Albert Pick, Jr. Fund Staff meet to showcase the work of grantee Project Exploration with representatives from the Chicago Mayor's office, other funders, and an envoy from the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy, Director Dr. Alondra Nelson.

HOW TO APPLY

2024 LOI Process Now Open!

We are excited to announce that as of April 9th, our 2024 grantmaking cycle has opened up with the release of the Letter of Inquiry (LOI) application. Please read the instructions below carefully before submitting your LOI.

If you are a first-time applicant, you will click on the link below and complete the Eligibility Quiz. If you are eligible to apply, you will be directed to the login page for the GivingHub platform where you can create an account and then proceed to follow the instructions to submit an LOI.

If you are a new applicant that submitted an LOI in 2023 but you were not invited to apply for funding, you will NOT need to reapply. You can click here to confirm that we have your organization’s name on the 2023 applicant list. However, if you would like to make changes to your prior submission, you can use the link below. After completing the Eligibility Quiz you will be directed to the login page for the GivingHub platform. From there, you can view your 2023 application to copy and paste that information into your new application. You can then make necessary changes and updates to your new application.

If your organization was asked to take a hiatus year in 2023 or you were a previous grantee of the Pick Fund and you wish to apply for funding, you will need to submit an LOI so that we have your up to date information. After completing the Eligibility Quiz you will be directed to the login page for the GivingHub platform. You will then be asked to create an account to register your organization and can then proceed to complete the LOI application.

Current grantee partners (received funding in 2023) who are applying for 2024 funding will need to update their 2023 LOI and submit a status report. You will be able to access your 2023 application using the link below. After completing the Eligibility Quiz you will be directed to the login page for the GivingHub platform. From there, you can view your 2023 application to copy and paste that information into your new application. You can then make necessary changes and updates to your new application.

Current grantee partners (received funding in 2023) who received a terminal grant will be requested to submit a final grant report by December 31, 2024. More details will be sent later this year.

Per our announcement last fall, the Pick Fund sunsetted its Culture portfolio in 2023. Grantee partners that received funding in this category are welcome to submit an LOI for one of the remaining three funding priority areas if appropriate. Please review the guidelines above for the Civic Activism, Education, and Health & Human Services categories. If you haven’t already, please be sure to explore Culture-related funding opportunities with the Arts Work Fund and the MacArthur Foundation / Field Foundation A Road Together (ART) initiative.

LOI submissions must be completed by 11:59 pm on Friday, May 10th. Organizations will be notified about their application status after The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund Board of Directors meets at the end of June.

The LOI application can be accessed using this link: https://fsrequests.com/albertpick

If you are experiencing technical difficulties accessing your application or getting logged into GivingHub, please click on the button for support in the application link. If you have general questions about the LOI process, please reach out to Alexis Allegra, Grants and Operations Administrator at alexis@albertpickjrfund.org. Finally, if you have specific questions about your organization’s eligibility, you can meet with Heather Parish, Executive Director, during her virtual office hours on the following days:

April 16: 9:00 -11:00 am

April 23 and April 30: 2:00 - 5:00 pm

May 6: 12:00 - 4:00pm

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83269591419?pwd=pFrIfFauaReaHMde9Via1cbSZPNUTh.1

Meeting ID: 832 6959 1419
Passcode: 176784

Finally, in all transparency, due to the overwhelming number of LOI responses we received in 2023, priority was given to existing grantee partners and this may be the case again for this cycle. If you are a new applicant to the Pick Fund, we are not certain as to whether your organization will be extended an invitation to apply for funding. Having said this, we are committed to prioritizing support for community-based early-stage and emerging nonprofits doing work in our three funding priority areas, and we are continuing to assess our existing portfolio so that we can offer this much needed support.

2023 Grant Awards Reporting Requirements

For all 2023 grantees, please note that a status report will be due one year from your grant award date. For grantee partners who request to apply for funding again in 2024, you will be asked to submit a status report with your Letter of Inquiry (LOI) this spring, and will not be required to resubmit later in the year. There is no formal report template. We ask that you share what you find the most meaningful such as how the grant award was used, progress towards goals and notable accomplishments. Please feel free to submit a report you provided to another funder, if appropriate.

If you have any questions on the LOI application process or reporting requirements, feel free to reach Grants & Operations Administrator Alexis Allegra at alexis@albertpickjrfund.org.

OUR GRANTMAKING

We encourage all applicants to read our funding guidelines thoroughly. Please contact staff should you have questions.

Chicago-Based Nonprofits: The Fund considers requests only from nonprofits with offices and separately budgeted programs operating within the City of Chicago.
Project/Program Support and General Operating Funds: Most Fund grants are for project support; in limited instances general operating grants may be awarded to small or single purpose organizations. Grant awards are generally $15,000 or more. Multi-year grants may be awarded to organizations with which the Fund has a history of support.
Priority given to community-based organizations that have annual operating budgets below $2.5 million: However, we recognize that sometimes larger organizations have critical resources and infrastructure that better position them to have a more significant impact on an issue
Reporting Requirements: All grantees will be required to submit a final report. In some instances, a mid-year report may also be required. All reports must be submitted online and should discuss progress made in comparison to objectives set in the original request, barriers to accomplishing objectives and unexpected results (negative and positive). Reports must include budget/expenditure information. If a grantee is submitting a renewal grant application, the final report from the previous year should be attached the new proposal.
Programs considered for funding are restricted to fit within the focus areas described under each funding category in our guidelines. General operating requests will only be considered for smaller or single-purpose organizations whose programs align with a specific subcategory. Before future renewal grants will be considered, an organization must fulfill requirements of prior grants, including submission of a grant acknowledgement letter and required reports.
Culture Category Funding: Please note as of 2024, The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund has ceased funding in the Culture category in order to focus its attention and resources on grantee organizations in our three other priority areas.

