brother’s 10th birthday, my family was on the brink of bankruptcy. My parents’ small business hadn’t hit its growth…
“Partnerships & Initiatives” Community Development
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Chicago’s Next Chapter in Equitable Transit-Oriented Development
Five years ago this June, the City of Chicago adopted a bold vision and framework for equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD). The Chicago Plan Commission unanimously…
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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…
