African American Legacy (AAL) Fund is a philanthropic initiative led by Black civic and community leaders who share the common goal of improving the quality of life among Black people throughout metropolitan Chicago.
Donor Name: The Chicago Community Trust
State: Illinois
County : Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/01/2022
Size of the Grant: $20,000-$30,000
Details:
AAL engages leaders in philanthropy, collectively and individually, and provides support to nonprofit organizations that work at the community level to educate and engage communities, and to provide neighborhood-based services and solutions to address community problems. Grounded in the philosophies of collective giving, community engagement and grant making, AAL serves as a convener and catalyst to promote significant impact in Black communities through the organizations that it supports.
They continue to be concerned about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically as it relates to:
- long-term educational losses of Black students as a result of limited in-person schooling
- mental health challenges
- job instability, financial strain, new employment opportunities
- systemic racism and its impact on the health and wellbeing of their communities
- viability of Black arts organizations
2022 Focus Areas
AAL will support Black community organizations working in the following areas:
- Education– they seek to support organizations that provide academic enrichment assistance in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics to Black students, grades K-12
- Mental Health- they seek to support organizations that prepare providers or community members to deliver or advocate for a broad range of mental health services including trauma informed care and in doing so actively responds to the disproportionate burden of stress on Black people and Black communities due to employment instability, financial strain, family stress, trauma and gun violence
- Activism– they seek to support organizations that actively dismantle anti-Black racism and improves the quality of life for Black people and communities.
- Arts- they seek to support arts and cultural organizations that share and celebrate the lived experiences of Black people past, present, and future.
- Job Creation- they seek to support organizations that create jobs through social enterprises, worker cooperatives or micro entrepreneurship for youth, ages 16 to 24
Funding Information
Average AAL grants range in size between $20,000 and $30,000. Eligible organizations must have current and prior year annual operating budgets that are not less than $50,000 and not more than $2,000,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible organizations are Black-led and Black-serving, responsive and rooted in community, and whose work is focused in one of the five programmatic areas are eligible to apply.
- 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; and
- 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. Sponsored organizations without 501(c)(3) status clearly identify their fiscal sponsor and have the sponsoring agent complete an Organizational Profile in Grant Central prior to submitting a full request for funding.
- To be eligible for a grant award, an applicant must be:
For more information, visit The Chicago Community Trust.
