Vital Communities

A woman shopping for produce in a grocery store.

A woman shops for groceries as part of the Chicago Community Loan Fund’s Englewood Commercial Corridor.

Overview

The Chicago Commitment team invests in people, places, and partnerships to advance racial equity and build a more inclusive Chicago. The focus of the Vital Communities strategy draws on these three elements to support a diverse and resilient metropolitan area.

We believe that a dynamic metropolitan area is dependent upon equitable community development. The Vital Communities work stimulates development in 10 neighborhoods by making early investments towards physical development in response to community needs that contribute to economic growth. We support place-based economic development and creative placemaking and placekeeping initiatives to improve the quality of life in these neighborhoods. We also support organizations whose research and analysis informs socially beneficial and equitable development.

Our Strategy

Building on a long history of support for neighborhoods, we direct grant resources to a small number of the following efforts.

Place-Based Initiatives

Place-based initiatives address the unique characteristics and needs of people within 10 Chicago neighborhoods. We concentrate resources primarily on pre-development of commercial corridors and industrial clusters in 10 communities. These initiatives may include comprehensive planning; land use planning and management; community outreach; or urban design that attracts commercial and industrial real estate investment. In determining where to invest in place-based economic development, our team analyzed an array of different indicators related to Chicago neighborhoods, including levels of community engagement, income and wealth, demographic shifts, public safety, and the history of investment and/or disinvestment, among others. Our economic development grantmaking is concentrated in these neighborhoods:

Austin
Belmont Cragin
Gage Park
Garfield Park (East Garfield Park and West Garfield Park)
Greater Englewood (West Englewood and Englewood)
Greater Roseland (Roseland and West Pullman)
Humboldt Park
North Lawndale
South Lawndale/Little Village
South Shore

Chicago map with neighborhoods shaded in orange and purple

View accessible version of map data ›

Creative Placemaking and Placekeeping

Place-based cultural projects that utilize creative placemaking and placekeeping techniques to engage community members in initiating physical development, elevate cultural awareness, and spur economic growth in communities. We support these projects across the city, not only in the 10 neighborhoods listed above.

Infrastructure Support Organizations

We offer grants to infrastructure support organizations, which conduct planning, management and technical assistance, policy research, evaluation, data analysis, or other assistance offered to organizations working at the community, citywide, or regional level.

We support infrastructure support organizations across the city.

View Vital Communities Grant Guidelines

Evaluation for Learning

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.

Updated June 2025