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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 $960,000 from over 1,697+ donors.

THE 2023 GIVING PROJECT COHORT IS COMMITTING TO RAISE $150,000!

Crossroads Fund is so excited to announce our 2023 Giving Project cohort – a multi-racial, cross-class, intersectional group of 15 people who have 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, make a monetary donation that is significant to them, fundraise their network through a process of “donor organizing,” and practice participatory grantmaking supporting strategic, necessary, and underfunded social justice organizing work around the city. Since 2014, Crossroads Fund’s Giving Projects have raised more than $960k from 1,697+ donors.

Meet the 2023 Giving Project Members

YOUR SUPPORT IS MUCH APPRECIATED

Past Giving Project Cohorts

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

Past Cohorts

2023 Giving Project Members

Allison Leon

Allison Leon

  • Pronoun

    she / they

About

Allison Leon (she/they) is a Guatemalan American born and raised in Chicago. She is currently a Project Assistant at a law firm focused around community development projects and affordable housing. She is passionate about working to create equity and opportunity for disadvantaged communities, especially in her hometown of Chicago. Outside of work, Allison loves trying new restaurants, crochet, photography, and spending time with her cat, Augustus.

Andres J. Fernandez

Andres J. Fernandez

  • Pronoun

    he / him / el

About

Andres J. Fernandez was the Chief Operating Officer for SGA Youth and Family Services in 2021. Andres has worked in human services for the past 34 years working with children, youth, and families. He has specifically worked in workforce development targeting people with disabilities, afterschool programming and special projects focused on opportunity youth with the City of Chicago. Andres has lived in Chicago his entire life, growing up in the Brighton Park community. He has his undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Brandon Thorne

Brandon Thorne

  • Pronoun

    he / him / his

About

Brandon Thorne is senior program officer with the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation where he supports the organization’s national grant making in early childhood development, youth development, and education. Prior to joining the WC Stone Foundation, Thorne served as program officer at The Chicago Community Trust and also as Chief of Staff for State Senator Kwame Raoul.

 

Throughout his career, Thorne has worked to improve practices and programs affecting underserved populations. Most notably, his work has focused on addressing housing issues, such as development of affordable rental housing, addressing the foreclosure crisis, increasing services for the homeless, implementing equitable education practices, workforce development and youth violence prevention.

 

After receiving a BA in English from the University of Iowa, Thorne spent 3 years with the US Peace Corps in Bangladesh, returning to the US to earn a Masters in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

Emily Wisniewski

Emily Wisniewski

  • Pronoun

    she / her

About

Emily Wisniewski is a proud lifelong Chicagoan and has worked in the social sector for six years. In her current role at Arabella Advisors, Emily supports a range of clients to achieve impact through their philanthropy, including through grants management, strategy development, and organizational design. She is focused on critically examining and addressing traditional philanthropy structures through her work. Emily is excited to join the Giving Project to learn more about the grassroots organizations fighting for racial, economic, and social justice in Chicago and to mobilize resources to support this work in community with others. In her free time, Emily finds joy in movement, including through walking, running, or doing yoga; listening to music; and cooking good meals.

Erwin Saenz

Erwin Saenz

  • Pronoun

    he / el / they

About

Erwin Saenz is a lifelong learner who seeks to empower others to act. He uses his skills to advocate for Latinx, immigrant, Trans and LGBQ+ folks and support organizations providing services to these communities. Erwin is the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at AIDS Foundation Chicago. Previously, Erwin worked in Seattle, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Philadelphia in direct service, organizing and advocacy, and funding various issues, including youth housing, workforce development, and LGBTQ+ liberation.

Isabelle Martin

Isabelle Martin

  • Pronoun

    she / her / hers

About

Isabelle Martin (she/her/hers) is the Manager of Filmmaker Funds at Kartemquin Films, where she oversees filmmaker funds and regranting initiatives and provides strategic support for Kartemquin operations and filmmaker programs.

 

Isabelle holds a M.A. in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.A. in Art History & Visual Studies with a minor in Music Performance (Cello) from the University of Kentucky. Her research interests include the politics of race, representation, and in/visibility in contemporary American art, as well as themes of photography, subjectivity, and memory in comics and graphic novels. Isabelle’s scholarship has been published in the International Journal of Comic Art; Trans-Scripts, the student-edited interdisciplinary humanities journal based at the University of California, Irvine; and the Pace University Press Journal of Comics and Culture.

