South Side Sanctuary: A Place for Outdoor Recreation, Exploring Creativity, and Improving Wellbeing
Our environment has a huge impact on our well-being. Research has shown that access to outdoor amenities can reduce stress and improve physical…
Stories
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent Stories
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From the Archives: 2015 – ADA 25 Chicago
December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a day that advances awareness of issues faced by the disability community. In 2022,…
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Trusted Voices: Unity Fund Creates a Pathway to Well-Being
Addressing residents’ most urgent needs is at the heart of our work as the Chicago region’s community foundation. The Chicago Community Trust’s Unity…
All Stories
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The Trust Shifts its Focus to Healthcare
Dr. Lowell T. Coggeshall helped the Trust shift its focus to healthcare during the 1960s. Dr. Coggeshall served for three decades as the Trust’s medical…
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The Trust Receives a Saloon
Before he became its first executive director, Frank Loomis gave the Trust a unique gift: a saloon. Trust chair Clifford Barnes first met Loomis while…
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The Searles Are Making a Better Future
John G. Searle felt that personal success created an obligation to help others. Inherited from his father, Gideon Daniel Searle, while it was still a…
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Inspiration in Practice: Barbara Austin Foote
In 1978 Barbara Austin Foote became the first woman to lead the Trust’s Executive Committee. The eldest daughter of Edwin C. Austin, the former legal…
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The Quiet and Patient Leader: Frank Loomis
Relief was the goal of early 20th century philanthropy. An annual report at the time described the Trust’s involvement as “community-wide humanitarian work” for residents…
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How One Man Revolutionized Market Research and Philanthropy
Great success in marketing research enabled Arthur C. Nielsen to pursue his philanthropic interests. By rethinking the practices of audience monitoring and measurement more scientifically,…
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Trust's First Social Survey Reflected Turmoil in Chicago
In the 1920s, “Americanization” was the catch-all phrase used to describe efforts to assimilate immigrants into the American way of life, narrowly defined by the…
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A Coal Magnate’s Charitable Legacy: More Transparent Foundations
As chair of the Sahara Coal Company and trustee of the Woods Charitable Fund, Inc., Frank H. Woods combined his business interests with his philanthropic…
