Advancing Leadership

In conversations with dozens of individuals and organizations across the city of Chicago, we heard a call to support leaders who reflect the city's population. In the private, public, and philanthropic sectors, many individuals who are leaders in their communities, professional fields, or interest areas are not heard in public discourse.

Structural racism has prevented many leaders from being considered for leadership roles. Other forms of discrimination and classism hinder the ability of some leaders to gain recognition for the wisdom and expertise they have earned through lived experience. Our goal is to promote and advance leaders who face or have faced adversity, discrimination, or prejudice to increase their representation across the civic sector; foster their ability to influence decisions; and use their leadership skills to advance policies and practices that contribute to a more equitable Chicago.We include leaders who represent a broad array of Chicago residents and communities and who reflect diversity across multiple dimensions. 

The Chicago Commitment supports leadership advancement within our three focus areas: Culture, Equity, and the Arts; Vital Communities; and Civic Partnerships. Within these areas, we seek to advance equity by expanding access to a wide range of leadership opportunities and by fostering conditions that recognize and support people who bring diverse experiences and perspectives to leadership positions. Our approach consists of these components: 1) Support for Leadership Programs, 2) Support for Individual Leaders, and 3) Support for Leadership Advancement Within Organizations.

Support for Leadership Programs

Our priority is to support current and emerging leaders from historically marginalized backgrounds and disinvested communities as they pursue leadership advancement opportunities. We identify and fund leadership programs that:

• Reflect, serve, and amplify the voices of leaders across Chicago, with an emphasis on communities that have been underrepresented in civic discourse;
• Are led by and/or predominantly staffed by individuals able to effectively represent communities most affected by structural racism, discrimination, or disinvestment;
• Provide an in-depth, cohort-based experience over the course of several months, enhancing individual leadership skills, building resiliency in nonprofit leaders, and expanding professional networks; and
• Demonstrate a clear connection to the arts, community and economic development, or community safety and violence prevention sectors, or substantial participation by staff members of existing grantee organizations in the Culture, Equity, and the Arts; Vital Communities; and Civic Partnerships focus areas.

We also consider support for efforts to develop collaborative projects and alumni networking among existing leadership programs.

Support for Individual Leaders

Many individual leaders struggle to find the time or resources to pursue personal development or to execute a project they believe will enhance their own leadership potential. The demands of leading a movement or organization may require all their time and energy. Accordingly, we explored ways to support leaders in the ways they wish to learn, grow, and advance their skills.

In 2019, we launched a collaborative initiative with the Field Foundation of Illinois entitled Leaders for a New Chicago. These awards support individuals who are leaders in their communities, professional fields, or interest areas and work in the Field Foundation’s focus areas of arts, justice, or media and storytelling. This program advances equity and access to opportunity; it fosters conditions that recognize and promote people who bring a broad diversity of background and experience to leadership positions.

Leaders for a New Chicago awards $50,000 to 10 to 15 recipients a year: a no-strings-attached $25,000 award to enable individuals to pursue their own self-defined goals, and a $25,000 general operating grant for the individuals' affiliated nonprofit organizations. The program supported 65 recipients during its first six years. To nominate a leader or self-nominate, please see the Field Foundation’s nomination portal.

Support for Leadership Advancement within Organizations

Organizations with a strong infrastructure can often reduce stress on their leaders and prevent the loss of talented staff. To this end, we offer awards to organizations to improve their effectiveness through technical assistance and capacity building.

Evaluation of our work is a critical tool for informing our decision making, leading to better results and more effective stewardship of resources. We develop customized evaluation designs for each of our programs based on the context, problem, opportunity, and approach to the work. Evaluation is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process of collecting feedback and using that information to support our grantees and adjust our strategy.

Findings and analyses from evaluation activities are posted publicly as they become available.

Last Updated June 2024