CONANT FAMILY FOUNDATION
2022 Grant guidelines
Guidelines and application instructions for the Community Organizing for Racial Justice program area are available now and can be downloaded HERE. Deadline for proposal submission is May 23, 2022.
The Environmental Justice and Abortion Access program areas will not be posting guidelines this year, but you are welcome to send an email introducing your organization if you believe it aligns with the intentions described below.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please send an email.
PROGRAM AREAS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
This Program Area supports grassroots, multi-issue community organizing that prioritizes racial justice and equity.
GUIDELINES FOR 2022 GRANTS CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE. A group of community leaders and former organizers joined with the Conant Family Foundation to develop these guidelines; they will also review proposals and make grants decisions.
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 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 in 2020; the Board elected to renew all of these grants in 2021:
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
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.
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.
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
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
ABORTION ACCESS
Abortion care is essential health care.
The Abortion Access Program Area supports access to safe, affordable, and legal abortions. Organizations selected for funding receive one-year general operating grants. Three categories have emerged as priorities:
-
Increasing access to self-managed medication abortion (mifepristone and misoprostol)
-
Chicago-area abortion services, financial support, and transportation/housing needs
-
Abortion access in southeast states
There are no formal guidelines to apply; if your organization aligns with these categories, please send an email of introduction.
2021 GRANTS
Abortion Care Network, $12,000
Access Reproductive Care (ARC) SouthEast, 12,000
Carafem, $45,000
Chicago Abortion Fund, $50,000
CHOICES: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, $12,000
EverThrive Illinois, $5,000
Kentucky Health Justice Network, $12,000
Midwest Access Coalition, $50,000
Midwest Access Project, $10,000
Mountain Access Brigade, 12,000
Provide, Inc., $20,000
Reproductive Outreach & Education (ROE) Center for Justice, $30,000
Self Managed Abortion, Safe & Effective, $40,000
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
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:
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. These grants will be awarded in calendar years 2000, 2021, and 2022.