The Chicago Community Trust is soliciting proposals for its 2025 LGBTQ Community Fund.
Donor Name: The Chicago Community Trust
State: Illinois
County: Cook County (IL), DuPage County (IL), Kane County (IL), Lake County (IL), McHenry County (IL), Will County (IL)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/26/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
LGBTQ Community Fund grants are designed to support organizations and projects that respond to identified LGBTQ community needs, and uplift and empower LGBTQ leaders and communities.
For 2025, the Fund seeks to support organizations focusing on serving and meeting the unique needs of LGBTQ youth and/or seniors.
- General operating grants will be available for new or previous grant partners of the Fund with annual operating budgets under $3.5 million.
- Project-specific renewal grants will be available for organizations with operating budgets exceeding $3.5 million that received an award from the Fund within the past three years (i.e. since 2022), provided the previously awarded project is ongoing, expanding, or exploring sustainability strategies.
Funding Information
Grants will generally range from $20,000 to $40,000 and the Fund will award up to $500,000 in grants. The grant term is one year.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding from the LGBTQ Community Fund, an applicant must be:
- Serving and/or engaging LGBTQ communities, including trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) communities
- A nonprofit organization with evidence that:
- it has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code; or
- is fiscally sponsored by a Section 501(c)(3) organization; or
- is a governmental unit within the meaning of Section 170(c)(1) of the Code.
- Described in Section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Code, other than a “disqualified supporting organization” within the meaning of Section 4966(d)(4) of the Code; and
- Located within or primarily serving residents of the Chicago metropolitan area, which includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and/or Will counties, Illinois.
Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Alignment with LGBTQ Community Fund’s mission and identified focus area from the RFP
- Commitment to and proficiency in serving LGBTQ communities and supporting LGBTQ leadership
- How the organization addresses an unmet community need
- Focus on serving historically marginalized and underserved groups within the LGBTQ+ community
- Ability to demonstrate impact
- Organizational health and sustainability
For more information, visit CCT.
