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.
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Grant Recipient
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT)
FACT began the Fund-a-Farmer Grants Program in 2012 in response to a clear need among humane livestock and poultry farmers for capital in order to transition from conventional to pasture-based systems. There are very few resources available for small and mid-size farmers who want to make this transition. After a decade of grantmaking, there is no doubt that our Fund-a-Farmer Grants are significantly benefiting farmer livelihood, animal welfare, and environmental health. We here at FACT believe that partnering with - and investing in - humane farmers is one of the best ways make a difference in the lives of food-producing animals. We trust that the innovative, ethical farmers in our ever-expanding network know what is best for their land, animals and communities. In 2023 FACT will distribute a total of $220,000 to at least 74 farmers. The FLO grant will enable us to allocate a portion of the grants to farms that market their products within the greater Chicago area.
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Grant Recipient
TGiMovement
TGi Movement is a “by us, for us” organization. We created Omega Chi Omega (ΩχΩ) because we saw a need amongst our generation that will trickle down to the next. Chicago is known to be the most segregated city in the US. Gangs in black and brown communities are at war when a block only separates them. Through ΩχΩ, we will work to unite youth throughout Chicago to create a sense of brother/sisterhood and ownership while providing safe spaces and opportunities for personal growth. Our goal is to use this program as a stepping-stone for youth to connect across neighborhood boundaries. Essentially, ΩχΩ will become a community fraternity/sorority program for youth. Through the grant this year, we aim to show that we will be able to scale and impact on a higher level with additional funding.
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Grant Recipient
Real Men Charities, Inc.
For over 30 years, Real Men Charities, Inc. (RMC) has been a force and advocate for minority males (particularly African Americans) to help debunk the myth that men are not standing up for their families, our children, and communities. Real Men Charities, Inc. has presented many community forums to support father engagement, restorative justice, health and wellness, and Peace & Possibility pavilions and discussions. Additionally, it runs and operates the Quarry Event Center of Chicago to bring arts and live entertainment to the communities we serve. Additionally, RMC designs, edits, and publishes The South Side Drive magazine, which reaches over 34,000 people through its distributorship. The organization’s mission is Building Healthy Families & Communities. The magazine is designed to be a catalyst for economic development, reflecting a truthful image and examples that demonstrate the art of living. We seek to share the good news about Chicago’s south side and Black culture while serving as the "Guide to the Good Life" in our city. We are 'keepers of the culture' by presenting the voices of the people who are often disenfranchised, marginalized, and undervalued. This magazine captures the essence of the beauty of Black culture, business, health, and lifestyles. RMC seeks a grant award to build capacity, circulation, and a strong digital platform.
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Grant Recipient
Youth Job Center Inc.
Youth Job Center (YJC) requests $110,454 to continue the Auto Maintenance and Repair Career Pathway Program that began in 2021 to serve residents of Southwest and South Chicago. In partnership with Olive Harvey College (OHC), YJC recruits and engages out-of-school young adults in a curriculum that combines basic employment skills development, personalized career advising, industry specific skills training, relevant credentialing, and supportive services. This in-depth training is paired with a job placement or an internship, allowing the participant to practice their newly developed skills in a real-world setting. YJC has engaged Olive Harvey College to provide auto specific skill training resulting in industry recognized certifications. We respectfully request $110,454 to support a second year of the same program ($75,000), as well as continued support for the participants in both of YJC’s Auto Repair & Maintenance Programs ($35,000). We anticipate approximately 12 completers of the program this year, and several have expressed interest in the next level of certification.
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Grant Recipient
GREATER SOUTHWEST DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Our programs welcome anyone who comes to us for our training and services, no matter the neighborhood, town, or city they are from. However, our target population is business owners and entrepreneurs of Chicago’s Southwest Side neighborhoods which include the following: Chicago Lawn (60629 and 60636), Englewood (60621), West Elsdon (60629 and 60632), West Lawn (60629), West Englewood (60636), New City (60609), Auburn Gresham (60620), and Ashburn (60652), Bronzeville (60653).
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Grant Recipient
Crossroads Fund
Crossroads Fund – as part of the Neighborhood Organizing Funders Group – is requesting $300,000 over two years for the Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund. The CRJP Fund seeks to raise and distribute $10 million to organizations in the Chicago metropolitan area that address structural racism through power based-organizing and trauma-informed practices.
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Grant Recipient
This Old Farm
This Old Farm, Inc (TOFI) is seeking funds to build a network of small meat processors and industry stakeholders to serve the Chicago foodshed. The goal of the network is to collectively develop strategies to increase local processing capacity and develop markets for value-added meat products, to ultimately increase the business sustainability of and reduce barriers to growth of small to medium-sized farmers and meat processors.
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Grant Recipient
Better Government Association, Inc.
In 2020, through a Media Maker grant, The Chicago Community Trust made a high-impact investment in the Better Government Association’s ability to deepen its coverage of underserved and minority neighborhoods. This funding allowed us to hire a Manager of Partnerships and Local Content who forged partnerships and reporting relationships with news organizations and residents in under-resourced neighborhoods in the West and South Sides of Chicago. This role focuses on engaging with partners and audiences with innovative tools, storytelling and programming that promotes community understanding of, and activation around, critical civic issues and the impact of government on their lives. The Trust’s investment in the MPLC position has allowed the BGA to establish authentic connections with underserved communities across Chicago and raise the voices of residents that often go unheard. Led by Olivia Obineme, Manager of Partnerships and Local Content, the BGA’s community engagement work in the last year included a virtual discussion with former Cabrini-Green residents to discuss the city’s broken promises in its Plan for Transformation; a collaborative effort with the Village Free Press, Austin Weekly and Catchlight to expose barriers faced by Black-owned businesses on the South and West Sides in seeking Paycheck Protection Program funding; a follow-up to publication of “The Circuit,” an unparalleled collaboration with Injustice Watch to collect Cook County Courts data, which has led to the compilation of stories from 60 community members about their interactions with the courts. And more than 110 residents have responded to an MPLC community query about how implementation of illegal drug laws affects their lives. We know that building authentic, community relationships is a critical part of ensuring our public service journalism is serving the people who need it most. The MPLC role has allowed the BGA to move beyond transactional relationships and cultivate partnerships with smaller newsrooms that have their fingers on the pulse of local communities across Chicago, and these connections have expanded audience and reach for our partners. As just one example, Austin Weekly News editor and Village Free Press founding publisher Michael Romain indicated that it was direct outreach from the MPLC that led to a partnership with the BGA, noting that the BGA’s visible efforts to connect directly with the communities the BGA covers and serves was a key factor in his decision to collaborate with the BGA. With continued investment from the Trust, the BGA will strengthen and grow our community partnerships. Our growth in the immediate future, thanks to increased funding from the Trust and others, will enhance the BGA’s storytelling and help us involve our local partners more deeply in news gathering, audience outreach, community engagement and participation in a thriving nonprofit news ecosystem. We will reach more deeply and authentically into underserved communities, work with partners to localize reporting for stories and share them more broadly, and host events that highlight the impact of government's actions and inactions on communities–informing people and empowering them with facts that hold government accountable and ultimately improve their lives.