We Are Here. Chicago Beyond’s New Home for Social Innovation.

A Space for All. In 2019, Chicago Beyond opened a new space that is a physical manifestation of our belief in the possibility of all young people and that we all belong. It is designed to serve the public in its openness to contemplation and conversation. It is a space that amplifies unlikely voices, radically reimagines individual participation in our collective liberation, and seeks to unabashedly stand for our youth.
We hope what transpires in our space and beyond calls out injustice, calls in equity, and points the way toward a more fair and just future. A future that is embedded in the radical understanding that “I am not free until you are free.” And we all deserve to be free.
Why the West Loop. Outside of our walls, the surrounding neighborhood shares some of Chicago Beyond’s DNA in beautiful and interconnected ways. In the 1850’s, this area solidified Chicago as a leader in wholesale, manufacturing, and meatpacking. This neighborhood is also a place of resistance, where early protests of police brutality took place. It is a place of challenge and renewal, where some of the most city’s most dynamic energy – in restaurants and in enterprise – are taking shape. Today, Fulton Market is the nexus for entrepreneurs, artists, tech magnates and developers. Yet, over time, those who built up this area of our city have been pushed out. We believe our young people and communities of color belong here, too, in the same dynamism that is contributing to the renaissance of this neighborhood.
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YAP Spokesperson
Design + Purpose. This inclusive place of belonging was designed for others in the fight for equity tkkj to come and:
Space Activation: Events: Chicago Beyond’s new home has a dedicated space for our partners to work, showcase, and collaborate. We are also driven to utilize the space to build a stronger ecosystem among our nonprofit partners and other social impact organizations in Chicago.
To learn more about Chicago Beyond’s new Home for Social Innovation, events, and partnerships, please email connect@chicagobeyond.org.
As I think of this space, and who has the right to be here and be seen, it is truly all of us. It is the communities that we serve, it is our children. We see them. Here, we will be a force to be reckoned with. The good that will come from this space and be spread out into the world, will change what we know to be. We are here.
Liz Dozier, Foundere & CEO of Chicago Beyond
Collaborative relationships with others or ideas that build on one another.
How does an organization, individual, idea connect and drive collaborative action with others?
Adaptability to changing conditions and new knowledge.
How does an organization, individual, idea demonstrate an openness to learning and propensity for adjusting to new environments, and/or new information and change?
Rootedness in youth and community experience, voice, and relationship.
How is an organization, individual, idea influenced and shaped by youth and community voice, experience, and relationship? How is youth voice integrated in the work?
Audacious vision for change that is backed by action.
How does an organization, individual, idea push themselves and others to have greater impact?
Capacity to engage in a high-touch relationship built on mutual trust.
How does an organization, individual, idea demonstrate its ability to work closely together?
Relevancy to the opportunities, needs, culture and values of youth and communities.
How does an organization, individual, idea recognize and understand the complexity of its issue area and community?
Chicago Beyond actively seeks out opportunities to offer a platform to highlight the WORK of our investment partners and other organizations that furthers our vision of challenging narratives reframing conversations on race and equity
Through our partnership, Chicago Beyond is able to share in the ideation, design, and launch of new products and initiatives.
Chicago Beyond provides organizations with thought partnership and capacity building in service of refining their programmatic and organizational structures.
In order to have deeper partnerships, we need to learn alongside our investment partners and wrestle with critical questions together, both to support their growth and development, but also to allow their experiences to continually shape our understanding of and role in the dynamics faced by individuals, communities, and systems.
Linking social capital recognizes that our unique privilege as a funder can create vertical pathways for our investment partners that shift access to power.
We support our partners in finding connections to institutions, systems, organizations, and individuals with power that can accelerate equitable transformation. These connections are key to sustaining shifts in perspective, identifying system gaps and creating collective ownership.
Bonding social capital recognizes that building authentic relationships centered on trust is a key component to how we work.
We offer partners support without judgement. We walk side by side on paths carved in purpose, driven by our partner’s unique needs, and rooted in their success.
Bridging social capital recognizes that establishing connections with those working in different contexts is key for growth and scale.
We prioritize identifying connections between our partners and those outside of their immediate community in order to further their network and their impact. This opens channels to access new resources and relationships through collective action.