Check out a slideshow of some of our 2012 grantees!

2012 Grantees

Crossroads Fund is proud to announce that in 2012 we gave out $303,846 to 73 groups working for racial, social and economic justice across a spectrum of issues. Although the following list categorizes grantees based on one primary focus of their work, grantees’ work is rarely limited to a single issue area. Most work across issues and prioritize the multiple needs of their diverse constituencies. The listed grantees received funding within five grantmaking programs. A notation after the grantee description indicates from which program(s) they received funding. These programs include the Seed Fund (Seed), Technical Assistance Fund (TA), Emergency Fund (EF), Youth Fund for Social Change (YF) and Partner Funds (PF), ncluding the GRAM Fund (GRAM) which supports women and girls, rights for Arab Americans, and youth projects; and the Eleuterio Fund (Eleuterio) which supports community based arts, education, peace activism and programs engaging adults. Unless otherwise noted, the grants were used for general operating support. Click to see past grantee lists.

Criminal Justice

Chicago Torture Justice Memorials are a series of exhibitions, performances and public events that reckon with the torture of over 100 African American men and women under Police Commander Jon Burge. Their goal is to better preserve the history of the torture and activism to hold Burge accountable, to share this history with new audiences and engage them to work on behalf of torture survivors. $3,000 (Eleuterio)

Project Nia is an advocacy, organizing, popular education, research and capacity-building center. They work to promote restorative and transformative justice techniques as an alternative to arrest and incarceration of youth, with a long-term goal of ending youth incarceration. $3,000 (PF)

Tamms Year Ten is a coalition of prisoners, ex-prisoners, families, artists, activists, organizations and concerned citizens protesting inhumane policies at Tamms C-MAX prison and calling for an end to the abusive conditions there that are known to provoke mental illness and physical breakdown. $4,000 (Seed) 

Economic Justice and Community Development

Alliance of the Southeast grew out of Alianza Leadership Institute as a new multi-issue, power-based community organizing organization composed of nine member institutions on Chicago’s Southeast side. Their campaigns will focus on jobs, community safety, and immigration.    $3,000 (Seed)

American Folklore Society is an association of scholars, museum anthropologists and private citizens who study and exchange knowledge about folklore nationally and throughout the world. $1,000 (Eleuterio)

Blocks Together is a multi-issue social justice organization on the West Side of Chicago addressing affordable housing, public education and other community issues. Grants include support for Blocks Together’s youth-led restorative justice campaign, consulting in strategic planning and social change evaluation. $10,250 (Eleuterio, TA, YF)

Central District Organizing Project is a grassroots, direct action multi-issue community organizing group in the Midtown/Central District neighborhood of Gary, Indiana.  Their work has included preventing the closure of a public library and fighting the privatization of trash collection. $3,000 (Seed)

Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign works to support the human right to housing through tenant organizing and direct action, focused on federal housing policies as well as the private rental and home mortgage markets. Their work includes efforts to place families in foreclosed and abandoned bank-owned homes. $3,000 (Seed)

Chicago Honey Co-op is a beekeeping cooperative that provides economic development opportunities for the underemployed while promoting sustainable urban agricultural practices. $12,407 (PF)

Grassroots Collaborative is a citywide coalition of 11 community and labor organizations, working for economic and racial justice. Their work centers on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) accountability and spending, job creation and neighborhood investments. $5,000 (Seed)

Jane Addams Senior Caucus organizes low-income seniors to improve their quality of life and build a strong community voice to address issues like healthcare and housing. These grants include support for leadership development sessions. $11,250 (Seed, PF, TA)

Lakeview Action Coalition, a multi-issue coalition of individuals and organizations in the Lakeview neighborhood, organizes around affordable housing, healthcare, sustainable development, environmental justice and police abuse of homeless youth. $6,000 (Seed)

Neighborhood Writing Alliance provokes dialogue, builds community and promotes change by creating opportunities for Chicago residents to share their stories through writing workshops and in the Journal of Ordinary Thought. $7,000 (Eleuterio)

Occupy Chicago is a nonviolent nonpartisan people’s movement working to draw attention to corporate influence over government and the resulting adverse impact on the economy locally, nationally and internationally. $30,617 (PF, Donald F. Erickson Synapses Award)

