Trust Talks

Trust Talks Episode #27: Fueling Small Business Growth in Chicago

Small businesses are essential to stabilizing neighborhood economies. They create jobs, activate commercial corridors, and provide the goods and services that help commun

Episode #26: Building Opportunity, Block by Block

From 2021 to 2025, We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery (We Rise Together), a funder collaborative led by The Chicago Community Trust, invested $47 million

Episode #25: Transforming College Transfer Pathways in Illinois

In Illinois, nearly 80 percent of community college students say they plan to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree, yet only about 35 percent actually transfer, and just

Episode #24: Sustaining Chicago's Cultural Ecosystem

Chicago is one of the most influential cultural cities in the United States, known for its distinctive blend of architecture, visual arts, music, theater, and deeply root

Episode #23: Understanding the Impact of Public Benefits

When most people picture hunger in America, they think of food pantries. Yet for every meal a pantry provides, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – quie

Episode #22: Reimagining Development Through Shared Ownership

As Chicago neighborhoods continue to expand with newly built businesses and homes, new opportunities emerge for residents to shape their communities. Yet, traditional dev

Episode #21: Navigating Solutions to Homelessness

Over the past decade, homelessness in the Chicago area has been on the rise, and the latest numbers are especially troubling. According to the City of Chicago’s 2025 Poin

Episode #20: Advocating for Policy Reform

Although nonprofit organizations play a vital role in recognizing and addressing the needs of the community, research shows the percentage of nonprofits involved in advoc

Episode #19: Confronting Homeownership Barriers

While homeownership is often viewed as a pathway to building wealth, a range of challenges can hinder its effectiveness, particularly for specific groups. These include f

Episode #18: Supporting Our Immigrant Communities

The truth about immigration in the United States is that unless you are Native American, we all came from somewhere else. Yet, in 2025, the country finds itself roiled in

Episode #17: Leveraging the Power of Data

The Chicago Community Trust’s strategic focus on addressing the racial and ethnic wealth gap was informed by data on the stark differences in health, education and wealth

Episode #16: Working Collaboratively to Address Community Safety in Chicago  

Community safety is an issue that affects all Chicagoans, but especially Black and Latine communities. According to a 2023 report, more than half of Black and Latine resi

Episode #15: We Rise Together: For an Equitable and Just Recovery

Launched in 2020 in response to the economic instability caused by COVID-19, We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a Trust-led funder collaborative workin

Episode #14: Building a Robust Local Media Landscape

Across the nation, local news outlets have been folding at an alarming rate. In response, philanthropy has stepped up funding efforts to address this decline as America b

Episode #13: Planning for Equitable Neighborhood Development

Thriving neighborhoods where residents have access to essential services, amenities, and jobs are vital to creating an equitable and prosperous Chicago region. As part of

Episode #12: Closing the Homeownership Gap

Homeownership is one of the most important vehicles for building generational wealth and helping families achieve economic stability; however, Black and Latinx families o

Episode #11: Accessing Federal Funds for an Equitable Recovery

The federal government has allocated trillions in federal funds toward relief and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fisc

Episode #10: Creating a Lasting Legacy for the Chicago Region

For more than a century, individuals and families have partnered with The Chicago Community Trust to transform gifts—from wills, trusts, and other vehicles—into lasting i

Episode #9: Civic Engagement Through a Racial Equity Lens

There is a long-held notion civic engagement is declining in the Chicago region. The 2010 Chicago Civic Health Index report even stated “Chicagoland’s civic health is on

Episode #8: Building Neighborhood Wealth with Community Investment Vehicles

The Trust’s Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment strategy is focused on closing the region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap at the neighborhood level by fostering an environm