The Chicago Community Trust

Name

The Chicago Community Trust

Legal name

The Chicago Community Trust

Website

https://cct.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation and Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Donor advised funds
• Charitable grantmaking
• Impact investing programs
• Philanthropic advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Advised Fund Administration: The Trust administers donor advised funds (DAFs),收取管理费并代表捐赠者进行捐赠。DAF账户允许捐赠者创建个人命名基金,然后从基金中向慈善机构拨款。
2. Grantmaking from Endowment: The Trust makes grants from its endowment to nonprofit organizations addressing the region's most pressing needs, primarily serving Cook County.
3. Impact Investing Program: In 2020, the Trust launched an Impact Investing Program enabling donors to recommend investments in social impact opportunities before making grants from their donor advised funds, generating social returns alongside investment gains.
4. Philanthropic Services: The Trust provides personalized philanthropic advisory services to individuals, families, businesses, and professional advisors, helping structure giving plans and maximize charitable impact.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Chicago Community Trust administers donor advised funds, manages an endowment for charitable grantmaking, and provides philanthropic advisory services to individuals, families, and businesses. It pools donor contributions through affinity funds and impact investing programs to support nonprofit organizations addressing the Chicago region's most pressing needs.

Product overview

The Chicago Community Trust operates as a community foundation platform offering a portfolio of philanthropic giving vehicles and programs. The core offerings include Donor Advised Funds (DAFs), the Unity Fund for urgent community needs, Press Forward Chicago for journalism support, and an Impact Investing Program. Additional giving vehicles include Charitable Remainder Trusts, Designated Funds, Supporting Organizations, and Unrestricted Funds. The Trust also manages multiple Affinity Funds (African American Legacy, Asian Giving Circle, Disabilities Fund, LGBTQ Community Fund, Nuestro Futuro, Young Leaders Fund) and provides digital services through Donor Portal and GrantCentral. These products work together as a unified philanthropy platform enabling donors to give, invest for impact, and support the Chicago region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Unity Fund: A collaborative effort that gathers contributions from generous donors to support nonprofit organizations addressing the Chicago region's most urgent needs including emergency food, clothing, housing, healthcare, and legal services.
• Press Forward Chicago
• Resilient Chicago Fund
• Neighborhood Capital Fund
• African American Legacy
• Asian Giving Circle
• Disabilities Fund
• LGBTQ Community Fund
• Nuestro Futuro
• Young Leaders Fund

Products and services

• Donor Advised Fund (DAF)

