January 2025 — Moving the Needle // Woods Fund Chicago
|
|
|
“We’re just trying to be as ready as we can… But for members of the community, knowing their rights is empowering.”
|
|
|
Woods Fund Chicago joins many of our grantee partners, philanthropic peers, and community members in feelings of trepidation and concern regarding the new administration. White supremacy systematically maintains racial and economic disparities regardless of who holds power in our country, but we know the coming weeks, months, and years ahead will bring an array of urgent and persistent challenges to our grantee partners and the communities they serve.
Our grantee partners have prepared for this moment, from holding Know-Your-Rights trainings, distributing organizing resources, and providing policy advocacy expertise to protect and bolster civil and human rights.
Hear our grantee partners share in their own words how they’ve prepared for what’s ahead through organizing and advocacy across various issues:
|
|
|
The immediate impact on immigrant rights — particularly in Chicago — is one of the most urgent issues our grantee partners are organizing around. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), a WFC grantee partner that includes an additional 14 partners as members, has led the statewide charge in organizing Know-Your-Rights trainings, distributing resources for immigrant communities, and establishing communication networks to share crucial updates on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
ICIRR member Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) joins many grantee partners in establishing rapid response teams prepared to provide support in the event of imminent raids in Chicago. Any Huamani, a community organizer with BPNC, talked to NPR about the worries they’ve heard from local communities. “The biggest fear among immigrants who don't have a legal status in the U.S., Huamani said, is leaving their children behind.” Brandon Lee, ICIRR communications director, told the Associated Press: “We’re just trying to be as ready as we can. We’re never going to know all the details (of ICE operations). But for members of the community, knowing their rights is empowering.”
ICIRR, BPNC, and fellow grantee partner Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) joined other local groups in sharing their immigrant advocacy focuses with Borderless Magazine. Antonio Gutierrez, cofounder and strategic coordinator for OCAD, noted that along with training, rapid response teams, and policy work, “We are recruiting allies and those who want to protect their undocumented neighbors to take risks, show up, and donate time or resources.” Other efforts from grantee partners have included weekly Enlace Chicago trainings through the CPS network, HANA Center’s work with Korean immigrant communities, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage’s support of communities in the suburbs, and Lucy Parsons Labs’ advocacy against data agreements that could make communities more vulnerable.
|
|
|
Housing remains a crucial issue in Chicago and statewide. As many grantee partners point out, housing solutions require long-term investments. In anticipation of additional pressure on budgets under the new administration, the Illinois Shelter Alliance — which includes grantee partners Housing Action Illinois, the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness, and the Supportive Housing Providers Association — sent a letter ahead of Inauguration Day calling upon significant state investments to combat homelessness.
Bob Palmer, policy director at Housing Action Illinois, spoke with WTTW about the scale of commitment required to address the issue. “It’s going to take more than just two years of this significant new investment from the state to change the situation in terms of how many people are experiencing homelessness or how many people have housing insecurity.”
|
|
|
These investments are linked to wider issues of economic injustice that reinforce disparities in housing, labor, and more. Audra Wilson, president and CEO of grantee partner Shriver Center on Poverty Law, co-wrote an op-ed for Salon commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy by describing the relationship between economic and racial injustice. Wilson and co-author Lucy Di Rosa acknowledge that wealth disparities may only worsen under the new administration, but turn this moment into a call to action: “The idea of launching a multiracial coalition to demand economic opportunity for all in America has long been a threat to the wealthiest class. Yet now is precisely the time to resurrect that effort, especially given the exploitation of working-class whites for political gain in this past election cycle, and the structuralized poverty that has trapped millions of Americans of all races in generations of poverty.”
For a grantee partner like Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC), their focus in 2025 remains steady: Fostering opportunity in North Lawndale. As LCDC Executive Director Richard Townsell told ABC7, "We're working on the dream that Dr. King had when he came to North Lawndale in 1966 where he wanted to have a neighborhood where everyone could live and prosper."
|
|
|
Woods Fund Chicago calls upon ourselves and our peers to match our grantee partners’ equal levels of preparedness and nimbleness for all that is ahead — some of which we can anticipate, and undoubtedly more that we cannot. As funders, we are prepared to serve as buffers for our grantee partners as they serve as buffers for their communities.
Our grantee partners work with each other and with their communities because they know this work requires a collective and committed effort. We all have a role to play. Woods Fund Chicago will continue to stand by our grantee partners, stay attuned to the challenges and threats they face, and strengthen their work by utilizing our resources and networks. As Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow of the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, writes for Inside Philanthropy, “Risk mitigation should embolden [foundations] to fulfill their missions with courage, clarity and determination. Fear is catnip to bullies. But a willingness to speak truth and stand for one’s values is contagious. The solidarity of people with the courage of their values and stiffened spines is the best possible defense.”
Read more calls to action for philanthropy from Woods Fund Chicago and our partners:
• WFC Program Officer Bahati Aimee on Responsible Migrant Funding
• Healing to Action’s Karla Altmayer on Funding Gender-Based Violence Initiatives
• WFC President Michelle Morales on Increasing Our Payout
|
|
|
Applications for the Woods Fund Chicago 2025 grantmaking cycle are opening soon! To continue streamlining our application process, please note that Woods Fund Chicago will have separate application windows for new applicants and returning grantee partners.
New applicants: The application portal opens on Monday, February 3! The deadline for new applicants is Monday, March 3.
Returning grantee partners, save the date! Your application window will open on Tuesday, April 1. The deadline for returning grantee partners is Wednesday, April 30.
Learn more about our grants, what we're looking for, and how to apply at woodsfund.org/our-grants. For questions, reach out to the Director of Grants Management and Assistant Corporate Secretary Deborah Clark at dclark@woodsfund.org.
|
|
|
How Trump Could Target Nonprofits — and How to Protect Yours
Why We’re Reading It: As funders, we are monitoring the administration’s possible impact on our grantee partners’ ability to organize and safely carry out their missions. This article lays out the known potential threats that nonprofits — particularly those involved in social justice — may face, and strategies for fortifying their protections.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy // Read now
|
Collaborating to BUILD Transformational Change
Why We’re Reading It: The findings from this latest report from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors support the effectiveness of trust-based philanthropy, encouraging the philanthropic sector to rise to its current “inflection point,” trust its partners, work in collaboration with peers and across sectors, and invest in change that is “long-term, systemic, and transformational,” rather than simply incremental.
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors // Read now
|
Woods Fund Chicago is Hiring an Administrative Manager
The Administrative Manager initiates annual projects pertaining to the efficient management of the grantmaking process, assisting the Woods Fund staff in all aspects of the foundation’s grantmaking program and general office management. They will be required to actively interface with grantees, the public, and other stakeholders. The Administrative Manager will manage all components of the grant processing operations of the Foundation.
|
|
|
To stay up to date with Woods Fund Chicago,
please visit: woodsfund.org
|
|
|
Not on our list? Subscribe here.
|
|
|
Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
|
200 West Madison Street 3rd Floor | Chicago, IL 60606 US
|
|
|
This email was sent to gabby@sarahsommersdesign.com.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
|
| |
|
|
