CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN ANNOUNCES HONOREES OF THE 2023 IMPACT AWARDS, NONPROFIT GRANTS

 

CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN ANNOUNCES HONOREES OF THE 2023 IMPACT AWARDS, NONPROFIT GRANTS 

Annual Impact Awards Celebrated Local Leaders Creating Impact for Chicago Women and Girls 

CHICAGO—The Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW) has announced honorees of the 2023 Impact Awards, which recognize top local women leaders who are expanding economic security, ensuring freedom from violence, or enhancing access to health services for women and girls. The event was held at the Harold Washington Library Center. 

Since 2005, CFW has honored and celebrated 125 leaders, including local leaders like Dorri McWhorter, Hedy Ratner, Neha Gill and the first Impact Awardee in 2005, the late Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

“The Impact Awards highlight the people on the frontlines who are creating opportunities for women and girls to live healthy, fulfilling lives,” said Felicia Davis Blakely, President and CEO of the Chicago Foundation for Women. “This year, we received dozens of nominations for our Awards—which is a testament to the many diverse leaders fighting on behalf of women and girls in our city. Our honorees are activists, storytellers and changemakers who exemplify CFW’s mission to build a better society by lifting up women and girls.” 

CFW also announced that each honoree’s partner organization will receive a $5,000 grant from CFW. Recipients include Urban Growers Collective, Connections for Abused Women and their Children, Women Employed, A Long Walk Home, RefugeeOne and Pillars Community Health. 

Additionally, CFW awarded a $25,000 grant to the Reverend Willie Taplin Barrow Emerging Leader honoree, Free Root Operation, in celebration of their work exemplifying the legacy of the late, great Rev. Barrow. 

Impact Award recipients include: 

Erika Allen, Co-Founder & CEO of Operations for Urban Growers Collective 

Beatris Burgos, Greenhouse Shelter Director for Connections for Abused Women and their Children 

Cherita Ellens, President and CEO of Women Employed 

Additional honorees: 

Natalie Moore, WBEZ’s Race, Class and Communities reporter, is the recipient of the Beacon Award, which honors a leader whose published work has highlighted the issues facing women and girls in the Chicago region and enabled their voices to be heard. 

Melineh Kano, Executive Director and Founder of Refugee One, is the recipient of the Founder’s Award, which recognizes an individual’s lifetime achievements, which have made significant contributions toward the advancement of women and girls for 30 years or more. 

Azariah Baker, Youth Leader with A Long Walk Home, is the recipient of the Vanguard Award, which honors a leader younger than 30 whose work is having a significant impact on women and girls and who shows great promise for the future. 

Kathy Bolhous, Chairman and CEO of Charter Next Generation is the recipient of the Corporate Citizenship Award, which honors a corporate leader that helps build stronger, more equitable communities through its internal and external support of women and girls. 

Marcie Love, Founder of Personal PAC, is the recipient of the Sophia Award which was created in honor of the late Lucia Woods Lindley, a founder of CFW, to honor Lucia’s memory and the contributions she made to women’s philanthropy through the Sophia Fund and individually. The Sophia Award celebrates individuals who, like Lucia, are deeply committed to using their philanthropic power to uplift the needs of women and girls and inspire others to join them in doing the same. 

Additionally, the Free Root Organization is the recipient of the Willie Taplin Barrow Emerging Leaders Award for its Black Girl Bloom program, which is helping women of color heal from trauma by harnessing their transformative capacity.  

This year's Impact Awards were broadcasted on CAN TV Channel 27, a leading community access television network committed to unlocking the voices of Chicagoans for four decades. CAN TV’s programming can be viewed on its five local cable channels (CAN TV 19, 21, 27, 36 and 42), online at cantv.org, or on the can tv+ app available on streaming platforms including Roku, Fire TV Stick, and iOS and Android devices. 

Sponsors of the Impact Awards include Southwest Airlines; Community Food Navigator; Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family Foundation; Marcie Love as well as her daughters, Cathie, Anne and Sally; Charter Next Generation; and Dr. Patricia Carey. 

Since 1985, Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW) has been a leader in the movement to achieve basic rights and equal opportunities. We invest to create a world in which all women, girls, trans and non-binary people have the opportunity to thrive in safe, just and healthy communities and are empowered to act as catalysts to build a stronger future for all. 

Learn more about the Chicago Foundation for Women at www.cfw.org/. 

  

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