WEST SIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH COLLABORATIVE OFFERS GRANTS FOR NONPROFITS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

West Side United will hosts an information session for its small business grant program on Oct. 21 from 11 am to noon at the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., in the community room. Photo Credit: West Side United
West Side United will hosts an information session for its small business grant program on Oct. 21 from 11 am to noon at the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., in the community room. Photo Credit: West Side United

WEST SIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH COLLABORATIVE OFFERS GRANTS FOR NONPROFITS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

West Side United recently announced that it will distribute $500,000 in grants to eligible for-profit west side businesses and $225,000 in grants to west side nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations have until Oct. 18 to submit their applications and for-profit business can apply until Oct. 31.

The West Side United grant program is supported by JPMorgan Chase, Northern Trust, and Accion Chicago, a nonprofit community lender, which is serving as the financial agent for the small business grant program.

Grant funding up to $40,000 will be awarded to nonprofit groups and small businesses will be able to receive up to $30,000 in grant funding.

This grant fund was created to support small businesses and nonprofit organizations on the west side to ensure they can continue to thrive and to encourage them to do more for the community and its residents.

“We know that if small businesses are thriving, it will attract more small businesses to the area,” said Rachael Wilson, grant program manager for West Side United. “We know that there’s so much amazing work going on but the opportunity for access to capital for small businesses on the west side hasn’t been equal to other places in the city. Our main goal is to see the small business itself grow, but we also want to see the positive impact that it has on the community grow.”

For all of September and October, West Side United has been hosting grant application information sessions at various locations on the west side. The purpose of these sessions was to inform potential applicants on what West Side United is looking for in a grant recipient and answer any questions that may come up during the application process.

“The main takeaway for people to know is that we want them to tell their story and share what is unique about their business or nonprofit. Also, to make sure that the major highlight or focus of their application is the positive impact they are making in the community,” said Wilson.

West Side United is looking for small business owners and nonprofit organizations specifically from Austin, Belmont Cragin, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Lower West Side, Near West Side, North Lawndale, South Lawndale, West Garfield Park, and West Town.

There is one last information session for small business owners being held on Oct. 21 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., in the community room.

West Side United is a collaborative organization created by several local healthcare providers with the purpose of improving neighborhood health on the west side of Chicago. The organization works to accomplish this by addressing inequalities in healthcare, education, economic vitality, and the physical environment that west side residents experience, according to information provided by West Side United.

Those interested in learning more about the grant program or submitting an application can visit www.westsideunited.org.

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