PROGRAM AREAS & APPLICATION GUIDELINES

In an effort to prioritize specific funding areas under the general umbrella of racial, gender and economic justice, the Conant Family Foundation identified four program areas (see below). These areas were first used in 2020 and will continue in 2021. Guidelines for the Environmental Justice and Community Organizing for Racial Justice program areas will be posted here on March 1, 2021. 

​

2020 CYCLE CLOSED

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

​This Program Area supports grassroots, multi-issue community organizing that prioritizes racial justice and equity.

​

The Community Organizing for Racial Justice Program Area engaged a group of ten Chicagoans to serve as a proposal Review Team. The external Review Team, all people of color, brought their insights, lived experiences and perspectives to the task. For more information about the Review Team and the grantee selection process, please click HERE. 

​

These are the organizations they selected for funding:

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

CFF will fund Chicago-area organizations that develop leadership, build power, connect resources, amplify community voices, and support the creation and implementation of equitable policies.

  • Grant amounts will be up to $20,000 per organization 

  • All grants will be unrestricted general operating support

  • CFF will allocate $250,000 this cycle

  • This is open to both past grantees and organizations that are new to CFF

  • Roughly 75% of the grants will be allocated to past/returning grantees 

  • Organizations that have already received 2020 grants from CFF are not eligible

 

To streamline this process during the COVID-19 crisis, we request only the following: 

  1. A brief memo (up to 3 pages) responding to the five questions below.

  2. A grant proposal submitted to any other foundation that describes your organization’s issues, strategy and impact. Please do not revise it for us. 

Email documents to Leslie@ConantFamilyFoundation.org by April 27, 2020.

 

Application Questions

  1. What is your organization focusing on now? What is your long-term vision?

  2. What are your members/leaders doing today?

  3. Describe your relationships with other organizations. How are you utilizing them?

  4. Which one of your organization's accomplishments means the most to you and why?

  5. How are you and your staff the right people to do this work in this community?

If you have any questions for us, please email Leslie@conantfamilyfoundation.org

​

​

2020 CYCLE CLOSED

URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

The vision of the Urban Environmental Justice Program Area is that all Chicago residents live in environmentally safe communities.

 

The Environmental Justice Program Area Committee is enormously grateful for the many organizations doing outstanding work in Chicago. The Conant Family Foundation awarded grants to the following organizations:

​

Association of the SouthEast, $35,000

Block Club, $25,000

Faith In Place, $25,000

Friends of the Parks, $25,000

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization/LVEJO, $35,000

Metropolitan Planning Council, $25,000

Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke, $25,000

Sweet Water Foundation, $30,000

Trust for Public Land, $25,000

​

Low-income and communities of color experience disproportionately higher levels of air, water, and soil pollution and contamination. Nonprofit organizations addressing environmental injustice in these communities are the focus of this Program Area.

 

Grants will be made to organizations that are:

  1. Identifying environmental hazards, involving their communities in identifying solutions, and advocating for justice

  2. Providing health screenings, health care or other resources to those with illness caused by environmental pollution

  3. Advocating for the remediation, preservation, and/or increase of public green space.

 

Eligible applicants will be Chicago-area nonprofit organizations that are:

a) led by those directly impacted, 

b) include community members in decision-making

c) accountable to the communities they seek to improve.

 

The first step in applying for a grant is to submit a brief document (no more than 2 pages total) responding to the following questions:

  1. What does your organization seek to accomplish?

  2. Who decides the organization’s priorities and actions?

  3. How do you know your work is effective?

  4. What is the wage ratio between your lowest and highest paid full-time staff?

Please submit your application by email no later than Friday, February 28, 2020
 

​

2020 CYCLE CLOSED

ABORTION ACCESS

This Program Area focuses on an intersection of gender justice and reproductive rights: women’s access to safe abortion.

 

The Illinois Reproductive Health Act is a remarkable national model, but even in Chicago women face obstacles to accessing abortion because of cost, transportation, and other factors. 

 

CFF will continue to support Chicago-based direct services and policy advocacy. This new Program Area will also support abortion access, including mifepristone (RU 486), particularly in geographic areas where providers are not available. 

 

There will not be an open application process for the Abortion Access Program Area in 2020. The Program Committee anticipates making six or seven grants; so far, the Conant Family Foundation has awarded grants to the following organizations:

​

Appalachian Abortion Support Collective, $6,000

Carafem, $5,000

Chicago Abortion Fund, $75,000

EverThrive Illinois, $25,000

Midwest Access Coalition, $75,000

Midwest Access Project, $10,000

Provide, Inc., $10,000

SASS, $40,000

​

​

 
 
 

CLOSED

2020 DORIS CONANT LEGACY GRANTS

While the Conant Family Foundation continues Doris Conant’s commitment to justice and equity overall, Doris personally participated with several nonprofit organizations and promoted their valuable work to her friends and family.

 

This Program Area will support nine organizations that Doris cherished, as follows:

​

Chicago Foundation for Women, $50,000

Chicago Public Media/WBEZ, $50,000

Human Rights Watch, $50,000

Planned Parenthood Illinois, $50,000

Facets Multimedia, $10,000

Goodman Theatre, $10,000

International Children’s Media Center, $10,000

North Lawndale College Prep High School, $10,000

Victory Gardens Theater, $10,000

 

Due to the nature of this very personal Program Area, there will not be an open process to apply for these grants. These organizations were selected by Doris through her own words and actions. We are delighted to honor her memory with these contributions.