Southside Together Organizing for Power organizes primarily African American tenants, youth, and consumers of mental health services in the Hyde Park-Woodlawn neighborhood to address housing, gentrification, healthcare and criminalization of youth. These grants include support for a youth-led campaign to reopen the trauma center at University of Chicago hospital and consulting in social change evaluation. $8,250 (Seed, TA, YF, GRAM)

Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation is a grassroots social justice organization based on the South Side and South Suburbs working on issues of economic justice and corporate accountability. Their campaigns include bank accountability, green jobs and education reform. $3,000 (Seed)

Human Rights, International Policy & Government Accountability

Chicago Action Medical and the Healing Justice Network partnered to provide wellness care and healing justice activities during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit held Chicago in May 2012.  Funds were used to train volunteers in street medic practices and to set up wellness center tents along parade routes and at large rallies during the NATO summit protests. $1,000 (TA)

Chicago Area Peace Action is an Evanston-based group doing education, action and outreach across the Metro Chicago area around issues of war, military spending, nuclear energy and climate change. $3,000 (Eleuterio)

Chicago Palestine Film Festival exhibits and promotes films about Palestine or by Palestinian directors that address current issues in the region and portray the daily lives of Palestinians. Over the years, they have established themselves as a critical educational resource for various communities, institutions and the general public. $3,500 (PF, GRAM)

Christian Peacemaker Teams trains and places violence-reduction teams in crisis situations and militarized areas around the world and reports to the larger world community on these atrocities. These teams also support local peacemaking efforts through nonviolent direct action and public witness. $12,956 (Seed)

Citizen Advocacy Center works in DuPage County to increase the capacity and skills of individuals and organizations, particularly those most excluded from civic participation, to participate effectively in community life while advocating for policies that protect public participation. $3,000 (Seed)

Committee for a Just Peace in Israel & Palestine works toward a just and peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through public education forums, civic participation and an annual walk for justice. These grants include support for consulting in social change evaluation. $4,500 (Seed, TA)

Community Media Workshop provides media related training, resources and information for grassroots organizations working on social change.  Grant was to support Chicagostories.org, a program dedicated to showcasing local issues during the 2012 NATO summit. $3,000 (TA)

Mass Defense Committee of the National Lawyers Guild of Chicago works to defend the civil rights and liberties of persons seeking to exercise their First Amendment rights of speech, expression and assembly.  Grant was used to provide public education, train Legal Observers and to establish a temporary office during the 2012 NATO summit.  $5,000 (TA)

National Boricua Human Rights Network works to raise awareness of human rights issues facing the Puerto Rican community, including political prisoners and the preservation of civil liberties. $3,500 (Seed)

Immigrant Issues

The Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition organizes congregations and people of faith to respond to injustice experienced by undocumented immigrants. Its strategies include public witness, political advocacy and support for immigrants at risk of deportation. Grants include support for consulting in social change evaluation. $6,500 (Seed, TA)

Interfaith Leadership Project is an institution-based community organizing group in Cicero, Berwyn and Stickney, IL, working in the areas of immigration reform, foreclosure prevention, citizenship promotion and educational improvement. Grant is for their Immigrant Police Justice Project, which seeks to end police abuse of undocumented immigrants. $3,000 (Seed)

Proyecto de Accion de los Suburbios del Oeste (PASO) is an immigrant rights organizing group in the near-west suburbs, involved in DREAM Act mobilizations, fighting the Secure Communities Act, know your rights trainings and other campaigns. $3,000 (Seed)

United African Organization, a coalition of African organizations in Chicago, works for social justice, civil rights, civic participation and empowerment of African immigrants and refugees. This grant supports consulting in social change evaluation. $1,125 (TA)

Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Issues

Affinity Community Services serves African American lesbian and bisexual women and youth in Chicago by providing a safe space while addressing issues related to race, health, poverty, immigration and education. Grants include support for a youth-led community forum, youth participation in a White House policy briefing, and consulting in social change evaluation. $11,500 (PF, TA, EF, YF, Eleuterio)

Association of Latino Men for Action (ALMA) empowers Latina/o LGBTQ people by providing support, advocacy, leadership development opportunities, cultural programming and coalition building. Grant was to support general operating expenses for their immigrant rights work, which focuses on healthcare access and immigration policies specific to the needs of undocumented LGBTQ immigrants. $3,000 (Seed)

Earth Pearl Collective is a social justice-oriented collective of queer black womyn artists who work to promote their visibility, artistic talents and well-being through performances, events and workshops. $2,000 (Eleuterio)

