2021 Grant guidelines

The Conant Family Foundation will continue using the four program areas that were introduced in 2020 (please see below). While the program areas have different grant award processes, none of the areas are currently accepting proposals. 

  • Community Organizing for Racial Justice grants for 2021 are the same as 2020. No new proposals will be accepted. If your organization was hoping to apply for one of these grants, please consider applying to the Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund

  • The Urban Environmental Justice program area has also elected to fund from the current grantee pool. Please see the list of grants below. 

  • Abortion Access does not accept proposals, but we do accept information regarding efforts to increase access to mifepristone locally and in states with restrictions

  • Doris Conant Legacy Fund does not accept proposals

  • If you have any questions or would like additional information, please send an email to Leslie Ramyk

 

PROGRAM AREAS

Prior to 2020, the Conant Family Foundation funded organizations working on racial, gender and economic justice. Having such a broad "focus area" resulted in far more proposals than could possibly be funded. In an effort to prioritize specific topics, the Conant Family Foundation identified four program areas:

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COMMUNITY ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

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

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CFF funds Chicago-area organizations that develop leadership, build power, connect resources, amplify community voices, and support the creation and implementation of equitable policies.​ All grants are unrestricted general operating support; a total of $250,000 is awarded annually.

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In 2020, 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. 

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These are the organizations they selected for funding in 2020; the Board elected to renew all of these grants in 2021:

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Assata's Daughters, $20,000

Brave Space Alliance, $20,000

Chicago Community Bond Fund $20,000

Equity and Transformation, $20,000

Organized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD), $20,000

Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), $20,000

People for Community Recovery, $15,000

Restore Justice Illinois, $15,000

Working Family Solidarity, $15,000

United Working Families, $15,000

Chicago United for Equity (CUE), $10,000

HANA Center, $10,000

Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA), $10,000

Lighthouse Foundation, $10,000

Mothers Opposed to Violence Everywhere (MOVE), $10,000

Northwest Side Housing Center, $10,000

The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, $10,000

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URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

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

 

Low-income communities 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. 

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Grants are made to organizations that identify environmental hazards, involve their communities in identifying solutions, and advocate for justice and remediation. Eligible applicants will be Chicago-area nonprofit organizations that are a) led by those directly impacted, b) include community members in decision-making, and c) accountable to the communities they seek to improve.

 

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2021 GRANTS

Alliance of the SouthEast, $40,000

Block Club, $35,000

Faith In Place, $25,000

Friends of the Parks, $25,000

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization/LVEJO, $40,000

Metropolitan Planning Council, $25,000

Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke, $25,000

Sweet Water Foundation, $30,000

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2020 GRANTS

Alliance 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

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The Environmental Justice Program Area Committee is enormously grateful for the many organizations doing outstanding work in Chicago.


 

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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 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. Grants have been awarded to the following organizations:

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2020 GRANTS

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

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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 supports nine organizations that Doris cherished, with annual grants as follows:

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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 is 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.