Illinois · Nonprofit
GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE
GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE (Illinois) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,475,086 to it, the largest being The Chicago Community Trust ($2,396,880). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 54% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.3M
- Funders on record
- 18
- Grants received
- $5.5M
- Net assets
- $1.1M
What Greater Chatham Initiative does
Mission
Greater Chatham Initiative, inc. (gci)is a collaboration among local and regional stakeholders to develop a comprehensive set of activities and enterprises tailored to help set the chicago south side neighborhoods of auburn gresham, avalon park, chatham, and greater grand crossing on a path to long-term economic growth and community vitality. Since its 2016 founding, gci has worked to reverse decades of disinvestment by building an integrated strategy across business development, corridor development, climate resilience and green initiatives, and public safety.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Corridor developmentmahalias milegci leads the revitalization of mahalias mile, a one-mile commercial corridor along 79th street in chatham designated by the state of illinois as a cultural district. In 2025, the city of chicagos department of planning and development selected gcis application for the commercial corridor storefront activation grant for 79th street, which will invest a total of $2.5 million along the corridor over three years. Gci completed significant beautification work along mahalias mile in 2025, including the installation of 3 new murals on 79th street plus an additional mural on 75th street, 40 new corridor planters, and 40 refreshed light pole banners. In partnership with choose chicago, gci installed neighborhood wayfinding signs at four locations across greater chatham in december 2025, including mahalias mile, the whitney m. Young jr. Library, 75th street restaurant row, and west chatham. A new key mahalias mile anchor, southside market, a co-op micro-grocery store and caf, had its grand openin in 2025. The mahalia jackson micro-plaza and monument project received construction bids and initial funding in 2025 and is targeted for construction in 2027.
$833,607 spent45% of program spendingBusiness development foodlab chicagobusiness development is one of gcis core activities. In 2019, gci launched foodlab chicago, a program that supports food-based entrepreneurs in greater chatham and surrounding south side communities through industry-specific cohort-based programming, peer learning, and one-on-one technical assistance. In 2025, the foodlab chicago program reached a milestone of serving 105 entrepreneurs across six cohorts, helping the secure $8.2 million in capital and create or sustain nearly 500 jobs, with 67% of alumni reporting improved profitability.in may 2025, 21 businesses, including restaurants, caterers, bakers, and a food truck operator, graduated from foodlab chicagos 6.0 cohort. The 2025 cohort programming included expanded financial management training and featured three large public workshops: a menu engineering workshop in january with 121 attendees (90 virtual), storytelling and menus workshop in april with 285 attendees (258 virtual), and an access to capital workshop in may with 211 attendees (167 virtual).in 2025, foodlab chicago expanded its alumni programming through a six-session ai and automations accelerator (august to september 2025) and…
$290,810 spent16% of program spendingHousingsmall building owners exchangegcis housing work focuses on helping existing renters and homeowners stay in their homes and attracting new homeowners to purchase and/or rehab properties. The small building owners exchange (sboe) is a member-based network launched by gci in 2024 for owners of 2- to 4-unit residential properties in the greater chatham community. The sboe connects local property owners to training opportunities, grants and financing opportunities, and legal and utility resources to help them manage and retain ownership of their properties. In 2025, the sboe continued building its membership and delivering monthly meetings through august 2025. Meetings covered topics including energy efficiency opportunities, property tax exemptions, and property management training, and included referrals to legal aid and housing assistance resources.chicago neighborhood recovery programfrom 2017 to 2025, gci served as the city of chicagos community partner in chatham for the chicago neighborhood recovery program (cnrp), focused on enhancing housing stability and supporting new and existing homeowners. Over the life of the program, gci helped facilitate the reoccupation of 163…
$246,418 spent$39,667 earned by the program13% of program spendingUrban greening and climate resiliencetree equity & climate resiliencegci is committed to climate resilience and environmental equity as integral components of community development in greater chatham. 2025 marked a significant expansion of gcis environmental programming with a focus on flood mitigation.gci continued its partication in the tree ambassador program, which engaged community residents in tree planting, maintenance, and stewardship activities. As part of the tree equity program, gci identified sites and planted 40 trees across greater chatham during the fall 2025 planting season, with coordination underway with private property owners for a large-scale spring 2026 planting targeting 100 or more trees. In 2024 and 2025, gci has planted 635 trees across the community. In september 2025, gci hosted tree-a-palooza, a community tree stewardship and celebration event at mahalia jackson court with 114 attendees.as part of gcis expanded flood mitigation work in 2025, gci engaged residents to identify properties for downspout disconnections to redirect stormwater into rain gardens and rain cisterns, with approximately 45 sites identified in 2025 toward a goal of 45 installations…
$173,064 spent9% of program spendingPublic safetyrestorative practicesgcis public safety programming in 2025 centered on restorative practices, an evidence-based approach that addresses the root causes of conflict and harm by fostering accountability, healing, and community trust. Gci delivered restorative practices programming through the end of the 2024-2025 school year in june 2025, working with youth, families, and community members across the four greater chatham neighborhoods.in the third quarter of 2025, gci reengaged restorative practices programming by establishing new school partnerships and launching gci launched social emotional learning (sel) groups and leadership development trainings at partner schools in early october 2025, reaching 66 students. Gci also facilitated a parent workshop on restorative practices at home in september 2025, covering active listening, de-escalation, and strengthening family communication.
$165,361 spent9% of program spendingSocial enterprise & food accesssoul deliveredin 2021, Greater Chatham Initiative formed soul delivered, an l3c food delivery and catering social enterprise that supports south side food entrepreneurs by providing an affordable, community-rooted delivery model. In 2025, soul delivered re-launched with an expanded set of services including single restaurant deliveries, corporate catering for meetings and events, and concierge catering delivery for partner businesses. Soul delivered also updated its brand identity and redesigned its website with mobile-friendly ordering.mahalias gift shop & retail incubatormahalias gift shop, gcis brick-and-mortar and online retail store promoting local artists, makers, and entrepreneurs, operated its refreshed from november 2024 through march, 2025 at 735 e. 79th street as part of the city of chicago small business storefront activation program. During this nine week phase of operation, the shop generated over $14,000 in sales, served 114 customers, hosted five community events, and participated in an off-site vendor showcase reaching 600 attendees. Mahalias launched a retail incubator in january 2025 in partnership with 25 vendors, providing…
$126,058 spent7% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,835,318.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $916k to $2.0M (+121%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 10% · 2020 26% · 2021 19% · 2022 42% · 2024 67% · 2025 29%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Teresa Prim
Chairperson
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 9 funders, grant income rose $400k → $780k.
3 of 18 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 54% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 44% of grant income and the top three 71%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
74% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 63% · 2018 45% · 2019 100% · 2020 78% · 2021 33% · 2022 68% · 2023 34% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
50% of GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
54% of GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $2.5M that is directly attributable, 65% of it comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Organizations like GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
85%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 4 related entities
- 3C Forward L3C · disregarded
- Soul Delivered LC3 · disregarded
- 3C Forward L3C · partnership
- Soul Delivered LC3 · partnership
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE?
- GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE (Illinois) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,475,086 to it, the largest being The Chicago Community Trust ($2,396,880). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 54% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE have?
- IRS filings report 18 organizations giving $5,475,086 in grants to GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE, 12 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE?
- The Chicago Community Trust is the largest funder on record, with $2,396,880 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GREATER CHATHAM INITIATIVE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 18 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing