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…
“Community Development” Community Development
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Pre-Development Fund: Mayfair Arts Center
In 1957, Chicago tap dancer and choreographer Tommy Sutton opened the Mayfair Academy to provide dance classes and education to South Side youth, particularly Black…
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Pre-Development Fund: Pullman Hotel
In 2015, the Obama administration designated the Historic Pullman District a national monument, making it part of the National Park System; it would later become…
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Pre-Development Fund: LUCHA HQ
LUCHA (Latin United Community Housing Association) was founded in 1982 by a coalition of residents from the West Town, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park neighborhoods…
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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…
