CHICAGO — The Chicago Giving Circle (CGC), a collaborative of 22 families dedicated to creating meaningful, collective philanthropic impact, is awarding $300,000 over three years to Apna Ghar and LYTE Collective. The grant investments reflect CGC's 2026 focus on addressing housing insecurity, and continue the organization's commitment to backing growth-stage nonprofits with the leadership, model, and momentum to drive lasting change across Chicago.
Since its founding in 2022, CGC has distributed $2 million to Chicago organizations working across workforce development, family services, youth development, violence prevention, and food insecurity. This year's grant selections deepen that commitment by turning to one of the city's most urgent and complex challenges: ensuring that every Chicagoan has access to stable, safe housing.
“As we enter our fifth year, we've had the privilege of watching the organizations in our portfolio grow, stabilize, and deepen their impact. That experience has only strengthened our conviction that multi-year, relationship-based funding works.” said Julie Hoffmann, Executive Director of the Chicago Giving Circle. “Apna Ghar and LYTE Collective represent two distinct but equally urgent dimensions of Chicago’s housing crisis, and both bring the community-rooted expertise and innovative models our members are proud to stand behind.”
Apna Ghar, headquartered in Uptown and serving survivors from more than 50 countries, exists to move survivors of gender-based violence toward safety, stability, and self-sufficiency. With expertise serving South Asian, immigrant, and Limited English Proficient communities, Apna Ghar’s model integrates emergency shelter, transitional housing, legal advocacy, economic empowerment, medical support, and language access - meeting survivors where they are with holistic, culturally competent care. The organization currently serves 645 individuals and families annually through 30 emergency shelter beds, 65 scattered-site transitional housing units, and a 24-hour crisis line. With CGC’s support, Apna Ghar will grow legal advocacy, expand community outreach, and increase permanent housing units.
“Apna Ghar is so grateful to the Chicago Giving Circle for their investment in and support of Apna Ghar’s commitment to provide housing and wrap-around services for marginalized survivors of gender-based violence and their children. These essential services are often overlooked and the impact of multi-year funding from the Chicago Giving Circle on our organization and for survivors, cannot be underestimated. It will help us deepen our impact and plan strategically to ensure that we can provide the full continuum of housing for survivors – from emergency to transitional to permanent supportive housing. The Chicago Giving Circle is a critical ally in elevating gender justice in our area and we are so appreciative. ”
– Neha Gill, Executive Director & CEO, Apna Ghar, Inc.
LYTE Collective, based in Greater Grand Crossing, serves young people in Chicago ages 16 to 30 who are experiencing or at risk of housing instability. LYTE provides a broad range of individualized supports and community-based programming, including housing advocacy, flexible financial assistance, workforce development, basic needs support, recreation, and creative arts programming, all designed to help young people build greater stability and pursue their goals. LYTE’s model includes transitional housing at Lytehouse Apartments, the SpotLYTE housing advocacy program, and the LYTE Lounge community center, which together served 682 young people in 2025. Notably, 50% of LYTE’s board and approximately 40% of its staff have lived experience of homelessness and housing instability, reflecting the organization’s deep commitment to centering those closest to the issue. With CGC’s support, LYTE Collective will scale its intensive housing advocacy, launch a formal Day Work program, and double flexible financial assistance.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Chicago Giving Circle for investing in the young people we support at LYTE. Multi-year, flexible funding gives us the ability to respond to what young people tell us they need in ways that are immediate, practical, and deeply individualized, while removing barriers that too often stand between them and stability. This partnership will help us strengthen the supports young people rely on today while continuing to build toward the long-term stability and opportunities they deserve.”
– Casey Holtschneider, PhD, LCSW, Executive Director, LYTE Collective”
The selection of Apna Ghar and LYTE Collective is the result of a six-month diligence process in which CGC members evaluated more than 30 organizations addressing housing insecurity in Chicago. Members and their families engaged at every stage, from reviewing applications to participating in panel discussions and conducting in-person site visits. That hands-on immersion is central to how CGC works: the process is as much about learning as it is about grantmaking, and it gives members of all ages a meaningful way to connect their philanthropy to the city they call home.
This announcement marks CGC’s fifth year of grantmaking. Each grant is structured as a $300,000 general operating grant over three years, contingent on grantees meeting agreed-upon annual goals - a model designed to provide stability while keeping organizations accountable to the communities they serve. Past CGC grantee partners include Growing Home, The Bloc, Breakthrough Urban Ministries, Chicago HOPES for Kids, The Dovetail Project, and Sunshine Enterprises - a portfolio spanning food access, youth development, family services, violence prevention, and workforce development. Beyond funding, CGC members contribute directly through strategic expertise, volunteer engagement, and relationships that extend well beyond the grant period.
About The Chicago Giving Circle
The Chicago Giving Circle is a collaborative of families who pool resources to fund innovative, community-driven solutions to the city’s most pressing challenges. Since 2022, CGC has invested $2 million across Chicago nonprofits working in workforce development, family services, youth development, violence prevention, food insecurity, and housing instability. Each year, members select a focus area and fund organizations demonstrating innovation, growth, and measurable impact. CGC is a Donor Advised Fund held at The Chicago Community Trust. Learn more at www.chicagogivingcircle.com.
About Apna Ghar
Founded to serve survivors of gender-based violence in immigrant and refugee communities, Apna Ghar provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, legal advocacy, economic empowerment, and multilingual support to 645 individuals and families annually. Headquartered in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, Apna Ghar serves clients from more than 50 countries and operates the only culturally specific domestic violence program in the Midwest for South Asian survivors. Visit www.apnaghar.org.
About LYTE Collective
LYTE Collective is a Chicago based nonprofit dedicated to housing stability, economic mobility and long-term wellbeing for young people ages 16 to 30 and their families. Through transitional housing, intensive housing advocacy, and the LYTE Lounge community center in Greater Grand Crossing, LYTE served 682 young people in 2025. LYTE’s work is shaped by the expertise and lived experiences of young people and staff and is grounded in a commitment to solutions built by and for the communities it serves. Visit www.lytecollective.org.
Media Contact
Julie Hoffmann, Executive Director | julie@chicagogivingcircle.com
Hannah Kaplan, Program Officer | hannah@chicagogivingcircle.com