We mobilize resources for Illinois communities to advance a transformative vision.
In Illinois, we have a unique, pressing opportunity and responsibility to protect what we’ve won and create what we need.
We have won big collective victories in the past few years such as:
Establishing a permanent fund to invest in communities harmed by the war on drugs
Statewide ballot measure supporting workers’ right to organize
But we have so much more to do. From Quincy to Bloomington-Normal to East St. Louis to Rockford to Cairo – and beyond – communities are addressing critical issues such as housing, community safety, healthcare access, and more.
The time to support them is now.
Together, we can build the durable power needed to advance a transformative vision for Illinois.
VISION, MISSION & VALUES
Vision: Illinois is a model for progressive governance and liberatory policies that provides power building blueprints for the region and country.
Mission: The Illinois Community Power Fund is the state’s donor table committed to building statewide power to advance racial, gender, environmental, and economic justice.
OUR VALUES
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We believe that funding organizing is vital to building statewide power. When communities have durable power and self-determination and are engaged in co-governance, structural changes are won and protected.
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We are building a donor and funder base that understands that we have a stake in and accountability to movements, clear on the power we can wield for movements, and actively driving strategies to move their institutions and networks to mobilize deeper resources for organizing.
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Our work is not done until there is collective justice and liberation for all in Illinois. We hold a transformative approach to philanthropy where we center work that is genuinely accountable to BIPOC and low-income communities and shift power and self-determination to organizing groups.
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We seek to do our work in ways that sustain the people organizing communities across the state and help funders and donors experience the joy of being part of a rigorous, relational community that is transforming our state.
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We center and believe the lived experiences and analysis of organizing groups. We hold our work in a continuous cycle of learning, practice, and adaptation to ensure that we are grounding our work in clear analysis of how structural change happens.
Meet the Team
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At ILCPF, Amanda builds the strategies and infrastructure needed for movement practitioners, funders, and donors to co-create new philanthropic structures that are genuinely accountable to the movement ecosystem in Illinois. Her work is driven by the belief that how we fund organizing is a critical site for practicing the discipline, abundance, and interdependence needed to forge liberated futures.
Amanda was born and raised in East Central Illinois by her Taiwanese parents and community organizers. Prior to ILCPF, she served as the founding Director of Neighborhood Funders Group’s Midwest Organizing Infrastructure Funders where she built the region’s only program dedicated to training and coordinating funders resource organizing. Her past work also includes managing an equity initiative within a family foundation, facilitating participatory grantmaking processes to fund Asian and Pacific Islander-led power building, building data systems for violence prevention programs, coordinating youth organizing programs, and supporting racial and environmental justice campaigns.
Amanda holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois and Master's degree in Social Administration from the University of Chicago.
Michael Aguhar
Crossroads Fund
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Kira leads individual donor organizing strategy at ILCPF and creates opportunities for individual donors to connect on a deeper level with our work and think through how they can show up as their whole selves as we fight for a more just Illinois.
Kira was raised in New York City and moved to Chicago to work as a tenant organizer. Deeply moved by tenants’ commitment to building power for safe and dignified homes, she sought to build spaces for her own people, wealthy white folks, to apply similar organizing skills and commit to larger movements. Since then, she created a donor organizing program as Development Director at Tenant Education Network, building the Donor Organizing Committee, which tooled donors to better understand tenant organizing and in turn, fundraise their communities. She also organizes with Resource Generation and consults with HouseUS Fund. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Oberlin College
Steering Committee
Jay Travis
Needmor Fund for Social Justice
Brenda Sears
Voqal
Steve Moon
Grand Victoria Foundation
Jawanza Malone, Chair
Wieboldt Foundation
Mathilda DeDios
Voqal
Jane Kimondo
Crossroads Fund
Erica Bland
SEIU Healthcare
Michelle Morales
Woods Fund Chicago
Ryan Canney
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Irene Juaniza
Woods Fund Chicago