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…
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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.
Explore Our Discretionary Grants
Showing 4721–4728 of 3857 results
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Grant Recipient
The Chicago Community Trust/Office of Equity and Racial Justice
Chicago, as a sanctuary city, is facing unprecedented challenges due to the recent influx of migrants following the lifting of Title 42. With over 29,301 New Arrivals, primarily from Venezuela, having arrived in Chicago as of December 29th, 2023, the city is grappling with the logistical and humanitarian aspects of accommodating and supporting these individuals. The sudden and continuous arrival of migrants, often without advance notice, has overwhelmed city officials, forcing the opening of 27 shelters with more in the pipeline. This influx, coupled with the lack of federal and limited state funding, has strained city resources, leading to tension among residents, particularly in historically underfunded low-income Black and brown communities. The City remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting New Arrivals and facilitating their permanent resettlement in Chicago. However, the media landscape, dominated by local and national outlets, contributes to a challenging environment. The portrayal of New Arrivals in the media is often reactionary and echoes xenophobic sentiments, influencing public opinion negatively. To counter this, the city administration and community leaders recognize the need for a dedicated communications help to implement a rapid response strategy, shifting the narrative and discourse around New Arrivals and immigration. This represents a crucial opportunity for Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, to lead in immigration reform, resettlement, and exemplify the essence of being a Sanctuary City. The city administration and key stakeholders, urgently require a coordinated multi-media communications plan. This plan would involve developing and supporting the implementation of a strategic communications strategy for the city's efforts to welcome New Arrivals. Additionally, it would include analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes, and potential issues that might impact the city's response. Collaboration between the city administration and diverse coalition partners is crucial for ensuring better coordinated responses, maintaining message discipline, and engaging in research-informed communication. The plan should also encompass supporting all aspects of rapid response efforts, such as crafting talking points, press releases, and social media content to shape a more positive narrative around the challenges faced by Chicago as a result of the influx of migrants. The CCT will will initiate a sub-granting process to support the city administration's communications' plan on new arrivals. CCT will partner with the Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights, responsible for this communications' initiative, that will include identifying and contracting suitable firms to address the public affairs strategy understaffing related to asylum seekers. Building on their successful collaboration during the COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, where CCT identified and supported community-based organizations and individuals impacted by the pandemic, the trust will once again leverage its expertise to ensure that the communications strategy aligns with the values of multiculturalism and peacekeeping. CCT's role in monitoring the process will uphold public trust, ensuring transparency, and contributing to the effective implementation of the strategy to address the needs of the city and its New Arrivals. This partnership demonstrates the shared commitment of the City administration and CCT to address pressing issues and effect lasting positive change for all Chicagoans. Over the years, the City of Chicago and The Chicago Community Trust (CCT) have built impactful partnerships, seen in initiatives like Elevated Works. This program, under Elevated Chicago, disperses $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to 60 Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) sites. CCT plays a crucial role by matching these federal dollars with an additional $1 million or more in flexible funding, ensuring prompt capital and a comprehensive range of services for the City's ETOD grantees, maximizing the impact of recovery funds on community development. Furthermore, the joint efforts of CCT and the City to combat community violence are evident through their involvement in the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC). This coalition, consisting of over 50 foundations and private funders, actively supports effective solutions against community violence. In 2023, the city administration, CCT, and PSPC collaborated to amplify the impact of the Chicago Fund, resulting in an increased investment of over $2.5 million in grants distributed among 253 grassroots organizations. This collective initiative now aims to extend its reach by engaging more young people in activities throughout the year, going beyond the traditional gap period between the end of the school year and the beginning of Chicago Park District programming. The clear synergy between CCT and the City of Chicago demonstrates our shared commitment to addressing urgent and longstanding social issues.
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Grant Recipient
Deborah's Place
Deborah’s Place is requesting support for our housing-first, harm-reductive, human-centered programs that support single women as they transition from experiences of homelessness to permanent, stable housing. Grant funding from the Chicago Community Trust will be used to deepen the participation of clients (who are primarily women of color) and improve the agency’s delivery of services to address evolving community needs.
