3C Community Profile: Humboldt Park
Take a stroll down the Paseo Boricua corridor on Division Street and it’s easy to see why Humboldt Park is one of Chicago’s most vibrant…
Grants
Featured
Our Grantmaking Strategy
For more than 100 years, The Chicago Community Trust has convened, supported, funded, and accelerated the work of community members and changemakers committed to strengthening the Chicago region. From building up our civic infrastructure to spearheading our response to the Great Recession, the Trust has brought our community together to face pressing challenges and seize our greatest opportunities. Today, that means confronting the racial and ethnic wealth gap.
-
Grant Recipient
E. G. Woode, L3C
E.G. Woode L3C, with guidance from Upside Collaboration Company (UPSIDE) and numerous community partners, is looking for better ways to leverage our real estate development to support the Englewood community. We are doing that through the establishment of a community benefit trust (CBT) that will take the profits from our developments and put it directly into use by the community. This grant application is to provide funds to seed and administer the CBT while the underlying properties are completed and become profitable.
-
Grant Recipient
CENTER FOR DISABILITY AND ELDER LAW INC
Over the past three years, CDEL’s funding has grown, thanks to additional government funds from the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan funds from the state, county, and city. In 2022, CDEL received more than $500,000 from various government funders. Each new grant brought additional compliance issues and more intensive reporting, stretching the time and capabilities of the executive director and legal director. Meanwhile, CDEL's staff has doubled in size, and the additional human resource needs have also strained organization leadership. CDEL hired an operations manager in December 2022 to provide more support to the leadership team, but this role requires additional funding. A capacity building grant from CCT will enable CDEL to 1. configure its case management system (LegalServer) to better support compliance with government grants; 2. stay on top of changes in human resources with a membership to the Society for Human Resource Management; 3. train leadership staff on human resources and federal grant compliance; 4. cover grant writing costs associated with preparation and submission of large grant applications; 5. enable CDEL's outside bookkeeper to keep up with the number of vouchers CDEL must submit monthly or quarterly; and 6. cover a portion of the salary of the new operations manager.
-
Grant Recipient
Forefront
Forefront, Illinois’ statewide association representing both grantmakers and nonprofits, as well as their advisors and allies, is respectfully submitting a request for funding in the amount of $150,000 from The Chicago Community Trust. The request includes $50,000 in funding for the Mission Sustainability Initiative, or MSI, $50,000 for our policy and advocacy work, $30,000 in Forefront Grantmaker Member dues, $15,000 in support of Forefront’s 2024 Annual Summit and 50th anniversary via sponsorship, and $5,000 to cover the cost of six Trust staff members to participate in Forefront’s 2024 Grantmakers Institute. The proposal will provide information about Forefront as an organization, and then will primarily focus on the MSI and policy and advocacy work, with topline information provided about the Grantmakers Institute.
-
Grant Recipient
Forefront
Forefront respectfully requests a renewal grant of $250,000 to build on and expand the work of the Equitable Access & Capacity Initiative (EACI), a partnership between Forefront, BDO, and IFF. With support from the Chicago Community Trust, we will offer four clinic series to up to 32 organizations that are preparing for or managing government grants. We will also provide one-on-one support to up to 8 organizations through a mix of coaching and technical assistance. Clinics will include a short series of workshops focused on a specific topic identified as a challenge by EACI grant applicants, such as purchasing or time-tracking policies and procedures. Clinics will include a mix of instruction, hands-on opportunities, and open forums for questions with peer organizations. The goals for clinic engagement include both learning and the development of a needed product such as a policy or written procedure. Each clinic series will be open to up to 8 organizations (up to 32 organizations total) with multiple participants attending from each organization.
-
Grant Recipient
Scholarship America, Inc.
This grant application is for the administration of the William J Cook Scholarship Program. Scholarship America provides full scholarship services including application design, evaluation, selection, notification and payment for the students selected as recipients for the program. In addition to the new scholarship recipients, Scholarship America also collects and reviews academic information from renewal students who are continuing in the program. This academic year the program is projected to award 55 new recipients and approximately 100 renewal students.
-
Grant Recipient
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
The proposed research project aims to better understand the transfer experience of undergraduate students at UIC. Focusing on transfers from Harold Washington College to UIC, the research team will analyze institutional data and conduct interviews with students and staff to better understand the needs, experiences, and strengths of transfer students. This study will enable us to identify the factors that promote and impede success at UIC, programs and services that improve the transfer experience, and what UIC and other institutions can do better to promote success for all students.
-
Grant Recipient
Contextos NFP
ConTextos requests an $80,000 grant to address critical gaps in our capacity to secure, manage and thrive by leveraging the current influx in public funding opportunities designed to impact community healing, violence prevention and public safety at a moment of unprecedented urgency in Chicago.
-
Grant Recipient
Angelic Organics Learning Center Inc
Farmers Rising is implementing a regenerative livestock incubator program which will launch in 2024 and will be the experiential focal point of a combined farmer training and farm-based community education program. We will offer direct access to farmland, production training and resources, market development and technical assistance to farmers interested in regenerative livestock farming approaches and management, and will be wholly focused on working with BIPOC and historically marginalized farmer groups (refugee, LGBTQIA+, veteran). While the program will be livestock focused, diversified production which integrates livestock and other agricultural products will also be supported. Secondarily, this project will also provide program participants access to a vibrant community space where they can learn from and interact directly with farmers, perhaps becoming inspired to take up farming in the future themselves. Ultimately, we aspire to develop the next generation of regenerative agriculture leaders who are resilient to climate change and representative of our many diverse communities in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Key to our ability to support our incubator farmers, as well as the broader network of farmers we serve through the Farm Beginnings program and CRAFT farmer network, are our focused, outcome-driven work and strong partnerships. We will continue to strengthen relationships within the Routes to Farm Alliance in order to reduce duplication in services and broaden our reach to ensure divested communities have access to our programs and services. The end result is an increase in the number of economically viable farm businesses, a more sustainable agricultural ecosystem, increased access to local foods, and a vibrant community centered around regenerative farming and local food.