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.4 billion+ in total grantmaking awarded by the Trust and affiliated donor advised funds
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Press Forward ChicagoflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Press Forward Chicago launched as a pooled fund for journalism based at The Chicago Community Trust seeking to create healthier communities through support of strong and sustainable news and information ecosystems. It is a local affiliate of the national Press Forward movement.
• We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just RecoveryflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn accelerator launched in October 2020 uniting partners from philanthropy, business, government, nonprofits, and communities in economic recovery to help ensure communities hit hardest by COVID-19 are not left behind. In August 2025, the initiative sunsetted and transitioned into the Neighborhood Capital Fund.
• Neighborhood Capital FundflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerA two-year funder collaborative to get late-stage capital into community-led brick and mortar projects. This initiative helps neighborhoods build amenities and services they need that lead to thriving communities, continuing the economic momentum from We Rise Together.
• Connecting Capital and Community (3C)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA multi-sector collaborative to build wealth in underinvested communities through homeownership. Paves a sustainable pathway to affordable homeownership and generational wealth for low-to-moderate income residents.
• Elevated ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA partnership of organizations committed to transforming the half-mile radius around transit stations into hubs of opportunity and connection across the region's vast transit system.
• United Way of Metropolitan ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with the Trust to establish the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund in March 2020, rapidly deploying resources to nonprofits across metropolitan Chicago serving individuals most impacted by the pandemic.
• Financial Health NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted the Financial Health Pulse survey measuring financial health of Cook County residents, providing comprehensive data on disparities in how individuals spend, save, borrow, and plan.
• Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned to produce the Color of Wealth in Chicago report, the first-of-its-kind study examining wealth by race, ethnicity and other key drivers in the Chicago metropolitan area.
• Connecting Capital and CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner working with JPMorganChase and Chicago Community Trust on affordable housing initiatives on Chicago's South and West Sides.
• Chicago Housing AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in affordable housing initiatives, including the Edith Spurlock Sampson Apartments project which transformed an existing development into 405 affordable rental homes for seniors.
• Inherent HomesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing below-market mortgage rates of 3.5% through programs designed to expand homeownership opportunities in underserved neighborhoods.
• Neighborhood Housing Services of ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner offering below-market mortgage rates through programs designed to expand homeownership opportunities in underserved neighborhoods.
• Benefit ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collaboration aiming to mobilize $100 million in impact investments for nonprofits and social enterprises working throughout the Chicago region.
• Bridges to Brighter FuturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA partnership with Kinship Foundation aiming to create equitable, affordable access to quality jobs and continued career development through the Transfer Innovation Impact Model.
• Chicagoland Workforce Funder AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with employers and other workforce stakeholders to increase employment, earnings, and economic mobility for underprepared workers in the Chicago region.
• Arts Work FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrengthens the management and operations of small arts and cultural organizations in Chicago and Cook County.
• Food:Land:OpportunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA multi-year initiative to create a resilient local food economy that protects and conserves land and other natural resources while promoting market innovation.
• Fresh TasteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn initiative by thirteen Chicago-region foundations working together to relocalize the Chicago foodshed and improve equity of access to good food.
• Fund for Equitable Business GrowthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelps underrepresented business owners in Chicago succeed by funding systems and support to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.
• Illinois Immigration Funder Collaborative (IFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrioritizes community defense and strengthening, multilingual legal assistance, and support to help organizations serve and organize immigrants.
• Illinois Justice ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngages in criminal justice reform efforts to make communities safer and reduce recidivism among youths and adults.
• Resilient Chicago FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collaborative philanthropic initiative supporting nonprofits and government agencies to meet communities' needs for food, shelter, safety and healthcare while building a stronger social safety net.
• Partnership for Safe & Peaceful CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIdentifies and supports community-led, evidence-based solutions to addressing gun violence. The Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities provides grants to neighborhood-based nonprofit groups.
• Chicago and Cook County Flexible Housing Pool (FHP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn innovative housing approach connecting people experiencing homelessness to stable housing, tenancy support, and healthcare, reducing use of emergency services, hospitalizations, and incarceration.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Boston Foundation: Greater Boston's community foundation operating a similar endowment-plus-affinity-fund model, with comparable grantmaking, DAF administration, and racial-equity focus.
• The New York Community Trust: One of the largest US community foundations serving the New York metropolitan region, offering donor advised funds, discretionary grantmaking, and impact initiatives analogous to CCT's structure and product mix.
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Large California community foundation focused on DAF administration and place-based grantmaking, with a similar revenue mix anchored by donor advised fund fees and investment returns.
• Central Indiana Community Foundation: Indianapolis-based community foundation operating pooled funds, DAFs, and equity-focused initiatives akin to CCT, and serving as the parent of the Indianapolis Foundation and The Indianapolis Public Schools Foundation.
• Greater Houston Community Foundation: Community foundation serving a major metropolitan region with DAF administration, competitive grant cycles, and disaster-response pooled funds comparable to CCT's offering.
• Cleveland Foundation: The first US community foundation (1914) and structurally the closest historical and operational analog to The Chicago Community Trust, with a comparable endowment, donor advised fund programs, and place-based focus on Greater Cleveland.
• San Francisco Foundation: Bay Area community foundation pursuing place-based grantmaking and donor services with a comparable scale and racial-equity strategic emphasis.

Emerging players

• National Philanthropic Trust: Independent national sponsor of donor advised funds and provider of philanthropy research, an adjacent competitor and complement to CCT's DAF program.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest US sponsor of donor advised funds by assets, offering a similar DAF product to CCT's but at national scale and as part of broader Fidelity's financial services platform.
• Schwab Charitable: National DAF sponsor affiliated with Charles Schwab, directly competing for donor advised fund assets with similar investment and grantmaking tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chitrust
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/thechicagocommunity
• Facebookfacebook.com/thechicagocommunitytrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-chicago-community-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/thechicagocommunitytrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Chicago Community Trust