Joint Grantee Celebration:
South Side and West Side Giving Circles
Both the South Side Giving Circle and West Side Giving Circles will be coming together to acknowledge our partners who received grant and leadership awards from both circles in 2024.
The South Side Giving Circle was founded in 2018 and mobilizes philanthropic resources of women primarily on Chicago’s South Side and in the South Suburbs to invest in the economic, social and political power of Black Women and girls in those communities. The circle supports Black women-led organizations with annual budgets of less than $500,000. Since its inception, it has awarded over $300,000 in grants to organizations on the South Side and in the South Suburbs across mentoring and career readiness, violence prevention, health equity, and other issue areas.
Current co-chairs: Gizelle Clemens and Dr. Veronica Appleton
The West Side Giving Circle similarly pools the dollars of its members to support Black women-led organizations based in Austin, East and West Garfield Park, and/or North Lawndale and prioritizes organizations with annual budgets of less than $1M. The circle’s goals are to fight against the toll that systemic racism, and decades of neglect and disinvestment has taken on these communities. It fights for deep and lasting transformation, and a reimagination of community leadership that centers Black women and advances racial, social, and economic justice. The West Side Giving Circle launched in 2021 and has made $85,000 in grants.
Current co-chairs: Chartise Clark, Michelle Saddler, Reesheda Graham-Washington, and Sacella Smith
South Side Giving Circle Grantees
South Side Giving Circle Leadership Awardees
Crystal Coats
Connecting Black Women Initiative
Elizabeth L. Carter, Esq.
#BlackCapitalMatters Legal Fund
Erin Barnett
Black Girls Dance
Mekazin Alexander
BA NIA, Inc.
West Side Giving Circle Grantees
