Movement Building
Where We’ve Been
Funding Movements. Transforming Chicago.
HISTORY
Founded in 1981, Crossroads Fund is a public foundation dedicated to supporting movement building and organizing towards racial, social, and economic justice. Since our founding, we have granted over $11 million to more than 900 organizations organizing against the anti-Blackness, racial capitalism, and settler colonialism at the core of the institutions, structures, and systems in Chicago.
We have GRANTED over $11 MILLION to more than 900 organizations.
CROSSROADS FUND MEASURES ITS SUCCESS THROUGH THE WORK OF THE MOVEMENTS THAT WE FUND.
Consistent and reliable funding has cultivated a robust community of neighbors committed to challenging the systems, structures, and institutions that are designed to destroy lives. These grants have been funded by the community for the community. As a public foundation, every dollar granted is a contribution from the people.
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
The movements that we’ve funded have transformed Chicago and demonstrated the power of community. View a timeline of important movement moments and victories in Chicago since 1981 and significant milestones in Crossroads Fund’s history.
Funding Exchange
Crossroads Fund was a member of the Funding Exchange (FEX), a national network of community-based foundations committed to supporting grassroots movements for social change. FEX was a national network of social justice foundations created in 1979 by young activists with inherited wealth who had a “change, not charity” vision of how they felt their money could make a difference. The founding members pioneered a new approach to philanthropy that sought to redefine the power dynamics of giving, perhaps best represented by the policy of involving community activists in grantmaking decisions.
FEX operated for more than 35 years before deciding to disband. All of the member foundations sought to fund groups working to address the root causes of injustice and make a difference in communities across the country.
To learn more about the Funding Exchange and its history, please visit www.fex.org or download Change Not Charity: The Story of the Funding Exchange – A Pioneer in Social Justice Philanthropy.
FIRST BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CROSSROADS FUND, CIRCA 1981.
FOUNDERS:
Lucy & Peter Ascoli
Margaret Atterbury
Kay Berkson
Ashley Bullitt
Susan Coleman
Jean Hardisty
Paul Lehman & Ronna Stamm
Nancy Meyer
Bob Weissbourd
Ben Wolf
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