Paving the Path to Homeownership for Housing Choice Voucher Holders
Since the mid-20th century, homeownership has been one of the most important vehicles for building wealth in the United States. According to research from the…
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.
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Grant Recipient
About Face Theatre Collective
About Face Theatre (AFT) is honored to request $40,000 in general operating support from the Chicago Community Trust. We believe that our organizations have a shared vision for the future of Chicago as a place where all members of the LGBTQ+ community can thrive and live life to the fullest as their authentic selves.
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Grant Recipient
One Roof Chicago
Chicago's LGBTQ+ community is facing pressing needs at both ends of the lifespan - a crisis in youth homelessness, accelerated aging among people living with HIV, and an acute lack of culturally competent support for seniors. At the same time, the national political climate presents an existential threat to our community, with Illinois becoming a sanctuary state for individuals fleeing discriminatory and deadly policies elsewhere. One Roof Chicago is a transformative initiative to build a welcoming and inclusive intergenerational community on the South Side of Chicago for older adults and young people. * Affordable housing centered around the needs of LGBTQ+ elders and older adults living with HIV * Supportive housing at the same site for LGBTQ+ young adults impacted by homelessness * Focused job training in culturally competent senior care ORC is designed to provide proof of concept for the kinds of infrastructure and policy models that our community needs, now and with increasing urgency as time passes. In 2025, we will be moving forward on several fronts: (a) launching the first cohort of our workforce development program to provide seniors with caregivers from within our own community and supporting our young people with a stable and rewarding career ladder; (b) completing the property transfer process from the City and finalizing site plans; and (c) proceeding from pre-development to the financing phase of the project, including preparing a Low Income Housing Tax Credit application and taking the first steps toward a full capital campaign. Funds will support our ongoing operations and staffing to ensure we hit our marks as we move forward toward these ambitious goals.
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Grant Recipient
Prison and Neighborhood Arts-Education Project
The Prison and Neighborhood Arts/Education Project (PNAP) began educational programming at Stateville Men's Prison in 2011 and in 2022 began running programming at Logan Women's Prison. Our programming bridges offering educational curriculum inside with community advocacy efforts on the outside and aims to build relationships of reciprocity that bring artists, scholars, and writers together with incarcerated. PNAP is seeking support to fund expenses related to our programming at Logan Women's Prison which is expanding from one to two sessions this fall '24 session. Logan participants are openly LGBTQIA identified and hold crucial lived experiences as incarcerated individuals that must be a greater part of the narrative on incarceration. Programming at Logan began as monthly reading groups and zine making workshops attended by as many as 100 individuals. As gatherings progressed, some individuals eventually organized their own groups and zine making sessions. This is significant in that our facilitators aim to encourage input and initiatives into Logan programming that are directly led by participants. We are seeking funding to cover programming expenses for work executed by our current part-time Logan Program Coordinator and an incoming part-time facilitator. This year, we will grow from one monthly session to two monthly sessions. One session will be information based while the other will be creative based. Students will decide what sort of curriculum they want and the facilitator will build out the structure for the session with the Logan participants and seek the necessary supplies. The session will begin this fall '24 quarter and continue through spring '25. Our Logan programming has a strong partner in the Women's Justice Institute among many other volunteers that uplift women and those incarcerated in women's prisons. The long term vision for these initial sessions is to prepare students for the possibility of exploring academic programming in 2-3 years tentatively with the University of Illinois-Springfield. An official degree program is more likely in the next five years, however, our current programming will focus on building up related skills in critical thinking and writing in preparation for academic coursework. Our Logan programming is growing quickly but will be limited if run solely by part - time staff. Our goal is to secure funding for a full time staff position by FY26 and increase funding for class supplies.
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Grant Recipient
BLACK ALPHABET NFP
The Culturally Responsive Therapy (CRT) program offered by Black Alphabet is a pioneering initiative aimed at addressing the mental health disparities within the Black LGBTQ+ community. The program is designed to provide culturally competent mental health services, including one-on-one therapy sessions, group art therapy counseling, and community-based art workshops that are sensitive to the intersectional experiences of race, gender, and sexual orientation. By offering tailored mental health support, the CRT program seeks to enhance the well-being, resilience, and overall quality of life for its participants. With this $40,000 grant request from the Chicago Community Trust, if granted, we will be able to continue supporting the sustainability of this program for our participants and interested community members, further providing ongoing access to equitable mental health resources administered by licensed clinicians.
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Grant Recipient
Association of Latino Men for Action
ALMA Chicago has been a vital advocate and supporter of the Latinx LGBTQ+ community for over 35 years. Since its founding in 1989, ALMA has played a pioneering role in promoting the visibility, rights, and well-being of this often overlooked and marginalized population. Historically, ALMA made significant strides by being the first Latinx LGBTQ+ organization to march in both the Chicago Mexican and Puerto Rican parades, marking a pivotal moment for LGBTQ+ visibility in public Latinx events. Additionally, ALMA was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2000, recognizing its longstanding contributions to the LGBTQ+ community. Also, as a leading organization in the fight for marriage equality in Illinois, ALMA ensured that the Illinois Latino Caucus voted unanimously in support of the law. Making marriage equality in Illinois a reality. Securing LGBTQ Fund funding is crucial for ALMA to continue its mission of building power, advocating for justice, and supporting the well-being of all Latinx LGBTQ+ communities. This funding will allow ALMA to expand its reach, enhance its programs, and address the growing needs of the community, ensuring that ALMA remains a vital resource for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community in Chicago and beyond.
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Grant Recipient
Links Hall Incorporated
Links Hall has a long-standing practice of supporting and showcasing LGBTQ artists, reflecting its alignment with the LGBTQ Fund’s 2024 focus on arts investment. For nearly fifty years, it has served as a crucial incubator for dance and performance, offering a nurturing, queer and trans-affirming space where artists can develop and present their work. The organization’s subsidized rentals program provides affordable rehearsal and production space while its Co-MISSION residencies offer financial support, studio space, mentorship, and full production assistance. Additionally, Links Hall collaborates with queer and trans artists to co-present productions each season, making it a vital part of Chicago’s performance ecosystem and a launchpad for both emerging and established LGBTQ artists. As a cultural cornerstone in Chicago, Links Hall is committed to inclusivity and intersectionality, evidenced by its support for BIPOC queer and trans artists and commitment to DEI. The organization’s majority queer staff and trans Executive Director foster a supportive and celebratory environment essential for artistic vulnerability and risk-taking. By addressing the financial and accessibility challenges faced by LGBTQ artists and prioritizing racial justice and accessibility, Links Hall enriches Chicago’s cultural landscape and supports the vitality of its diverse artistic community.
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Grant Recipient
Vietnamese Association of Illinois
VAI's Youth Program is entering an exciting phase, as our team has expanded over the last year, to include a full-time program manager and two program coordinators. The additional staffing of two more program coordinators will position Youth Program to meet the growing needs of the community even more effectively, allowing us to shrink what is usually a long class waitlist, and admit more students into our year-round, out-of-school-time program. We also recognize that our Youth Program fills a much needed gap in culturally relevant, social-behaviorial skill-building resources available within the Uptown neighborhood, and want to equip our team with the training and professional support needed to develop successful curriculum. While VAI’s extra-curricular programming has historically focused on encouraging a sense of belonging among participants, mostly from Vietnamese-immigrant background, what we’ve seen over the years is growing diversity in the Uptown community of Black, Brown, immigrant, and native-born youth. We recognize the importance of creating transformative relationships among the group of students and the families we work with. Given the pace at which young people are connecting to social justice issues, their relationships to each other and their community have never been more important. A $25,000 grant from Asian Giving Circle would bolster our efforts to reach even more young people in the Uptown neighborhood.
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Grant Recipient
KAN-WIN
KAN-WIN’s mission is to eliminate gender-based violence by providing comprehensive, survivor-centered services, education, and outreach to Asian American communities and beyond. Following the success of the AGC’s first FY24 grant, we are respectfully requesting support from the Asian Giving Circle (AGC) to further strengthen our Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) for survivors of gender-based violence. This program is designed to and will continue to empower survivors by promoting financial literacy, removing barriers to stability, and building a foundation for sustainable career growth and economic independence. Through the EEP, survivors are guided in making informed financial decisions and receive support in their native languages. As a result, many have opened their first U.S. bank accounts and started building credit through microloans. With AGC’s FY24 grant, several survivors completed the financial literacy program and savings match program (emergency fund building). Furthermore, KAN-WIN's EEP has launched a Career Foundation Program with AGC’s FY24 funding which was a new development for EEP. This program was intentionally developed to reinforce survivors' core strengths and create a direct pipeline to workforce resources. In this way, the EEP helps survivors build a strong foundation for achieving long-term financial stability and safety. With the FY25 AGC grant, EEP will continue to incorporate culturally sensitive components into each financial literacy and career foundation program for the Korean, Mongolian, and Chinese communities of survivors.