Illinois Safe Schools Alliance prevents violence against LGBTQ students in Illinois public schools through policy advocacy, youth organizing and public education both within and outside of school systems. Grants include support for consulting in social change evaluation. $4,500 (TA, GRAM)

Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois is a volunteer-run collective of lawyers, activists and organizers committed to gender self-determination, transformative justice and prison abolition. They provide direct legal services for transgender and gender queer prisoners and provide resources/training for lawyers and social workers. $3,000 (Seed)

Women and Girls

Aging Justice Program is a collaboration between Jane Addams Senior Caucus, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and the Midwest Academy. This partnership aims to build the capacity of senior women to enable them to engage in and generate policy on issues that affect them while providing them with a better understanding of Illinois’ political landscape.  $4,000 (PF, Eleuterio)

Beyondmedia Education partners with under-represented women, youth and communities to create and distribute alternative media and arts addressing the issues and systems that affect them. Grant funded consultant support during their organizational transition. $3,000 (TA)

Chicago Abortion Fund works to address economic barriers to reproductive choice by connecting young women with free or low cost reproductive health services, and organizes young women who access their services to become advocates for reproductive justice. $5,000 (Seed)

Chicago Books to Women in Prison fulfills incarcerated women’s direct requests for books, reducing incarcerated women’s isolation and providing them with valuable resources. $2,500 (GRAM)

Chicago Friends of WE-ACTx – Rwanda is a pooled fund to benefit the WE-ACTx HIV/AIDS clinics in Rwanda. WE-ACTx serves HIV positive genocide widows, rape survivor and orphans and is a model of care and international/local collaboration. $6,402 (PF)

Global Girls, Inc. uses performing arts as a medium to develop strong communication, leadership and life skills amongst a group of youth that consists primarily of girls between the ages of eight and eighteen. $2,500 (GRAM)

HEART Women & Girls  work to bring awareness of the issues of sexual violence and reproductive health to young women and girls in the Muslim community while providing training/workshops to educators and adult allies on the issue. $2,000 (Eleuterio)

Women’s Voices Fund provides programs that promote feminist dialogue through book discussions, author readings and community events affiliated with Women & Children First bookstore. $5,339 (PF)

Worker Rights

Arise Chicago builds partnerships between low-income, primarily immigrant workers and faith communities through education, by organizing workers and congregations and by advocating for policies to protect workers. Grant supports consulting in social change evaluation. $1,500 (TA)

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos: Immigrant Workers Project is an immigrant-run workers’ center on Chicago’s Southeast side that protects immigrant workers from violations and exploitation by area employers. Grants include support for consulting in communications and social change evaluation. $8,500 (Seed, TA)

Chicago Community and Worker Rights educates and organizes Latino workers to fight against exploitation in their jobs and for jobs that are safe and dignified. Grants include support for organization leaders to provide skills-building workshops for activists in Alabama, in response to anti-immigrant legislation. $3,500 (Seed, EF)

Chicago Workers’ Collaborative, a coalition of workers and groups, organizes for day laborer and immigrant rights through public education, worker trainings and litigation on behalf of primarily immigrant workers who have experienced exploitation in their workplace. $9,250 (PF, Eleuterio)

Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago uses a range of workplace campaigns and education strategies to improve the working conditions of low-wage restaurant employees and shift the imbalance of power within the restaurant industry. $5,000 (Seed)

United Taxidrivers Community Council is a multiracial and multiethnic taxidriver organizing project that promotes a living wage and better working conditions for Chicago taxi drivers. $3,000 (Seed)

Workers Center for Racial Justice strives to eliminate structural barriers to sustainable and living wage employment for African American workers, especially those who have previously been incarcerated. $3,000 (Seed)

Youth

A Long Walk Home, Inc.'s Girl/Friends Leadership Institute is an art-based, youth-led program in the North Lawndale neighborhood that allows young women to address dating, domestic and sexual violence in their communities and schools. $1,500 (YF)

Benton House is a direct service provider in the Bridgeport community that is launching a food justice initiative with young people to look at issues of food insecurity and encourage civic engagement. $1,500 (YF)

Broadway Youth Center’s Peer Advocates Program facilitates leadership development for LGBTQA youth of color, many of whom are without stable housing. The Peer Advocates provide workshops for other youth at Broadway Youth Center on issues like sexual health, systems of oppression and harm reduction practices. $2,000 (YF)

