CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN
140 SOUTH DEARBORN STREET NO 400, CHICAGO, IL 60603 www.cfw.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS, CFW HAS BEEN THE ONLY ORGANIZATION IN THE REGION TO TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES AND NEEDS WOMEN FACE THROUGH EVERY STAGE OF THEIR LIVES WITH A FOCUS ON: ECONOMIC SECURITY, FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE AND ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND INFORMATION. CFW WORKS WITH A COMMUNITY OF SOCIALLY-MINDED INVESTORS WHO SHARE OUR PASSION FOR IMPROVING THE LIVES OF WOMEN, GIRLS, TRANS, AND GENDER NON-BINARY PEOPLE, AND ENSURES THAT EVERY DOLLAR THEY GIVE ACHIEVES MAXIMUM IMPACT. WE HOLD OURSELVES AND OUR GRANTEES TO A HIGH STANDARD, CONDUCTING RIGOROUS EVALUATION, CAREFUL MONITORING, AND DEMANDING RESULTS. AND, CFW INVESTS IN THE FUTURE OF ORGANIZATIONS, THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING SUSTAINABLE NONPROFIT INFRASTRUCTURE. AS A RESULT, TWO-THIRDS OF NONPROFITS FOR WHICH CFW WAS THE FIRST INSTITUTIONAL FUNDER ARE STILL THRIVING TEN YEARS AFTER RECEIVING THEIR FIRST CFW GRANT.

CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN (CFW) INVESTS IN WOMEN AND GIRLS AS CATALYSTS, BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES FOR ALL. THE FOUNDATION ENVISIONS A WORLD IN WHICH ALL WOMEN, GIRLS, TRANS AND GENDER NON BINARY INDIVIDUALS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THRIVE IN SAFE, JUST AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES.

GRANTMAKING: WITH DEEP ROOTS IN THE COMMUNITY, CFW REMAINS AT THE FOREFRONT OF IDENTIFYING THE NEXT CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS. IN F/Y 2020, WORKING WITH NEARLY 3,000 DONORS AND LOCAL PARTNERS ON THE FRONT LINES, CFW INVESTED A TOTAL OF $2,302,300 THROUGH 164 GRANTS THAT WENT TOWARD ADVANCING THE HEALTH, ECONOMIC SECURITY AND SAFETY OF CHICAGO-AREA WOMEN AND GIRLS. CFW IS FOCUSED ON ADVANCING THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY OF WOMEN, GIRLS, TRANS AND GENDER NONBINARY PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE THE GREATEST DEGREE OF GENDER BIAS - OFTEN THOSE LIVING AT 150% OR BELOW THE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE. CFW SUPPORTS ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR LEADERS THROUGHOUT THE GREATER CHICAGO AREA INCLUDING COOK, LAKE, DUPAGE, WILL, MCHENRY AND KANE COUNTIES. OVER THE PAST YEAR, CFW GRANTS SERVED 71,502 PEOPLE OF WHICH 48,285 (68%) IDENTIFIED AS WOMEN OR GIRLS, 13,941 (19%) IDENTIFIED AS MALE AND 2,145 (3%) IDENTIFIED AS TRANSGENDER/GENDER NON-CONFORMING. OF THOSE SERVED, 32% IDENTIFY AS AFRICAN AMERICAN, 33% LATINX, 25% CAUCASIAN/WHITE, 4% ASIAN, 2% ARAB AMERICAN/MIDDLE EASTERN, 2% MULTI-RACIAL AND 1% AS OTHER.AS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONTINUES, CFW IS MORE COMMITTED THAN EVER TO DOING MORE OF WHAT WE ARE BEST AT: PROVIDING STRATEGIC AND FLEXIBLE INVESTMENTS TO THE MOST CRITICAL ORGANIZATIONS IMPROVING THE LIVES OF CHICAGO'S MOST VULNERABLE WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES. TO THAT END, CFW'S IS APPROACHING THIS CRITICAL TIME WITH A THREE-PHASED STRATEGY: RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RESILIENCE. THE RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RESILIENCE FUND AT CFW WILL INVEST IN WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES AS THEY EMERGE FROM THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF COVID-19, AND SERVE AS A KEY RESOURCE FOR THE CHICAGO NONPROFIT SECTOR SERVING WOMEN AND GIRLS AS THEY TOO TAKE STOCK, RECALIBRATE AND REBUILD. WITH CFW'S CLOSE PARTNERSHIP, THESE ORGANIZATIONS WILL REBUILD UPON AN EVEN-STRONGER FOUNDATION, ONE THAT CENTERS GENDER EQUITY AND RACIAL JUSTICE IN EVERYTHING THEY DO.

