What We Support
Prince Charitable Trusts primarily awards funding through an invitation-only process to respect the time and capacity of our community partners. Before reaching out, we strongly encourage you to review our Funding Areas to ensure your mission aligns with our strategic priorities in Chicago, Washington, and Newport. If your work falls within these guidelines and you’d like to introduce yourself for future consideration, please visit our Community Inquiry Page. For specific program questions or to connect with a member of our team, you can find our contact details on the Staff Page.
PCT supports performing arts organizations contributing to ALAANA (African, Latiné, Asian, Arab, and Native American) representation in the genres of theater, music, and dance. PCT believes in the power of the arts to inspire and transform our city when the stories presented on stage reflect the spectrum of identities within Chicago’s cultural fabric. All Chicagoans, particularly underrepresented voices, should have access to arts and cultural spaces that affirm their lived experiences, encourage imagination, and add vibrancy to the communities they inhabit.
PCT prioritizes arts organizations that:
- Operate with a budget between $300,000 and $2 million (per the last two audit years or IRS form 990)
- Have engaged in performance and presentation for at least five years
- Expand representation and engages ALAANA voices in theater, dance, music, and/or young people’s storytelling
- Encourage youth storytellers through spoken word, theater, and other performance disciplines
- Center joy, healing, and celebration
PCT provides general operating support to environmental justice programs and organizations focused on:
- Nurturing, strengthening, or promoting community self-determination and stewardship of land and/or water resources in neighborhoods experiencing historic disinvestment
- Drawing attention to environmental racism and/or the disproportionate impact of climate change in ALAANA communities and advocates for community-led solutions
- Supporting the next generation of environmental leaders, urban farmers and gardeners, and advocates
Launched in 2021 and guided by the collective wisdom of an advisory group, the Prince Charitable Trusts’ Aya Initiative seeks to support Black-led and Black-serving organizations committed to nature and the environment and actively engaging Chicago neighborhoods/communities and the people who thrive in them. The Aya Wisdom Council recommended 25 grants totaling $125,000 in 2025, all of which were approved at Prince’s Spring board meeting.
In 2026, PCT will convene a new council of environmental justice advocates alongside arts and cultural leaders to co-create a reimagined participatory grantmaking program. This program will expand access to nature-based, arts, and cultural experiences in Black and Brown communities on Chicago’s south and west sides. Full program guidelines of the Aya Initiative will be shared in summer 2026.
Inspired by a trustee’s positive experience with sports as a youth, PCT maintains a small, focused program providing general operating support to four to six sports-based youth development organizations in Chicago. We prioritize emerging, community-based partners that provide at least 18 weeks of consistent programming for youth ages 10–14. Our support is focused on organizations with budgets under $2M that serve families in Chicago’s historically disinvested communities, ensuring that sports serve as a bridge to mentorship, emotional well-being, and physical health.
PCT is not accepting SBYD proposals for 2026. Because this is a limited, trustee-directed initiative, our funding is currently fully committed to our current multi-year partners.
