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February 2022 News

Spring Grant Cycle | Now Open

Community Memorial Foundation is now accepting applications for its Spring Grant Cycle. Applications are due on March 15, 2022 by 5:00pm CST.

In an effort to further streamline our grantmaking processes and reduce the burden on our grantee partners, the Foundation has eliminated the need to include an annual report, strategic plan, and logic model attachments as part of our grant application. While we believe these documents represent important steps in organizational strategy and program development, we also trust that our partners have established processes that best articulate their organizational practice.

The Foundation also encourages applicants to review its revised Funding Priorities for 2022. While the priorities themselves remain fundamentally unchanged, CMF board and staff have made meaningful revisions to the Foundation’s values and priorities in light of our ongoing commitment toward advancing racial and health equity in our communities.

Questions? Please contact program staff at 630.654.4729.


2022 Leadership Institute Continues Its Focus on Advancing Racial Equity & Leadership Development

Community Memorial Foundation continues its journey towards encouraging leadership development and advancing racial equity with intentionality and purpose. After soliciting feedback from our grantees, the Foundation will once again provide a series of Leadership Institute offerings aimed at advancing racial equity, as well as leadership development workshops provided by the Center for Creative Leadership.T

This year’s racial equity series will focus on the following:

It will also feature equity learning circles and an application process where organizations can receive coaching to develop racial equity assessments, action plans, and more inclusive environments for their staff and partners.

This year’s leadership development workshops will focus on:

  • Direction, Alignment, and Commitment
  • Learning Agility

Programs begin in March and are open to staff of current CMF grantee organizations. Please contact Tom Fuechtmann, Senior Program Officer, with questions.


Community Health Worker Update

The Community Health Worker Initiative in West Suburban Cook County is expanding beyond its three-year pilot stage at a pivotal moment for the development of the CHW workforce in the State of Illinois.

Designed as a learning collaborative, the West Suburban Cook County CHW Initiative is the first of its kind in the country and now serves as a model for other communities seeking to provide CHWs with ongoing education and support from experts in public health and social services. The collaborative unites 12 CHWs from five community organizations serving diverse populations, and is facilitated by Health & Medicine Policy Research Group and Sinai Urban Health Institute, with funding from Community Memorial Foundation and Healthy Communities Foundation.

In year 3 of the West Suburban Cook County pilot, the State of Illinois passed the Illinois Health Care and Human Services Reform Act (Public Acts 102-0004 and 102-0674), recognizing the impact of CHWs in addressing health inequities, and opening pathways to support the sustainability of the workforce through training, voluntary CHW certification, and reimbursement.

The Foundation and its partners hosted a webinar in January focusing on the legislation’s implications for CHWs and their employers. Nearly 400 individuals attended the session, eager to convene and collaborate at this pivotal moment.

A recording of the webinar can be accessed here, along with bilingual (English/Spanish) fact sheets and resources for understanding the current CHW landscape.

Questions? Please contact Nan Silva, Program Director, at 630.654.4729.

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