COVID-19 Response Funds
The McCormick Foundation quickly responded to the call to offer support for beleaguered organizations as they seek to continue operations amidst the coronavirus, including the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund.
Funded by several local area foundations, the Chicago COVID-19 Response Fund will provide flexible resources to community-based organizations across the Metropolitan Chicago region to supply essential aid to the individuals and households who are most impacted by the pandemic. Those resources currently include access to emergency food and necessary supplies, rent and mortgage assistance, and utility assistance.
Read about the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund.
Also, the Foundation provided funding to the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund for nonprofit organizations across the state serving individuals, families, and communities hit hardest by the pandemic.
Read more about the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund.
Place-Based Emergency Funds for Englewood and Little Village
Teamwork Englewood and Enlace Chicago spearhead community-led efforts to address inter-related issues of education, public health and safety, economic development, and jobs. The national COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected vulnerable residents already challenged with homelessness or at-risk of experiencing homeless, healthcare, and emergency response workers, seniors, and immigrants.
Recently, the McCormick Foundation provided $150,000 to each organization for COVID-19 emergency funding. Those resources will be used to meet urgent needs and provide survival essentials for residents during the pandemic, including, but not limited to, economic supports for lost wages and income, rental assistance, emergency food distribution, and access to healthcare and mental health supports.
Journalism Fund Provides $425,000 in Grants
The McCormick Foundation, in collaboration with five other foundations, announced 48 grants totaling more than $425,000 from a collaborative Journalism Fund, offering immediate support for local media organizations working to disseminate information about COVID-19 to Chicagoland communities. The Fund is providing local media organizations covering the pandemic with grants up to $10,000 to continue their coverage. Congratulations to Democracy Program Officer Andres Torres for launching the effort.
Read the news release.
A Focus on Our Children
The McCormick Foundation’s commitment to help Illinois' most vulnerable children to succeed through school and life by ensuring the best possible start beginning at birth continues during the pandemic. Emergency funding is helping address immediate and intermediate needs, bulk-purchasing diapers and wipes for high need families served by child care agencies across the city, and technical assistance to providers to access federal CARES act funding for small businesses. Emergency funding also will support a rapid response effort to quickly update the city’s early learning data system in a way that allows real time forecasting of and response to anticipated sudden swings of the availability of child care, as well as family needs for care.
Together We Rise

Philanthropic and corporate initiative launches to help Chicago region build back better from the disproportionate impact of COVID-19.
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Veterans Facing Food Insecurity

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation is supporting a temporary food bank organized by veterans that has delivered 40,000 pounds of food to more than 1,500 families.
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Emergency Supplies for Childcare Providers

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation helped mobilize both a volunteer drive and bulk-purchasing of emergency child care supplies.
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Chicago’s Peace Outreach Continues

Gun violence takes no break amidst continual backdrop of COVID-19
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