WE BELIEVE IN CHANGE, NOT CHARITY

OUR APPROACH

At Crossroads Fund, we support community organizations working on issues of racial, social and economic justice in the Chicago area. We pool the resources of individuals, foundations and businesses, building a broad base of support for grassroots organizations for social change.

CROSSROADS FUND

THEORY OF CHANGE

Crossroads Fund leads in the philanthropic sector by supporting innovative organizing models that build strong movements for racial, social and economic justice. By creating relationships between donors, grantees, grassroots groups and community members, we strengthen leadership, build sustainable communities and transform unjust conditions, institutions and policies towards collective liberation.

HOW WE MAKE CHANGE

GIVING SEED GRANTS

At Crossroads Fund we believe that BIG CHANGE comes from community-led, grassroots organizing.

Some of the biggest victories we’ve seen in this city from accessible public transit for people with disabilities, to the successful campaign to abolish the death penalty in Illinois, to the campaign to end the use of money bond, all of which started out as small grassroots movements that were considered too radical for most funders. That’s where Crossroads Fund comes in.

Grant Opportunities

ACTIVIST INFORMED GRANTMAKING

At Crossroads Fund, WE BELIEVE that the people who best understand the issues at hand should participate in our funding decisions.

That’s why our grantmaking committees include people who intimately understand the need for systems change, including past and current grantees, community organizers, donors, academics, and community allies. This rich pool of knowledge lets us ask hard questions, and direct our funds to the most effective and innovative groups.

Giving Project

Capacity Building Initiative

MOVEMENT BUILDING

At Crossroads Fund, we do MORE THAN GIVE GRANTS, we build movements.

We help to build city-wide movements for social change. We provide workshops and trainings that help our grantees build their capacity and refine their organizing and advocacy strategies. We organize public programs that help provide a platform for our grantees to educate about their issues and influence public debate. And we bring together our grantees in convenings that allow them to share strategies and build alliances.

Cultivate: Women of Color Leadership

Queering Left