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
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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 5211–5218 of 4382 results
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Grant Recipient
GREATER WEST TOWN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Greater West Town Project (GWTP) seeks to continue our partnership with Chicago Community Trust to help close the racial and ethnic wealth gap at the household and community levels in Chicago. GWTP has been committed to this work for over 35 years through educational and economic empowerment in disinvested communities in Chicago, particularly on the West Side (East and West Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Humboldt Park, Austin, and Belmont Cragin). With funding from Chicago Community Trust, GWTP will seek to enhance our Occupational Skills Training (OST) and Career Pathways (CP) programs. GWTP’s programs are strategically designed to respond to poverty, unemployment, and lack of educational attainment by creating access to economic opportunities for multi-barriered and historically disinvested community residents. GWTP’s OST program offers two certified tracks in the high-growth industries of Shipping & Receiving (12 weeks) and Woodworking & Solid Surface Manufacturing (15 weeks). These programs fully incorporate technical skills with basic skills remediation, wraparound services, and 12 months of post-program support, including job readiness and job placement. Both trainings are approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges. Two employer partner Program Advisory Committees (PACs) composed of local employers meet regularly to advise GWTP on curricula and industry best practices. In addition to OST, GWTP is proposing additional programming for participants who need immediate employment through our Career Pathways (CP) program. CP provides career services that include case planning and management, Individual Education and Employment Planning (IEEP), job readiness training, job placement, and follow-up services. With funding from CCT, GWTP proposes: - GWTP will recruit and enroll 90 participants in state-approved, certification-granting Occupational Skills Training programs. 72 out of the 90 participants will complete training and earn an occupational skills certificate, and 63 of those will be placed in living-wage employment with an average wage of $18/hr. - GWTP will recruit and enroll 40 participants in the Career Pathways program. These participants will receive job readiness training, job placement, and ongoing support. 30 out of the 40 participants served via the Career Pathways program will be placed into employment and earn an average wage of $16/hour.
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Grant Recipient
Chicago Community and Workers Rights
Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights (referred to in this application as Chicago Community) houses a worker-owned cooperative incubator (EJE - Economic Justice and Equity for Collective Development), which includes providing outreach and education surrounding general cooperative concepts, and provides alternative business models that empower workers to create collective wealth and opportunities for their communities. There is a lack of equity and justice that leads to the poverty rates in the community we serve; the types of jobs offered to workers provide no unions, unsafe working conditions, lack of a liveable wage, and no opportunities for growth. We believe in economic justice, and are working to support low-income workers and Latinx communities by helping them access more opportunities to set their own business goals, work standards, and create their own wealth through cooperatives, collectives, or family businesses. Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights will continue to provide outreach and education on Worker Cooperatives to Latinx immigrant communities on the Southwest Side of Chicago. The organization’s goal is to provide outreach and education on worker cooperatives, and ensure that the community we serve familiarizes itself with the concept of worker-owned cooperatives, and how beneficial they are to both the community and workers. Not only will we continue to find workers who want to participate in our cooperative incubator and successfully create a cooperative, but our organization will work to encourage community support for emerging and existing cooperatives. Worker-owned cooperatives benefit the community because they give back the neighborhoods, and our organization hopes to conduct outreach to help those we serve understand how important it is for them to support these businesses. Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights will continue working to create an ecosystem that supports each other, and towards expanding equity, social justice, and workers rights. Our organization will also continue to work with Raise The Floor to advance pro-worker laws, as well as the Illinois Worker Cooperative Alliance to promote economic equity and support for worker cooperatives in communities of color. We will continue to work and collaborate on initiatives, projects, and campaigns with many organizations across the state to defend the rights of workers, fight racial inequity, and advocate for laws and policies to promote and advance the living conditions of workers of color and their families.
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Grant Recipient
RED CLAY DANCE COMPANY INC
Red Clay Dance Company is seeking general operating support to advance it's mission of igniting Glocal Artivism through dance. Artivism (social justice artmaking) is ethos and bedrock of the organization.
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Grant Recipient
Marwen Foundation
Marwen seeks to enhance access to arts learning and cultivate a greater sense of belonging primarily for youth from Chicago’s low income communities, which are predominantly communities of Color. Moreover, Marwen strives to offer equitable employment opportunities for Chicago’s young, emerging, and established artists. On an organizational level, Marwen is in the process of establishing concrete goals and strategies to stabilize and strengthen our internal capacity and fundraising.
