CHICAGO COMMITMENT STRATEGY

Institutional Support Grant Guidelines

Overview

Civil society organizations are the bedrock of Chicago’s non-governmental infrastructure, advancing the goal of a city that is connected, integrated, prosperous, and equitable. MacArthur reinforces this civic and community infrastructure by supporting strong organizations to fuel innovation, improve organizational effectiveness, and pursue opportunities for growth. Institutional Support Grants provide organizations in the Chicago metropolitan area with funds to strengthen their operating and programmatic capacity.

Criteria

From 2018-2020, we awarded Institutional Support Grants to organizations whose work increases safety, peace, and justice in Chicago communities. Specifically, awards supported organizations that pursue community-led safety initiatives, such as programs that expand street-level interventions and violence interruption; strengthened or expanded mentoring for youth and young adults; tested new approaches in these areas; and/or evaluated progress and success. Activities were typically based on evidence. Because not all successful or promising approaches have been rigorously evaluated, programs that pilot or test new or innovative approaches were also eligible for consideration.  

While fundamental, lasting change will take years to accomplish, we believe that strengthening organizations will help achieve short-term goals while making steady progress toward safety, peace, and justice throughout the city. This focus complemented the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, a civic partnership of more than 50 Chicago funders and foundations committed to supporting proven and promising responses to reduce violence.

Between 2017 and 2020, we made institutional support awards to 27 organizations. In early 2020, we shared reflections about the first three rounds of these award recipients. In addition, as part of these awards, organizations had the option of working closely with peers to significantly improve their knowledge and management of organizational finances. Funded through a parallel award to BDO FMA, institutional support grant recipients were invited to participate in an array of financial management activities designed to set them on a path toward more effective financial operations. BDO FMA completed its work with these organizations in 2022 and produced a reflection piece on the program with evaluation findings.

Institutional support awards are now considered on a case-by-case basis within the current areas of Chicago Commitment grantmaking.

  


Updated July 2023