The Chicago Community Trust’s strategic focus on addressing the racial and ethnic wealth gap was informed by data on the stark differences in health, education and wealth, how those differences were impacting our region, and – most importantly – where we, as a community foundation, were best positioned to support change that would benefit the entire region. The Trust continues to invest in data to shed light on disparities impacting our community, leverage policy change, track progress, inform gaps in knowledge, and drive innovation with our community partners working to address those systemic factors. 

For example, the Trust-funded Color of Wealth in Chicago found median wealth in the region ranges from zero for Black households, $6,000 for foreign-born Mexicans, $24,000 for Puerto Ricans, $40,500 for U.S.-born Mexicans, compared to $210,000 for white households. These results, other reports, and community-driven data illustrate the critical importance of data broken out by race and ethnicity, gender, age, and community area so that we can understand who is benefitting and who isn't in our local economy and how interventions and investments are working to address systemic barriers and underinvestment in communities.  

In this episode of Trust Talks, we will discuss how data helps us understand the ways capital flows into communities and how our grant partners are using it to inform their work and drive investment into their neighborhoods.   

This episode is hosted by Jennifer Axelrod, associate of vice president of learning & impact for The Chicago Community Trust, and includes Brett Theodos, senior fellow and director of the Community Economic Development Hub at Urban Institute; Luis Gutierrez, founder & CEO of Latinos Progresando; and Andraya Yousfi, chief of partnerships and development for By The Hand Club For Kids.  

This episode is produced by Juneteenth Productions and was recorded at BUILD, Inc.