2010 Request for Proposals
The Eleanor Foundation makes grants and helps build programs that promote sustained economic self-sufficiency for Chicago's working class women. We leverage our resources and expertise with those of others to launch initiatives that support our market: working women heads of households who earn no more than $40,000—far less than a single parent and two children need to survive, let alone thrive.
Eleanor Network: Services for Single Working Women's Economic Success
Launched in 2006 through our Self-Sufficiency Initiative, the Eleanor Network is a citywide system of programs and resources we are building to fill a long-standing void in services that meet single working women's economic needs. Through the Network, women address their career education, childcare, housing or money management issues that are barriers to their self-sufficiency.
Currently, the Eleanor Network is comprised of 5 "Hub" partners that operate as single-points-of-access to integrated services for single working women. It also includes 9 resource partners that offer specialized services, especially employer-driven skills training that advance working women with limited incomes.
Investments in the Eleanor Network since its launch now total $3.9 million.
2010 Grants: Our Ongoing Commitment to Working Women and Their Families
The Eleanor Foundation remains dedicated to expanding the range of Eleanor Network programs built through our Self-Sufficiency Initiative. Through our 2010 grant awards, we will focus on funding and building market-driven programs that provide working women access to career-track jobs that pay living wages. We are particularly interested in:
- Establishing a new Hub location on Chicago's Northwest or Southwest sides, including Humboldt Park, Avondale, Logan Square, Hermosa, West Town, Auburn Gresham, Chatham, Washington Heights, Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, West Lawn, and Garfield Ridge.
- Expanding the Network's workforce-related resources that respond to the needs of growing industries and working women.
For more information, please email us, or call us at (312) 337-7766.
