Trust Talks
by The Chicago Community Trust
Latest episode
Trust Talks Episode #27: Fueling Small Business Growth in Chicago
Trust Talks Episode #27: Fueling Small Business Growth in Chicago
About this podcast
Chicago’s biggest challenges play out block by block, in homes, neighborhoods, and everyday lives. Trust Talks, brought to you by The Chicago Community Trust, takes listeners inside conversations with experts and changemakers working to build a thriving, more equitable region. From breaking down barriers to homeownership and advancing solutions to homelessness to strengthening college transfer pathways and sustaining our cultural ecosystem, each episode explores the choices, stories and strategies shaping lasting opportunity.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 28 episodes
- Trust Talks Episode #27: Fueling Small Business Growth in Chicago · 40 min · Season 6 Episode 27Small businesses are essential to stabilizing neighborhood economies. They create jobs, activate commercial corridors, and provide the goods and services that help communities…
- Episode #26: Building Opportunity, Block by Block · 38 min · Season 6 Episode 26From 2021 to 2025, We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery (We Rise Together), a funder collaborative led by The Chicago Community Trust, invested $47 million in…
- Episode #25: Transforming College Transfer Pathways in Illinois · 44 min · Season 6 Episode 25In Illinois, nearly 80 percent of community college students say they plan to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree, yet only about 35 percent actually transfer, and just 20…
- Episode #24: Sustaining Chicago's Cultural Ecosystem · 41 min · Season 6 Episode 24Chicago is one of the most influential cultural cities in the United States, known for its distinctive blend of architecture, visual arts, music, theater, and deeply rooted…
- Episode #23: Understanding the Impact of Public Benefits · 43 min · Season 6 Episode 23When most people picture hunger in America, they think of food pantries. Yet for every meal a pantry provides, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – quietly…
- Episode #22: Reimagining Development Through Shared Ownership · 47 min · Season 6 Episode 22As Chicago neighborhoods continue to expand with newly built businesses and homes, new opportunities emerge for residents to shape their communities. Yet, traditional development…
- Episode #21: Navigating Solutions to Homelessness · 42 min · Season 5 Episode 21Over the past decade, homelessness in the Chicago area has been on the rise, and the latest numbers are especially troubling. According to the City of Chicago’s 2025…
- Episode #20: Advocating for Policy Reform · 40 min · Season 5 Episode 20Although nonprofit organizations play a vital role in recognizing and addressing the needs of the community, research shows the percentage of nonprofits involved in advocacy or…
- Episode #19: Confronting Homeownership Barriers · 36 min · Season 5 Episode 19While homeownership is often viewed as a pathway to building wealth, a range of challenges can hinder its effectiveness, particularly for specific groups. These include financial…
- Episode #18: Supporting Our Immigrant Communities · 38 min · Season 5 Episode 18The truth about immigration in the United States is that unless you are Native American, we all came from somewhere else. Yet, in 2025, the country finds itself roiled in trying…
- Episode #17: Leveraging the Power of Data · 45 min · Season 5 Episode 17The Chicago Community Trust’s strategic focus on addressing the racial and ethnic wealth gap was informed by data on the stark differences in health, education and wealth, how…
- Episode #16: Working Collaboratively to Address Community Safety in Chicago · 40 min · Season 4 Episode 16Community safety is an issue that affects all Chicagoans, but especially Black and Latine communities. According to a 2023 report, more than half of Black and Latine residents…
- Episode #15: We Rise Together: For an Equitable and Just Recovery · 29 min · Season 4 Episode 15Launched in 2020 in response to the economic instability caused by COVID-19, We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a Trust-led funder collaborative working with…
- Episode #14: Building a Robust Local Media Landscape · 43 min · Season 4 Episode 14Across the nation, local news outlets have been folding at an alarming rate. In response, philanthropy has stepped up funding efforts to address this decline as America becomes…
- Episode #13: Planning for Equitable Neighborhood Development · 36 min · Season 4 Episode 13Thriving neighborhoods where residents have access to essential services, amenities, and jobs are vital to creating an equitable and prosperous Chicago region. As part of the…
- Episode #12: Closing the Homeownership Gap · 40 min · Season 3 Episode 12Homeownership is one of the most important vehicles for building generational wealth and helping families achieve economic stability; however, Black and Latinx families often…
- Episode #11: Accessing Federal Funds for an Equitable Recovery · 36 min · Season 3 Episode 11The federal government has allocated trillions in federal funds toward relief and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal…
- Episode #10: Creating a Lasting Legacy for the Chicago Region · 36 min · Season 3 Episode 10For more than a century, individuals and families have partnered with The Chicago Community Trust to transform gifts—from wills, trusts, and other vehicles—into lasting impact…
- Episode #9: Civic Engagement Through a Racial Equity Lens · 33 min · Season 2 Episode 9There is a long-held notion civic engagement is declining in the Chicago region. The 2010 Chicago Civic Health Index report even stated “Chicagoland’s civic health is on life…
- Episode #8: Building Neighborhood Wealth with Community Investment Vehicles · 30 min · Season 2 Episode 8The Trust’s Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment strategy is focused on closing the region’s racial and ethnic wealth gap at the neighborhood level by fostering an environment that…
