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The Archdiocese of Chicago’s Catholic Campaign for Human Development Annual Collection to be held at Parishes the Weekend of Nov. 20-21, 2021

In its 51st year, the annual collection funds grants that help low-income communities break the cycle of poverty.

Chicago - (Nov. 17, 2021) – The Archdiocese of Chicago’s Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the U.S. Catholic bishops’ domestic anti-poverty program, will be held at archdiocesan parishes the weekend of November 20-21, 2021. This national collection is the primary source of funding for CCHD’s community and economic development grants and education programs for locally-based programs. Twenty-five percent of the funds collected remain in each diocese to support local anti-poverty projects. In 2021-2022, CCHD will support 20 non-profit organizations in Cook and Lake counties with nearly $800,000 in grants.

“Since its inception, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has led a grassroots movement for all of us to stand in solidarity with those who have been marginalized in their communities and to act against injustice,” said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago. “CCHD is a way to answer our baptismal call to protect and enhance the life and dignity of all, especially focusing on the lives and dignity of those who are poor, vulnerable or suffering economic or other inequalities.”

CCHD recipients are community groups working to make changes at a local level by developing leaders and giving low-income people a voice in decisions that affect their lives, families and society. The grants are screened and awarded with the approval of Cardinal Cupich and focus on changing systemic inequities that keep people in poverty. They aim to effect economic and community development in marginalized communities; increase access to affordable housing; advocate for the rights of seniors, workers, immigrants and people with disabilities; build communities working for racial equity and justice; prevent violence and promote reconciliation; and respond to the injustices and hardships exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CCHD supports two funding levels for local and national grants. Local grants range from $15,000 to $20,000 and are allocated to support grassroots organizations in Cook and Lake counties. National grants are allocated and administered by the national CCHD office in Washington, D.C., to which the Archdiocese of Chicago contributes a portion of funds collected locally. National grants range from $25,000 to $75,000 and are renewable for up to six years for community development or three years for economic development. Local grantees will receive CCHD funding for three years before they become eligible to apply for national funding.

The 2021-22 grant recipients in Chicagoland include the following organizations: 

Local grantees:

  • Alliance for Community Services
  • Alliance of the Southeast
  • Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership
  • Communities United
  • Southwest Organizing Project
  • St. Agatha Parent & Family Empowerment Initiative
  • United Power for Action and Justice
  • Working Family Solidarity
 
 
 

National grantees:

  • Arise Chicago
  • Centro de Trabajadores Unidos (Immigrant Workers' Project)
  • Chicago Coalition to Save Our Mental Health Centers
  • Chicago Housing Initiative
  • Chicago Workers' Collaborative
  • ChiFresh Kitchen
  • Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization
  • Lake County Sponsors
  • Latino Union of Chicago
  • Logan Square Neighborhood Association
  • Metropolitan Tenants Organization
  • Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality: Northside
  • Progress Center for Independent Living
  • South Side Community Federal Credit Union
  • Southside Together Organizing for Power

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, in his role as the first bishop named general secretary of the NCCB/USCCB, nurtured the vision for the CCHD and helped to shepherd it through its first years. He remained a strong supporter of CCHD while serving as archbishop of Cincinnati and cardinal archbishop of Chicago. Named in his honor, the Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award recognizes the leadership, energy and diverse skills that young people bring to the anti-poverty work of low-income projects and Catholic parishes and highlights the gifts of young leaders and their Gospel commitment to the poor.

For more information about CCHD and the grant application process, please visit https://pvm.archchicago.org/human-dignity-solidarity/catholic-campaign-for-human-development.