Building Bridges through the Excellerator Fund

Two years ago, Latinos Progresando (LP) embarked on a new initiative with the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC). Luis Gutierrez of LP and Carlos Nelson of GAGDC had been working together on the City of Chicago’s Racial Equity Rapid Response Team over the summer of 2020, when they began brainstorming how to collaborate and support one another’s organizations.

Out of many meetings and conversations came the Excellerator Fund. This community-driven grant-making model centers Black and Mexican voices to direct investments to their communities. In our first year, we raised $2.8 million and invested in 43 Black-led and Mexican-led organizations, and out of those organizations, 69% have budgets under $500,000.

Our goal is to invest $10 million in Black-led and Mexican-led organizations by 2025.

“Independently, we can do really good things. But, together, we can do even bigger and better things.” – Luis Gutierrez