When most people picture hunger in America, they think of food pantries. Yet for every meal a pantry provides, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – quietly supplies nine more. Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP is the nation’s most effective anti-hunger initiative, helping more than 42 million Americans put food on the table each month. In Illinois alone, about 1.9 million people rely on SNAP, receiving an average monthly benefit of $192 per household. While designed to supplement rather than fully cover a family’s food needs, SNAP remains a crucial lifeline for millions of low-income households — many of which include working adults, children, older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities. Beyond the direct benefit of helping families buy groceries, SNAP provides the financial breathing room to afford other essentials like rent, utilities, diapers, and medicine. 

SNAP is also an important contributor to Illinois’s economy. Across the state, more than 8,000 retailers redeem more than $2 billion in SNAP benefits. These benefits don’t just support SNAP participants, they are an important revenue source among our local grocers and their employees, many of whom live and spend money in the same community in which they work. It is estimated that every SNAP dollar generates about $1.50 in economic activity. Greater public understanding of SNAP ensures better policy decisions that sustain both family well-being and our region’s economic health.

In this episode of Trust Talks, we will explore the history of SNAP, discuss the economic impact of public benefits, and humanize the experience of our neighbors who depend on SNAP and other government support to meet their basic needs. The conversation is hosted by Aimee Ramirez, the Trust’s director of policy change, and will feature John Bouman, director of Legal Action Chicago; Daniel Block, chair, Dept. of Geography, Sociology, and Africana Studies at Chicago State University; and Danielle Perry, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

This episode was produced by Juneteenth Productions and recorded at The Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub.

As Chicago neighborhoods continue to expand with newly built businesses and homes, new opportunities emerge for residents to shape their communities. Yet, traditional development often leaves residents with little to no say on – or stake in - what gets built in their neighborhoods. Shared ownership flips the traditional development script by allowing residents to help improve their communities while also benefiting from new investment. Community members can take a stake in housing, business, and land, ensuring long-term community control, preserving affordability, and building community wealth. 

In this episode of Trust Talks, host Mariah Van Ermen, the Trust’s program manager for neighborhood impact and shared ownership, is joined by Linda Lutton, co-founder and project manager for expansion at Pilsen Housing Cooperative; Kimberly Britt, co-owner of Jumpstart Housing & Worker Cooperative and co-owner of ChiFresh Kitchen; and David Feinberg, director of coaching and knowledge transfer at Chicago Community Loan Fund. Together, they explore how shared ownership can be a powerful tool for advancing community-led development. Shared ownership approaches are community-specific and can be tools to build generational wealth, combat displacement, and enable community self-determination.  They also share resources and funding strategies to help others explore shared ownership in their own communities.

This episode was produced by Juneteenth Productions and recorded at WBEZ Chicago.

Over the past decade, homelessness in the Chicago area has been on the rise, and the latest numbers are especially troubling. According to the City of Chicago’s 2025 Point-in-Time Count, the number of longtime Chicago residents without stable housing jumped by 38 percent in just one year. In Suburban Cook County, homelessness rose by 15 percent, with chronic homelessness — people stuck in long-term housing instability — up by 16 percent. These aren’t just statistics. They represent families with children, young people, survivors of domestic violence, recent immigrants, and even folks who are working but still cannot afford a place to live. And while these numbers do include people living on the streets or in shelters, they do not account for those who “double up” with friends or family. In the face of rising need and uncertain funding, the question is not just how we respond to homelessness, but how we rethink what it means to end it. At The Chicago Community Trust, we are committed to supporting long-term, systemic solutions. We support organizations that meet people where they are – with trauma-informed care, youth and immigrant services, and family shelters – while also advocating for the policy changes that can prevent homelessness before it starts. 

In this episode of Trust Talks, host Joanne Otte, the Trust’s Critical Needs program manager, is joined by Casey Holtschneider, executive director of Lyte Collective; Jennifer Hill, executive director of the Alliance to End Homelessness for Suburban Cook County; LaShunda Brown, chief officer of quality and impact at Primo Center; and Niya Kelly, director of state legislative policy, equity and transformation at the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness. Together, they discuss the current state of homelessness in the Chicago area, highlighting best practices currently underway, how organizations are adapting, and how to address the systemic barriers that lead to homelessness. 

This episode was produced by Juneteenth Productions and recorded at LYTE Collective

Although nonprofit organizations play a vital role in recognizing and addressing the needs of the community, research shows the percentage of nonprofits involved in advocacy or lobbying has dropped considerably over the past two decades. However, nonprofits working together on an issue are more likely to engage in policy advocacy. Over the past few years, The Chicago Community Trust has successfully supported nonprofit organizations in working together to advance systems and policy changes that facilitate economic mobility. However, policy change is a long road. Passing new laws is a step in the process, but implementing these policies and holding decision-makers accountable for the true intent is essential and ongoing work. 

In this episode of Trust Talks, host Ianna Kachoris, associate vice president of people, power and policy at The Chicago Community Trust, is joined by Erion Malasi, policy director at the Economic Security Project; Tracy Occomy Crowder, deputy director of organizing and policy at Community Organizing and Family Issues; Ellen Nissenbaum, senior advisor at the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities; and Ameya Pawar, president & CEO of the Michael Reese Health Trust. Using Illinois’ Child Tax Credit as a case study, they explore the power of coalition-based advocacy, the critical steps that follow the passage of a bill, and the essential role philanthropy plays in supporting nonprofit advocacy and community organizing. 

