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Feb/March,2021 – CCLF’s Alerts

Chicago Community Loan Fund continues to support organizations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. CCLF’s Chicagoland COVID-19 Community Development Resource Guide has been updated with NEW, detailed information on available funding, programs and resources.

Click here to review the UPDATED CCLF Chicagoland COVID-19
Community Development Resource Guide.

URGENT ALERTS:

New Grants and Upcoming Deadlines to be aware of: 

  • Payroll Protection Program: From February 24 – March 10, the SBA will only accept applications from businesses/organizations with fewer than 20 employees and sole proprietors – this is designed to have the SBA only focus on the smallest organizations for two weeks.
  • Payroll Protection Program Second Draw has a deadline of March 31.
  • Payroll Protection Program Technical Assistance: Citi (Bank) has launched a series of seven (7) webinars to help businesses/organizations understand the program/processes and how to qualify for forgiveness. The first webinar is February, 25 at 2 p.m. Central Time. Please click here to register.
  • Back2Business Grant from Finserve. They have partnered with Association of Enterprise Opportunity for a $10,000 grant. The application is due February 26.
  • The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Small Business Growth and Recovery Grant, for up to $20,000. Application is now open and closes on March 19.
  • Comcast RISE Application due by May 7 for $5,000.
  • Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grant Program: SVO was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act, signed into law on December 27, 2020. The program includes $15 billion in grants to shuttered venues, to be administered by the SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance. See the link in this guide to be alerted to when the SBA will start accepting grant applications.
  • Cook County has launched a new initiative, Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD).

MARCH 3, 2021 – 2021 Knight Media Forum with President, Michelle Morales

Save the date for the first virtual Knight Media Forum! Woods Fund Chicago President, Michelle Morales will be speaking on March 3, 2021 at 3:40EST alongside other leaders in philanthropy, journalism and technology that are working to strengthen local news, communities and democracy.

Learn more and register here.

March 17, 2021 – Seeds of Change 2021: Our 40th Anniversary Celebration – Rooted in Radical Joy

Dear Community,

As a Movement Funder, our mandate is to resource movements like we want them to win. We invite you to participate in our annual fundraiser – Seeds of Change. This year’s virtual Seeds of Change is a celebration of our 40th Anniversary! For three days, we will celebrate Change, not Charity, be in community with each other, and raise money to support justice movements in Chicago.

We have an incredible program lined up, including honoring our fierce 2021 Awardees and an Online Auction. New this year, is a special guest speaker who has been instrumental in providing a platform for progressive change-makers AND a stellar musical performance by a singer rooted in social justice organizing in Chicago. 

Join us in this mandate by making a donation to help us reach our goal of raising $200,000 by Friday, March 19th.

SEEDS OF CHANGE

Our 40th Anniversary Celebration –  Rooted in Radical Joy

Join grantees, board members, and friends of CROSSROADS FUND to celebrate

40 years of Change, not Charity at our virtual annual benefit, Seeds of Change.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17 – FRIDAY, MARCH 19

VIRTUAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Special Guest

AMY GOODMAN

Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,500 public television and radio stations worldwide. Goodman has co-authored six New York Times bestsellers. Her latest one, Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America looks back over the first two decades of Democracy Now! and the powerful movements and charismatic leaders who are re-shaping our world.

 Special Musical Performance

JAMILA WOODS

Tempering sharp and powerful lyrics with a sweetly melodic voice, Jamila Woods is a Chicago-bred singer/songwriter and award-winning poet whose inspirations include Gwendolyn Brooks and Toni Morrison. Following the 2016 release of her debut album HEAVN, Jamila received critical acclaim for her singular sound that is both rooted in soul and wholly modern. Her 2019 sophomore release LEGACY! LEGACY! featured 12-tracks named after writers, thinkers, and visual artists who have influenced her life and work. She is a Pushcart Prize-winning poet and co-editor of ÒBreakBeat Poets: Black Girl MagicÓ (2018). Her poetry was recently published in the Library of America anthology ÒAfrican American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & SongÓ (2020). Jamila recently made her television debut, performing “SULA (Paperback)” on Colbert on Jan 6th, 2021.

2021 Awards Presentation

This year we will present the Ron Sable Award for Activism to Brave Space Alliance, a Black-led, trans-led organization centering LGBTQ communities in Chicago.  The Donald F. Erickson Synapses Award to GoodKids MadCity, a youth-led organization dedicated to ending the root causes of violence experienced by youth. The Lynda J. Tipton Memorial Award for Social Justice to Chi-Nations Youth Council, an inter-tribal group committed to Native Youth organizing and building Black and Indigenous solidarity.