 

Born in South Korea and raised in Louisville, KY., Isabelle is a proud transracial adoptee. In her spare time, she enjoys watching hockey, knitting, reading, and finding the city’s best spots to grab a beer or bubble tea.

Jill Eid

Jill Eid

  • Pronoun

    she / her

About

Jill Eid is the Executive Director of Girls on the Run-Chicago (GOTRC) , a non-profit after-school program that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience based curriculum which creatively integrates running. Under Jill’s leadership GOTRC has served thousands of girls this year with their life changing programs.

Jill has spent her career growing and scaling non-profit organizations for increased impact and operational efficiency. Prior to GOTRC, Jill served as Associate Director of Growth & Strategy at Cradles to Crayons, where she played a key role in developing the organization’s national governance and shared services models, and led the organization’s first strategic expansion into a new market – Chicago.

Jill holds a B.A. in Psychology from Stonehill College and a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. Jill is a member of the Leadership Committee for Sport for Good Chicago, a Member of the Strategy Committee for the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, a longtime Mentor for YNPN of Chicago, and coaches for Girls on the Run-Chicago. Jill lives in Oak Park with her husband Mike and Bernese Mountain Dog Bear.

Karrie Miner

Karrie Miner

  • Pronoun

    she / her

About

Karrie Miner is currently the Director of Development at the Civic Consulting Alliance, a non-profit that brings together the public and private sectors to find equitable solutions to civic infrastructure projects in Chicago. Karrie has 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector in Chicago, with expertise in fundraising and a focus on community building. Before joining the Civic Consulting Alliance, Karrie built the first-ever major gifts program at Mikva Challenge, a nonprofit that focuses on youth engagement in democracy and participatory civic education. She also helped build relationships, fundraise, and increase overall revenue for global affairs organizations including the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an international relations think-tank, and Upwardly Global, a nonprofit that helps skilled immigrants and refugees find professional work in the U.S.

Karrie has a social purpose MBA from the Baumhart Scholars program at Loyola University Chicago and a BA in International Affairs from George Washington University. She enjoys reading fiction, cooking & trying new foods, scuba diving (or any water adventure), and maintaining a sense of wonder through travel.

Keisha Barnard

Keisha Barnard

  • Pronoun

    she / her / hers

About

Keisha Bernard has called Chicago home for the past 5 years. As a young woman of color who ran for (and won!) hyper-local office in 2020 and as a former public school educator who has experienced the need for progressive policy, Keisha is committed to investing in grassroots movements to build power. Keisha currently works at a philanthropic advisory firm and is thrilled to leverage her skills and passion to make a meaningful, local impact with the Giving Project. In her free time, you can find Keisha baking, listening to audiobooks, and birding.

Keona Owens

Keona Owens

About

Keona Owens believes that community is the key that unlocks opportunities and potential. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Associate in Computer Networking, Certification in Workforce Development and Nonprofit Management, in conjunction with over sixteen (16) years’ experience administering educational programs in the public and private sector. These programs included Healthcare Administration, Performing Arts, Cultural Diversification/Inclusion, Pharmacy Technician and Adult Basic Education (ABE). She has provided direct services to healthcare professionals and ABE learners as a trainer, tutor, and instructor. Keona Owens’ education continues as she pursues her M.M. in Higher Education Administration.

 

Owens time has been divided between motherhood, community activism, school, teaching, parent mentoring, mentoring, and community engagement. She has supported and led organizations with outreach and community engagement opportunities – volunteering 90% of her time to impact others.

Owens impact goes beyond the four walls of her home, the parameters of her community through collaborative efforts. She has been recognized for outstanding achievement – receiving nine (9) humanitarian and community service awards by the National Urban League, Chicago Urban League, Metropolitan Board of Chicago Urban League (MetroBoard), DePaul University, Chicago Jobs Council, the National Council of Negro Women (Chicago Sector), Taste for the Homeless and the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She has been identified as the Connector, connecting individuals to resources, by the McCormick Foundation.