OUR GUIDELINES

CIVIC ACTIVISM

COMMUNITY & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Goal: to increase the participation of youth and adults in the civic processes that affect their lives and the well-being of their neighborhoods.

Grantmaking: The Fund supports programs that educate community residents about civic processes and assist and support their engagement in promoting policies and government actions that respond to their own needs as well as the needs of their community. Examples are a community organization that engages parents in school reform/improvement, a youth program that gives youth a voice in neighborhood violence prevention and an agency that brings people together to advocate for improved services in their community.

EDUCATION

ENGAGING APPROACHES TO LEARNING

Goal: to increase students' (K-12) desire for and teachers' ability to promote in-school, out-of-school and at-home learning by creating positive experiences for young people to relate to academic subjects, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), in ways that are engaging, challenging and fun and to provide professional development for educators.

Grantmaking: The Fund is interested in programs that respond to young people’s natural curiosity, provide opportunities for discovery and problem-solving, include hands-on projects, promote self-esteem and foster eager learners. Our preference is for programs that relate to academic subjects, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), but not necessarily standardized tests or Common Core, and include activities to engage parents and expose school teachers to positive teaching strategies. We also prioritize programs that target mostly minority populations or girls with STEM education and promotes careers in science and technology. The emphasis for the Fund is on making the process of learning more fun and exciting along with content mastery as well as increasing the capacity of educators to effectively teach academic subjects and encourage learning in engaging ways. Please note that individual schools are not eligible.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

VIOLENCE AFFECTING YOUTH

Goal: to reduce violence that affects children and youth in and around schools and neighborhoods.

Grantmaking: While all services that engage young people (e.g. after school programs, arts programs, counseling, etc.) can be thought of as helping reduce violence, the time frame for these to be effective is often long. In addition, these services may not reach youth more likely to be victims or perpetrators. There is an urgent need for programs that will have an effect on violence over the short term. The Pick Fund supports programs that target those most likely to be in violent situations, especially those youth who have dropped out of school, have had previous histories with the juvenile justice system or have been exposed to trauma. Examples of programs include alternatives to incarceration, social and mental health services, restorative justice and policy changes. The Fund gives special consideration to programs that use restorative justice.

UTILIZATION OF HEALTH SERVICES BY CHILDREN & YOUTH

Goal: to increase the use of the full range of health, dental, medical and mental health services by children and youth.

Grantmaking: The Fund supports programs that are youth-focused and youth-friendly. Programs should make youth more aware of the services that are available to them, offer specialized services to meet the needs of youth or work to change policies to increase the accessibility of health services for children and youth. Examples are LGBTIA+ friendly health services, peer education to alert teens of health issues and mobile clinics that reach youth where they are. Mental health programs are generally given priority.

SPECIAL INITIATIVES

Goal: to enable the Fund to have some flexibility to support special programs or projects outside of the established Focus areas.

Grantmaking: Funds are used for: special projects of the grantmaking community, a unique project that meets a pressing need or other projects/programs/organizations identified by the Directors. Unsolicited proposals are not accepted for this category.

LIMITATIONS

Organization may only submit an application only once per calendar year. The Fund's policies also limit, restrict or prohibit support to:

Individuals
Nonprofits whose programs are not within the City of Chicago
Nonprofit organizations not exempt under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
Fraternal, veteran, labor, athletic or religious organizations serving a limited constituency
Professional groups with volunteer service programs
Individual elementary or secondary schools
Local chapters of state, regional or national organizations, except those with separately budgeted Chicago-based programs, which otherwise meet these Guidelines
Hospitals
Local chapters of single-disease agencies
Building programs, endowment funds or capital campaigns
Campaigns for the reduction or liquidation of debt
Student aid or scholarship programs
Political, lobbying, or voter registration programs, or those supporting the political candidacy of a particular individual
Travel - individual or group
Fundraising events or benefits including sponsorship, tickets or courtesy advertising
Organizations that may create a conflict with our goals, programs, officers, directors or employees

LAW STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM LAUNCHES MAY 1ST

The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund Law Student Scholarship Program was established in 2003 to assist a first-year or second-year law student who is a long-term resident of Chicago studying at one of four law schools in the Chicago area: DePaul University College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago Kent College of Law, Loyola University College of Law and University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Law.

One scholarship of $5,000 is offered each year to support full-time study for a student that demonstrates financial need with preference given to historically underrepresented students.

If you or someone you know would like to apply, please visit https://learnmore.scholarsapply.org/albertpickscholarship/