January Notes on Change From

As I was reading Prentis Hemphill’s book, What It Takes To Heal*, over our winter break, I came across a quote that eloquently spoke to the thoughts that I’ve been having for a few years. 

 

“Healing is necessary for us to care for our lives and how we feel in them, and it’s especially potent when coupled with our action and engagement in something bigger than us. So it is not one or the other, healing ourselves or ending oppression. We have to engage in both.”

 

Personal healing and active engagement are essential to building a just and equitable world. While many of us in the social sector are working daily to address the world’s injustices, are we taking the time to tend to our own healing? Not just commercialized versions of self-care popularized by the wellness industry, but going deeper to heal ourselves and our relationships to others and nature. 

 

As we continue to face increasingly devastating natural disasters due to climate change, political shifts that threaten human rights, and societal changes designed to leave us feeling isolated, it is clear that we need each other now more than ever. Healing is not just intrapersonal, it requires communal support to strengthen our collective capacity to envision and build a new system. It teaches us sustainability skills like how to rest, recover, and reorient towards our mission and values. 

 

This month I invite you to reflect on how healing has and can enhance your capacity to engage in your work for the long haul. Where does community serve a role in your healing? Together, let’s commit to practices that are restorative to our soul and allow us to sustain our active engagement.

*Disclosure: We are an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

A few funding opportunities on the horizon from our clients:

We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a funder collaborative working to respond to the urgent economic needs of underinvested communities in the Chicago region, which are predominantly Black and Latine. Since September 2021, more than 160 donors have contributed to the We Rise Together funding pool leading to nearly $47 million in local investments. Now, through the Together Fund, Bold Ventures, in partnership with Daylight, is supporting the development and implementation of a community engagement process to make recommendations for $1.5 million in funding for local business support and workforce development. The Together Fund is accepting applications for these two opportunities until March 13, 2025.

Culture Forward Chicago (ChiTreasures) is a new funding opportunity for Chicago-based arts and culture organizations not yet part of the ChiTreasures initiative. This opportunity is available for organizations whose missions focus on creating, preserving, or sharing art rooted in the traditions and cultures of Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color (BIPOC). Administered by IFF (CDFI), the Culture Forward Chicago funding round, totaling $3 million, will launch on February 10, with applications closing on March 3. Bold Ventures continues to be honored to partner with IFF and the ChiTreasures Steering Committee to develop a participatory grantmaking model for this funding, led by a Review Committee made up of local arts leaders and current ChiTreasures grantees, with minority representation from ChiTreasures funders. Stay tuned for more information on the application process, timeline, and criteria.

Follow Along with Bold Ventures

We can’t wait to continue building meaningful relationships and fostering dialogue with our growing community in 2025! Here are a few ways you can follow along with Bold Ventures: