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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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…
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Our Great Rivers Reimagines Chicago River System as Vital Lifeforce
What if Chicago’s rivers were seen not just as waterways, but as treasured cultural and economic assets, similar to Lake Michigan? In 2016, the Metropolitan…
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Fast-Growing Food Enterprise Run by Entrepreneurs of Color Secures New Home
The founders of ChiFresh Kitchen never expected their worker-owned, commercial kitchen cooperative would launch early due to a pandemic-fueled demand for quality meals for people…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast - Episode 3: Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment
In this episode of the Trust Talks podcast, Michael Davidson, senior director of community impact leading the Trust’s Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment portfolio, sits down with Lennox Jackson;…
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2021 Q1 Grants Support Resilience, Equity, Recovery
In year two of its 10-year strategy to close metropolitan Chicago’s racial and ethnic wealth gap, the Trust is starting to see the fruits of…
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We Will Chicago: An Instrument for Equity
Can a city plan be an instrument for equity? We think it can. That is why we believe that the Lightfoot administration’s We Will Chicago…
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Winter 2021 Webinar Recap: Strategies to Close the Racial & Ethnic Wealth Gap
Over late fall 2020 and early winter 2021, The Chicago Community Trust co-hosted a series of webinars to explore its strategies to close the racial…
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2020 Grant Making: The Chicago Community Trust
In Fiscal Year 2020, The Chicago Community Trust made 293 discretionary grants totaling $20,477,287. Following are some highlights of how this year’s grant making embraced…
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Pre-Development Grants Available to Community-Based Developers
When people gather for the ribbon cutting at the neighborhood’s new grocery store, community center, or manufacturing facility, their excitement is justified. For the community…
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The New Flexible Funding Program Supports and Accelerates Community-Driven Investment
The Chicago Community Trust granted $1.2 million to community-driven investment-focused organizations to move forward on neighborhood opportunities that attract capital and leverage resources. We are…
