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Catch up on IFF news, read stories about community development projects across the Midwest, and gain insight from our team.

  1. July 22, 2026

    IFF’s 2026-2030 Strategic Framework
    Category: Stories
    Aerial view of a lively community gathering outside a modern building with people mingling, food truck present, and festive decorations. IFF's logo is overlaid on the image.
  2. April 29, 2026

    IFF’s 2025 Annual Report: Standing Together for Midwest Communities
    Category: Stories
    A man speaks at a podium during a ground-breaking event with onlookers and shovels in the foreground.
  3. April 14, 2026

    Common Ground: Improved Child Care Spaces Building Stronger Beginnings for Detroit Families
    Category: Press
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  4. September 05, 2025

    Party in the Garden: Celebrating the Close-out of the Chicago’s Cultural Treasures Initiative
    Category: Stories
    A woman on a small round stage in a room full of people reads from a book in her hand with her other arm raised
  5. July 31, 2025

    Press Round-up: Culture Forward Chicago’s Funding for Arts and Culture Organizations
    Category: Press
    Three people sit in chairs at a TV studio, with "Good Day Chicago" on a screen behind them
  6. July 09, 2025

    Block Club Chicago: Amid Trump Cuts, Local Lender Gifts $3 Million to Chicago Arts and Culture Nonprofits
    Category: Press
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  7. May 21, 2025

    IFF’s 2024 Annual Report: Investing in People, Places, and Possibilities
    Category: Stories
  8. April 28, 2025

    Planning Future Places: Across the Midwest, Nonprofits Level Up with Facility Feasibility Analyses
    Category: Stories
    A group of nine people smiling and posing in front of a colorful wall with the text "YOU ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH."
  9. April 28, 2025

    Press Release: 77 Chicagoland Arts and Culture Organizations Receive Gift through Culture Forward Chicago
    Category: Press
  10. March 12, 2025

    MacArthur Foundation: Investing in Arts and Culture Organizations’ Financial Resiliency
    Category: Press
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  11. March 01, 2025

    WGN Radio: Bridging the Wealth Gap in Chicago, Supporting Local Nonprofits
    Category: Press
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  12. February 15, 2025

    Fast Company: Why Good Design Remains a Luxury for U.S. Child Care
    Category: Press
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  13. December 06, 2024

    Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Concludes Latest Chicago Cohort
    Category: Stories
    SNI Chicago cohort members pose in front of sign reading "Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Chicago"
  14. November 04, 2024

    Outlier Media: From Paint Color to Air Quality, Designing Better Learning Environments for Detroit Kids
    Category: Press
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  15. September 30, 2024

    News is Out: Ambitious Arts Initiative Uncovers ‘Treasures’ Created by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC Chicagoans
    Category: Press
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  16. September 25, 2024

    IFF’s Continuum in Practice: Supporting Community-Driven Revitalization in Southeast Grand Rapids
    Category: Stories
    City skyline with trees and a highway in front of buildings.
  17. September 18, 2024

    Black Entrepreneur Experience Podcast: Grantmaking to Preserve Cultural Heritage with Victoria Lakes-Battle and Dr. Jeffreen Hayes
    Category: Press
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  18. September 18, 2024

    Windy City Times: Ambitious Arts Initiative Uncovers ‘Treasures’ Created by BIPOC Chicagoans
    Category: Press
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  19. July 08, 2024

    Newcity: Chicago Cultural Treasures Receives $3 Million Funding
    Category: Press
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  20. May 24, 2024

    Quality Facilities for All Initiative supports early childhood education facilities in East St. Louis, IL
    Category: Stories
    Before and after images of the outdoor play space at Hamilton’s Learning Center, a QFA grantee in East St. Louis.
  21. May 07, 2024

    IFF’s 2023 Annual Report: A Historic Investment in Local Changemakers
    Category: Stories
  22. April 25, 2024

    Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave: Battle Creek’s Early Childhood Education Poised to Flourish — And Save a Church at the Same Time
    Category: Press
    Category: Stories
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  23. April 19, 2024

    Joyful Spaces: New Program Advances Early Childhood Education Facility Quality in St. Louis
    Category: Stories
  24. March 27, 2024

    “This is where you start a straight A student”: Quality Facilities for All Supports Early Childhood Education in Illinois
    Category: Stories
  25. March 19, 2024

    PRINT: Shining a Spotlight on Chicago’s BIPOC Cultural Treasures
    Category: Press
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  26. January 12, 2024

    Enterprise Podcast Network: Preserving BIPOC-Led and Focused Arts and Culture in Chicago
    Category: Press
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  27. December 19, 2023

