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Support the Giving Project

LEADERSHIP BUILDING AND MOVING MONEY FOR REAL CHANGE IN CHICAGO

GIVING PROJECT

Since 2014, Crossroads Fund’s Giving Projects have raised more than $1M from over 1,697+ donors.

THE 2025 GIVING PROJECT COHORT HAS COMMITTED TO RAISE $150,000

Crossroads Fund is excited to announce that our 2025 Giving Project cohort – a multi-racial, cross-class, intersectional group of 18 people- has committed to fundraise $150,000 to fund movement work in Chicago.

Over the course of six months, this group will have deep personal conversations on race and class, will make a monetary donation that is significant to them, will fundraise their network through a process of “donor organizing,” and will practice participatory grant-making supporting strategic, necessary, and underfunded social justice organizing work around the city.

Meet the 2025 Giving Project Members

SUPPORT THE GIVING PROJECT!

Past Giving Project Cohorts

Meet our past Giving Project cohorts and see how much they’ve raised in the past years.

Past Cohorts

2025 Giving Project Members

Adayan Munsuarrieta

Adayan Munsuarrieta

  • Pronoun

    He / They

About

Adayan Munsuarrieta is a 24 year old queer Cuban American from Naples, Florida. He currently works as a Multicultural Resources Program Coordinator and supports immigrants in the Chicagoland area with their public benefits needs. Adayan graduated from the University of Chicago in 2023 with a double major in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (with a concentration in Latinx Studies) and Media Arts and Design with a focus on video game studies.

In their free time, Adayan loves to spend time with friends, playing games, watching shows, and going to trivia nights. He is the proud father of two cats, Candy and Canela, and spends his evenings at home with them.

Alice Kovacik

Alice Kovacik

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Alice Kovacik (she/her) is a lifelong midwesterner, and has spent her career in the nonprofit sector as a fundraiser, volunteer manager, and community engagement professional. She is curious about the intersections of art making, spiritual practice, and social justice, and eager to learn and build community as part of the Giving Project. In her free time, Alice enjoys baking, exploring museums, and taking art classes.

Brandon L. Lopez

Brandon L. Lopez

  • Pronoun

    He / Him

About

Brandon L. Lopez is an artist, educator, and community advocate. He seeks to better the world around him by connecting people with the knowledge and resources they need to define and achieve success. For the last 10 years he has been working in various roles based in education, health, art, fundraising, youth empowerment, civic engagement, and community organizing. His last professional role was helping workforce students through the college admissions process for various universities, but he is currently taking time to explore new roles that will allow him to help the Chicago greater community by aiding in the distribution of philanthropic funds.

Cora Galpern

Cora Galpern

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Cora Galpern (she/her) moved to Chicago in September after graduating from the University of Michigan. As a high schooler, Cora served on the board of Rename St*pleton For All, an organization working to change the name of her hometown neighborhood honoring a former KKK member. Her college organizing was focused on campus work relating to Israel and Palestine. She did anti-occupation work within the Jewish community for four years and organized with the school’s divestment coalition while pursuing her MSW. She is excited about the opportunity to plug into local work in Chicago and continue to build power through grassroots organizing!

Dezi Primous-Gillon

Dezi Primous-Gillon

  • Pronoun

    They / Them

About

Dezi Primous-Gillon (they/them) is a Chicago-based organizer, artist, and advocate for social justice. They work as a Client Coordinator at the Midwest Access Coalition, where they support clients by coordinating travel and logistics for essential appointments.

With a background in restorative and transformational justice, Dezi has worked with organizations such as the Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois. They hold an MDiv in Social and Sexual Ethics from Union Theological Seminary and a BA in Sociology from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL.

Outside of work, Dezi enjoys creating art, exploring Chicago’s neighborhoods, and spending time in nature, from local parks to forest preserves and camping grounds. Art therapy has helped them reconnect with their creativity, leading to a renewed focus on making art and crafts. They live with their partner Ezra, two poodles, and a tabby cat, finding joy in the balance between advocacy, creativity, and community.

Ellie Spitz

Ellie Spitz

  • Pronoun

    They / Them

About

Best described as an enthusiastic camp counselor, Ellie Spitz (they/them) is a queer community builder with a passion for creating inclusive space. They are a social worker who believes in deeply interrogating inequities in the system. They work at SVARA, a queer, jewish, Yeshiva building and convening liberatory expressions of Judaism to equip individuals and communities to realize a just and healed world. In their free time, they can be found hosting Shabbat dinner, playing djembe, and cycling. They are thrilled to be a part of the 2025 Giving Project Cohort!

