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"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."
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
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Foundation: Silicon Valley Community Foundation, California Endowment
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Foundation: California Community Foundation, California Endowment
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The University of Utah's Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy has narrowed its list of finalists for its $500,000 Climate Launch Prize to seven. The goal of the prize, which is one of the...more
Foundation: Lancaster County Community Foundation
In 2024, Lancaster County, Pa., will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a group of "visionaries" who "came together to shape a better future for Lancaster County," says Sam Bressi, president and CEO...more
Canada is putting its money where its mouth is, with a $2.5 million investment in five projects in India meant to help the country's poor, the Toronto Star reports. "Many of these novel projects...more
"These figures underscore the vital role that creativity and culture play not only in enriching community life but also in driving economic development." So says the chair of Pennsylvania's...more
If you're looking for a good time while raising money for a good cause, try golf. The Salvation Army in Virginia Beach held its annual " Swings Fore Strings" fundraiser on Saturday, hoping to...more
"Many of us, at some point in time, have been told in our lives that we are unloveable. By our parents, partners, husbands, children, friends, or society," says transgender activist Zainab...more
Foundation: Community Foundation of Southern Indiana
"When you see the kids interacting and them building communitythat's what it is," says Camp Quality Kentuckiana executive director Eddie Bobbitt. "It's bigger than fishing and pie fights." The...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Building a Million Dollar Company Where Everyone Counts
Ganesh Natarajan is the Founder and Chairman of 5FWorld, a new platform for funding and developing start-ups, social enterprises and the skills eco-system in India. In the past two decades, he has built two of India’s high-growth software services companies – Aptech and Zensar – almost from scratch to global success.
