Endeavor Health awards $8.1M to help partners meet increasing need

Posted January 19, 2026 10:15 am

By Keith Hartenberger, Endeavor Health

Community Investment Fund Capacity Builder program grows access to health, food, housing services

Endeavor Health in Evanston recently announced $8.1 million in Community Investment Fund (CIF) awards, including nine Capacity Builder awards to local organizations and partnerships in the Chicago area.

Now in its fifth year, the fund creates and expands partnerships between Endeavor Health and community organizations to address social drivers of health and remove barriers to care. This year’s awards focus on critical community needs, including behavioral health, food and housing insecurity, access to care and careers in healthcare.

Since its launch in 2022, Endeavor Health’s Community Investment Fund has awarded $38.5 million to 59 local partnerships, helping create more than 650 jobs and touching nearly one million lives across Chicagoland communities.

“Endeavor Health is here every day to support the health and well-being of our patients and their families,” said Kristen Murtos, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer of Endeavor Health. “Through our Community Investment Fund, we’re collaborating with local organizations that people know and trust — helping them remove barriers to care, meet immediate needs and create long-term solutions that help individuals and families thrive.”

Capacity Builder awards are one- to two-year awards, $100,000 to $500,000 per year, designed to build and strengthen skills, resources and infrastructure of community-based organizations.

New 2026 partnerships

• Common Pantry (Chicago) will repurpose existing space for added intake and services for guests, and purchase a new refrigerated van to expand capacity for food rescue.

• Faith Feeds Food Pantry (Palatine) will purchase a refrigerated box truck to transport fresh, healthy perishables during Mobile Food Pantry visits.

• Kenneth Young Center (Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg) will purchase and implement integrated technology platforms to expand access to behavioral health services and increase capacity to serve.

• North Central College (Naperville, Downers Grove) will expand technology and networking infrastructure to build student skill and experience in delivery of telehealth, including pro bono services to clients at West Suburban Community Pantry.

• Omni Youth Services Inc. (Palatine) will train clinicians in treatment therapies to provide access to effective, faster-acting trauma care for children, couples and families.

• PADS Lake County will purchase a fixed-site shelter in Lake County to house up to 160 individuals experiencing homelessness.

• Tapestry 360 Health (Chicago) will lead a strategic planning process and execute revenue cycle management and complementary strategies to adapt to evolving federal priorities – particularly changes in Medicaid policy – that directly impact capacity to maintain access to care.

• The Outreach House (York Township) will purchase a new van to increase capacity to pick up food donations and develop a marketing playbook to expand organizational capacity and improve communication to guests, volunteers, supporters and donors.

• VNA Health Care (Aurora) will expand Aurora health center by 12 exam rooms, lab and 38 parking spaces, increasing primary care access for families.

In December, Endeavor Health announced the inaugural recipient of its CIF Impact Award, Loaves & Fishes Community Services, will receive $1 million per year for five years, totaling $5 million, to expand infrastructure, grow partnerships, and reduce logistical barriers to improve access to fresh, healthy foods for Chicago area residents. Endeavor Health created the new CIF Impact Award to support ambitious five-year initiatives that emphasize innovation and partnership to address complex social drivers of health.

See a complete list of the 2026 CIF partners and programs supported by the CIF: endeavorhealth.org/cif. Learn more about Endeavor Health’s community impact: endeavorhealth.org/community.

Endeavor Health will announce information about the 2027 CIF application process in late March 2026.

About Endeavor Health

Endeavor Health is a Chicago area integrated health system driven by its mission to help everyone in our communities be their best. As Illinois’ third-largest health system and third-largest medical group, it serves an area of more than 4.1 million residents across seven northeast Illinois counties. The more than 28,300 team members, including more than 1,900 employed physicians, are the heart of the organization, delivering seamless access to personalized, pioneering, world-class patient care across more than 300 ambulatory locations and nine hospitals, including eight Magnet-recognized acute care hospitals – Edward (Naperville), Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenbrook (Glenview), Highland Park, Northwest Community (Arlington Heights), Skokie and Swedish (Chicago) and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health Hospital (Naperville). For more information, visit www.endeavorhealth.org.