LGBTQ Community Fund

The LGBTQ Community Fund, an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust, was established in 2010 to advance the Chicago region’s LGBTQ community through research, connection, and targeted grantmaking. The Fund provides support for organizations and projects that respond to identified LGBTQ community needs and aim to uplift and empower LGBTQ leaders and communities. For the 2025 funding cycle, the Fund’s focus is on organizations serving the unique needs of LGBTQ youth and/or seniors, with the intent to address gaps in services and foster leadership within these groups. Two primary types of grants are available. General operating grants are open to both new and previous partners of the Fund whose annual operating budgets are under $3.5 million. Project-specific renewal grants are available to organizations with budgets exceeding $3.5 million that have received an award from the Fund in the past three years, provided the previously funded project is ongoing, expanding, or exploring sustainability strategies. All proposals must demonstrate alignment with the Fund’s mission and priority focus areas, as well as a demonstrated commitment to meaningfully incorporating the vision and voice of LGBTQ communities in organizational structures, operations, or programming. Applicants are evaluated on alignment with the mission and focus areas, commitment and proficiency in serving LGBTQ communities, addressing unmet community needs, focus on serving historically marginalized and underserved groups within the LGBTQ+ community, demonstrated ability to produce impact, and overall organizational health and sustainability. The Fund awards up to $500,000 in total grants, with individual awards generally ranging from $20,000 to $40,000. The grant term is one year. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, those fiscally sponsored by such organizations, and governmental units as defined in Section 170(c)(1). Organizations must be described in Section 170(b)(1)(A) and not be classified as a disqualified supporting organization under Section 4966(d)(4). Applicants must serve or engage LGBTQ communities, including transgender and gender non-conforming populations, and must be located within or primarily serve the Chicago metropolitan area, encompassing Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties in Illinois. Organizations without 501(c)(3) status must secure a fiscal sponsor before applying. All applicants are expected to comply with anti-discrimination laws. Grant funds cannot be used for electioneering, political campaigns, contributions to candidates or political committees, campaigning for or against candidates, or for grants to individuals. Applications must be submitted through The Chicago Community Trust’s GrantCentral system, with applicants completing and certifying an Organization Profile prior to applying. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Applicants may also undergo a site visit, phone interview, or other communication with Fund leadership as part of the review process. The 2025 RFP was released on July 29, 2025. An optional virtual information session will be held on August 7, 2025, at 4 PM Central Time. The application deadline is August 26, 2025, at 11:59 PM Central. Site visits are scheduled for October 14 through October 31, 2025. Funding decisions will be made in late November 2025, with award notifications sent in mid-December 2025. For technical assistance with GrantCentral, applicants can email grants@cct.org, while programmatic and content-related questions should be directed to lgbtq@cct.org.