Cook County Announces Nearly $3 million in Additional Starting Block Grant Awards for Community-Based Organizations

Grant initiative provides capacity building funding to support the growth of organizations throughout Cook County

(Cook County, IL) – On Friday, 06/21/2024, the office of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook County Justice Advisory Council announced an additional $3 million in grant awards under the Cook County Starting Block Grant Initiative. The capacity building grant initiative supports small to medium sized non-profit organizations looking to develop their infrastructure to increase organizational health, growth and sustainability.

“Cook County has long recognized the impact community-based organizations have in the lives of individuals and the vital role they play in communities, particularly those that have been historically underserved,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “Despite being key stakeholders that advance the health, safety and economic success of residents and communities, funding for these organizations to address key operational needs has been limited. We are proud that the Starting Block Grant initiative fills this critical gap and will help many non-profit organizations achieve greater stability now, and for the future.”

The top service sectors for awarded organizations are Education, Violence Prevention, Community and Economic Development, Arts and Culture and Human Services. The 31 awarded organizations serve over 130 different Chicago neighborhoods and suburban municipalities in Cook County. The community areas served by the highest concentration of awarded organizations are Woodlawn, South Shore, Auburn Gresham, Chatham, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park, Near West Side, and South Chicago.

To learn more about the Cook County Starting Block Grant initiative and view the full list of grant recipients, visit CookCountyIL.gov/JACGrants.

Here is the link to Cook County’s full press release announcing the grant awards.


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