Polk Bros. Foundation to release three grant opportunities to support community-driven efforts and help shape future grantmaking  

Together, these grants will total $3 million  

CHICAGO — Polk Bros. Foundation will issue three Requests for Proposals (RFPs) between now and early May 2026, totaling $3 million in grantmaking. These RFPs are part of the Foundation’s transition toward its new grantmaking goals and provide an opportunity to support community-driven work in Chicago while informing how the Foundation makes grants in the future.  

Each RFP will total $1 million in one-year grants and support progress toward one of the Foundation’s three new grantmaking goals: Closing the Life Expectancy Gap; Building Community Wealth, Across Generations; and Fostering a Participatory, Multiracial Democracy. 

“As we prepare to fully launch our new grantmaking strategies this fall, we want to make sure our approach is shaped by the insights of nonprofits and community leaders,” said Polk Bros. Foundation CEO Gillian Darlow. “Our recently-established Advisory Cohorts have been invaluable in helping us listen deeply, and now these RFPs allow us to put new resources into the hands of organizations doing critical work. We know there is much to learn from their efforts, and we’ll continue listening closely as we lean into the work ahead.” 

Releasing on a staggered schedule over the next few months, the RFPs will focus on: 

Polk Bros. Foundation Grantmaking Goal	RFP Focus	RFP Opens
Closing the Life Expectancy Gap	Risk Reduction Strategies to Prevent Overdose	February 17
Building Community Wealth, Across Generations	Emerging Strategies to Advance Shared Ownership	March 2
Fostering a Participatory, Multiracial Democracy	Next Generation Power-Building	May 4

These funding opportunities are intended to surface and support strong, community-driven ideas while keeping the process clear and manageable for applicants. “These RFPs are another way for us to engage with the incredible work happening in our communities,” said Polk Bros. Foundation Vice President of Programs Anna Lee. “The insights we gain will help guide future grantmaking so it truly reflects the ideas and needs of the people and organizations doing this important work.” 

Application Process  

Each RFP will have a two-step application process: a brief letter of interest (LOI) phase and a full application phase. To respect applicants’ time, the letter of interest will focus on high-level information, and the Foundation will only request full proposals from organizations most closely aligned with the RFP’s specific criteria and outcomes. Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will be notified and given at least four weeks to complete the application. All other applicants will receive an update at the conclusion of the process. 

High-level details and timelines for each RFP are provided below. Each RFP will include full criteria and grantmaking guidelines.* 

 

Upcoming Requests for Proposals 

Polk Bros. Foundation Goal: Closing the Life Expectancy Gap
RFP Focus: Risk Reduction Strategies to Prevent Overdose 

Application Opens: February 17, 2026
LOI Deadline: March 16, 2026, 5pm
RFP Full Application Invitation Sent: April 20, 2026
RFP Full Application Deadline: May 15, 2026, 5pm
Grants Awarded: August 7, 2026

Details: Drug overdose remains one of the top causes of unnatural death in Chicago. While the city has seen a drastic reduction in drug-related deaths, residents on the south and west sides remain at high risk of early death due to overdose. 

With this RFP, Polk Bros. Foundation is interested in supporting harm-mitigating programs, services, advocacy, and evidence-building for effective solutions that center the reduction of risk related to drug use and overdose. 

The grants are seeking effective interventions to prevent and reduce the disparity in and number of overdose deaths. Efforts should be grounded in justice and human rights, focusing on positive change and working with people without judgment, coercion or discrimination. This RFP also seeks to support projects that build community partnerships that reduce trauma related to drug use. And lastly, Polk Bros. Foundation is interested in supporting non-lobbying policy and advocacy strategies that center and resource overdose prevention that is offered at low or no cost and is broadly accessible.

The LOI deadline has passed for this opportunity. Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will be notified and given at least four weeks to complete the application.

Polk Bros. Foundation Goal: Building Community Wealth Across Generations
RFP Focus: Emerging Strategies to Advance Shared Ownership 

Application Opens: March 2, 2026
LOI Deadline: March 27, 2026, 5pm
RFP Full Application Invitation Sent: April 27, 2026
RFP Full Application Deadline: May 22, 2026, 5pm
Grants Awarded: August 7, 2026 

Details: Community wealth building (CWB) strategies are gaining momentum both nationally and locally as an effective, impactful and sustainable approach to strengthening communities and to create pathways out of poverty and toward economic opportunity. Shared ownership models create opportunities for low-income Chicago residents to collectively own their own labor and housing in ways that contribute to their individual, family and community resilience. 

This RFP proposes a focused, time-bound investment in Chicago’s CWB ecosystem to advance shared ownership models that are consistent with 501(c)(3) requirements as a key strategy for achieving Polk Bros. Foundation’s goal of Building Community Wealth Across Generations.  

We invite proposals that sustain, support or scale commercial and/or residential shared ownership models working with communities and residents of economically distressed neighborhoods and/or individuals experiencing poverty, as well as efforts that strengthen the broader ecosystem through technical assistance, education and awareness-building. 

The LOI deadline has passed for this opportunity. Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will be notified and given at least four weeks to complete the application.

Polk Bros. Foundation Goal: Fostering a Participatory, Multi-Racial Democracy 
RFP Focus: Next Generation Power-Building 

Application Opens: May 4, 2026
LOI Deadline: June 5, 2026, 5pm
RFP Full Application Invitation Sent: July 20, 2026
RFP Full Application Deadline: August 14, 2026, 5pm
Grants Awarded: November 13, 2026 

Details: Harmful and pervasive narratives have portrayed Chicago as a city that has lost control of its youth, relying on isolated incidents of violence, teen trends, and other sensationalized moments to construct an exaggerated and misleading storyline. Embedded within this framing is the assumption that the next generation of Chicagoans is disengaged from neighborhood and city issues – an assumption often attributed to declining civic participation and an erosion of trust. 

Polk Bros. Foundation’s new funding opportunity is intended to fund next-generation power building. Youth-led movements have a demonstrated history of advancing positive change in their communities, in narratives and in policy. The Foundation seeks to nurture and elevate the civic leadership and brilliance that we know is abundant among young people across Chicago’s neighborhoods by supporting youth-led collective action initiatives that address specific issues of significance to young Chicagoans (up to age 26). 

Eligible projects may include community organizing, non-lobbying policy and advocacy efforts, mutual aid and/or other power building strategies, and must clearly center youth voice, agency, leadership, and self-determination and demonstrate a clear youth-identified objective. 

The LOI deadline has passed for this opportunity. Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will be notified and given at least four weeks to complete the application.

 

 

 

 

* Further notes on all grants related to these RFPs and all grantmaking of the Foundation: All applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations that hold active, IRS-recognized tax-exempt status and operate exclusively for charitable and/or educational purposes, or have a formal engagement with a fiscal sponsor that meets these criteria. Additionally, organizations must operate within the city limits of Chicago. Programs and initiatives must be designed to help individuals, families, and neighborhoods experiencing high levels of poverty and chronic disinvestment. Grant activities must be structured in a way to avoid private benefit or inurement.  

Grant funds may not be used for lobbying or electioneering activities, inciting political violence, or any activities prohibited by laws governing the work and grants of private foundations. All grants and grant awards will be selected on an objective and non-discriminatory basis, according to evaluation criteria detailed in each RFP.