The LGBT Community Fund at The Chicago Community Trust has released a Request For Proposals ( RFP ) from nonprofit 501( c )( 3 ) organizations in Cook County serving or intending to serve the LGBT community.
A Vision for the Future
Imagine a broad and diverse community where Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals ( The LGBT Community ) live in peace and harmony, enjoy the same rights and quality of life as others, with the same opportunities and resources available to others, and have the same opportunity to make the region a better and safer place for all to live. This is the vision and aspiration of the LGBT Community Fund at The Chicago Community Trust.
That vision is not yet a reality. LGBT people continue to be challenged by socioeconomic and cultural injustices. Throughout Chicago and the State of Illinois significant progress has been made; however, individuals in the LGBT Community face ongoing intolerance, discrimination, harassment and even the threat of violence due to sexual orientation. The LGBT Community still encounters discrimination and exclusion that often leads to disadvantages in access to social programs related to healthcare, housing, and employment. Limited access to services that many others take for granted, such as medical care, justice and legal aid, as well as education and personal safety are still pressing social needs in the LGBT Community.
Advances are being made toward a more fair, just and inclusive environment in Chicago, and the LGBT Community Fund at The Chicago Community Trust is taking a leadership role by funding organizations committed to improving the lives of LGBT individuals and the communities where they live.
This RFP builds on LGBT Community Fund grants made throughout 2016 and 2017 totaling more than $900,000 to twenty-four organizations.
13,000+ individuals were provided free access to plays, exhibits, film screenings and other forms of LGBT art raising awareness and creating dialogue around significant issues in Chicago's LGBT Community.
400+ youth, most of whom struggling with homelessness participated in workshops on employment, leadership, community safety and self-defense
100+ addressed LGBT environments raising awareness of trans issues, developing skills for bystander trauma intervention and workshop training in order to better serve the LGBT Community
50+ received direct services including free legal aid, hormone therapies, health counseling and access to health benefits and case management on stable housing opportunities.
2019 LGBT Community Fund Grant Eligibility
In order to be eligible for funding from the LGBT Community Fund the applicant organization( s ) must demonstrate the following:
That it is a 501( c )( 3 ) public charity in good standing in the state of Illinois.
That it serves the LGBT Community of Cook County, broadly defined as including questioning individuals.
Grants may not be used for capital campaigns or improvements, endowments, fundraising events, partisan political activities or to support individuals.
That grant funds will be used in one year. Multi-year funding is not supported.
Faith-based and religious organizations are eligible to apply for project-specific grants provided that the program supported does not promote or require religious doctrine and that the applicant otherwise complies with the Fund's requirements and grant making focus.
To apply, please find details in the complete Request for Proposals prior to submitting your application. Completed proposals must be received by 11:59 CST on December 28 through The Chicago Community Trust's GrantCentral online application system. Morten Group is the Fund's grant making consultant. For any questions, email Lisa Gilmore at lisa@mortengroup.com .
—From a press release
The LBGT Fund of The Chicago Community Trust was publicly launched in 2010 as a donor advised fund. The Fund envisions a region where The LGBT Community lives responsibly in peace and harmony with all communities, enjoys the same freedoms and quality of life as others and has the same opportunity to make the region a better and safer place for all to live. The Fund seeks to benefit greater Chicago's LGBT Community through grant making that improves the quality of life for its members; and identifying and focusing resources for the Community and those institutions that support it. For more information or to donate to the LGBT Community Fund visit lgbtfund.org .
