The Chicago Community Trust Case Study
Beyond Traditional Giving: How Place-Based Philanthropy Catalyzes Housing Solutions
Reflecting a national trend, Chicago saw a surge in homelessness in 2024. According to the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness, approximately 76,375 people experienced homelessness, a 10.4% rise from the previous year. A recent report by the Illinois Policy Institute estimated that 42% of all Chicago families — and 88% of low-income families in the city — are housing cost burdened.
The Chicago Community Trust (CCT) addresses the housing crisis by supporting innovative programs combating homelessness and deploying low-cost capital to help promote opportunities for homeownership. CCT is the convener of Connecting Capital and Community (3C), an all-inclusive housing initiative working to give Chicagoans in two West Side communities, East Garfield Park and Humboldt Park, a smoother path to homeownership and the wealthbuilding benefits that homeownership can provide. 3C collaborates with residents, lenders, developers, HUD-certified Housing Counseling Agencies, community navigators, private, public, and philanthropic partners to create supply and demand solutions for homebuyers.
The core product offered through 3C is a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 3.5% with no Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). CCT has enabled the deployment of this product by providing a $1 million loan loss reserve fund along with contributions by JP Morgan Chase and another foundation. Thus far, 3C has raised about half of their $7 million goal for this mortgage loan fund, with the hope of selling it on the secondary market for greater scale. Participants can access down payment assistance through the city’s Building Neighborhoods and Affordable Home Program. To qualify, participants must have income below 120% of AMI, complete eight hours of homebuyer education courses, and purchase a home built by a qualifying developer in East Garfield Park or Humboldt Park.
CCT also promotes housing stability and combats homelessness through a number of initiatives, including its Sustainable Solutions for Housing Stability program. Launched in the spring of 2024, the program supports organizations working toward housing security and addressing homelessness in Chicago and Cook County. It funds services and initiatives that provide housing opportunities, improve client outcomes, pivot towards culturally relevant services for various populations, and strengthen coordinated care networks.
One of the program’s key components involves supporting organizations fulfilling housing needs, particularly of underserved populations like asylum seekers, at-risk youth, and returning citizens, among others. Their approach is “people-centered” rather than issue-based, recognizing that many people don’t fit within the traditional service model. More than $2.375 million in grants have been awarded to 26 organizations exploring solutions to housing stability and homelessness. Prior to the Sustainable Solutions for Housing Stability program, the Trust made nearly $2.3 million in grants to 35 organizations providing direct services and advocacy to reduce homelessness.