FREE IN-PERSON EVENT. Register today.

At last! Join us for this FREE in-person event on Friday, May 20, 2022!  We hope you will join us for lunch and Speed Networking With Funders! 

FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022  

12:00 PM - 2:30 PM 

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF PUERTO RICAN ARTS & CULTURE

 3015 West Division Street   Chicago, Illinois 60622    

LUNCH WILL BE SERVED.

REGISTRATION:  Through 5 pm on Friday, May 13, 2022. 

This program is free for participants, but seats are limited! Registration is required to reserve your space. This will help us to plan for the event more accurately.  We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.    

11:30 AM - Registration: Attendees must show their registration confirmation email.  

 12:00 PM - Lunch and Socializing 

1:00 - Speed Networking with Funders 

2:30 PM - End of program 

*Please note that agenda is subject to change.  

Networking skills have never been more crucial to ensure success for nonprofit fund development professionals, including those serving traditionally under-represented and underserved communities.  At the Speed Networking with Funders, take advantage of the opportunity to meet philanthropic leaders for approximately 20 minutes and learn about the foundation's funding priorities, parameters and grant application review process, and then move on to connect with the next philanthropic leader.   There will be three "meet and greet" rounds formatted in a small group setting.  We encourage participants to prepare two to three questions they would like to ask and bring with them to the session.  Nonprofit and fundraising professionals of all backgrounds are encouraged to attend the 2022 BID event! 

The "Speed Networking with Funders" has been an overwhelmingly popular element at our BID events featuring area funders, which enable an introduction quick enough for participants to meet philanthropic leaders, but long enough for each session to be valuable.  In order to achieve this meaningful goal, the BID Conference has a Non-Solicitation Policy.   

We're updating our list of participating foundations, corporate giving, and grantmakers and will announce them once they are confirmed.  Please visit this page to see the latest updates.  

The participation list is subject to change without notice.

The Chicago Community Trust

The mission of The Chicago Community Trust is to improve the lives of the people in metropolitan Chicago. We believe that the diversity of our community is a fundamental strength of our region. Our mission is best fulfilled when we embrace diversity as a value and a practice.  Through the years, the Trust has created many types of initiatives to help our region—and its foundations, businesses, civic leaders, and individuals like you—most effectively engage with the issues they care about. Through special task forces like these, we tackle issues of concern from innovative angles, or harness the power of civic collaboration for greater impact. Honoring the rich traditions of caring and mutual support within many communities, the Trust’s Affinity Fund giving groups invite individuals and families to join together in philanthropy inspired by a shared heritage or a common cause. www.cct.org

The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation  

The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation is a multi-generational family foundation inspired by a tradition of Tzedakah, lifelong learning, and a commitment to social justice. We are dedicated to advancing educational opportunities for young people and promoting the sustainability of our natural environment. We focus our efforts in Chicago and in communities in which family members live.  We believe that it is our moral responsibility to try and make the world a better, more equitable place. As such, we attempt to address root causes to societal problems and to help the less fortunate, with the ultimate goal of bringing equal opportunity and rich cultural diversity into all of our communities..  We know that our goal—seeking to better society—is lofty and that the challenges are without a single, clear-cut solution. We therefore strive to make forward-looking decisions and to be nimble and flexible in response to the changing needs of those we serve. Our approach includes embracing innovation and well-considered risk, and investing in relevant and creative solutions.  www.kapfam.com

First Midwest Bank, a division of Old National Bank

PHILANTHROPY + COMMUNITY. Our culture of philanthropy and community investment has been strong since our inception. For more than two decades, we have been rated Outstanding on our Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) commitment for servicing communities in low to moderate income areas across our geographic footprint. We are extremely proud to support organizations delivering programs and services in the areas of homelessness, violence prevention, poverty eradication, affordable housing, small business development, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, educational support and so much more. When community organizations are empowered to do their best work, members of the community rise. www.firstmidwest.com

W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation

Founded in 1958, the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation honors its founders’ vision to change the world and make it a better place for this and future generations.  The Foundation is dedicated to bringing about positive change in five major urban areas – Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area — with a commitment to providing the educational and developmental opportunities that support equitable outcomes and enable all children and young people to fulfill their potential.   Since the late 1990s, the Foundation has concentrated its grantmaking in three areas: early childhood development, youth development and education (with an emphasis on teacher quality and principal leadership).  W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone's grandchildren, great-grandchildren and several other family members, who serve as President, trustees, corporate officers and committee members, sustain the Stones’ family tradition of philanthropy and their steadfast conviction that every individual can make a significant contribution to improving the quality of life for others.  www.wcstonefnd.org 

Polk Bros. Foundation 

Polk Bros. Foundation is a private, independent foundation that focuses its work at the intersection of Chicago’s most pressing issues to address the complex roots and devastating effects of poverty, challenge inequity, and ensure that all Chicagoans have the opportunity to reach their full potential. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.polkbrosfdn.org.

Woods Fund Chicago 

Woods Fund is a bold grantmaking foundation that finds-and-funds projects that draw on the power of communities to fight the brutality of structural racism and economic injustice. It promotes social, economic, and racial justice through the support of community organizing and public policy advocacy that engages people that are most impacted. Woods Fund has identified racial equity as a priority for the foundation, and works to continually hone an approach to grantmaking that reflects that commitment. www.woodsfund.org   

Due to lack of nominations the Denise Stennis Awards has been postponed until later in the year. It was due to be held at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture on Friday, May 20. The Breakin' It Down Planning Committee looks forward to presenting the Awards during the BID Conference, to be held in October 2022.  

The Denise Stennis Awards recognize an individual in the nonprofit, philanthropy, and fundraising field and a nonprofit organization who are serving under-represented and underserved communities in the Chicago area, who have integrated racial equity with sustained strategic collaborations, and who lift pragmatic, action-oriented, and tenacious change makers. Denise Stennis Award recipients are credited with sustained contribution of leadership excellence and service in their communities and inspiring others in the field to do the same. The objective of this Denise Stennis Awards program is not only to recognize those who do contribute, but also to inspire others to make similar contributions to the field.