Woods Fund Chicago – Core Grants is a grant from Woods Fund Chicago that funds community organizing and racial and economic justice work in the Chicago metropolitan area. Woods Fund Chicago distributes over $4 million annually, with core grants of up to $35,000 for new grantee partners on a one-year, renewable basis. Applications open each February with decisions announced in July.

Eligible organizations must be Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits or fiscally sponsored groups that build power through community organizing or public policy advocacy using an intersectional racial justice framework. Priority goes to majority BIPOC-led organizations driving systemic, community-driven change.

Our Grants — Woods Fund Chicago Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund Funding Movement Infrastructure Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund Funding Movement Infrastructure Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund Funding Movement Infrastructure WOODS FUND CHICAGO GRANTS Woods Fund Chicago funds over $4 million each year to grantee partners who organize their communities in the fight for racial and economic justice.

Photo by Brighton Park Neighborhood Council Woods Fund Chicago distributes core grants of up to $35,000 for new grantee partners. These grants are for one year and are renewable. As of 2024, Woods Fund Chicago has transitioned to one grantmaking cycle a year.

Applications open for one month annually in February with grants announced in July. Keep in touch with Woods Fund Chicago for updates regarding the next grantmaking cycle. Eligibility Criteria // Ready to Apply?

// Decision-Making Timeline // What to Expect as a Grantee Partner Woods Fund Chicago commits to the practices of trust-based philanthropy, adapts to the evolving needs of grantee partners, and connects partners to resources that further activate their work. We provide multiyear, general operating support to ensure grantee partners can sustain their work and operations beyond the scope of a single program.

Woods Fund Chicago grantee partners… … are community organizers. … support grassroots movements. … take collective action.

… use an intersectional racial justice framework. … challenge traditional power structures. … collaborate with communities and movements to create sustainable, systemic change.

In order to be eligible for a Woods Fund Chicago grant, your organization or coalition: Must be based in the Chicago metropolitan area (city proper with some consideration of other cities in Cook County). Must be a registered 501(c)(3) organization or fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization. Must build power through community organizing (see definitions below) and/or public policy advocacy.

* Must utilize a framework of racial equity and/or justice within organizing efforts. *Within public policy advocacy, we fund organizations that mindfully engage impacted communities to create racially just legislation in the city of Chicago or the state of Illinois. How does Woods Fund Chicago define Community Organizing?

Community Organizing is the process by which people impacted by injustice take collective action to challenge power structures and win meaningful change in their lives and communities.

We look for the following criteria to confirm potential grantees aligns with our theory of change: The organization is majority BIPOC-led , and driven by systemically marginalized populations The organization’s strategy includes demands for institutional or systems-level change. The organization’s strategy identifies a target: the decision-maker who can grant the demand.

The organization is building a base of directly impacted people to engage with the target. As part of this organization, people take collective action to disrupt traditional norms of power. We know that, especially in young organizations, not all of these community organizing criteria may be present.

We require alignment with a majority of these criteria, and clear signals that those missing are in development. To learn more about key terms regarding our criteria and approach to community organizing, visit our glossary of terms .

Organizations outside of the Chicago metropolitan area (Chicago city proper and its surrounding suburbs) Business or economic development projects Capital campaigns, capital projects, capital acquisitions, housing construction/rehabilitation Health care institutions, including, but not limited to, hospitals and clinics Organizations that only provide direct services Medical and scientific research K-12 and post-secondary education scholarships Leadership development or fellowship programs Woods Fund Chicago has separate application windows for new applicants and returning grantee partners.

New applicants: The application portal opens on Tuesday, February 10! The deadline for new applicants is 11:59 PM on Tuesday, March 10. Apply Here!

Returning grantee partners, save the date! You will be sent an Organizational Update form on Wednesday, April 1. The deadline for returning grantee partners is 11:59 PM on Thursday, April 30.

Learn more about our decision-making process below. If you have questions or trouble accessing your application, please reach out to Brittany Ward at brittany@woodsfund. org .

Eligibility Criteria // Ready to Apply? // Decision-Making Timeline // What to Expect as a Grantee Partner Photo by Mujeres Latinas en Acción New applicants can access our grants portal through GivingData on February 10, 2026. Apply Here!

Returning grantee partners will be sent an Organizational Update form on April 1, 2026. The application portal closes. Woods Fund Chicago program officers begin to review applications.

All applicants receive a response regarding their application. Woods Fund Chicago will coordinate site visits and interviews with select applicants. Recommendations are voted on by the full board.

Grantee partners are notified of final decision and provided grant letters and agreements via Docusign. Grantee partners will receive funds 2-3 weeks after agreements are signed. Woods Fund Chicago publicly announces the new cohort of grantee partners.

New and existing grantee partners will receive a welcome and resource packet. Eligibility Criteria // Ready to Apply?

// Decision -Making Timeline // What to Expect as a Grantee Partner What to Expect as a Grantee Partner Examples of Opportunities for Grantee Partners: Grantee Partner-Informed Learning Cohorts Capacity Building Initiative (provided in partnership with Crossroads Fund) Cultivate: Women of Color in Leadership* program (supported by Woods Fund Chicago, Chicago Foundation for Women, Crossroads Fund, Walder Foundation, and the Chicago Community Trust) Convenings and Networking Opportunities Rapid Response Fund and Organizational Resiliency Fund Eligibility Criteria // Ready to Apply?

// Decision-Making Timeline // What to Expect as a Grantee Partner *This program is inclusive of cisgender women, transgender women, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary individuals. Justice is a benefit to all of us, and all of us are needed in the movement to achieve that vision. Let’s join in this movement together.

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