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Grant Recipient
The Chicago Community Foundation/Elevated Chicago
Elevated Chicago is a coalition of organizations advancing Equitable Transit-Oriented Development [ETOD] to unlock the potential of transit hubs to connect people and attract development that is racially equitable in terms of climate resilience, health and cultural indicators. In partnership with local community-based organizations, Elevated Chicago seeks to transform the 1/2-mile radius around CTA, Metra, and Pace hubs and corridors into community-focused centers of commerce and culture by 1) removing barriers that hinder innovation near station areas; 2) equipping residents with resources to make these areas a community and civic priority; and 3) aligning, cultivating, and deploying capital for development near transit stations, to become areas where the built environment and programming converge to create nodes of connection and opportunity.
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Grant Recipient
McKinley Park Development Council
We published the South Branch Connectivity Project Framework Plan (attached) in June 2024 and are now taking the first steps toward implementation. These steps include continued detailed planning, community engagement, advocacy efforts, negotiations with landowners, and holistic action on concerns like transportation and housing affordability in surrounding areas. Many details are laid out in the plan’s recommendations (p53) and implementation matrix (p 80).
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Grant Recipient
SMALL BUSINESS MAJORITY FOUNDATION INC
Small Business Majority [SBM] requests support to continue Pathways to Entrepreneurial Growth, offered in partnership with Rogers Park Business Alliance [RPBA] and New Covenant Community Development Center [NCCDC]. Pathways increases access to business support, financial management training and capital for entrepreneurs of color by linking together RPBA’s GROW/PROGRESANDO program, NCCDC’s Financial Dashboard program and SBM’s “Ready for Capital” capstone workshop. Partners monitor outcomes and feedback from multi-program participants and identify adaptable best practices aimed at boosting cultural competence and humility in service delivery—key to increasing effective, fair service delivery for entrepreneurs disproportionately harmed by structural discrimination, public disinvestment and the pandemic.
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Grant Recipient
Jane Addams Resource Corporation
The Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC) was established in 1985. Over the last 38 years, JARC has collaborated with stakeholders across various sectors to assess the needs of the community and the clients we serve. We promote economic development by training low-income adults in the skills they need to earn a living wage. We do this through a combination of technical manufacturing training and wraparound supportive services. We believe that everyone who works has the right to a living wage; that training leads to better paying jobs; and that the key to long term, substantive change for people is a focus on careers. We promote economic empowerment through training low-income adults in the skills they need to secure entry into a manufacturing career pathway. We do this by integrating our manufacturing job training and bundled supportive services, including financial literacy and one-on-one long-term financial coaching. We offer free technical training in welding, computerized machining, and assembly at our two Chicagoland locations. We focus on these occupations because they offer career path employment with family sustaining wages, and full benefits. All trainees in our programs also receive one-on-one coaching, case management, transportation assistance, and access to supportive service funds. We screen trainees for additional needs such as accessing health insurance, housing, food, childcare, mental health support, substance abuse counseling, and domestic violence assistance. All these supports continue when our clients start working to help them advance along a career path and continue to reach their long-term goals. All our training programs offer industry recognized credentials and job placement assistance. Last calendar year, we served 135 clients overall through our Careers in Manufacturing Programs. We provided direct financial counseling to 52 clients (which includes both new trainees and graduates). We had 51 new trainees start in training, and 56 trainees earn 79 industry credentials. During this same time, we placed 35 clients in fulltime jobs at an average starting wage of $20.19. In addition to funding for our training programs and wrap-around supportive services, we are also seeking support for our expansion into an additional training facility on the west side. This will allow us to expand our commitment to west side communities and further build upon the strengths in those neighborhoods. JARC is working with other West Side partners to renovate the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation in the Austin community. Construction is scheduled to be completed in November 2024, with JARC then beginning to operate in the space in early 2025. JARC will be moving our CNC program to this new location which will allow us to expand our welding program in our current west side location within Freedman Seating. Over the next year, JARC is also expanding our impact through offering a Spanish language training option. In an effort to be responsive to the needs of Spanish speaking New Arrivals, JARC is piloting a Spanish language Mechanical Assembly training program in April of 2024. The program will be 10-12 weeks long and offer technical training and job placement to participants. We have already received great interest from New Arrivals in the program, so we anticipate adding additional cohorts after the pilot session. Social inclusion is a key initiative of our agency strategic plan. We are committed to actively and continuously working to dismantle systemic barriers. Our goal is that neither race, gender, nor LGBTQ+ identity will be predictors of our clients’ outcomes and success.
