← Back to US Funders Directory

Crossroads Fund

Annual Giving
$5.8M
Grant Range
$5K - $0.1M
Decision Time
4mo

Crossroads Fund

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $5,800,000 (FY23)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: 4-5 months (Seed Fund); 6 weeks (Technical Assistance); 7 days (Emergency Fund); 4-6 weeks (Solidarity Fund)
  • Grant Range: $5,000 - $50,000
  • Geographic Focus: Chicago Metropolitan Area (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will counties, IL and Lake County, IN)

Contact Details

Address: 3411 West Diversey Avenue Suite #20, Chicago, Illinois 60647

Phone: 773-227-7676

Fax: 773-227-7790

Email:

Website: https://crossroadsfund.org

Pre-Application Support: Crossroads Fund encourages applicants to share a draft or one-pager with staff at least one week prior to the grant deadline for feedback.

Overview

Founded in 1981, Crossroads Fund is a public foundation dedicated to supporting movement building and organizing toward racial, social, and economic justice in the Chicago metropolitan area. With assets of approximately $18.7 million, the organization collectively moved $5.8 million to 218 grantee partners in FY23. Crossroads Fund pools resources from individuals, foundations, and businesses to build a broad base of support for grassroots organizations for social change. Since founding, the organization has granted over $11 million to more than 900 organizations organizing against anti-Blackness, racial capitalism, and settler colonialism at the core of institutions, structures, and systems in Chicago. The fund prioritizes supporting new and emerging groups working for racial, social, and economic justice, providing critical support from the beginning.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Seed Fund: $5,000 - $15,000 The largest grantmaking fund supports long-time, well-established organizations as well as new, emerging, and/or small community-based organizations actively engaged in social change work. Funding provided for general operating, start-up costs, or project expenses. Applications typically due in February, with decisions made in late June/early July.

Community Resilience Fund: $5,000 - $30,000 Provides rapid-response funding to communities facing heightened political threats, resourcing time-sensitive shifts in organizing and campaigns, emerging mobilizations or direct actions and/or legal assistance, and digital security to meet the current political moment. Rolling basis application.

Critical Response Fund: $5,000 - $10,000 For critical moments requiring immediate response. Application review takes approximately 7 working days.

Youth Fund for Social Change: $5,000 - $15,000 Provides resources to young people working on social justice issues in their communities. Applications reviewed by a Grantmaking Committee made up of board members, staff, youth organizers, and young people. Decisions typically made by early February.

Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund: $25,000 - $50,000 Requests are for general operating support and grants range between $25,000-$50,000.

Solidarity Fund: $20,000 - $30,000 Applicants may request between $20,000-$30,000 for general operating expenses. Funding decisions made every 4-6 weeks.

Technical Assistance Fund: Amounts vary Supports capacity building, organizational infrastructure and development training. Examples include organizational growth, tech upgrades, IT management consultant services, and technology equipment. Application review takes approximately 6 weeks.

Capacity Building Initiative: Up to 40 hours of technical assistance In partnership with Woods Fund Chicago, provides high-quality technical assistance to grantees. Requires commitment to 40 hours for work plan development and up to 6 hours for workshops and peer learning.

Priority Areas

  • Social Change Organizing: Groups that involve people directly affected by an issue at all levels of the organization – in planning, organizing, and leading
  • Grassroots Leadership: Organizations building leadership within the grassroots community
  • Collaborative Work: Groups working in alliance with other progressive organizations to build multiple strategies for bringing social change
  • Risk-Taking: Organizations doing work that may be controversial, marginalized, and/or new and emerging
  • Strategic Vision: Groups working with a long-term vision that clearly links to current plans
  • Concrete Success: Organizations achieving positive impact in their communities
  • Racial, Social, and Economic Justice: All work must address issues of justice in the Chicago area
  • Budget Size: Most programs target organizations with budgets under $500,000 (some under $300,000)

