The Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund will raise and move $5,000,000 to Chicago organizations building and sustaining movements for justice that center Black lives and address anti-Blackness.
The Fund provides unrestricted grants to nonprofits that are Black-led and use grassroots community organizing as a primary strategy. Ally-led community organizing groups addressing anti-Blackness are also considered.
Community organizing in this context means: Building movements and collective power to dismantle the systems, structures, and institutions that are rooted in white supremacy and perpetuate anti-Black violence.
While $5,000,000 is not enough to address the ongoing violence that racial injustice inflicts, this is the first step of many needed toward a more just Chicago.
Justice is only possible through community-led movements. Chicago has a long history of community organizing which has evolved considerably. In the Black Lives Matter era, many Black-led organizations are building intersectional campaigns which understand the complexities of Black life and illustrate that no one is free until we’re all free.
Longstanding, deeply committed community organizations are amplifying their tenacious racial justice work while newer organizations are developing another generation of leaders ready to transform Chicago. They are all bringing expanded understandings of leadership, a different sense of priorities, new perspectives and new imaginations.
The Fund welcomes grassroots organizing that addresses white supremacy and systemic racism in the criminal legal and policing systems as well as organizing that seeks to create alternative economies, affordable housing, equitable public education policy, accessible healthcare, and worker justice.
Let’s fund these organizations as if we want them to win.
FUND CONTRIBUTORS
This Fund exists because foundations and individuals have joined together to create something bigger than themselves. We recognize you with respect and appreciation:
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Chicago Community Trust |
Leva Family Foundation |
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Chicago Foundation for Women |
Pamela Conant |
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Comer Family Foundation |
Paul M. Angell Family Foundation |
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Conant Family Foundation |
PERT Family Foundation |
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Crossroads Fund |
Pierce Family Foundation |
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Crown Family Philanthropies |
Polk Bros. Foundation |
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Debbie Reznick, Polk Bros. Foundation |
Prince Charitable Trusts |
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Field Foundation of Illinois |
Rachel Conant |
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Full Circle Foundation |
Regeneration Fund |
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Homestead Affordable Development Corp |
RRF Foundation for Aging |
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Illinois Humanities |
Steven and Elizabeth Young Family DAF |
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John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation |
Steans Family Foundation |
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Julian Grace Foundation |
The Albert Pick Jr. Fund |
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Kaplan Family Foundation |
Wieboldt Foundation |
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Lehman-Stamm Family Fund |
Woods Fund of Chicago |
APPLY FOR A GRANT
The application process is now open. The Fund reviews application on a rolling basis, as funds are available. Requests can be for general operating support or for a specific project or campaign. Grants are in the range of $25,000 - $50,000.
Organizations that meet the following criteria are eligible:
- Are a community organizing organization.
- Are Black-led or allied organizations working on anti-Blackness.
- Are located in Cook County, Illinois.
- Have an annual organizational budget less than $750,000.
- Are designated 501c3 by the IRS or have a Fiscal Sponsor; the Fund will also consider organizations without 501c3 designation that have an organizational bank account.
Questions? Email Leslie Ramyk (Leslie@conantfamilyfoundation.org)
Applications are accepted on this GRANT PORTAL.
FUNDED ORGANIZATIONS
The following groups have received funding from the Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund. Organizations will be added as funding permits.
| Action Now Institute | Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health |
| Black Girls Break Bread |
Just Peace |
| Black Leaders Building Together |
Lighthouse Foundation |
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Black Lives Matter Chicago |
Live Free Chicago |
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Black Researchers Collective |
Lorde, Rustin & Bates |
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Blackroots Alliance |
Lugenia Burns Hope Center |
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Blue Tin Production |
Metropolitan Tenants Organization |
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Brave Space Alliance |
Monroe Foundation |
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Bronzeville Black Chicagoan Historical Society |
Mothers Opposed to Violence Everywhere |
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BYP 100 |
Nehemiah Group DBA Chicago Eco House |
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Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression |
Neighborhood Network Alliance |
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Chicago Desi Youth Risin |
Organized Communities Against Deportations |
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Chicago Freedom School |
People for Community Recovery |
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Chicago Housing Justice League |
People Matter |
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Chicago Peace Fellows Mutual Aid Collaboration |
The People's Lobby |
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Chicago Torture Justice Center |
Pilsen Alliance |
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Chicago Torture Justice Memorial |
Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education |
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Christianaire |
SoapBox Productions and Organizing |
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Dissenters |
Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation |
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El Griot & Areito Project |
Southside Together Organizing for Power |
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Equity And Transformation |
TGi Movement |
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First Defense Legal Aid |
Ujimaa Medics |
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Free Write Arts & Literacy |
United Working Families |
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Garfield Park Community Council |
Women's All Points Bulletin, WAPB Inc |
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Get to Work |
Workers Center for Racial Justice |
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Healing to Action |
Working Family Solidarity |
ORIGINS & GOVERNANCE
The Fund was created in June 2020 by the Neighborhood Organizing Group, an informal affinity group of Chicago community organizing funders.
While the initial impetus was another civilian murdered by police -- in this case the murder of George Floyd -- Chicago carries a deep history of police brutality and egregious misconduct. The Chicago Police Department is currently operating under a Federal Consent Decree resulting from unconstitutional abuses of power.
Organizers, activists, community leaders and researchers provided clarity and direction for the Fund through multiple presentations and meetings over the summer of 2020. This Fund is a response to their urgent call for the resourcing necessary to create lasting change.
The Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund is under the overall direction of Crossroads Fund.
Neighborhood Organizing Group members serve as a Steering Committee, providing guidance and recommendations to Crossroads Fund for fundraising, decision making, and the development of any necessary policies for the pooled Fund. Six members of the Steering Committee volunteer to serve as the Fund’s Allocations Committee.
Steering Committee Members:
Michelle Morales, Woods Fund of Chicago, Co-Chair
Leslie Ramyk, Conant Family Foundation, Co-Chair
Angelica Chavez, Field Foundation of Illinois
Daniel Ash, Chicago Community Trust
David Pesqueira, McCormick Foundation
Deborah Bennett, Polk Bros. Foundation
Heather Parish, Pierce Family Foundation
Iris Krieg, Albert Pick Jr. Fund
Jacquelyn Rosa, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
Jane Kimondo, Crossroads Fund
Marianne Philbin, Pierce Family Foundation
Mary Pounder, Comer Family Foundation
Jawanza Malone, Wieboldt Foundation
Ryan Priester, MacArthur Foundation