CAPACITY BUILDING: CFW INTENTIONALLY COUPLES ITS GRANTMAKING WITH A BROAD RANGE OF HIGH QUALITY, NO-COST PROGRAMS RANGING FROM BOARD DEVELOPMENT, TO FUNDRAISING, TO EXECUTIVE COACHING FOR EMERGING WOMEN LEADERS THAT ARE ON THE FRONTLINES OF THE GENDER EQUITY MOVEMENT. THROUGH THIS WORK, CFW NOT ONLY BUILDS THE STRENGTH OF WOMEN-LED ORGANIZATIONS, BUT ALSO ENSURES THAT ORGANIZATIONAL AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IS APPLIED WITH A GENDER LENS, PARTICULARLY WHEN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS ARE WORKING TO ADDRESS POVERTY AND INEQUITY. THROUGH FIVE PROGRAMS, CFW SUPPORTED AND TRAINED 142 EMERGING WOMEN LEADERS AND THEIR STAFF FROM OVER 40 NONPROFIT AGENCIES IN F/Y 2020. OF THOSE DIRECTLY IMPACTED, 84% WERE WOMEN OF COLOR.CFW'S GIVING COUNCILS AND CIRCLES REPRESENT GROUPS OF ENERGIZED AND DIVERSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME TOGETHER AROUND SHARED INTERESTS TO RAISE MONEY AND AWARD GRANTS ACCORDING TO THESE INTERESTS. CFW HOSTS THREE GIVING COUNCILS, ALL OF WHOM FOCUS THEIR GIVING ON SPECIFIC GROUPS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE CHICAGO REGION. THEY ENGAGE IN GRANTMAKING BY AND FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES AS INDICATED BY THE NAME OF THE GIVING COUNCIL: LBTQ GIVING COUNCIL (LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER AND QUESTIONING) WOMEN OF COLOR UNITED GIVING COUNCIL YOUNG WOMEN'S GIVING COUNCIL IN ADDITION, CFW HOSTS THREE GEOGRAPHY-BASED GIVING CIRCLES. THESE GIVING CIRCLES FOCUS THEIR GRANTMAKING FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES, USING HYPER-LOCAL GEOGRAPHY, AS INDICATED BY THE NAME OF THE GIVING CIRCLE: THE WESTERN SUBURBS GIVING CIRCLE THE NORTH SHORE GIVING CIRCLE THE QUEENMAKERS: THE SOUTH SIDE GIVING CIRCLE LASTLY, CFW IS ALSO CONSCIOUSLY BUILDING ITS OWN CAPACITY WITH A FOCUS ON ENSURING THAT THE ORGANIZATION IS ONE THAT SERVES ALL WHO IDENTIFY AS FEMALE IN THE CHICAGO REGION, AND IS ONE WHERE ALL WOMEN, GIRLS, TRANS AND GENDER NONBINARY INDIVIDUALS SEE THEMSELVES. AS SUCH, CFW IS INTENTIONALLY CREATING THE SPACE TO BUILD AND SUSTAIN AN INSTITUTION THAT IS AWARE OF AND ADDRESSES ITS OWN, STRUCTURAL RACIAL BIASES. AS A FIRST STEP, CFW IS IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A TRANSFORMATION TEAM, A CFW BODY OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS WHO WILL LEAD THE EFFORT TO TRANSFORM CFW INTO AN ANTIRACIST INSTITUTION. THIS TEAM WILL DO THAT BY ENGAGING IN CONTINUAL ANALYSIS AND ESSENTIAL RESTRUCTURING OF CFW TO ENSURE THAT THE FOUNDATION'S WAY OF BEING IS ONE THAT WIELDS A SHARED POWER WITH, AND HOLDS ITSELF ACCOUNTABLE TO, RACIALLY OPPRESSED GROUPS TO ACHIEVE ITS GOAL OF GENDER EQUITY. THE TRANSFORMATION TEAM IS NOW REFLECTED IN CFW'S ORGANIZATIONAL CHART, REPORTING DIRECTLY TO THE PRESIDENT & CEO.

