October 2024 — Moving the Needle // Woods Fund Chicago
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Woods Fund Chicago reflects on 2022-2023 and what it takes to put a strategic plan to action.
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It’s been four years since the inflection points of 2020. By the time our 2022-2024 strategic planning process began in 2021, the twin crises of the pandemic and racial justice uprisings were crucial to shaping our approach — not only to our grantmaking, but in how we positioned ourselves within the philanthropic sector and challenged the ways it has traditionally upheld white supremacy. Strategic planning requires us as a foundation to both envision an ideal future and to clearly draw our path to getting there.
The 2022-2024 strategic plan plotted our goals across four areas of work: Leadership — Staff & Board, Community Role, Grantmaking, and Financial Management. These four areas kept our goals grounded in our relationships, ensuring that transparency, trust, and equity guide our work. We asked questions that included:
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Woods Fund Chicago’s 2022-2023 Biannual Report outlines our process and goals with updates on our implementation progress, successes, and lessons learned during this period, featuring insights from Woods Fund Chicago Board Chair L. Anton Seals, Jr., President Michelle Morales, and members of our staff.
Strategic planning is a living process; we invite you into this process and to join us as we reflect upon the many significant transformations that we are proud of — and the work that is still to be done.
We also recognize that success is not limited to the foundation. From 2022-2023, Woods Fund Chicago funded $7.5M to 96 organizations, coalitions, and pooled funds. We celebrate the incredible organizing and public policy successes of our grantee partners and highlight the coalitions that bring our grantee partners together.
Looking ahead: We know that trust-based philanthropy is a growing movement in the philanthropic sector. We look to leaders in the space and will identify moments where we stand as leaders as well, encouraging our peers to reject the harmful status quo and to adopt principles that allow movements to thrive.
We will continue sharing our progress and insights as we begin to look to 2025 and onward.
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Kimberley Rudd, President of Rudd Resources and Woods Fund Chicago Board Member has been named one of Crain’s 2024 Notable Black Leaders in the Chicago area! Kim is a seasoned communications and public affairs professional whose work has intersected with community development, healthcare, education, transportation, and more. She has served on the Woods Fund Chicago Board since 2022.
“I've always tried to align my values, career and passions with work and service that allow me to flow between leadership and followship. I am a steward of ideas and actions as much as I am a leader of anything, because I find a lot of power, energy and impact in supporting people and organizations. Servant leadership is my thing! I'm blessed to have curated a life where my identity and experiences as a Black woman are welcome into nearly every space I occupy, allowing me to do what I can to advance issues I think are important to overlooked communities. So many people have opened doors for me, and I'm grateful. Sometimes it's an opening to a space where my identity or leadership style aren't valued they way I want, and that's when I either turn to another leader for support or I make my way out.”
Woods Fund Chicago congratulates Kim on this recognition of her impactful work.
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On October 18, Woods Fund Chicago President Michelle Morales received the Professional Grantor Award at the 48th Annual Philanthropy Awards held by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Chicago Chapter. Each year, this award honors a corporate or foundation giving officer for their professionalism and support to the nonprofit community.
“I am deeply honored to receive the 2024 Professional Grantor Award,” said Michelle Morales. “This recognition is not just for me but for my Woods Fund team as well as all the passionate advocates, leaders, and community members who work tirelessly to dismantle systems of oppression and build a more just society. Woods Fund Chicago’s commitment to racial justice remains steadfast, and we will continue to stand alongside communities to build a world where every person can live with dignity and agency.”
Recently, Michelle has shared her expertise and Woods Fund Chicago’s leadership in the philanthropic sector at two convenings: At the Forefront Summit in September, Michelle spoke on the panel Court Rulings' Impact on Our Sector, discussing how philanthropy is navigating legislative attacks related to racial and gender equity; and earlier this month, Michelle was featured on the panel More than Money: Philanthropy, Fundraising and Justice at Axelson Center's annual conference, sharing Woods Fund Chicago’s work supporting community organizing and public policy advocacy through trust-based philanthropy.
Congratulations to Michelle for being recognized at this year’s AFP Chicago Awards, and thank you to Forefront and Axelson Center for holding these crucial conversations at the intersection of philanthropy and movement-building.
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#2 — As ShotSpotter Contract Ends, City Starts Search For New ‘First Responder Technology’
Why We're Reading It: Following the termination of Chicago’s contract with controversial tech company ShotSpotter, debates continue regarding the technology’s efficacy and how to best address public safety while recognizing policing patterns of discrimination that are possibly mirrored in tech solutions. Grantee partner Lucy Parsons Labs zeroes in on technology’s role in enabling systemic harm. Co-director and Researcher Freddy Martinez provides input on how even a ShotSpotter alternative would be unlikely to be effective.
Block Club Chicago // Read now
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#3 — New Report Shines Spotlight on Chicago’s Mexican Population
Why We're Reading It: Despite the growing prevalence of Mexican populations in Chicago, there is little study of the demographic’s experiences and needs. Linda Tortolero, president of WFC grantee partner Mujeres Latinas en Acción, led a focus group that developed the new report Fuerza Mexicana: The Past, Present, and Power of Mexicans in Chicagoland, highlighting the history of Mexicans in Chicago and collecting data about systemic issues Mexican communities face in the city.
WTTW // Read now
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