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Grant Recipient
The Chicago Scholars Foundation
Chicago Scholars offers a transformative 7-year, holistic program where we begin working with students the summer after their junior year of high school and support them through critical transitions to and through college, and into careers. The program goes beyond college achievement. It provides Scholars with the resources, skills, and networks to become the next leaders of Chicago and drive economic growth. Our Scholars receive guidance from mentors and individualized college counseling, attend professional development workshops, design and launch social justice projects, and gain essential work experience through internships. Unlike other college access organizations, Chicago Scholars focuses on under-resourced students who excel academically but do not have the resources to develop strong social networks to propel them into purposefully and financially fulfilling careers. Chicago Scholars candidates are academically ambitious, motivated, and committed students as evidenced by strong academic performance. The average Scholar’s GPA is 3.6, and they actively participate in extra curriculars and take on leadership roles. Even though these students have exceptional grades and potential, too often, their economic and social standing prevent them from excelling economically and becoming leaders in their community. Our new Young Men of Color initiative is called 'A Space for Us'. 'A Space for Us' was born out of the success and lessons learned of the young men of color pilot initiatives deployed across the entire CS organization. Data gathered from those experiences supports our programming focusing on sense of belonging and leadership development – we are establishing a community for the males of color across the organization and city to deepen their connection with each other through open dialogue each month along with other intentional engagement activities.
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Grant Recipient
Chicago Jobs Council
A good job should be within reach for everyone, regardless of where they start or where they’ve been. But it’s not that simple. For generations, the systems and policies intended to serve us — including workforce, education, housing, and criminal justice — have created an inherent set of disadvantages for people of color. That’s why Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) works with lawmakers and community leaders to redesign policies that rectify the historical and intergenerational way in which multiple systems, including not only the workforce but also education, housing, criminal justice and others, have created an inherent set of disadvantages for people of color. We aim to improve workforce services and skill-building programs, eliminate systemic barriers to employment, and foster employment access that benefits those who need it the most. We work with our member organizations and advocacy partners to advance policies that increase access to family-sustaining jobs and remove structural barriers to employment that disproportionately affect people of color. This grant would support CJC to convene the Illinois Skills for Good Jobs Agenda table and partner with the Fines & Fees Coalition (previously the Transit Table). We will integrate our anti-racist workforce development framework into our policy initiatives. This framework envisions a workforce development system that prioritizes every worker's future financial stability, career pathway, and economic security. Our anti-racist approach to policy development and design seeks to address past harms and failures by redesigning policies with a racially equitable and just lens. It honors the humanity of all people and centers those most impacted by systemic racial injustice. We will build transformative relationships between people and systems, providing quality jobs, and removing funding obstacles that inhibit progress. We share information with partners to energize and help expand partnerships. Ultimately, we look to build partnerships with organizations that also work to eliminate wealth inequality and racial disparities that exist in the labor market. According to the Advancing Workforce Equity in Chicago report, “the Chicagoland regional GDP could have been about $136 billion larger” in 2018 “if racial gaps in employment and wages were eliminated.” And while Illinois’s clean energy workforce grew by 5% in 2021, that workforce is still only 7.7% Black in a state with a population that is 14.7% Black. The 2024 Color of Wealth in Chicago report from the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School revealed numerous disparities between city residents of different races. “White families in Chicago have drastically better wealth outcomes than all others with over five times the amount of wealth as Mexican American families, the group with the next highest level of wealth,” the report states. “Black families have a net worth (or wealth) of $0, which means that at the median, Black families’ debts cancel out their assets.” While there are a variety of factors that contribute to these disparities, we believe that increasing employment and economic outcomes with a focus on racial justice is a key to creating a more just and equitable future. CJC envisions a workforce development system where racism has no place, where opportunities are equally accessible, and where every person can flourish professionally and personally.