Eleanor Foundation Announces $1 Million in Grants to Support Low-Income Working Women

Part of three-year initiative to remove economic barriers, place low-income women in jobs with advancement potential

(26 Aug 2008) – The Eleanor Foundation announced today nearly one million dollars in grant awards for services that will assist as many as 625 low-income working female heads of households in Chicago to attack the core barriers they face to achieve economic security.

The awards represent the second round of the Eleanor Foundation's three-year Self-Sufficiency Initiative, a grants program aimed at creating a citywide network of resources and services for these women in the areas of housing; employment; childcare; and credit cleanup and getting them onto career tracks and into living-wage jobs.

"Low-income working female heads of households are finally on the radar screens of service organizations and others who can help them," said Rosanna Márquez, Eleanor Foundation president. "We wanted to emphasize programs that provide these women with citywide education and training resources tied to real jobs with advancement potential. We are very pleased that so many groups have stepped up to concentrate their efforts and resources on this underserved market of working female heads of households in low-wage jobs."

A CITYWIDE NETWORK TAKES SHAPE
This year's grants build on three years of work by the Eleanor Foundation through its Self-Sufficiency Initiative. Launched in 2005, the initiative asks grant applicants to address barriers to economic security faced by low-income working female heads of households in four key areas of need: housing; employment; childcare; and credit cleanup.

The Foundation has awarded $2.5 million to date under its Self-Sufficiency Initiative, exceeding the $2 million it originally planned to award through 2008. This increased level of investment testifies to the commitment of the grant applicants and the quality of the programs they offer to meet the challenges faced by low-income working women in Chicago.

The Eleanor Foundation asked applicants to address any of the four barriers to low-income working female heads of households by creating a single point of access, or "Hub", through which they can get onto a career track and into jobs providing or leading to a living wage of $35,000 a year or better while addressing the other barriers to economic security. Out of 24 proposals received, the Foundation chose seven organizations to receive five awards totaling nearly $1 million.

Three of the awards are Hub grants to programs that address all four core needs. Two of the awards are "Resource" grants to organizations that address one of the four needs but can be offered in coordination with Hub grantees. The 2007-2008 grant recipients are:

Hub Grants

• Housing Opportunities for Women: An 18-month grant of $275,000 will launch the Center for Working Women, a stand-alone storefront facility in the Rogers Park community that will offer low-income working women individualized skills-training and placements in jobs offering the potential for career advancement, housing placements through an existing network of landlords, access to rental subsidies through the City of Chicago's Low Income Housing Trust Fund, financial coaching and credit-cleanup assistance, and access to appropriate child care.


• Instituto del Progresso Latino/The Resurrection Project/Mujeres Latinas en Accion: A three-year, $498,500 grant to launch the Mujer Avanzando (Advancing Woman) initiative, offering individualized career counseling and access to bridge training programs in the healthcare, manufacturing and banking fields, financial-literacy training with one-on-one coaching, access to housing and educational programs, and leadership training. Women will be recruited from The Resurrection Project tenant base, the healthcare and manufacturing training programs of the Instituto del Progresso Latino, public agencies, and local employers.


• Christian Community Health Center (CCHC): A three-year, $133,200 grant to this community-based health center in the Roseland neighborhood will launch the Eleanor Scholars program for female employees earning less than $30,000 per year. Each woman will be paired with CCHC's Career Development Associate, who will help her develop a career plan and connect with appropriate educational and financial-support resources, and will receive access to rental subsidies through Chicago's Low Income Housing Trust Fund. CCHC will also collaborate with Eleanor Foundation grantee Heartland Human Care Services to offer workshops and individual counseling in financial and career-planning matters.

Resource Grants

• Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing: A $30,000 grant to provide continuing support for the Homesharing program initially launched with support from the Eleanor Foundation in 2003. The program matches low-income women in need of housing with homeowners desiring live-in companionship and assistance with household responsibilities.


• St. Anthony Hospital: A $72,346 award in a first-ever collaboration with the Steans Family Foundation, with an additional investment from St. Anthony Hospital, will launch a workforce development program to train the hospital's own low-wage, entry-level employees. Eight months of remedial healthcare training will lead into skills training for higher-level jobs, along with mentoring, job referrals, and tuition reimbursement for those who choose to pursue further education in the healthcare field.

IN SUPPORT OF LOW-INCOME WORKING FEMALE HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS
These grant awards bring the Foundation to a total of five Hub and three Resource grantees throughout the City of Chicago. The creation of a citywide network of service hubs for low-income working female heads of households embodies the Eleanor Foundation's 110-year mission to help such women strive to achieve sustained economic self-sufficiency. On a daily basis, thousands of working women throughout Chicago struggle to make ends meet on an inadequate wage. Even with overtime and second jobs, many of Chicago's female heads-of-households are unable to bring home a liveable wage of at least $30,000. Over 80 percent of these women receive no public aid, and otherwise have little access to childcare programs, little or no healthcare, and few choices for affordable housing.

For further information, contact:
Vicky Nurre
Director, Development & Communications
312.337.7913
vnurre@eleanorfoundation.org