Cultivate: Leadership Grant Program

Cultivate: Leadership Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Crossroads Fund
Last Updated: August 27, 2025

Summary

The Cultivate: Leadership Grant Program empowers women and nonbinary leaders of color in Chicago by enhancing their skills in social, economic, and racial justice. Since 2013, it has fostered collaboration among diverse leaders, promoting gender and racial equity through intentional developmental support. Participants receive mentorship and coaching to strengthen their professional capabilities while building a connected community. This initiative is a partnership among significant local foundations, focusing on sustainability and growth within organizations led by women of color.

Overview

Nurture and Build on the Power and Strength of Women of Color Since 2013, Cultivate has and continues to build a cadre of emerging women and nonbinary leaders of color engaged in social, economic, and racial justice movements whose collective voice and power can be leveraged to a shared vision of the Chicago region’s future. By bringing together leaders whose work includes gender justice and racial equity, labor rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and immigrant rights, among others, Cultivate aims to transform these movements from the inside, fortify relationships among participants, and foster collaborations across organizations and sectors to advance a shared vision towards equity and justice for all. The Cultivate program is a one-year program supporting the personal and professional development needs of each participant. Cultivate hopes that this work will build the institutions in which these women work by cultivating an intentional gender and racial equity lens and lead to the development of other women leaders within their organizations, especially at the community level. Cultivate is a joint effort of the Crossroads Fund, Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW), Woods Fund Chicago, and the Chicago Community Trust. This program is limited to grantees of those foundations. The goals of Cultivate are to: Support the personal and professional development of women of color leaders, working in advocacy, community organizing and movement building. Reclaim a framework that intentionally utilizes an intersectional racial, economic and gender justice framework. Build a brave and healthy space for all women of color to discuss and learn about indigenous models of leadership and organizational development. Advance the sustainability and longevity of individual women of color leadership, while enabling a pipeline for leaders to emerge Nurture relationships to create a connected community across organizations, foundations, program alumni and their various fields of work. Model promising practices on supporting women of color working in philanthropy, both in their personal and professional growth, as they influence the sector. Additionally, Cultivate supports the personal and professional development needs of each participant through 10 hours of Executive Coaching.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Woman, woman identifying, non-binary, and two-spirited persons of color. Emerging leadership position in a nonprofit organization in greater Chicago Examples of these positions include new executive directors, program directors, organizing directors, policy directors, lead organizers, etc. Funded within the last 4 years by a Cultivate participating foundation (Crossroads Fund, Chicago Foundation for Women, Chicago Community Trust, Walder Foundation, or Woods Fund) 2-6 years of leadership experience in community organizing and policy advocacy Can commit to participating in all Cultivate program sessionsCan commit to participating in ten (10) hours of individual coaching with an Executive Coach.