Dear Friends,
I am excited to share Civic Consulting Alliance’s annual impact report for the first time as its CEO and President. When I joined the Civic Consulting Alliance team in March, I was thrilled to lead an organization that plays such a critical role in our region.
Since 1985, Civic Consulting Alliance has pursued its mission to make the Chicago region a great place for everyone to live in and work by bringing together collaborative, pro bono investments to get big things done for Chicago.
We achieve impact in three key platforms – building safer and more just communities, ensuring equitable education opportunities and outcomes, and growing an economy that works for everyone. Within each platform, we serve public and social sector clients working at a systems-level toward inclusive and equitable solutions.
2020 was a year of new beginnings. In the first half of our fiscal year, our team devoted much of its time to advancing critical initiatives undertaken by Chicago’s new Mayor—including initiatives focused on growing economic opportunity on the South and West Sides, investing in community-based approaches to violence reduction, and ensuring that all Chicago families can access early childhood education services. We also supported the Cook County Board President and the County’s new Bureau Chief of Economic Development, the growing staff of West Side United, and other clients to launch, accelerate, or guide initiatives at key points of transition. Much of this was accomplished while my predecessor, Brian Fabes, was at the helm. Brian led Civic Consulting Alliance for more than 15 years, and I am deeply grateful to him for the talented team and strong organization he envisioned and built.
2020 was also a year of immense challenges, in particular the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on communities’ health, economic, and social well-being; a dramatic spike in gun violence; and widespread protests of racism and police brutality. Since March, my team and our dedicated pro bono partners have worked tirelessly to support our clients through these crises. These events also sharpened our focus—as well as the focus of our clients—on the persistent racial inequities that are reinforced by our institutions and systems.
As I reflect on this watershed year and consider our organization’s future, I am both humbled by the urgent and complex challenges we collectively face, and optimistic about what we can accomplish together in the years to come. I am committed to deepening and accelerating our efforts to become a more diverse, inclusive, and equity-focused organization. I am proud of the difference we have made in Chicagoans’ lives during this tumultuous time. I am grateful for the incredible contributions of our staff, Board, clients, partners, and funders.
I hope you will read on to learn about what we accomplished in 2020, and will be inspired to join us in building a more equitable, prosperous, and just Chicago.
Rebekah Scheinfeld
CEO and President
Civic Consulting Alliance
Read a message from Civic Consulting Alliance Board Chair Deborah L. DeHaas
IMPACT
Since 2006, Civic Consulting Alliance has channeled nearly $200 million in collaborative pro bono investments to get big things done for Chicago. We achieve impact in three key platforms that are integral to improving quality of life and creating a region that can reach its full potential – building safer and more just communities, ensuring equitable access to education opportunities and outcomes, and growing an economy that works for everyone.
Economic Vitality
We contribute to Chicago’s long-term vitality by growing an economy that works for everyone.
OPPORTUNITY AREAS
Inclusive Regional Economic Growth
Individual Opportunity & Prosperity
Equitable Investment Across
Communities
Key Projects
Bureau of Economic Development - Mission and Vision
INVEST South/West
West Side United
“Civic Consulting Alliance has been instrumental to INVEST South/West’s progress. There is no other organization that has Civic Consulting Alliance’s depth of experience collaborating with the City, nor their breadth of visibility across major initiatives and sectors in Chicago.”
2020 Economic Vitality Snapshot
Education
We advance an education system that provides equitable access to opportunity for all Chicago students and prepares them for lifelong success.
“Civic Consulting Alliance’s partnership ensured we were able to drive progress towards a unified early learning system where more children will receive the foundational education services that are so critical to their development.”
OPPORTUNITY AREAS
High Quality Learning for All Ages
System of Supports for the Whole Student
Meaningful & Responsive Career Pathways
Key Projects
Chicago Public Schools - Vision Collaborative
Early Childhood Education
2020 Education Snapshot
Public Safety
& Criminal Justice
We facilitate collaborative public safety and criminal justice reform with institutions and communities to ensure that everyone is safe and justice is exercised equitably.
OPPORTUNITY AREAS
Violent Crime Reduction
Accountability and Community Trust
Equitable Application of Justice
KEY PROJECTS
Chicago Office of the Mayor - Violence Reduction
Chicago Police Department - Performance Evaluation System
Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities
“The Civic Consulting Alliance team gave us the capacity, expertise on collaborative decision-making, and planning tools we needed to amplify our violence reduction efforts and lay the foundation for this work over the years to come.”
2020 Public Safety Snapshot
Special Projects: COVID-19
Given our flexible, collaborative model, Civic Consulting Alliance is uniquely positioned to capture timely opportunities and address urgent challenges that advance our mission—to make the Chicago region a great place for everyone to live in and work. The COVID-19 crisis is one such challenge, given its global scale and its far-reaching impact on virtually all aspects of life for residents of the Chicago region.
COVID-19 Crisis Response & Initial Recovery
In March, Civic Consulting Alliance answered calls from the City of Chicago, Cook County, the State of Illinois, and the philanthropic community to mobilize rapidly for a comprehensive and inclusive approach to COVID-19 crisis response and recovery. Between mid-March and the end of June, we redeployed about 75 percent of our staff and secured 16 pro bono teams to serve these units of government and engage non-government stakeholders through nearly 20 projects, organized into 10 distinct workstreams.
“Civic Consulting Alliance’s leadership and collaboration has been an invaluable part of our citywide response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to their expertise and support, Chicago has been able to uniquely support our businesses and residents, and to seize the opportunities created by this unprecedented year and extend our vision for a city economy rooted in our values of inclusion and equitable growth.”
2020 COVID-19 Projects Snapshot
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