Louvenia Hood

Louvenia Hood

About

Louvenia Hood is passionate about organizing youth to become our future world leaders in their perspective communities on how to organize on issues they face day to day, how to respect others, and themselves. Louvenia develops leaders to promote education, denounce violence in all its forms. She knows that once something is learned (positive energy) it will remain. She is the one that works to turn negative energy to the opposite (positive) through encouragement and promoting self-esteem. She has volunteered in shelters and worked with senior citizen outreach advocacy. She has also sponsored events such as public safety, trained youth to become public speakers, community outreach and anti-violence agents.

Morgan Lyn

Morgan Lyn

  • Pronoun

    she / her

About

Morgan Lyn likes to communicate for a cause. For nearly 15 years she has been working to create messaging, strategy, and creative assets that serve as catalysts for change in the world, our country, and/or our neighborhoods.

 

Lyn has experience in nonprofit organizations of varying size and in various markets. She has led strategy and ideation for nonprofits like WorldChicago, The League of Women Voters of Illinois (LWVIL), Nashville Ballet and Global Education Center. With her advanced writing skills, digital marketing acumen, and ability to optimize audience engagement, she has been able to lead successful campaigns that have increased fundraising by 300%, created media relationships that have secured press hits in national, regional, and local publications and on air programming , and designed creative for a brand repositioning that resulted in a renewed customer perception allowing for diversified funding and new programming to drive audience engagement and growth.

 

At the heart of all of her work is a passion for creating access and opportunities for underrepresented communities and to serve as an advocate for the next generation of BIPOC leaders. She holds a MA of Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University (Chicago, IL) and a BA of English Literature from DePauw University (Greencastle, IN). She wakes up early each morning because she is the mama of a toddler who will never allow her to sleep in. She drinks an unhealthy amount of coffee with excessive cream and natural sweetener, and describes herself as hippity dippity.

Nouha Boundaoui

Nouha Boundaoui

  • Pronoun

    she / her

About

Nouha Boundaoui is a public health researcher and health justice and anti-surveillance advocate. As a graduate of Northwestern University and the Rollins School of Public Health, Nouha is dedicated to investigating the intersections of race and health and understanding how social determinants of health impact the health and freedoms of communities of color. As an advocate with All Options, a reproductive justice organization, and volunteer with Believer’s Bail Out, a community led bail fund freeing Muslims from pre-trial & immigration incarceration, she believes deeply in building a world that prioritizes the health, healing, and liberation of all.

Rebecca Helberg

Rebecca Helberg

  • Pronoun

    she / her

About

Rebecca Helberg grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she moved to Washington, DC for a Jewish direct service corps program. While in DC for 9 years, she grew and learned from an incredible radical social justice community. Rebecca recently moved to Chicago to put down roots in a city she loves and to be closer to family.

Rebecca is a fundraiser full-time and does job coaching as a passion project. For the past 10+ years, she has worked for a variety of missions including reproductive justice, direct services, public policy, and international development. Rebecca specializes in managing individual giving and monthly donor programs. Her goal is to infuse anti-racist and community centered lenses to her philanthropy work. She is a big Cubs and Sky fan and bakes whenever she has the chance. She now lives in Logan Square with her husband, Sam and dog, Maddux.

Tim Jones-Yelvington

Tim Jones-Yelvington

  • Pronoun

    they / them

About

Tim Jones-Yelvington As a Senior Consultant with Foresight Design Initiative, Tim has provided support to funders, coalitions, and organizations focused on closing the racial wealth gap, equitable Transit-Oriented Development, affordable housing, and other topics. They also direct Foresight Prep, a national summer leadership development institute that equips high school students passionate about social justice, the climate crisis, and creating change with the skills, insight and experience to address complex, urgent challenges. Their background and personal commitments lie in radical, intersectional social movement building for collective liberation, with particular interest in intergenerational/youth organizing, education justice, Queer/trans liberation, disability justice, police and prison abolition, and transformative and healing justice.

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o 773.227.7676

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      • Seed Fund
      • Youth Fund for Social Change
      • Technical Assistance Fund
      • Critical Response Fund
    • Funding Collaboratives
      • CHICAGO RACIAL JUSTICE POOLED FUND
      • Past Funding Collaboratives
  • Seeds of Change
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    • Cultivate: Women of Color Leadership
    • Capacity Building Initiative
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    • Lisa Fittko Internship
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Crossroads Fund
3411 West Diversey Avenue
Suite #20
Chicago, Illinois 60647

o 773.227.7676