What They Don't Fund

  • Individuals: No scholarships, fellowships, or grants to individuals
  • Geographic Exclusions: Organizations not rooted in the Chicago Metropolitan Area (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will counties, IL and Lake County, IN)
  • Large Organizations: Generally excludes groups with annual budgets over $500,000
  • Pure Service Provision: Social services are supported only when linked with activism and social change work
  • Community Resilience Fund Specific: Does not cover general operating expenses, ongoing programming, or regularly scheduled events (rapid response only)

Governance and Leadership

Executive Leadership

Jane Kimondo, Executive Director (since July 2019) Jane has been with Crossroads Fund for 14 years, previously in the Program Department. Born and raised in Kenya, she brings extensive experience in international community development, nonprofit leadership, and community organizing. On change-making, Jane states: "Change is possible when we uplift those voices of grassroots folks and create opportunities for them to shine. Change is possible when we're able to share our stories with one another." Leslie Ramyk from the Conant Family Foundation notes that Jane "really pushed us in the best possible way to think seriously about the privilege and the power of our role working at foundations."

Michael Aguhar, Program Director

Lizette Garza, Program Director

Board of Directors

Recent board members include:

  • Makkah Ali - Director on the Managed Organizations team at Arabella Advisors
  • Cecile DeMello - Community organizer and Executive Director of Teamwork Englewood
  • Lee Andel Dewey - Provides accounting, bookkeeping, and consultation services under LADhoc Accounting
  • Brenda Hernandez - Co-Director of the Allied Media Conference and AMSeeds convenings of Allied Media Project
  • Muhammad Sankari - Lead Organizer at the Arab American Action Network

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

All applications must be submitted through Crossroads Fund's online grant portal - they no longer accept applications by mail. Applicants create an account or log in to the portal at crossroadsfund.org, click APPLY in the upper menu, scroll down to the lower right corner, and click "Apply" to start the application.

Eligibility:

  • 501(c)(3) organizations
  • Fiscally-sponsored organizations (fiscal sponsorship recommended but not required for groups without tax-exempt status)
  • 501(c)(4) organizations and cooperatives
  • Groups with organizational bank accounts (if not using a fiscal sponsor)

Pre-Application Feedback: Crossroads Fund can and will respond to requests for feedback. Applicants should share a draft or one-pager with staff at least one week prior to the grant deadline. Different funds have designated staff contacts for feedback.

Application Requirements:

  • All applications must clearly demonstrate work falls within Funding Criteria
  • Include a timeline and budget that reflects proposed objectives and activities
  • Demonstrate grassroots leadership and social change organizing approach

Decision Timeline

Seed Fund:

  • Application deadline: Generally February
  • Review process: March to June
  • Each application screened by staff and Giving Project alumni
  • Applications meeting criteria reviewed and selected for site visit by Grantmaking Committee (GMC)
  • Site visits conducted with at least one staff member present
  • All applicants notified within a week of Board's decision, generally late June or early July

Youth Fund for Social Change:

  • All applicants notified within a week of Board's decision, generally by early February

Technical Assistance Fund:

  • Application review process: Approximately 6 weeks

Emergency Fund:

  • Application review process: Approximately 7 working days

Critical Response Fund / Community Resilience Fund:

  • All applicants notified by phone call or email on rolling basis

Solidarity Fund:

  • Funding decisions made every 4-6 weeks

Notification Methods: Phone call or email

Success Rates

Specific success rate percentages are not publicly disclosed. In FY24, Crossroads Fund awarded $5,340,925 to 221 organizations, with grant amounts ranging from $700 to $50,000. The number of total applications received is not published.

Reapplication Policy

Crossroads Fund welcomes feedback requests from unsuccessful applicants. Organizations can share drafts with staff at least one week prior to grant deadlines to receive input on how well proposed work aligns with current grantmaking priorities and funding strategies. No specific waiting period or restriction on reapplication is mentioned - organizations appear able to apply during subsequent application cycles.

