Applications for Culture Forward Chicago Open Next Week; $3 Million to be Awarded to Chicago Arts and Culture Organizations
CHICAGO (February 4, 2025) — Administered by IFF, the Chicago’s Cultural Treasures (ChiTreasures) initiative is launching applications this coming Monday, February 10, for Culture Forward Chicago, a final round of grant funding, totaling $3 million. Applications will close on March 3.
Open to Chicago arts and culture organizations who are not already part of the ChiTreasures initiative, Culture Forward Chicago aims to support organizations whose missions are to create, preserve, or disseminate art stemming from the traditions and cultures of Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color (BIPOC communities). Grantees will be selected by a Review Committee, primarily composed of local arts leaders and current ChiTreasures grantees, with a minority representation of ChiTreasures funders. Up to 60 grantees will be selected to receive funding through Culture Forward Chicago with awards ranging from approximately $50,000 to $60,000.
Criteria and How to Apply
In addition to focusing on arts and culture stemming from BIPOC cultural traditions, eligible organizations must: 1) not be current ChiTreasures grantees; 2) have a 501(c)(3) status or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization; and 3) be headquartered in or primarily serving the Chicago area.
Interested organizations can apply for Culture Forward Chicago’s grant funding through apply.iff.org.
Funding is provided by the Ford Foundation as part of America’s Cultural Treasures; philanthropist MacKenzie Scott; and a Chicago-based funding collaborative including The Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, and Walder Foundation.
To learn more about Chicago’s Cultural Treasures, visit www.chicagosculturaltreasures.org.
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About Chicago’s Cultural Treasures
ChiTreasures launched in 2021 as a four-year initiative designed to strengthen, grow, and preserve organizations whose mission is to enable the creation, preservation, and dissemination of art stemming from BIPOC traditions, leadership, and culture. A regional component of the Ford Foundation’s America’s Cultural Treasures, ChiTreasures was co-created with the Chicago arts community. The first round of grantmaking awarded $14 million and provided technical assistance to 40 arts and culture organizations representing Asian, Indigenous, Latin American, Black, African, and Middle Eastern cultural traditions. These grantees comprise a diverse group of artforms, neighborhoods, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and have all contributed to Chicago’s history, vibrancy, and identity. A second round of funding totaling $3 million was awarded to the original 40 grantees this past June. In recognition of a pattern of declining funding for Chicago’s arts and culture sector, this final round of grants aims to expand the initiative’s impact beyond the initial 40 grantees.