    Quality Facilities for All (QFA) Initiative Completes First Cohort of ECE Facility Renovations in Chicago
    Category: Stories
  28. November 08, 2023

    Organizational Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Must Begin with Intentionality
    Category: Thought Leadership
  29. October 27, 2023

    Stronger Nonprofits Initiative’s Chicago Cohorts Gather for Reunion
    Category: Stories
  30. October 26, 2023

    Crain’s Chicago Business: Opinion: The Business Survival Case for Arming Arts Leaders with Financial Tools and Resources
    Category: Press
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  31. October 23, 2023

    Empower Magazine: IFF’s Executive Director of Chicago Region, O. Victoria Lakes-Battle Shares the Impact of Chicago’s Cultural Treasures
    Category: Press
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  32. October 11, 2023

    WGN-TV: ChiTreasures: Preserving Cultural Heritage of Hispanic Community
    Category: Press
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  33. October 04, 2023

    Weekly Citizen: Chicago’s Cultural Treasures Continues to Support BIPOC Arts and Cultural Organizations
    Category: Press
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  34. September 21, 2023

    Reimagining What a Modern Museum Can Be: A Conversation with ACLF Participant Debra Kerr, President and CEO of Intuit
    Category: Stories
    A view inside Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, in Chicago, showing an exhibition featuring the work of celebrated artist Henry Darger.
  35. August 21, 2023

    “Game Changing” Urban Farm Expands Kheprw Institute’s Capacity to Build Community Wealth
    Category: Stories
  36. July 19, 2023

    Press Release: Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Launches Fourth Chicago Cohort, Addressing Barriers Leaders of Color Face in Accessing Resources
    Category: Press
  37. June 07, 2023

    Stronger Nonprofits Initiative: Five Years of Investment and Impact
    Category: Stories
  38. May 22, 2023

    Supporting a Broad Range of Chicago’s Dance Artists: A Conversation with ACLF Program Participant Joanna Furnans, Executive Director of Chicago Dancemakers Forum
    Category: Stories
  39. April 24, 2023

    Navigating ‘an Incredible Time of Transition’: A Conversation with ACLF Program Participant Jeannie Lukow, Executive Director of Porchlight Music Theatre
    Category: Stories
  40. January 19, 2023

    Arts and Culture Community Celebrates Chicago’s Cultural Treasures as Initiative Embarks on Its Next Phase
    Category: Stories
  41. January 17, 2023

    Press Release: Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Returns to Chicago, Addressing Barriers Leaders of Color Face in Accessing Resources
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  42. January 10, 2023

    Press Release: IFF Receives $75,000 Grant from Glick Philanthropies to Further Support Indianapolis Nonprofits Through Leadership, Programming, and Real Estate Coaching
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  43. October 26, 2022

    10 Key Takeaways from the Stronger Nonprofits Initiative’s First Five Years
    Category: Stories
  44. September 21, 2022

    Stronger Together: Health Care Systems Investing in Early Care & Education
    Category: Thought Leadership
  45. June 21, 2022

    ‘It’s Been a Really Great Year of Growth’: A Conversation with Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Participant Consuelo Lockhart, Founder of the Latinas Welding Guild
    Category: Stories
    Consuelo Poland, Founder of Latinas Welding Guild
  46. June 20, 2022

    Recorrido de Fotos: Proveedores de educación infantil en Grand Rapids mejoran sus edificios a través del programa Learning Spaces
    Category: Stories
  47. June 20, 2022

    Photo Tour: Grand Rapids Early Childhood Education Providers Enhance Facilities Through Learning Spaces Program
    Category: Stories
  48. May 18, 2022

    IFF’s 2021 Annual Report | Meeting the Moment: Change, Equity, Impact
    Category: Stories
    Cover of IFF's 2021 Annual Report
  49. May 16, 2022

    Press Release: Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Launches in Kansas City, MO, Addressing Barriers Leaders of Color Face in Accessing Resources
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  50. June 14, 2021

    Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Spotlight: InsideOut Literary Arts Executive Director Suma Karaman Rosen
    Category: Stories
  51. March 14, 2019

    Stronger Nonprofits Initiative: 20 organizations served, countless ideas and connections sparked
    Category: Stories
  52. March 06, 2019

    Empowering Chicago nonprofits through capital, know-how, and networking
    Category: Stories
  53. September 05, 2018

    IFF Learning Spaces: Three Stories of Growth
    Category: Stories
  54. July 10, 2018

    Resilience: How the Stronger Nonprofits Initiative is ensuring access while changing the narrative
    Category: Stories