Application Success Factors

Specific Guidance from Crossroads Fund

Grassroots Leadership is Critical: Crossroads Fund explicitly supports groups that involve the people who are directly affected by an issue at all levels of the organization – in planning, organizing, and leading. Applications must demonstrate how those most impacted are leading the work.

Define Your Social Change Work Clearly: The fund defines social change work as "people in communities collectively working together to challenge the conditions, institutions, and policies that maintain inequality and oppression." Applications should frame work using this lens rather than pure service delivery.

Demonstrate These Four Qualities:

  1. Collaborative: Working in alliance with other progressive groups to build multiple strategies for social change
  2. Risk-Taking: Doing work that may be controversial, marginalized, and/or new and emerging
  3. Strategic: Working with a long-term vision that clearly links to current plans
  4. Achieving Concrete Success: Positively impacting the community in measurable ways

Use Pre-Application Feedback: The most important tip from Crossroads Fund is to contact staff early with a draft for feedback to ensure your proposal aligns with their current priorities. This is explicitly encouraged and can significantly improve application quality.

Show Movement Building: Since 1981, Crossroads has focused on "bolstering" grassroots movements. Applications should demonstrate how the organization is part of broader movement building efforts, not operating in isolation.

Be Prepared for Site Visits: Applications meeting criteria are selected for site visits by the Grantmaking Committee. These are structured as discussions, not interviews, with a "relaxed tone." Be prepared to engage in authentic dialogue about your work.

Link Services to Activism: If you provide social services, you must clearly demonstrate the activism and social change component. Crossroads supports social services only when linked with social change organizing.

Budget Considerations Matter: Organizations should be realistic about budget size. Most programs target groups under $500,000 annual expenses, with some programs specifically for organizations under $300,000.

Example Grantees and Focus Areas

Recent awards include organizations working on health care access, youth organizing, workers' rights, criminal justice reform, and many other issues concerning social and economic justice. Special awards include the Donald F. Erickson Synapses Award, the Lynda J. Tipton Memorial Award for Social Justice, and the Ron Sable Award for Activism.

FY25-26 award recipients include Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition (CBA) for the Ron Sable Award for Activism and First Defense Legal Aid for the Donald F. Erickson Synapses Award.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Use the pre-application feedback opportunity - This is explicitly encouraged and can significantly improve your application's alignment with current priorities. Contact staff at least one week before the deadline.

  • Demonstrate grassroots leadership clearly - Show how people directly affected by the issue are involved at all levels of planning, organizing, and leading, not just as beneficiaries.

  • Frame work as social change organizing, not just services - Even if you provide direct services, emphasize the organizing, advocacy, and systems-change components of your work.

  • Show you're collaborative and movement-oriented - Crossroads values organizations working in alliance with other progressive groups toward long-term strategic vision.

  • Budget size matters for eligibility - Most programs target organizations under $500,000, with some under $300,000. Be realistic about fit.

  • Geographic boundaries are firm - You must be rooted in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, or Will counties in Illinois, or Lake County, Indiana.

  • Prepare for site visits as dialogue - If selected, expect a conversational discussion about your work, not a formal interview. Be ready for authentic engagement.

  • Consider the Giving Project model - Understanding that grantmaking decisions involve board, staff, and community members from the Giving Project helps frame how diverse perspectives will review your work.

  • Be willing to take risks - Crossroads explicitly values organizations doing controversial, marginalized, or new/emerging work. Don't shy away from bold approaches.

  • Understand the decision timeline varies by program - Plan accordingly: Seed Fund takes months (Feb application, June/July decision), while Emergency Fund takes about a week.

References

🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.

Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.

✓

Data privacy and security by default

✓

Your organisation's past successful grants and experience

✓

AI analysis of what reviewers want to see

✓

A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours

Join the Launch ListLearn More
← Back to US Funders Directory