GRANTMAKING

The Field Foundation makes grants and awards in three ways:


“When it comes to the racial equity movement, we need to be seen by our grantees as strategic partners who bring value to the movement, above and beyond the value of a grant.”

— Field President Daniel O. Ash

Funding Eligibility

The Field Foundation seeks to invest in organizations working to address systemic issues in divested communities. We see our current, past and prospective grantee partners as immense sources of power that need support in achieving objectives that will serve their communities. We seek to learn more about them for potential investment of our limited dollars.


Collage of Field Foundation grantee partners, including community organizers, dancers, and journalists

Photography by Felton Edward Kizer

Racial Priorities

The Field Foundation is committed to investing 60% of its portfolio in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) organizations throughout the Chicago area. BIPOC organizations can be classified in the following way: By, for, and about serving BIPOC individuals, cultures, and communities. To assess whether your organization fits into this definition, please consider the following:

  • BY: Your leadership and board are directed, managed, and/or led by majority BIPOC individuals.

  • FOR: Your organization primarily works to improve social conditions for BIPOC cultures, communities, and individuals.

  • ABOUT: Your organization’s mission references your commitment to serving BIPOC communities.

While the Field Foundation will continue to fund a range of nonprofits, we will be race explicit in our work and focus on understanding how funding with a racial equity lens can improve outcomes for Chicagoans.

Geographic Priorities

To understand how need and race align throughout the city of Chicago, the Field Foundation created a series of maps. The maps outline a geographic study area where less than 20% of the residents identify their race as White. They analyze quality of life indicators such as educational outcomes, access to health insurance, commute times, violence rates, and access to arts and culture in those areas. By overlaying race with these quality of life indicators, we found there is an incredible divestment of resources leading to a nexus of poverty and trauma that align with communities of color in Chicago. Using these findings in collaboration with our racial priorities, we have created the following geographic funding preferences:

  1. Study Area – (A) Organizations located and working in these communities

  2. Surrounding areas – (B) Organizations located and working in communities surrounding the heatmap area

  3. Surrounding suburbs – (C) Organizations located and working in the surrounding suburbs within Justice, Art and Leadership Investment

  4. Citywide Efforts and Powerhouses – (D) Organizations located outside of the heatmap but working in ways that share resources, power and funding to benefit those within the heatmap and throughout the city