Chicago Foundation for Women has received a $1 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support its work toward gender equity.
The $1 million will be paid out over four years, and CFW says the funding will support its endowment as well as its goal of gender equity in the Chicago area by 2030.
“This grant is an investment in the future of CFW,” President and CEO K. Sujata said in a release. “The challenges facing women and girls will not be solved overnight. These additional resources will strengthen CFW’s capacity and help us continue to fight for generations of girls to come. We are grateful to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for its confidence in CFW’s vision and continued leadership in the movement for gender equity.”
(Read Rebellious Magazine’s 2016 interview with K. Sujata here.)
“MacArthur is committed to Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods and its people, as we have been for decades,” MacArthur President Julia Stasch said. “We want our hometown to be a city where opportunity is equitable and justice can thrive. To make that aspiration a reality we are investing in the strength and growth of nonprofit organizations that focus on justice, provide critical services, build communities, look at persistent problems in new ways, and support a new generation of leaders.”
Chicago Foundation for Women was one of 10 Chicago organizations to receive $10 million in MacArthur Foundation Community Capital Grants that are to be paid over two to four years. Other recipients were: Black Youth Project 100 Education Fund; Cabrini Green Legal Aid, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, Latinos Progresando, Little Black Pearl Workshop, Mikva Challenge, South East Chicago Commission, Sweet Water Foundation, and The Resurrection Project.
CFW awards grants to organizations that are working on behalf of women and girls regarding economic insecurity, violence, and access to health care and information. CFW funded 150 projects in four counties in 2016, serving 53,000 women and girls.