Two nonprofits win $100,000 Impact 100 Chicago grant

Two Chicago-area nonprofits each won a $100,000 grant from Impact 100 Chicago Tuesday night at Arlington Park and will use the money to empower transgender individuals in the workplace and expand foster care services.

Four agencies presented to Impact 100 Chicago's 200 women members.

"Each nonprofit gave a 10-minute speech. There were no fancy powerpoints or video presentations, just speaking from the heart and sharing the passion for what they do," said Jennifer Frighetto, Impact 100 Chicago Public Relations chair.

Afterward, the members voted, and Chicago House and Social Service Agency and Court Appointed Special Advocates of Cook County walked away with the two $100,000 grand prizes.

Maywood Fine Arts Association and Evanston Scholars each received a $5,000 merit grant.

Chicago House and Social Service Agency will expand its TransWorks program to secure employment for 75 transgender individuals by providing them with services and resources through a career specialist. The grant will also facilitate 48 TransWorks training sessions with employers.

With 5,800 children in foster care, Chicago-based CASA will use the money to support the salaries of two additional advocate supervisors, create bilingual materials to recruit English and Spanish-speaking volunteers, upgrade technology to provide continued education training and provide transportation for youth transitioning out of foster care to attend various workshops.

"These are game-changing grants for some nonprofits," Frighetto said.

Impact 100 Chicago was created by three Barrington residents and is an all-volunteer women's philanthropic nonprofit that awards transformational grants to local nonprofits while empowering women to improve lives through philanthropy.

Members pool their $1,000 donations to award the grants each year.