The Seed Fund supports long-time, well-established organizations as well as new, emerging, and/or small community-based organizations that are actively engaged in social change work.
Donor Name: Crossroads Fund
State: Illinois, Indiana
County: Cook County (IL), DuPage County (IL), Kane County (IL), Lake County (IL), Lake County (IN), Will County (IL)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/10/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Funding is provided for general operating, start-up costs, or project expenses.
Priority is given to organizations that are:
- Collaborative or working in alliance with other progressive groups as a way to build multiple strategies for bringing social change
- Risk-taking by doing work that may be controversial, marginalized, and/or new and emerging
- Strategic and working with a long-term vision which clearly links to current plans
- Achieving concrete success which has positively impacted the community
- Raise money from multiple sources throughout the community, such as foundations, businesses, individuals, special events, and income generating projects.
Types of Work Supported for ALL grants
Crossroads supports many different forms of social change organizing, such as (but not limited to):
- Direct Action Organizing
- Public Policy Advocacy
- Art & Cultural work that is community-based and linked to activism
- Economic Development
- International Solidarity
- Action Research as an organizing strategy to identify, document and analyze information, in partnership with a community group
- Media Advocacy that promotes greater public understanding of critical issues and increasing organizing outreach efforts
- Social Services linked with Activism
- Leadership Development and Training
- Providing Resources for Local Activists
- Working Collaboratively Across Issues and Communities
- Gatherings and Conferences.
Funding Information
The maximum grant in this program is $15,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Crossroads Fund supports groups that have:
- 501(c)3 status
- 501(c)4 and co-operatives
- Fiscal sponsor for those without tax-exempt status
- Organizational bank account
- All applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered for funding:
- Working for Social Change: Crossroads Fund supports organizations working to examine and challenge the underlying causes of injustice affecting their communities. They seek to change the conditions, institutions, and policies that create and maintain inequality and oppression.
- Cross-Issue Organizing: The grantees work with an understanding of the connectedness among the various people and issues that make up the whole community.
- Grassroots Leadership: They support groups that involve the people who are directly affected by an issue at all levels of the organization – in planning, organizing and leading, and working to continue building leadership within the grassroots community.
- Solid Plan: They fund groups whose work is driven by the following:
- a clear purpose with well-planned goals, objectives, activities and a tool to measure outcomes and impact
- a timeline and budget that reflects the proposed objectives and activities
- a realistic fundraising plan.
- Work in the Chicago Metropolitan Area: Crossroads Fund supports organizations rooted in communities in the Chicago metropolitan area. Counties include: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will, along with Lake County, Indiana.
- Budget: Groups with previous year annual expenses under $500,000.
For more information, visit Crossroads Fund.