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Grant Recipient
CARA PROGRAM
Cara Collective seeks to build a more inclusive economy, one where we bridge the racial wealth gap and cultivate opportunities for gainful employment. Our project, Comprehensive Workforce Development Supports and Compensation, provides cash stipends to aid and incentivize job seekers’ ability to complete the Cara program, which leads to a greater chance of securing and sustaining a quality job. The project takes a three-pronged approach that builds on our core program model and includes training and job placement support, resource support, and cash support. Thanks to funders like the Chicago Community Trust, we piloted the introduction of cash support during FY23 to incentivize participants at critical milestones throughout the participant journey toward employment and in recognition of job seekers’ need for access to income during their training. Through this grant, we will continue to implement this pilot with the goal to assess the model by understanding the level of incentive that promotes program completion (thus preparing participants for jobs) and at what milestones, while also ensuring the financially stability of this program long term.
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Grant Recipient
Trust For Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) requests support from Chicago Community Trust for two distinct but interrelated activities in the Riverdale Community Area of Chicago. The first activity is to serve as a third-party coordinator for the various projects and investments underway or forthcoming that are centered around 130th Street at the north end of Altgeld Gardens. The second is to support the development of a park and walkway on the south side of 130th Street, between approximately Ellis and Eberhart Avenues. With leadership from People for Community Recovery (PCR) and under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD), TPL will coordinate the work of DPD and its sister departments and agencies and community organizations that will ultimately lead to the development of the Hazel Johnson Memorial and Environmental Justice Walkway (the Walkway) along 130th Street at the northern edge of Altgeld Gardens in Chicago. These are separate efforts, with the latter being heavily reliant on the former: whether and how the Walkway is developed and integrated into the other ongoing projects is dependent on the success of the coordination effort. Serving in a coordinator role concurrent with helping establish the Walkway, TPL will communicate with various local leaders seeking to build additional place-based economic development initiatives and create conditions for advancing a high quality of life for residents of the Riverdale Community. Some of these initiatives include: * Carver Park & Altgeld Gardens Open Space Network Planning - CHA (Chicago Housing Authority) recently launched a planning effort to revitalize Carver Park and guide new open space network connections within Altgeld Gardens. *Red Line Extension (RLE) - with a new CTA red line station at 130th Street *130th Street Streetscape – Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will be starting Phase I of a streetscape study for 130th Street that includes a “side path” for cyclists and pedestrians that will connect with Major Taylor Trail via Indiana Avenue and 127th Street * Ton Farm - remediation of city-owned parcels along and adjacent to the Little Calumet River for future farming sites * Improvements at Beaubien Woods - Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) shoreline reconstruction to include a new shelter and accessible canoe and kayak launch * Other potential developments - including a grocery store on 130th Street and rehabilitation of the C Building as an environmental justice center. Some of these projects (i.e., RLE and 130th Street Streetscape) could directly impact the Walkway because they will be in the same general area, while others will not. Regardless, these projects should be coordinated as much as possible for their own benefit and the benefit of the community. No other organization is taking on the role of coordinator, and this role is important for maximizing the Greenway’s potential to catalyze further economic opportunity in the Riverdale Community area.
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Grant Recipient
Network for Young Adult Success
UtmostU is a comprehensive, tech-based, and data-driven program designed to empower young adults from marginalized communities in Chicago who have been negatively impacted by systemic inequities. Our primary objective is to support these individuals in achieving their post-secondary education and career aspirations, ultimately working towards closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in Chicago. Understanding the unique challenges faced by these young adults (fellows), UtmostU is fully committed to providing them with the necessary support and guidance for success. Through our extensive network of coaches in schools and community-based organizations, we offer a wide range of tools, partnerships, knowledge, resources, and efficiencies that strengthen community capacity and help students earn the credentials they need to reach their goals. SUPPORT FOR FELLOWS At UtmostU, we prioritize ongoing engagement between fellows and coaches, who play a crucial role in propelling them forward as they transition into the post-secondary space. To ensure their success, UtmostU leverages technology and data to revolutionize the educational landscape. We streamline a comprehensive system that equips post-secondary coaches with the necessary tools, training, and engagement tactics to quickly identify and assist college students, including: • Monthly fellow survey analysis to identify their needs in real time • Structured one-on-one, long-term coaching • Emergency persistence funding • Monthly social-emotional assessments with referrals to mental health counseling • Professional experience access and career support • Free T-Mobile data plan to stay in contact with their coach and family SUPPORT FOR COACHES For coaches, UtmostU has created a learning community to build their capacity and knowledge, welcoming coaches from all types of schools and community-based organizations. UtmostU brings the best partners to the network, so coaches do not need to search for essential resources. Coaches also gain a community to work with a team of supportive peer coaches and organizations committed to post-secondary success through the UtmostU network, eliminating the need to work in isolation. Coaches can expand their knowledge by accessing training and professional development that builds skills and knowledge to confidently guide young adults. UtmostU grows coaching talent to meet the challenges young adults face on their journeys. Coaches also have access to: • A customized Salesforce database to record interactions and case notes • Monthly professional development sessions • College and career pathway guides connected to fellow journeys • Monthly student surveys to prioritize urgent fellow needs • Ready-made dashboards and reports to monitor impact • Coordinated communication tools, including texting and newsletters for students • Mental health support including 6 one-hour free counseling sessions with a trusted Chicago-area based counselor. With these tools and benefits, coaches can effectively support young adults on their path to post-secondary education and career success.
