The 2023 Advancing Equitable Wealth Policy funding opportunity is intended to support both individual organizations and coalitions that are creating the conditions to advance meaningful policy reforms.
Donor Name: The Chicago Community Trust
State: Illinois
County:
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $150,000
Details:
The Trust recognizes that membership in coalitions takes several forms and that the success of coalitions depends upon the relative strength and effective engagement of the contributing partners toward the achievement of a broader set of policy outcomes. The Trust defines membership in this context as an organization’s ongoing investment of time, energy, and resources to advance the coalition’s goals, codified through formal membership in said coalition. The Trust seeks to fund the work of coalitions and their members by supporting organizations that serve in various roles, such as coalition chairs or co-chairs, community organizers, researchers, legislative advocacy, and communications partners. The Trust assesses applicants and determines funding levels based on each organization’s role in the coalition(s).
The Trust seeks to fund the work of coalitions and their members by supporting organizations that serve in various roles, such as coalition chairs or co-chairs, community organizers, researchers, legislative advocacy, and communications partners. The Trust assesses applicants and determines funding levels based on each organization’s role in the coalition(s).
Need/Opportunity Statement
- To flourish, the Chicago region must be a place where all current and future residents can thrive. The Trust is committed to closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region by increasing the share of economic prosperity for Black and Latinx individuals and households and their communities. The Trust believes that only by addressing their significant wealth and economic disparities can they achieve their vision of a thriving, equitable, and connected region.
- Longstanding discriminatory policies and practices have propelled racial segregation, stripped wealth from people and communities of color, and hindered their ability to create wealth. Though many such federal policies have been abolished, their scars are still visible in the Chicago region’s troubling history of prejudicial practices and inequitable access to economic opportunity for people of color
- The Trust aims to support efforts to advance and protect corrective policies and systems reforms that address inequities in wealth creation for Black, Latinx, and other racial and ethnic populations negatively impacted by discriminatory and racist policies and practices. They aim to advance policy change at the individual, household, and neighborhood levels.
Goals and Outcomes
Grant applicants will be asked to select and report on the outcomes from the list below that are most relevant and related to their role and contributions to the coalitions and policy efforts for which they are applying:
- Amplify Impact Following Policy Wins
- Highlights how the policy wins have altered the lives of constituents or communities and ensures equitable implementation.
- Build Knowledge and Narrative
- Documents the organization’s ability to deepen knowledge development among stakeholders on key issues and initiatives.
- Build Public & Political Will
- Describes the activities an organization undertakes to build external support among political audiences and the general public.
- Escalate Awareness/Salience of Issues
- Documents an organization’s or coalition’s efforts to raise the importance of an issue with key audiences and stakeholders.
- Increase Coalition, Constituent and Organizational Power
- Details the change in constituent strength of voice, and the organization’s or the coalition’s influence among key audiences.
Priority Strategies and Activities
The Trust is interested in supporting organizations and coalitions engaged in the following priority policy areas:
- Individual Economic Security
- Access to Capital
- Neighborhood Investment and Stability
- Workforce Development and Worker Protection
- Equitable Tax and Budgeting Systems
- Civic Power and Representation
The Trust retains the discretion to make the ultimate determination between a general operating and project-specific grant award based on the following factors:
- Existing general operating support grant recipient: If the organization is receiving general operating support from the Trust and is currently within the term of that grant, they will only consider a project-specific grant as they limit grant recipients to one general operating grant per year.
- The organization’s core mission and work: Applicants that are policy advocacy organizations at their core will be considered for general operating grants. Organizations that are supporting change but whose core mission and work fall outside of regular policy advocacy will be more likely considered for project-specific grants.
- Policy alignment: If the organization is requesting project-specific support for a particular policy effort, the Trust will make the determination based on alignment with the Trust’s policy agenda. Depending on the type of activities supported by a grant, this kind of support may also require the Trust to report it as part of the Trust’s own lobbying activity under its 501(c)(3) status.
Funding Information
The Chicago Community Trust will provide up to 25 grant recipients from 2023 Advancing Equitable Wealth Policy grant cycle for between $25,000 and $150,000.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a grant award, an applicant must be:
- A nonprofit organization with evidence that it (a) has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code; (b) is fiscally sponsored by a Section 501(c)(3) organization; (c) 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 and/or primarily serving residents of Cook County, Illinois.
For more information, visit The Chicago Community Trust.
