Celebrating Black History Month and More at APJF | | |
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As we approach the end of February, The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund wants to take this time to highlight key observances that occurred during what has been an unusually warm winter for us here in Chicago. In February, we observe Black History Month and take the opportunity to honor Black heroes and events throughout history that have shaped all aspects of our larger society, locally and globally. Did you know that Black History Month was born right here in Chicago? Check out this piece that aired on WBEZ about the historic Wabash Avenue YMCA in Bronzeville where it all started, and the programs and services being offered today by The Renaissance Collaborative to preserve this rich history and legacy.
February also marks Youth Leadership Month! We are all aware that February 14 is Valentine's Day, but did you also know it's also League of Women's Voters Day? And on February 24, the calendar marked Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day - be sure to commemorate this and all these noted observances year round. As we look towards March, we approach Women's History Month and we are lucky in the Chicago area to have a resource like Choose Chicago which has compiled a robust list of events and celebrations honoring women's contributions to history throughout the month.
Please read through this newsletter for some important announcements for current and future grantee partners, as well as, a list of organizations awarded funding for our Winter 2023 grant cycle. We have enjoyed creating this newsletter in the last year to celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund. However, this edition will be the last of this longer newsletter format, as we will transition to briefer emails focusing only on imperative updates going forward. All past newsletters and posts can be found on our website.
Thank you for reading and stay warm!
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Message from the Executive Director | |
Greetings grantee partners, colleagues and friends of The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund,
If the groundhog predictions are accurate, we are in for an early Spring arrival! That would be a welcome reprieve to help balance all of the complex life circumstances we are facing here in our city and the nation: gun shootings and violence that lead to tragic fatalities, addressing the needs of those who are unhoused and food insecure, resettling of migrants and returning citizens from incarceration... the list goes on. The implications of these circumstances on the work of our grantee partners is why we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting small on-the-ground community organizations that are striving to improve the quality of life for us all, especially our youth. Having said this, it is vital that we not lose sight of finding and cultivating joy in our lives whenever possible to feed and strengthen our spirits. Spring time represents new beginnings and opportunities for renewal of our spirits! A significant number of our grantee partners are engaged in work that fosters civic activism, health and wellness, education and arts and cultural experiences that also represent vital sources of joy for which we are truly grateful.
My newsletter message is going to be brief, as the Fall 2023 newsletter highlighted the Pick Fund's efforts underway to shift grantmaking and strengthen organizational governance in line with our efforts to center racial equity and social justice. I now want to highlight what we are doing in this regard with respect to our investment policy and the behind the scenes work that goes into stewarding our endowment. Thanks to the leadership of Board Treasurer Clare Golla who chairs our Investment, Finance and Audit Committee, the Pick Fund has implemented a socially responsible investment strategy with 65 percent of the portfolio invested in companies that are demonstrating best practices with respect to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors of their operations. In addition, 60 percent of our endowment funds are managed by diverse investment managers whose owners are people of color and/or women. When compared to other foundations, both of these performance indicators are above the industry standard. Further, we are fortunate to be working with Jesus Jimenez of Marquette Associates, who serves as our Investment Advisor. Critical to our longevity and central to our journey to center racial equity and social justice in all that we do has been the investment strategy employed for the "other 95 percent."
As noted in our opening welcome, this will be the last long form newsletter we will be sending out for the foreseeable future. While we have enjoyed putting these newsletters together, they also require a significant effort that is hard to sustain with part-time staff. Like many of our grantee partners, we are a small organization with limited resources and we are doing our best to streamline operations in a way that ensures long term sustainability in line with fiduciary responsibility.
Until the next time...
Warmly and In Solidarity,
Heather
Heather D. Parish
Executive Director
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Updated 2024 Application Instructions
The Pick Fund will continue utilizing a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) application process in 2024. The LOI is designed to gather key information and data about a proposed funding request and take a relatively short amount of time to complete. Given our focus on support for smaller organizations with budget sizes under $2.5 million, we want to make applying for grant funding as streamlined as possible, and at the same time, provide a way for the Fund to hone in on groups that are in line with its grantmaking guidelines. We anticipate this year's grantmaking cycle being similar to last year's, with LOI's being accepted sometime in the spring. NOTE: If your organization submitted an LOI in 2023 but did not receive an invitation to apply for grant funding, you DO NOT need to resubmit an LOI in 2024, as we are keeping a running list of organizations for future funding consideration.
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2023 Grant Awards Reporting Requirements
For all 2023 grantees, please note that a status report will be due one year from your grant award date. For grantee partners who request to apply for funding again in 2024, you will be asked to submit a status report with your Letter of Inquiry (LOI) this spring, and will not be required to resubmit later in the year. There is no formal report template. We ask that you share what you find the most meaningful, such as how the grant award was used, progress towards goals and notable accomplishments. Please feel free to submit a report you provided to another funder, if appropriate.
As always, if you have any questions about the application process or reporting requirements, feel free to contact Grants & Operations Administrator Alexis Allegra at alexis@albertpickjrfund.org.
