We Rise Together’s first year of grantmaking has unlocked $291 million in investment in Black and Latinx communities in Chicago and Cook County

We Rise Together’s first year of grantmaking has unlocked $291 million in investment in Black and Latinx communities in Chicago and Cook County

Chicago -- With its latest round of grants, We Rise Together:
For an Equitable & Just Recovery has invested nearly $30 million in target neighborhoods in the past year, unlocking $291 million in new development projects. In Black and Latinx communities that have faced decades of disinvestment and financial devastation during the pandemic, these development projects strengthen their communities and the entire region.

In September, nearly $7 million in grants were awarded to support four new brick-and-mortar developments and five organizations working to grow Black and Latinx businesses. The grants will bring new investment, jobs, and services to Black and Latinx communities in Chicago and the south suburbs of Cook County.

“The Black and Latinx communities we are investing with are
on track to see new and rehabilitated buildings delivering services
and amenities on par with our cities’ economically advantaged
neighborhoods,” said Gloria Castillo, We Rise Together director.
“As Chicago continues to bounce back from the pandemic, we are excited to invest in innovative projects that signal to residents that they can earn a living in their community that supports their families and encourages local entrepreneurs to establish and grow their businesses.”

Recognizing that one new building or business alone cannot
transform a neighborhood’s economy, We Rise Together provides
community developers and nonprofits with grant funding to advance three key strategies in each target community: investing in disinvested areas, strengthening Black and Latinx businesses, and increasing quality, resilient employment.

The Austin community exemplifies how We Rise Together has
been working with community leaders to realize their community’s
vision, as reflected in the “Austin Forward” Quality of Life plan. We Rise Together invested in the North Austin Community Center, a 150,000-square-foot facility that will host amateur sports and youth services, bringing some 250,000 people each year to Austin. We Rise Together has also invested in two additional brick-and-mortar developments in Austin—Aspire Center and the BUILD campus—and provided grant funding to the Northwest Side CDC to support small businesses in the area to take advantage of the new market created by the visitors these developments will attract. A grant to Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership will bring additional workforce development services to Austin.

Almost $2 million in grants were awarded in September to the
following projects to support Black and Latinx businesses:
HACIA’s Executive Fellows program is launching its cohort-
based business development curriculum to grow and scale
contractors of color.

mHub is launching the Catalyze Initiative by funding deep partnerships in communities of color and ongoing support for
entrepreneurs developing hard tech products.

Greater Chatham Initiative is working to strengthen the restaurant ecosystem in Chatham and its six surrounding communities through storytelling, building the “Soul-Delivered” platform, and offering nutritional evaluation and labeling.

Northwest Side CDC is launching the CRECER small business incubator in Belmont Cragin, including programming provided for the businesses in the incubator.

Women’s Business Development Center is expanding the ScaleHigher curriculum into the Chicago market and supporting
participating businesses in learning about and accessing digital tools to scale their businesses.

In addition, $4.9 million in grants were awarded in
September to support the following brick-and-mortar developments:

BUILD, Austin.
Green Era, Auburn Gresham.
The Desk/South Shore Chamber of Commerce, South Shore.
United Yards, Back of the Yards.

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