This episode was produced by Juneteenth Productions and recorded at WBEZ Chicago.

While homeownership is often viewed as a pathway to building wealth, a range of challenges can hinder its effectiveness, particularly for specific groups. These include financial burdens such as rising property taxes and ongoing maintenance costs, neighborhood-based appraisal disparities, and the need to meet family responsibilities. While increasing homeownership is critical to the region’s economic health, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to increasing homeownership in disinvested communities. 

In this episode of Trust Talks, host Matt Shomo, program manager for Homeownership & Home Equity at The Chicago Community Trust, is joined by Noreen Sugrue, research fellow at the Latino Policy Forum; Meegan Dugan Adell, director of New America Chicago; and Paul Hawkinson, co-founder of Transform Capital. Together, they examine some of the unique challenges homeowners in underinvested communities in the Chicago area face in converting homeownership into wealth.

This episode was produced by Juneteenth Productions and recorded at Little Black Pearl.

The truth about immigration in the United States is that unless you are Native American, we all came from somewhere else. Yet, in 2025, the country finds itself roiled in trying to determine who we are as a country when it comes to welcoming immigrants to our shores and across our borders. The subject is rife with misunderstanding and alternative facts, and yet today, both documented and undocumented immigrants work and pay taxes that benefit all of us. Above all, both documented and undocumented immigrants are our neighbors.

In this episode of Trust Talks, we share insights into the immigrant experience, examine immigrants’ contributions to our communities and region, and discuss how misperceptions fuel stereotypes and false narratives about immigration.

This episode is hosted by Ayom Siengo, The Chicago Community Trust's senior director of Critical Needs. It features Eréndira Rendón, The Resurrection Project’s vice president of Immigrant Justice; Fasika Alem, United African Organization’s programs director; Robert Quinn of Quinn Family Fund and Illinois Immigration Funder Collaborative Steering Committee; and Heather Steans, board chair of Steans Family Foundation.

It was produced by Juneteenth Productions and recorded at Little Black Pearl. 

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. 

Community safety is an issue that affects all Chicagoans, but especially Black and Latine communities. According to a 2023 report, more than half of Black and Latine residents have witnessed a shooting by age 40. Further, violence not only impacts the health and safety of residents, but it also has a detrimental effect on the city’s economic vitality.  

While there is no one-size-fits-all method to addressing this issue, a grassroots approach that centers the voices of the people most affected by violence is necessary to make our neighborhoods safer. Launched in 2016, the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful (PSPC) is a coalition of more than 50 funders working together to support community-level programming that reduces gun violence. In tandem with those efforts, a new PSPC initiative, Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago (SC2), brings together partners from across sectors to reduce shootings and homicides in neighborhoods with the highest rates of gun violence through focused services and interventions.  

In this episode of Trust Talks, we will discuss PSPC’s priorities and accomplishments, its new Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago fund, and the importance of multi-sector collaboration to make our neighborhoods safer and more vibrant.   

This episode is hosted by Jai Jones, program specialist for the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC), and includes Esther Franco-Payne, PSPC executive director; Robert Boik, Civic Committee of the Commercial Club’s senior vice president for public safety; Teny Gross, CEO of the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago; and America Campos, executive director of U.N.I.O.N. Impact Center.

This episode is produced by Juneteenth Productions and was recorded at the Sound Foundation, LLC.

Launched in 2020 in response to the economic instability caused by COVID-19, We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a Trust-led funder collaborative working with communities to respond to the urgent economic needs of long-disinvested Black and Latine neighborhoods. Through grants to community-directed real estate development projects, workforce development, and support for small businesses, We Rise Together is helping build thriving neighborhoods and a stronger Chicago. To date, We Rise Together has provided $46 million in grants, including support for 40+ real estate projects worth more than $500 million, 13 of which have already opened.  

In this episode of Trust Talks, we will discuss We Rise Together’s impact and what’s next, including how the initiative—and donors—can continue to fuel the visions communities have for their local economies.  This episode is hosted by Christen Wiggins,  program director for We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery, and features Nedra Sims Fears, executive director for the Greater Chatham Initiative and a We Rise Together Steering Committee member; Griselda Piedra, community relations manager for PODER; and Steve and Nicole VanderVoort, We Rise Together donors. 

Production by Juneteenth Productions. The podcast was recorded at the Sound Foundation. 

Across the nation, local news outlets have been folding at an alarming rate. In response, philanthropy has stepped up funding efforts to address this decline as America becomes increasingly polarized and trust in institutions plummets. Against this backdrop, Chicago has been experiencing a media resurgence, with dozens of community-driven and nonprofit outlets popping up over the past 20 years. However, many are still under-resourced and require alternative funding opportunities.  

In the fall of 2023, a group of 10 funders launched Press Forward Chicago to strengthen and sustain local news organizations and ensure residents have access to multiple reliable news sources. This initiative, led by the MacArthur Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust, offers donors, funders, and civic leaders the opportunity to pool their dollars to invest in a robust local media landscape. 

In this episode of Trust Talks, we will explore the current state of the media, how to reverse the decline in local news outlets, and the importance of philanthropy in supporting local media. This episode is hosted by  Lauren Woods, program manager with the Trust’s Building Collective team, and features Silvia Rivera, director of local news at MacArthur Foundation; Mauricio Peña, editorial director of Borderless Magazine; Mackenzie Warren, director of the Medill Local News Accelerator; and Christie Hefner, businesswoman and Press Forward donor.

Production by Juneteenth Productions. The podcast was recorded at the Sound Foundation.