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Grant Recipient
Economic Security Project Inc.
The Economic Security Project (ESP) advocates for ideas that build economic power for all Americans. Our playbook – which we call ideas advocacy – is designed to take transformative ideas that are on the margins and bring them into the mainstream of the public debate and into the lives of people. We provoke the existing conventional wisdom to shift what’s considered possible, legitimize the ideas by supporting cutting-edge research and elevating champions, and win concrete policy victories for the communities. We create the environment for these ideas to take root by changing narratives, organizing to win, and passing public policies to guarantee economic stability. We are poised to be at the forefront of the fight to build an economy that delivers for people. In just seven years, ESP’s team of academics, organizers, practitioners and culture makers has had monumental success in moving transformative policy ideas from the margins into the mainstream. As a national organization with affiliates in California (ESCA) and Illinois (ESIL), states we see as vanguards of bold economic advancement, we’ve built networks of thousands of policymakers and advocates, led agenda-setting events convening top thought leaders, policymakers, and media influencers to lift up progress across the country; and generated coverage of our work in The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and hundreds of other news outlets and local publications. As a result, we’ve put trillions of dollars into the pockets of hard-working Americans and shifted policies across dozens of states and in the halls of Congress. In Illinois, ESIL has continued to champion bold economic policies and programs (and build the coalitions needed to support them) in Chicago, Cook County, and statewide. Specifically, our efforts have focused on putting more cash in people’s pockets through guaranteed income pilots (GI), as well as shaping markets to deliver the basic goods and services that communities need to thrive; in Illinois, that includes our work to support the governor’s public grocery store pilot. In the year ahead and with the support of the Chicago Community Trust and other funders, ESP is seeking to expand and build on our past success in Illinois by focusing on the following: (1) DRIVING GUARANTEED INCOME EFFORTS IN CHICAGO, COOK COUNTY, AND ACROSS ILLINOIS When the pandemic relief efforts unleashed the power of cash, ESIL was a leader to the coalition that both fought back against the anti-GI legislation and pushed for the positive ones. We invested in narrative change and communications strategies to move GI work in IL forward. To date, ESIL expanded efforts to support the growing GI movement by providing critical support through coalition building, coordinating a media cohort of participants equipped to authentically share their experiences, and technical assistance that connected experts to policymakers for the guaranteed income pilots in Evanston, Cook County, and the city of Chicago. Now that these pilots have ended, we are shifting our focus to cultivate the growth of the Illinois Guaranteed Income Community of Practice (GICP) and support efforts to win a guaranteed income in Chicago, Cook County, and statewide. Just this past year, through our C4 sister organization Economic Security Project Action (ESP/A), we held the State of Illinois’ first Guaranteed Income Hearing in the Senate and opened the door to legislative debates about how Illinois can operationalize GI statewide. Our coalition on cash led by ESIL has developed critical voices and leaders, our research has identified persuadable populations, and now we stand equipped with effective messaging to begin bringing GI forward as a primary policy consideration for Illinois. In 2024-2025, we seek to support the transition of pilots into policy by uplifting participants’ stories, organizing letters to the editors of local newspapers like the Chicago Tribune, engaging community organizers through town halls and education initiatives, and connecting these stories to local partners around Illinois to drive guaranteed income as a statewide policy. This narrative campaign is built around the GI messaging research recently released by ESP that shows there is a large, persuadable audience we can educate about GI. Support from the Trust would supercharge these efforts by allowing up to make investments in a broader range of audiences such as communities of color. Moreover, support would allow us to expand our coalition to include more organizations working downstate that can connect us to new audiences such as students in Carbondale and parents in Metro East. By building a simple and effective statewide GI narrative campaign that’s reinforced locally, we believe we can capture those unexposed to GI around the state as policy formulation takes place over the summer and fall of 