THE CHICAGO COMMUNITY TRUST INVITES RESIDENTS TO “ACT UP” TOGETHER TO BENEFIT NEIGHBORHOODS

Published: May 16, 2017

TO “ACT UP” TOGETHER TO BENEFIT NEIGHBORHOODS

Up to $150,000 in funding available to support actionable follow-up to On the Table discussions

CHICAGO – April 18, 2017 – On May 16, tens of thousands of Chicagoans will participate in The Chicago Community Trust’s fourth On the Table – sharing a meal and discussing both challenges and opportunities facing their community, sparking ideas for what they can do to make a difference. To help encourage On the Table participants to move from discussion to action, the Trust today announced the return of the Acting Up awards – up to $150,000 in cash awards to support tangible activities that benefit neighborhoods and public good.

“Last year, we were awed and inspired by the passionate and creative responses to the inaugural Acting Up awards – and are pleased to support even more ideas this year,” said Terry Mazany, president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust. “On the Table conversations can spark new and exciting ways to bring about positive change across the region, and the Acting Up awards allow us to directly support neighborhood champions who rally others and make something good happen.”

Working in partnership with Goodcity, the Acting Up awards will provide up to 100 $1,000 awards and up to 20 $2,500 awards to On the Table participants who have actionable ideas for community impact coming out of their conversations. The 2016 awards were awarded to a variety of ideas – hosting an event to provide accessible breast cancer screenings for women with disabilities, holding art workshops for senior citizens in Pilsen, providing youth with free bike helmets to accompany 500 free bicycles in North Lawndale, mini-libraries built in neighborhoods across the city and more. The charge for this year remains the same – simply encourage people to work together and take action for the public good.

On the Table participants are invited to submit a brief video, no more than two minutes, outlining their planned activity. Video entries will be accepted online between May 17 and 31 at www.onthetable.com. A selection committee of diverse regional representatives will select winners based on creativity, level of community engagement and potential impact of the ideas. All Acting Up winners will be announced in late June. For additional rules and regulations, please visit www.onthetable.com/acting-up-awards/.

You must be registered for On the Table to be eligible for these awards. To learn more or to sign up to host an On the Table conversation, visit www.onthetable.com or call 866-737-6951. Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #OnTheTable2017 and #ChiTrustActingUp.

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About The Chicago Community Trust

The Chicago Community Trust, our region’s community foundation, partners with donors to leverage their philanthropy in ways that transform lives and communities. The Trust connects the generosity of donors with community needs by making grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve metropolitan Chicago. Since our founding in 1915, the Trust has awarded approximately $2 billion in grant funding to more than 11,000 local nonprofit organizations – including more than $236 million in 2016

Keywords: Chicago Community Trust, community, Conversation, On The Table