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Overview of Grant Programs

The Woods Fund is particularly interested in supporting those organizations and initiatives that focus on enabling work and reducing poverty within Chicago’s less advantaged communities. Grants are given exclusively to organizations with agendas benefit metropolitan Chicago and are concentrated in two program areas: Community Organizing and Public Policy. In addition, a limited number of grants are awarded in the Arts and Culture program area.

The successful grant seeker will assess its proposed needs in relation to the Woods Fund's core principles. Specifically, an applicant organization should determine whether the organization, or its project, embraces any of the following objectives within its mission statement:

·        Increasing opportunities for less advantaged individuals and communities

·        Enabling less advantaged people and communities to shape decisions that affect them

·        Helping to engage residents in civic life

·        Addressing the causes of poverty

·        Promoting more effective public policies

·        Reducing racism and other barriers to equal opportunity

·        Promoting employment opportunities

·        Building a sense of community and common ground