2023 Woods Fund Chicago Core Grant Program (Illinois)

The Woods Fund Chicago is pleased to announce its 2023 Core Grantmaking Program.

Donor Name: Woods Fund Chicago

State: Illinois

City: Chicago

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 06/09/2023

Details:

Grant Priorities

Community Organizing: The Community Organizing program area seeks to support organizations that bring people together with a collective vision to reclaim, build and wield their power to take collective action in order to advance racial equity and/or racial justice in the metropolitan Chicago area. Community organizing enables democracy at the grassroots level to re-imagine and transform systems. They support organizations that:
- Operate within metropolitan Chicago (city proper with some consideration of other cities in Cook County)
  - They prioritize supporting organizations that work within, and with, communities of color and marginalized populations
- Utilize a political framework for organizing efforts
  - Racial equity lens (required)
    - Center race in their organizing framework
    - Have an understanding of disparities and the reasons they exist
    - Look at structural root causes of problems
    - Name race explicitly when talking about problems
    - Propose redistribution as a primary solution
  - Racial justice lens (preferred)
    - Understand and acknowledges the historical centrality of race in the US
    - Create a shared affirmative vision of a fair and inclusive society
    - Focus explicitly on building civic, cultural, and political power by those most impacted
    - Propose a broader based set of solutions that includes, but is not limited to, equity
    - Emphasize transformative solutions that impact multiple systems
- Have 51% people of color on the executive leadership of the organization and its Board of Directors
  - They prioritize BIPOC-led and BIPOC-centered/BIPOC-serving organizations
- Demonstrate elements of community organizing
  - Impacted individuals are involved in the organization’s decision-making process and participate in collective action to advance campaign/work
  - Have a process (informal or formal) to develop the leadership of those impacted by the issue that the organization is working towards dismantling
- Articulate a strategy for systems change and involved tactics
  - Addresses changes in policies, practices, structures, and/or systems
  - Demonstrates a critique of, and challenges, institutions of power
  - Builds strategic partnerships with other organizations, including coalitions & coalition building
- Size of organization
  - They prioritize supporting small and grassroots organizations
    - Grassroots – < $1M
    - Small – $1M – $3M
Public Policy Advocacy: The Public Policy Advocacy program area seeks to support organizations that influence public discourse and policy decisions to advance racial equity and/or racial justice. Public policy advocacy is comprised of a continuum of activities that aim to inform decisions within the public sector and may include the following: educating the public and policymakers; influencing legislation, referendum, budgeting, and rule-making; monitoring policy implementation; and taking legal actions. They support organizations that:
- Operate within metropolitan Chicago (city proper with some consideration of other cities in Cook County)
  - They prioritize supporting organizations that work within, and with, communities of color and marginalized populations
- Center a racial equity lens (required)
  - Have an understanding of disparities and the reasons they exist
  - Look at structural root causes of problems
  - Name race explicitly when talking about problems
  - Propose redistribution as a primary solution
- Center a racial justice lens (preferred)
  - Understand and acknowledge the historical centrality of race in the US
  - Create a shared affirmative vision of a fair and inclusive society
  - Focus explicitly on building civic, cultural, and political power by those most impacted
  - Propose a broader based set of solutions that includes, but is not limited to, equity
  - Emphasize transformative solutions that impact multiple systems
- Have 51% people of color on the executive leadership of the organization and its Board of Directors
  - They prioritize supporting BIPOC-led and BIPOC-centered/BIPOC-serving organizations
- Partner with community groups to advance campaigns and legislation
  - Partner with community groups so that impacted individuals are included in the design, advancement & implementation of a policy
  - Support community groups to understand and engage in the legislative process (trainings, resources, tools) o Mutually develop clarity of roles between organizations
- Participate in strategic partnerships and/or collaborations, including coalition & coalition-building
- Size of organization
  - They prioritize supporting small and grassroots organizations
    - Grassroots – < $1M
    - Small – $1M – $3M
Integrated Approach – Community Organizing and Public Policy Advocacy: The Integrated Approach program area leverages the power of community organizing and public policy advocacy strategies. This program area seeks to support community-based organizations that employ both strategies to advance racial equity and/or racial justice. They support organizations that:
- Operate within metropolitan Chicago (city proper with some consideration of other cities in Cook County)
  - They prioritize supporting organizations that work within, and with, communities of color and marginalized populations
- Have 51% people of color on the organization’s executive leadership and Board of Directors
  - They prioritize supporting BIPOC-led and BIPOC-centered/BIPOC-serving organizations
- Prioritize and engage people most impacted by structural racism and economic injustice to lead the process of defining problems and developing solutions
- Are community-based and building an informed power base
- Participate in coalition building to achieve greater impact
- Have demonstrated an ability to effectively influence policymakers and the policymaking process
- Size of organization
  - They prioritize supporting small and grassroots organizations
    - Grassroots – < $1M
    - Small – $1M – $5M

Ineligibility Criteria

Organizations outside of the Chicago metropolitan area (Chicago city proper and its surrounding suburbs)
Business or economic development projects
Capital campaigns, capital projects, capital acquisitions, housing construction/rehabilitation
Endowments
Health care institutions, including, but not limited to, hospitals and clinics
Organizations that provide direct services
Medical and scientific research
K-12 and post-secondary education scholarships
Religious programs
Leadership development or fellowship programs.