Josh Son

Josh Son

  • Pronoun

    He / Him

About

Joshua Son (he/him) is an urban planner and avid cyclist from Virginia. He currently works at the City of Chicago as a Projects Administrator for the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund program where he provides access to development capital for small black and brown businesses on the South, West, and Southwest sides of the city. Josh highly values the communal public realm and is always trying to find ways to support it whether that’s through his day job, volunteering, or simply shopping at a local business. He has over a decade of experience in the planning field where he spent most of his focus between urban design and economic development. In his spare time he enjoys trying out new exercise routines, meeting up with friends, and checking out the music scene.

Larry Dean

Larry Dean

  • Pronoun

    He / Him

About

Larry Dean is a grassroots community organizer based in Chicago,IL. He will lead the organizing for the economic justice work at Access Living. He first began organizing as a founding member of Black Youth Project 100 in 2014. Larry is formerly the Organizing & Policy Associate at Community Renewal Society where he led the criminal justice and police accountability portfolio. In his role he participated in the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability and helped organize campaigns for District council candidates for their first election. Larry worked to create political education for various communities across the city about the role of District Councillors and local elections through town halls.

Larry has also worked with various community organizations working with youth on restorative justice training and policy implementation strategies for Chicago Public Schools. As the Youth Safety Advisory Council Manager Larry led youth councils to re-imagine alternative safety policies to policing in schools. He helped to lead the students to conduct research and use their experiences to present key findings to city stakeholders and ultimately push for more restorative justice directors in public schools

Larry has a Bachelors of arts from Roosevelt University in African American Studies and is currently getting his masters of arts in Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

Lauren Hamilton

Lauren Hamilton

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Lauren Hamilton (she/her) is a Black Queer woman from southside Minneapolis who now calls Chicago home. Her passion for civic engagement and education started as a teenager and blossomed during her time at Northwestern University, leading to her current role as Equity Analyst at Evanston Township High School. There, she collaborates with visionary educators and young leaders to build systems where everyone can thrive.

A natural builder and weaver of connections, Lauren specializes in creating spaces where knowledge, stories, and strategies flow freely between communities. Her expertise in racial equity facilitation and restorative practices enhances her ability to nurture meaningful dialogue and sustainable change. As she deepens her connections within Chicago’s movement building communities, she remains focused on a critical question: how do we cultivate joy within the pursuit of justice?

When enjoying some time to herself, you might find Lauren in a hot yoga studio, expanding her growing home library, or spending quality time with her sweet kitties, Otis and Braylor. And yes, she’ll admit to a guilty pleasure: binge-watching questionable Netflix dating shows.

Layla Bastar

Layla Bastar

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Layla Bastar (she/her) is an Iranian-American govtech writer who grew up in the St. Louis area and moved to Chicago in 2012. She is passionate about exploring the ways in which local government entities can make digital services more equitable for the communities they serve, especially for under-resourced and historically excluded communities. She loves poetry, latin dance, urbanism, soccer, traveling with her fiancé, and spending time at home with her two cats, Rumi and Jiji.

Maria Flores

Maria Flores

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Maria Flores (she/her) is the Development Coordinator at Housing Action Illinois. She has found a strong passion for advocating for all aspects of affordable housing. Previously, Maria served as an AmeriCorp VISTA Member with Housing Choice Partners. In her spare time, Maria can be found listening to music, playing sudoku, or experimenting with new recipes. Maria lives in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago with her partner, dog, and cat.

Marian Patton

Marian Patton

  • Pronoun

    She / Her / They

About

Marian Patton is an advocate for education and is currently a Development Associate at an education justice nonprofit. She believes that education is the foundation of an abundant life. When education is defunded it is an intentional act of oppression. She plans to disrupt the cycle of oppression before she perishes from this earth.

