As 2025 Winds Down...
A Note from Our CEO As 2025 winds down and we gather for holiday celebrations, I’ve been reflecting with friends and colleagues on…
Community Wealth
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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Turning Houses into Homes: The Impact of 3C’s First Three Years
Launched in April of 2022 as a three-year program, Connecting Capital and Community (3C) Chicago is a collaborative effort between lenders, developers, and…
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Trusted Voices: Addressing Hunger in Chicago
Families throughout Chicago are struggling to put food on their tables. Rising grocery and housing costs continue to strain household budgets, and pending…
“Community Wealth” Community Wealth
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Trust Expertise Ensures Donors Make a Difference
As a community foundation, The Chicago Community Trust not only serves our communities’ needs, but also depends upon local philanthropists to work together to meet…
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"Collaborative Fund" is a New Source of Capital for Groups Advancing Neighborhood Investment
In 2020, the Trust’s Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment team launched the Flexible Funding Program. The program supports and builds the capacity of organizations to engage with community partnerships,…
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2021 Q4 Grants Highlight Trust’s Dual Focus on Wealth Gap and Pandemic Recovery
Throughout The Chicago Community Trust’s 2021 fiscal year—October 2020 to September 2021, including 347 discretionary grants totaling $29.1 million—COVID-19 remained a persistent challenge.* The year’s…
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Land is the Truest Asset
A few years ago, I attended a peer city exchange with representatives from Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. In the spirit of mutual…
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2021 Q3 Grants Foster Partnerships for Equity
More than a grant maker, the Chicago Community Trust aims to close the region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap by being a changemaker. Change at…
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Pre-Development Fund: Urban Juncture Foundation
Urban Juncture Foundation is dedicated to working alongside its neighbors to spark revitalization and economic growth in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood. In 2011 the organization…
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Pre-Development Fund: Obsidian Collection Archives
The Obsidian Collection Archives is dedicated to preserving Black history, memory, and culture through an expansive online collection of documents, photographs, film, and other artifacts.…
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Pre-Development Fund: Urban Equities, Inc.
Urban Equities, Inc., is a full-service real estate development and project management firm with a 28-year track record of adding beauty and vitality to disinvested…
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Pre-Development Fund: PODER Learning Center
Since 1997, PODER Learning Center has served as a launchpad to good jobs and better futures for more than 13,000 Latinx immigrants and first-generation residents…
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Pre-Development Fund: Allies for Community Business and Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago
Allies for Community Business (A4CB, formerly Accion Chicago) is the region’s largest nonprofit microlender. It is also, along with the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago…
