People, Power and Policy: Building the Foundation of Our Work
When The Chicago Community Trust set its North Star goal to close the racial and ethnic wealth gap as the best way to…
We are working towards a future with a vibrant and engaged civic sector with trusted relationships and partnerships that drive efforts to change policies and practices to increase economic security and build household and community wealth.
Policies and practices — fueled by the misconception that poverty is due solely to individual choices — have prevented Black and Latine Chicagoans from building wealth on par with white Chicagoans.
Policy-driven inequities require policy-driven solutions. Effective policy reforms are grounded in evidence, the real-life experiences of community residents, and the expertise of the many Chicago-based nonprofits that have worked for years to find and advance ways to create opportunity across the region.
The Trust Policy Change strategy prioritizes advocacy for policy reform that advances our goals of increasing household wealth, building community wealth, and addressing Chicagoans’ critical needs. This includes stabilizing housing for people who are unhoused or struggling to keep it, putting residents on a pathway to sustainable homeownership and successful employment, and driving public and private investment into underinvested communities.
We support resident leaders, policy organizations, and advocacy coalitions working to remove systemic barriers and change policies that have limited wealth-building opportunities for Black and Latine residents over generations. The Trust also partners with change agents to build public and political will, champion administrative reforms, and lobby for legislation that increases economic security and household and community wealth-building opportunities for marginalized people and communities.
Specifically, the Trust’s funding to advocate for policy change supports:
Policy Coalitions: To support nonprofit policy advocates and community organizers working together to advocate for shared policy priorities to remove barriers to wealth building.
Policy Research & Evaluation: To understand how public policies impede wealth-building and to seed ideas for reform to create wealth-building opportunities.
Civic and Government Sector Leadership: To invest in the next generation of leaders devising and implementing systems-based solutions.
In addition to supporting nonprofit advocates driving policy change, the Trust adds its voice and champions specific administrative or legislative reforms. The Trust’s advocacy takes various forms, including collective advocacy, lobbying, policy implementation, and public accountability.
Previous policy victories the Trust has contributed to:
We are working towards a future with a vibrant and engaged civic sector with trusted relationships and partnerships that drive efforts to change policies and practices to increase economic security and build household and community wealth.
As we move forward, we are committed to learning together, adjusting, and being responsive. We will use insights from our grantmaking and input from our partners to shape our learning journey and approach.
Policy change requires collective action. These priorities reflect where the Trust can achieve measurable impact. Still, we know that we cannot remove and overcome systemic policy barriers to wealth equity on our own.
Whether you are a donor, a community leader, work for a nonprofit, lead a company, or serve as a local government representative, we invite you to join us in increasing opportunities for Chicagoans to build wealth to create a stronger Chicago region.
When The Chicago Community Trust set its North Star goal to close the racial and ethnic wealth gap as the best way to…
For over 20 years, Florence Spann and her husband have spent their time and resources maintaining not just their own property (a two-story…
Public Act 103-0555, which reforms the Illinois Property Tax Sale system by closing loopholes that prevent blighted properties from redevelopment and allowing local…
Recognizing the important role systems and policy change play in closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap, The Chicago Community Trust launched the…
As a Senate staffer on Capitol Hill in the early 2000s, I spent many hours meeting with people wanting to express their positions…
In this episode of the Trust Talks podcast, we explore the barriers nonprofits face in accessing government funds, as well as opportunities to…
Please contact Aimee Ramirez, Director of Policy Change, at aramirez@cct.org, or Adele Nandan, Director of Donor Engagement, at anandan@cct.org.