Chicago foundations create FIRST Fund to help address domestic violence
CHICAGO — Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW) — in collaboration with Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, the Michael Reese Health Trust, and other local foundations — announced the launch of Family and Interpersonal Resilience and Safety Transformation (FIRST) Fund, a new fund designed to support innovative and collaborative solutions to domestic and intimate partner violence. The FIRST Fund is a collaborative effort to increase funding available for strategic planning for new and promising initiatives.
“Existing pressures make it difficult for leaders to think beyond the day-to-day responsibilities of service delivery,” CFW President/CEO K. Sujata said. “The Family and Interpersonal Resilience and Safety Transformation Fund will provide resources so organizations can devote serious time and energy to planning for new, collaborative approaches to ending violence in our families and communities.”
“This Fund is about empowering leaders of Chicago’s domestic violence services community to connect with experts and others across sectors to identify new ways to solve entrenched challenges,” Polk Bros. Foundation Senior Program Officer Frank Baiocchi said. “We hope this sparks an opportunity for these leaders to plan first – launch conversations with potential partners, build upon innovative ideas, or work out details of a pilot – and then, ideally, act soon.”
