Woods Fund Chicago

#GrantOpportunities: Woods Fund Chicago is now accepting applications from *returning grantee partners* for the 2025 grantmaking cycle through Wednesday, April 30. Returning grantee partners have been sent a direct link to their application portal. Didn't receive the link? Reach out to the Director of Grants Management and Assistant Corporate Secretary Deborah Clark at dclark [at] woodsfund [dot] org. Please note: The new applicant deadline has passed and this application window is for returning grantee partners only. Questions? Learn more about our grants, what we're looking for, and how to apply at https://lnkd.in/gWPBeUEm or the link in bio.

Returning grantee partners, don't forget: Applications for Woods Fund Chicago's 2025 grantmaking cycle open April 1. Keep an eye on your inbox Tuesday morning for the direct link to the application portal. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, April 30. Please note: The new applicant deadline has passed and this application window is for returning grantee partners only. Learn more about our grants, what we're looking for, and how to apply at woodsfund.org/our-grants. Photo credit: Warehouse Workers for Justice

In Woods Fund Chicago's latest newsletter, we spotlight the work of our grantee partners who organize at the intersection of immigration and labor to ensure workers and their employers know their rights and protections as escalating attacks against immigrant communities continue. Plus: Download Know-Your-Rights resources, read Inside Philanthropy's piece featuring WFC President Michelle Morales, find out how to apply for grants as a returning grantee partner, and more! ➡️ Read the March newsletter: https://lnkd.in/g73C6SG8 Photo credit: Centro de Trabajadores Unidos: United Workers' Center

Our grantee partners and peers are hiring! Learn more about open opportunities to join organizations, coalitions, and nonprofit sector peers that are making an impact, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, Cabrini Green Legal Aid, Chicago Jobs Council, Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), Communities United, Community Renewal Society, Enlace Chicago, HANA Center, Illinois Justice Project, Inner-city Muslim Action Network, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Palenque LSNA (Logan Square Neighborhood Association), PASO - West Suburban Action Project, Progress Center for Independent Living, Southside Together, and Woodstock Institute. Learn more about job opportunities with our grantee partners and peers at linktr.ee/woodsfundchicago. #JobOpportunities #NonprofitCareers #CommunityOrganizing

🎧 What We're Listening to: Following immediate executive orders and ramped-up legislation targeting transgender and immigrant communities, WFC grantee partners are unpacking how these orders will impact vulnerable communities and sharing the steps their organizations are taking through organizing and advocacy to protect critical services, educate impacted communities about their rights, and provide support through uncertainty. WBEZ Chicago Listen to Brave Space Alliance’s Chrissy Huerta on anti-trans legislation: https://lnkd.in/dQfhRmka Listen to PASO - West Suburban Action Project’s Betty Alzamora on immigrant support: https://lnkd.in/dVNbjC5z

In our most recent newsletter, Woods Fund Chicago reflects on the question: Under this administration, what can we do to protect and bolster our grantee partners? As funders, it is our responsibility to support our grantee partners' ongoing commitment of resolve, collective action, and centering community. What does that mean? It means sharing their bravery and not sacrificing our values for fear of retribution. It means fortifying and expanding our resources to support crucial and ongoing movement work. It means taking a stand and making investments against white supremacy — and plainly addressing it when we see it. It means providing tools that strengthen our grantee partners and their skillset while also trusting their expertise. ➡️ Woods Fund Chicago commits to our responsibility and we call upon the philanthropic sector to stand in solidarity with Woods Fund Chicago and these local and national movements by challenging the gatekeeping mentality that enables injustice to take hold. Solidarity is our greatest asset. 🤝 Read our full reflection at https://lnkd.in/gwuJKf3A. Photo credit: Chicago Jobs with Justice

Join grantee partner A Long Walk Home Inc. for their Black Girl Care Retreat: By Us, For Us on March 23, 2025, from 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM! In times of change, care is revolutionary. A Long Walk Home invites Black girls to a healing space designed to provide rest, joy, and connection. Led by their Girl/Friend leaders, this special retreat will kick off spring break for Chicago Public School students as part of their Black Girl Care Series — in partnership with Flowers For Dreams, a mission-driven flower company that gives back to charities. Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025 Time: 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM Location: Flowers for Dreams HQ, 1812 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL Who: Black girls ages 12–18 (limited spots, RSVP required) Register here by Thursday, March 20, 2025: https://lnkd.in/gd3ASTeS

What We're Reading: The TRiiBE covers the work of the Clean Slate Illinois Coalition, covering their efforts advocating for legislation that would make it easier for formerly incarcerated individuals to find employment and combat stigma. The article features expertise from coalition members and WFC grantee partners Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, Cabrini Green Legal Aid, and Live Free Illinois. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gqgt7FeT

➡️ Recommended Resource for Grantee Partners and Nonprofits: As federal decision-making presently affects nonprofit organizations — and threatens to cause financial uncertainty — Nonprofit Financial Commons has put together for 2025 “an action checklist designed to build your organization’s agility under turbulent conditions.” “The first part focuses on the importance of building your ongoing access to unrestricted and liquid dollars, while the second part is about using our network and advocacy to protect ourselves, other nonprofit organizations in our community, and the people being politically targeted by these actions.” Explore the resource from Nonprofit Financial Commons: https://lnkd.in/gHeqdcav Photo credit: Latino Policy Forum

What We're Reading: WFC grantee partner Equity And Transformation has released their second report evaluating the impact of EAT’s Chicago Future Fund, a guaranteed basic income (GBI) pilot launched in 2021 “that provides monthly stipends exclusively to formerly incarcerated individuals.” EAT completed the second round of the pilot, providing 100 system-impacted participants from Austin, West Garfield Park, and Englewood with $500 a month from March 2023 to February 2024. This report analyzes how GBI promotes financial security, particularly through a post-incarceration lens — when individuals face further obstacles in finding housing, employment, and more. #GuaranteedBasicIncome Download and read the report at https://lnkd.in/g27-meCf