2024. (2) INCREASING UPTAKE FOR THE STATE’S TAX CREDITS THROUGH DIRECT FILE AND BUILDING ON RECENT WINS Tax credits are central to ESP’s mission to fight to build an economy that delivers for people. In Illinois, we started our efforts when ESIL was first launched by creating the IL Cost-of-Living Refund, which focused on expanding the state’s Earned Income Credit (EIC) to cover more Illinoisans. Our efforts have already notched important wins for Illinoisans, including expanding the EIC to cover all childless workers and Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) filers and creating the first-ever Illinois CTC covering children 12 and under. Together, hundreds of millions of new dollars are flowing to parents across Illinois. Specifically, in 2024-2025 we’re focused on increasing the uptake to increase the overall impact these wins will have. To do this, we will deploy the IL Cost-of-Living Refund Coalition, which now boasts 54 members, to ensure the state is equipped with easier, more financially accessible administrative tools like the IRS Direct File program. Not only will this move save taxpayers money, but it will also increase the overall number of people receiving the state tax credits by removing a major cost barrier. This builds on our efforts from the past year working with the Department of Revenue and the Governor’s office to prepare for the second round of the IRS Direct File tool’s launch. By connecting executive leaders in Illinois to states who already accomplished integration with the Direct File tool, we can coordinate the transmission of information and expertise to ensure Illinois can quickly and efficiently deliver on this public option as the state Child Tax Credit begins distribution. Between new incentives to file taxes through the CTC and a free, clear path to apply for these credits, we seek to increase the number of eligible families in Illinois claiming this critical assistance, reversing a decade of slow loss that’s now seen just three in four eligible families claiming the federal EITC. As we coordinate efforts to inform, encourage, and enable Illinois’ executive leadership to commit to the IRS Direct File tool, a simultaneous action must be taken to connect coalition partners to IRS Direct File experts to ensure appropriate educational material is primed and the pilot of the tool launches with exceptional exposure through ads, media moments, and organizing before the 2025 tax season. (3) SUPPORTING THE EMERGING EFFORTS AROUND PUBLIC GROCERY STORES AND AN RX KIDS PROGRAM IN ILLINOIS In tandem with our efforts to advance policies that put cash in the pockets of Illinoisians, ESP is heavily invested in advancing public options policies in Illinois: government-provided goods and services designed to provide the essentials for everyday families. In the year ahead, we will be building on initial efforts in Illinois committed to exploring these policies. Specifically, the Illinois Grocery Initiative seeks to provide grants to local governments to aid in the creation of grocery stores in food deserts. Through its localized expertise in ESIL, ESP provided technical assistance to the cities of Chicago and Venice as they applied for grants via this new state program and led the feasibility studies. As we look ahead to 2024-2025, we will continue supporting these two cities and the governor’s office to site identification through coalition partners’ engagement, building a narrative campaign through op-eds, and training media leaders to ensure this new endeavor is well positioned to amplify the power of government in shaping markets nationwide. Additionally, we presently are leading in educating and informing state leadership about what an Rx Kids program in Illinois could look like. Rx Kids is a groundbreaking guaranteed income pilot that supports pregnant people in the city of Flint, Michigan with $1,500 during pregnancy and $500/month throughout the baby’s first year. ESP is extremely proud to co-chair the advisory board of Rx Kids and is excited to share its impact with a wider audience. In Illinois, ESP is focused on working to inform policymakers on the impact such a publicly funded Rx Kids program can have for children and families. ESP will advance a bold, shared North Star vision for how the state could use public funds, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other underutilized existing programs, to establish an Rx Kids program in Illinois. Key to this effort will be informing and engaging the Illinois GICP members and potential philanthropic partners to build support for such a program. What we believe is that Rx Kids offers an opportunity to directly invest in the health of new moms and ensure a solid foundation to stand upon as they identify and connect to these resources in the most critical moments of a child’s life. We see these emerging pilots as important interventions that will require additional, long-term investments to be successful.