$369 MILLION

When Pedott decided his charitable legacy would be helping kids who were living his story, he met with several community foundations across the country. It didn’t take him long to choose the Trust as his philanthropic partner. 

“The Trust was big enough, strong enough, old enough and it was Chicago,” Pedott recalls. “I certainly made the right decision.”

The Trust helped Pedott establish multiple funds supporting low-income, first-generation college students. Two of the funds are endowed to benefit students at the University of Illinois (his alma mater) and SGA. Another engages the next two generations of his family in supporting Chicago-based student assistance programs, and a fourth provides flexibility to address unexpected needs in the areas of college access and completion.   

Pedott estimates that his funds support about 500 students each year. With the Trust’s assistance and prudent management, he hopes to increase that number to at least 1,000 students five years from now. 

“I jumped at the opportunity to join YPAC,” Kamin says. “The Trust was the philanthropic lifeblood of the city and could be a major resource to my clients.
It was right up my alley.”

Kamin appreciated YPAC’s opportunities for networking with peers and learning about the issues impacting the region. Most of all, she valued the ability to connect her clients to the Trust staff’s expertise and services. 

“For donors who want to know where their money can do the most good, the Trust is a wealth of resources,” Kamin says. “They advise on everything from
the best places to give to the most complex giving strategies.” 

When one client of Kamin’s needed help identifying a grant recipient consistent with their philanthropic mission, the Trust provided information about an appropriate organization. When another client wanted to donate part of a business to charity, Trust staff helped map out an analysis of the options.

Today, Kamin is a member of the PAC and chief wealth strategist at Gresham Partners, LLC, a Chicago-based, independent multi-family office that serves about 100 ultra-high-net-worth families nationally. She continues to find deep value in her relationship with the Trust.

AGC is a grant recipient of Food:Land:Opportunity (FLO), a collaboration between Kinship Foundation and the Trust. Supported by Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, FLO aims to create a resilient local food economy that protects and conserves land and other natural resources while promoting market innovation and building wealth and assets in the Chicago region’s communities. AGC first came to FLO as a finalist in the Food to Market Challenge—a high-profile prize competition in 2016 to strengthen the local food supply chain.

By bringing together farmers, millers, brewers, distributors, processors, consumers, university researchers and nonprofits, AGC is developing a grain hub system to introduce new, artisan, food-grade crop varieties into Chicago markets.

This means figuring out each piece of the supply chain puzzle—from incentivizing farmers to grow the grains, to inventing new recipes for their use in home and commercial kitchens, to creating overall buzz and demand for buyers, restaurants and consumers to bring something new to the table. 

AGC believes nutrient-dense whole grains should be available to everyone throughout our region. One of its partners is Laine’s Bake Shop, a family-operated artisan baking company with a social mission to revitalize urban communities, beginning with the South Side of Chicago.  

AGC is a perfect example of diverse interests, from across the supply chain, banding together to test, refine, introduce and scale a locally grown product that benefits people and the planet.