Meher Rehman

Meher Rehman

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Meher Rehman is a Muslim feminist, and a senior anti-violence leader based in Chicago. She applies a feminist and intersectional lens to her work on equity and justice. Over the last two decades, she has successfully led social justice initiatives and given technical assistance on gender justice, immigrant rights, reproductive justice, and youth empowerment to community-based organizations and international agencies in South & East Asia, West and Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and North America. As the Director of Capacity Building, at The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence, Meher leads the training, public education, and technical assistance portfolio. Meher’s work centers advancing knowledge and skills on critical intersections of gender-based violence and community violence, mass incarceration, youth advocacy, racialized misogyny and culturally relevant interventions. Additionally, Meher serves on the Board of Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness and Middle eastern Immigrants & Refugee Alliance and also advises a community-based organization, Survivors Know that works with survivors of power-based violence. Meher holds a Masters in Social Work from New Delhi, India and a Non-Profit Executive Leadership Certificate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She lives in Chicago and is an avid traveler, and a music and arts enthusiast.

Miriam Savad

Miriam Savad

  • Pronoun

    She / They

About

Miriam Savad is a planner and activist who focuses on building inclusive, sustainable communities. In July 2024 they joined The Center for Neighborhood Technology as the Chief Strategy and Program Officer. You might find Miriam biking along the lakefront or elsewhere around Hyde Park, where they live with their partner.

Nathalie Rayter

Nathalie Rayter

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Nathalie Rayter grew up all over the US but has called Chicago home for nearly 15 years. Nathalie joined the Giving Project because she is passionate about building connections across communities. Nathalie works in government technology, helping people access public benefits by creating services that are easy to use. A former (and forever) educator, Nathalie cares deeply about building safe, empowering spaces for young Chicagoans. In her spare time, she loves cooking for other people, gardening, and getting to know her neighbors in Avondale.

Pri Das

Pri Das

  • Pronoun

    Any

About

Pri Das was born in Assam, India and has resided in Chicago for 10 years. After immigrating to the United States when they were five, they lived in Utah, then California, and then Illinois. They completed their general education at College of DuPage and studied communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago. They have a working background in healthcare admin, tech startups, the international foundation space, and fundraising at an organizational scale. During a fellowship at iHeartMedia, their experience and findings deepened their learnings about the colonization of the internet, which then steered them into learning about the solidarity economy. Pri currently works for wages as a freelance facilitator and consultant for groups oriented to resource sharing at the local level. Storytelling is at the core of their theory of change, and they’re the co-host of a bi-monthly storytelling show. Their political home is the Liberation Library, and they find inspiration and hope from their comrades, chosen family, dog, and nature.

Sonia Nussbaum

Sonia Nussbaum

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

A Chicago transplant, Sonia Nussbaum grew up in Vermont and moved to the Midwest for college. She has a B.S.P.A. in Nonprofit Management and Leadership and now works at Phila Engaged Giving as a Client Associate. She loves spending time with friends and community, being outside, listening to live music, attending comedy shows, and trying Chicago’s vegan restaurants.

Stephanie Keller

Stephanie Keller

  • Pronoun

    She / Her

About

Stephanie Keller (she/her/hers) is a new Chicago community member, moving here from Louisville, Kentucky two years ago. She is a Program Manager at Arabella Advisors on the Project Close Team, focusing on the start-up and growth of 501c3 organizations. Her current focuses are environmental sustainability, contraceptive access, education policy, and other areas that remove obstacles to success. Prior to moving to Chicago, she worked for two years at a philanthropy in Kentucky and holds a BA in International Studies and Religion from Centre College in Kentucky. Outside of her employment, she spends most of her time outside with her dog — walking, talking, or reading.

Ying Dai

Ying Dai

  • Pronoun

    They / Them

About

Ying Dai (they/them) is an artist, photographer, and a community organizer. They grew up in China and lived in Eswatini and Madison WI. Based in Chicago, Ying is passionate about abolition, racial and gender justice, immigration justice, and the various artists’ practices that allow us to dream of a different future. Ying has a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in Asian American Studies and Gender and Sexualities Studies, as well as a Master’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ying loves photography, libraries, traveling, nintendo video games, and being around large quantities of water.

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    • Grant Portal
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      • Seed Fund
      • Youth Fund for Social Change
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      • CHICAGO RACIAL JUSTICE POOLED FUND
      • SOLIDARITY FUND
      • Past Funding Collaboratives
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    • Movement Support Pooled Funds
  • Programs
    • Cultivate: Women of Color Leadership
    • Capacity Building Initiative
    • Giving Project
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    • Lisa Fittko Internship
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o 773.227.7676