Vic Mensa appears on the Feb. 21, 2024, episode of "Black Voices." (WTTW News)

Vic Mensa has taken on many different roles over the years — rapper, organizer, actor and more. Most recently, he partnered with the “Feed the Block, Warm the Block” initiative to bring food and clothing to the city’s unhoused population.

(Courtesy of SKATE for Girls Instagram)

SKATE for Girls, or Solving Kinesthetically and Transforming Education for Girls, aims to increase young girls’ interest in STEM fields and make figure skating more accessible.

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates speaks during the Celebration of the Life of Toni Morrison, Nov. 21, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo / Mary Altaffer, File)

The Courage Fund’s first grant comes from the Ford Foundation, which announced a $1 million donation on Dec. 13. A Long Walk Home and A Call to Men, national organizations focused on sexual-violence prevention and education for two decades, will lead the effort.

(WTTW News)

New rules requiring nonprofit organizations to register as lobbyists are set to take effect July 1 after a delay of nearly four years.

Sgt. Kevin Fowler organizes food at a food bank distribution by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo / Tony Dejak File)

Many organizations will look to make up the difference on GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which started as a hashtag in 2012 and has grown into one of the biggest fundraising dates on the calendar. 

In this photo provided by Gabriella Rico, Vietnam War-era Army veteran Harold Tilson Jr., stands in a room on the campus of the Veterans Empowerment Organization in Atlanta, Nov. 10, 2023. (Gabriella Rico via AP)

Since January 2020, the numbers of homeless veterans have fallen 11% and have gone down 55% over the past 13 years, according to a government count. That's in sharp contrast with the general homeless population.

(Courtesy of Tutoring Chicago)

Chicago students are still struggling to make up for COVID-era learning losses, and a local tutoring organization is trying to help students close that gap.

(WTTW News)

The state is partnering with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to mail new books to Illinois children each month. The Dollywood Foundation pays for the books, while state and education partners provide the shipping costs.

(WTTW News)
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The West Side nonprofit offers workforce development and mental health and substance abuse services, among other supports. Leadership said their recidivism rates are a fraction of the state average.

(Courtesy of Lever for Change)

When it comes to philanthropy, it’s usually universities, museums and hospitals that get major donations. But there’s a Chicago organization shaking up that paradigm.

Chicago City Hall. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

The proposal requires human service organizations that contract with the city and have more than 20 employees to agree not to fight efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not to disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

(WTTW News)

The proposal would require human service organizations that contract with the city and have more than 20 employees to agree not to fight efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

Chicago City Hall. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

The proposal would require human service organizations that contract with the city to agree not to disrupt efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

Volunteers from MedGlobal work in Turkey following the earthquake. (Courtesy of MedGlobal)

MedGlobal, a humanitarian organization based in Chicago, is composed of 12 physicians who deploy to disaster-struck countries to help in times of need. Most recently, three physicians traveled to both Syria and Turkey to help those affected by the disaster. 

At HHP Lift’s Liftworks social enterprise program, participants are taught how to manufacture home goods while also learning basic workplace skills. (Courtesy of HPP Lift)
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Research shows formerly incarcerated people who maintained employment for one year after release had only a 16% recidivism rate, compared to a 52% rate for those who did not stay employed.

Local nonprofit Young, Black & Lit donates books featuring Black characters to kids across the U.S. (WTTW News)
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For young Black book lovers, it can be tough to find books that reflect the readers and their worlds. In 2018, the local nonprofit Young, Black & Lit took it upon itself to make sure that Black children have plenty of options for their bookshelves.