Chicago Area Friends of SNCC This grant supported youth involvement in an intergenerational public event to celebrate the opening of the “Tell the Story” exhibit, which collects the stories of the Chicago area chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. $1,000 (YF)

Chicago Freedom School works to build youth-led social change movements and educate youth and community members in social movement history. $1,000 (Ron Sable Award for Activism)

Chicago Law and Education Foundation provides Chicago Public School students and their families’ access to legal services, training and education on issues like record expungement, domestic violence, immigration, and tenants’ rights. $4,500 (PF, GRAM)

Chicago-New Orleans Collaborative is a group of young people from four Chicago area schools (Julian, Little Village Social Justice, Kelly and Gage Park) making their sixth annual trip to New Orleans to assist in rebuilding efforts, create relationships and learn about issues that affect both cities, like housing, gentrification, racism and the privatization of education. $1,500 (Youth)

The Chicago Wisdom Project works with students to create projects that contribute to a more just world through the arts, while mentoring youth in skills like hip hop music production, video/film, community activism and more. $1,500 (YF)

Circles and Ciphers is a hip hop leadership development program for young men located in the Rogers Park neighborhood, which advocates restorative justice alternatives to incarceration. Their “Time Lords” program generates intergenerational dialogue for community healing. $1,500 (YF)

For Youth Inquiry is a collective of artists, educators and activists engaging young people in accessible conversations about sexual health and violence through participatory theater. $3,000 (GRAM)

Foundation for Community Change is comprised of youth leaders across three Southside, predominately African American Chicago communities. They utilize visual and performing arts to elevate youth voices about issues of violence, and to create an alternative to zero tolerance policies that silence youth. $1,500 (YF)

Free Street Theater produced “#DISTRACTED” a play written and directed by youth to address the relationship between global youth-led social movements and the experiences of young people in Chicago. $1,500 (YF)

Imagine Englewood If… is continuing a youth-led campaign to create a family community center in Englewood, so that people of different ages will be able to come together in a single safe space. $1,500 (YF)

Immigrant Youth Justice League is a network of undocumented youth and their allies working for justice for immigrants. They encourage undocumented youth to “come out” and share their stories publicly, to put a more human face on the immigration debate and counteract racist stereotypes. Grants include support for an advocacy project addressing the unique mental health needs of undocumented young people. $6,000 (PF, YF, GRAM)

Korean American Resource and Cultural Center challenges Koreans in the greater Chicago area to engage in meaningful civic participation to solve community issues, with a particular emphasis on youth programs and intergenerational activities. These grants include support for a youth-led voter registration campaign, and consulting in social change evaluation. $3,000 (TA, YF)

La Fuerza Juventud/Pilsen Youth Equalizer Corps is a youth program at Centro Sin Fronteras that organizes to address healthcare disparities, immigration reform and gang violence in Pilsen. Grant supports the launch of a community newspaper written and produced by youth, as an organizing and fundraising tool. $2,000 (YF)

Las Caras Lindas (Beautiful Faces) is a multi-generational project that brings together young girls and women from Latina and African American communities to grapple with issues that face both their communities, strategize on possible transformative changes, nurture the next generation of leaders and be in community with each other.  $1,000 (Cathy Cohen Black Youth Fund)

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization’s youth program organizes young people to address public transportation, land contamination and urban agriculture in the Pilsen and Little Village communities. $2,500 (YF)

Nuestra Voz organizes around local and national immigration policies, while empowering undocumented students in the Western Suburbs to pursue their college education regardless of immigration status. $2,000 (YF)

Ollin is a youth program at Telpochcalli Community Education Project in the Little Village neighborhood. This grant supports the fifth year of the Little Village Youth Forum, which brings youth together across neighborhoods to address the root causes of violence, and the Nonviolence Leadership Institute, which trains young people, including members of street organizations, to implement the nonviolence practices of leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. $3,500 (YF)

Young Women’s Empowerment Project is run by and for women, girls and youth with life experiences in the sex trade and street economies. They use social justice, transformative justice and harm-reduction strategies to address issues affecting them. Grant supports a campaign to address institutional violence and denial of services experienced by street youth. $3,000 (YF)

Youth Outlook provides social space, leadership development and educational opportunities for LGBT youth in DuPage County. Grant supports youth-led community education projects to combat homophobia. $2,000 (YF)

Click to see past grantee lists.