OUTREACH, ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATIONS: CFW'S INVESTMENTS IN COALITIONS, ADVOCACY AND BUILDING THE LEADERSHIP OF ADVOCATES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OVER 55 PIECES OF PRO-WOMEN-AND-GIRLS LEGISLATION PASSED OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. THIS HAS INCLUDED THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT IN ILLINOIS, THE NO SALARY HISTORY LAW THAT STRENGTHENS THE ILLINOIS EQUAL PAY ACT, THE ILLINOIS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT AND A STATEWIDE SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW. THANKS TO THE PAST, SUSTAINED SUPPORT OF THESE MOVEMENTS AND THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE, EVEN IN TIMES OF MORE INTENSE POLITICAL OPPOSITION, CFW AND OUR PARTNERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HARNESS THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE TO DRIVE PROGRESSIVE CHANGE. AS A RESULT, ILLINOIS IS INCREASINGLY BECOMING A BASTION FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN A NATIONALLY POLARIZING AND OPPRESSIVE SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT.CFW ALSO LEVERAGES THE STRENGTH OF SEVERAL EXTERNAL PARTNERS TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY AND SUCCESS OF ITS WORK. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK OF CHICAGO, CFW IS HOSTING A 2020 VIRTUAL GIRLS SUMMIT, AND A 2021 IN-PERSON GIRLS SUMMIT, AIMING TO BRING 500 PARTICIPANTS FROM ACROSS THE CITY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE SAFETY AND WELLBEING OF ALL YOUNG WOMEN, GIRLS, TRANS- AND NONBINARY INDIVIDUALS AGED 13-24. IN ADDITION, CFW IS A MEMBER OF THE CLOSING WOMEN'S WEALTH GAP (CWWG), A HOST OF FUNDERS COLLABORATIVES AND WORKS IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS. CHICAGO'S FIRST LADY SERVES AS A CFW HONORARY AMBASSADOR, CFW'S CEO IS A MEMBER OF THE CHICAGO MAYOR'S TASKFORCE ON WOMEN AND GIRLS AND CFW HAS A STRONG PARTNERSHIP ILLINOIS LT. GOVERNOR, JULIANA STRATTON, ON ADDRESSING WOMEN LEAVING THE WORKFORCE TO ASSUME PRIMARY CAREGIVING RESPONSIBILITIES TO AGING PARENTS. FINALLY, CFW REGULARLY LEVERAGES ITS VOICE AND PUBLIC PLATFORM TO GROW THE PUBLIC'S AWARENESS AND SUPPORT FOR THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUES IMPACTING CHICAGO'S WOMEN AND GIRLS. CFW'S CEO, FELICIA DAVIS, IS A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR IN THE MEDIA AS A VOICE FOR CHICAGO'S WOMEN AND GIRLS, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO ARE OFTEN UNHEARD. OVER THE PAST YEAR, FELICIA HAS BEEN ON CHICAGO TONIGHT, WCPT, WVON, WBBM AND HAS WRITTEN OR CO-WROTE OPINION PIECES IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE.

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