Focus Areas

Education

We invest in strategies that promote equitable access to high-quality education so that young people are prepared to succeed in school, career, and life. Our priority is on young people of color from low-income backgrounds, Black and Latino males in particular.

We support initiatives that:

• Develop and equip diverse educators to provide effective, high-quality instruction to racially and economically diverse students.
• Promote positive, safe, and supportive schools where social-emotional learning, restorative practice, and trauma-informed approaches enable students and staff to achieve academic success and thrive.
  Support of these activities are limited to our focused work in Little Village and Englewood, as well as adjacent neighborhoods with community-driven plans.
• Provide instruction and experiential learning opportunities for students facing wide achievement gaps to help them reach important academic milestones across key transition points: elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, and high school to postsecondary education or training.

Health and Wellness

We help Chicagoans access the high-quality care and resources they need to lead healthy lives. We prioritize serving people of color from low-income backgrounds who face the most disparate health outcomes in Chicagoland.

We support initiatives that:

• Provide access to primary, preventative, and mental health care services and supports for populations who experience the most barriers to care; including: access to primary and preventive care for women of color and undocumented individuals, and mental health care and support for communities of color.
• Improve quality of care by increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce and service providers to deliver culturally competent services.
• Promote community-based strategies for healthy eating and active living to provide access to healthy, affordable food and safe places to play and be active.
  Support of these activities are limited to our focused work in Little Village and Englewood, as well as adjacent neighborhoods with community-driven plans.

Jobs and Economic Opportunity

We support adult education and workforce development programs working together to provide training and wrap-around services that promote living-wage careers for low income individuals. Our priority populations include workers making low wages, youth not in school or working (“Opportunity Youth”), people with criminal records ("Returning Citizens"), immigrants and refugees, and individuals currently or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

We support the following strategies:

Career Pathways

• Building a stronger sequence of services from beginning literacy to more advanced adult education skills-building programming, such as ESL, Bridge to job training, and high school equivalency programs.
• Developing and promoting living wage careers by investing in hard-skills workforce training and transitional jobs for populations faced with the greatest disparities.

Economics and Social Support Services

• Asset building services including financial education, homelessness prevention, and access to income supports for eligible clients.
  Support of these activities are limited to our focused work in Little Village and Englewood, as well as adjacent neighborhoods with community-driven plans.
• Affordable housing services, including costs for project management, architectural plans and designs. We also fund supportive housing programs for formerly homeless individuals and families.
  Support of these activities are limited to our focused work in Little Village and Englewood, as well as adjacent neighborhoods with community-driven plans.
• Legal services focused on affordable housing and immigration issues including housing access and eviction prevention, tenant/landlord rights and agreements, Department of Justice-accredited legal screenings on DACA eligibility renewals, and hardship deportation cases.

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