Charity Grant Program

ECF awarded five $5,000 grants in 2023!

Each of these nonprofit organizations were awarded a $5,000 charitable grant to complete a project in 2023.

Center for Companies That Care is dedicated to enhancing the well-being of employees and communities by educating and inspiring employers to practice employee engagement.  ECF’s grant will go towards the AIM High Career Fair which is a Career Fair that introduces students to a variety of careers.  The Career Fair targets Chicagoland, under-resourced high school students of color, including those with non-cognitive learning differences such as ADHA, Dyslexia or Dysgraphia.  This year’s Career Fair will serve approximately 600 students.

Arquitina is a professional leadership and licensure initiative for Latinas in the field of architecture. Arquitinas receive exam support and critical mentorship to guide them through their careers. ECF will also provide scholarships for ARE exam study materials.

Project SYNCERE is the dream of three African American men who learned at an early age the power of education and technology. Dissatisfied with the lack of diversity in their fields, they left corporate America to start an organization devoted to encouraging students to embrace STEM fields. ECF will sponsor the ENpowered Games, a 10-week program providing students with 20 hours of enrichment to strengthen their understanding of STEM careers. The program culminates with the ENpowered Games competition, which provides over 300 middle school students with an opportunity to showcase the skills they developed during the program.

Science & Entrepreneurship Exchange runs SparkShop, an immersive education program that empowers 4th and 5th grade students to imagine their futures as engineers. Their mission is to inspire and mobilize the next generation of engineers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and manufacturing geniuses. They bring awareness and knowledge of STEM fields to students in the Chicago area, specifically in schools and classrooms where underrepresented students live and learn. Since 2013, SparkShop has served over 5,300 students, and they provide curriculum and materials to 24 schools across the city. ECF will make it possible for them to purchase material kits for 500 students materials during the Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing unit in the Spring of 2023.

Refugee Education and Adventure Challenge (REACH) is a Chicago-based nonprofit that introduces experiential learning opportunities focused on STEAM education and adventure sports to refugee and asylum-seeking youth who are “at-risk” due to integration barriers.  ECF will be sponsoring the Peer Mentor Leadership Development Project.  This program trains 15-20 refugee youth leaders, ages 12-18, to engage in ongoing formal and informal training and mentoring so they can coach and mentor 60-80 additional refugee youth participants in REACH learning adventure camp.