Foundation Grants
Community Vital Signs
About Us
"We heard stories of struggle, but also voices filled with pride and spirit, that despite all odds continue to push forward and challenge deeply rooted systems of inequity."
That's what the community of Oak Park, Ill., in western Cook County says it wants to see happen in a new report on racial equity, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation partnered with the Nova Collective, a women's-owned, Black-owned consultancy in Oak Park, to conduct focus groups and conversations on racial equity; participants included "people who have not historically been invited into such conversations, along with community leaders and frontline staff from grassroots organizations serving those in need," the foundation says in a press release.
The report, which can be downloaded atoprfcf.org, outlines the top 10 racial equity priorities for the foundation's nine-county service area, which includes parts of Chicago's West Side.
Those priorities include ending hunger, improving health and education, addressing homelessness, and creating more affordable housing.
"All of these needs intersect and interrelate in a person's daily life," the press release says.
"We view the report as a beginning, a spark to galvanize not just the Foundation and nonprofit sector, but to inspire local government, schools and the community at large."
Read the Entire Article
Selected Foundation News
A customized collection of news from foundations from around the Web.
"Every child in every school, everywhere in the country, should have the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life," says Austin Beutner, founder of a nonprofit that provides free eye exams...more
"More than just a space, The Cannon Memorial will be an environment where innovation thrives." That's the vision of the Houston-based co-working space, which opened its 39th location Monday in...more
The Tampa Bay Innovation Center is kicking off its spring accelerator program, and it's got eight startups on its list. Among them: AgWise, which focuses on the climate impact of agriculture's...more
Brazil's environmental minister has a message for the rest of the world: Don't turn your back on the planet. Marina Silva, who is also the country's first lady, has called for a shift away from...more
One of Denver's so-called "innovation zones" is going to be history after the end of the school year. The Northeast Denver Innovation Zone, which had three public schools in it, will dissolve at...more
An 11-acre plot of vacant land in Rome, NY, will soon be transformed into 250 affordable housing units and a community center for veterans and their families. Thanks to a $2.5 million grant from...more
The state has stepped in to help a new ballet company in Syracuse get off the ground. The New York State Council of the Arts has awarded Central New York Ballet a $259,000 grant to help it move...more
More than $3 million in state funding is going to 64 not-for-profit land trusts in New York state to protect water quality, prevent farmland conversion, boost public access to outdoor recreation,...more
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced funding for 64 projects that will protect water quality, prevent farmland conversion, boost public access for outdoor recreation, and conserve open...more
Parents in Champaign, Ill., will soon be able to take their kids to the school district's new health center any day of the week. The Illinois Department of Public Health has awarded Promise...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Hong Kong FarmFest 2014: Promoting Social Entrepreneurship
It’s time once again for social enterprises to bring and brandish their products and services at the FarmFest 2014, to be held at the Fa Hui Park in Mong Kok this Lunar New Year shopping season.