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Winter 2023 Grantee Partners | |
Civic Activism
ARISE CHICAGO
CHICAGO COALITION TO SAVE OUR MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS
CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION / GAPA
CHICAGO UNITED FOR EQUITY
COMMUNITIES UNITED
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND FAMILY ISSUES
CROSSROADS FUND
DISABILTY LEAD
HEALING TO ACTION NFP
LUGENIA BURNS HOPE CENTER INC
ORGANIZING NEIGHBORHOODS FOR EQUALITY NORTHSIDE
PEOPLE MATTER
RAISE YOUR HAND FOR ILLINOIS PUBLIC EDUCATION
RED LINE SERVICE INSTITUTE
RESTORE JUSTICE FOUNDATION
SOUTHSIDE TOGETHER ORGANIZING FOR POWER SOUTHSIDERS ORGANIZED FOR UNITY AND LIBERATION
YOUNG INVINCIBLES
Health & Human Services
BUILD INCORPORATED / STICKTALK
CHICAGO FREEDOM SCHOOL
CONNECTIONS FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES OF COOK COUNTY FATHERS FAMILIES HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - CHICAGO
HEARTLAND ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL LLC
KUUMBA LYNX
LA RABIDA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
MOBILE C A R E FOUNDATION
MOTHER AND CHILD ALLIANCE
OPTIONS FOR YOUTH
REFUGEEONE
ST AGATHA'S DREAM BUILDERS ASSN NFP
TFK CHICAGO VOYAGERS
UNITED CHURCH OF ROGERS PARK / CIRCLES AND CIPHERS
Special Initiatives
CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION /
ILLINOIS IMMIGRATION FUNDERS COLLABORATIVE
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Chicago Voyagers has been a Pick Fund grantee partner since 2018 under our Health and Human Services funding category. They have a mission of empowering youth through adventure therapy programs that foster healthy relationships and skills for life success. Chicago Voyagers programming aligns with Pick's funding priorities with its trauma informed practices that offer youth from underserved communities opportunities to experience outdoor adventures that support their emotional growth and learning. And it's fun! Chicago Voyagers has provided 5000 Chicagoland youth with community based and team building activities such as canoeing, mountain biking, camping and rock climbing. We are so honored to be a partner and supporter of this great work! |
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Celebrating 75 Years of The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund
As part of our celebration of 75 years of The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund, we have highlighted the long philanthropic history of its namesake over this past year in our newsletters. Mr. Pick had many causes dear to his heart and he gave generously to important institutions in the Chicago area. A primary source we have cited in our newsletter features is the 1980 biography written by Judith Barnard, "The Indestructible Crown: The Life of Albert Pick, Jr."
Pick Fun Facts: Philanthropy in support of Health and Human Services
La Rabida Children's Hospital, in Chicago's South Shore community, is a legacy grantee partner in our Health and Human Services portfolio, and La Rabida benefited greatly from Mr. Pick's investment of personal time and philanthropic giving. By the 1950s, La Rabida had become one of the most outstanding hospitals in the world for research in and treatment of rheumatic heart disease in children. It was during this time that Mr. Pick served as the hospital's board president, and was known for both his financial generosity and taking leadership in fundraising for a variety of initiatives on the campus, including endowed beds, research facilities and the Laurence Mercer Pick Memorial Library named in honor of his brother. With primary support from his father, Albert Pick, Sr., an outpatient wing was added to the south of the main La Rabida building in 1953, and named the Gertrude Frank Pick Children's Center in honor of Albert Jr.'s mother. Mr. Pick was also the architect of the long standing affiliation La Rabida has with the University of Chicago.
While never confirmed, Mr. Pick's devotion to serving La Rabida may have stemed from his desire to honor the memory of his younger brother Laurence, who died at the age of 25 due to heart damage resulting from his contracting of rheumatic fever as a child. Mr. Pick also held a fondness for the welfare of children, particularly those from under-resourced backgrounds whose circumstances may have contributed to their suffering from chronic illnesses or inability to access quality education, which is why the Pick Fund prioritizes the needs of youth in all of its grantmaking areas.
Since its inception, La Rabida has served children from under-resourced communities and backgrounds regardless of their family's ability to pay, and prides itself on providing the gold standard in health care for children living with chronic illnesses.
Learn more about La Rabida's history!
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Applications open in April for the ART (A Road Together) grant - an initiative
of the Field Foundation in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation to provide grants to small and mid-size Chicago based arts and culture organizations.
Learn More Here
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Prince Charitable Trusts' Aya Initiative
Application Deadline - March 1, 2024
Funding Opportunity for Black Chicagoans Committed to Nature and the Environment
Learn More Here
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Antiracist Restorative Practice Cohort
Application Deadline - March 18, 2024
AMPT's Antiracist Restorative Practice Cohort aims to build the capacity of small, Black- and Latine-led nonprofit organizations, with budgets less than $500,000 on the south and west sides of Chicago.
This 8 month-long virtual experience provides participants:
- Capacity-building tools, skills, and competencies necessary to serve their clients and communities.
- Support in successfully navigating Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Industrial Complex.
- Space to contribute to the collective re-imaging and manifestation of what will be.
- Opportunity to build strong organizational relationships with other nonprofit leaders across Chicago.
- An Executive Coach for 6 months of one-on-one coaching.
- $10,000 organizational stipend to build the capacity of your organization.
Learn More Here
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