Excellerator Fund
Apr 19, 2022
Crain's Chicago Business feature written by Carlos Nelson and Luis Gutierrez
As COVID-19 took hold of our city and, in particular, our Black and Brown communities, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration stood up the Racial Equity Rapid Response Team, or RERRT—an unprecedented cross-sector coalition to focus intensive resources on the communities most impacted by COVID-19 and lay the groundwork for future opportunities to address systemic inequities in those same communities.
That effort produced several dynamic collaborations, including one between our organizations: Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corp., or GAGDC, and Latinos Progresando, or LP. Drawing on our experience in the RERRT, as well as our shared desire to heal racial divides following the murder of George Floyd and subsequent civil unrest, GAGDC and LP co-created the Excellerator Fund.