Trusted Voices: Reimagining How We Meet Critical Needs
Across the region, households are struggling to make ends meet amid rising costs, changes in federal policies and social service programs, and funding…
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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Giving Insights: Caring for Chicago Over Generations
Narcissa Niblack Thorne is best known as the creator of the beloved Thorne Miniature Rooms—68 of which are housed at the Art Institute…
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Chicago’s Housing Future Is in Its Past: Look to the “Missing Middle"
Like the rest of the country, Chicago is facing an affordable housing crisis. Some neighborhoods boast houses that are too pricey for many…
“Community Development” Community Development
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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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Advancing Homeownership as a Tool for Wealth Building
More than a roof over heads, homeownership is a critical tool for helping families increase their financial security, build wealth, and pass it down to…
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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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Edwin Tobar
Edwin Tobar (he/him/his) is a program manager for Community Development at The Chicago Community Trust. In this role, Edwin leads conversations and grantmaking around development…
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Cook County Property Tax Sale System
Trust-funded research has uncovered Cook County’s process for reclaiming tax-delinquent properties for market use – from annual tax sales to the last-ditch Scavenger Sale – is failing to live up to its potential to secure vacant, abandoned, and underutilized properties as assets in Black and Latine communities.
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An Early Boost Gives Community Developers a Huge Leg Up
How an innovative Trust grant program helps neighborhood visions for growth become reality The Chicago Community Trust believes all Chicago neighborhoods are assets, each one…
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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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Selling Distress: How the Tax Foreclosure System Exacerbates Disinvestment in Cook County Communities
Following a comprehensive study of the Scavenger Sale, a national multi-jurisdiction analysis offers communities a roadmap for improvement. Property taxes are the largest source of…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast - Episode 8: Building Neighborhood Wealth w/ Community Investment Vehicles
In this episode of the Trust Talks podcast, learn about what Community Investment Vehicles (CIVs) are and the wealth building opportunities they could create for neighborhoods…
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Searle Funds: A Conversation with Peggy Davis and Angel Gibson
To administer the Searle Collaborative Funds, the Trust works closely with Kinship Foundation—a private operating foundation that advances the institutional philanthropy of the Searle family.…
