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Think differently.
Act collectively.

We are an alliance of companies using our assets and capabilities to address inequities in the greater Chicago region.
Eileen Mitchell
Coalition Co-Chair, AT&T Illinois
Roger Hochschild
Coalition Co-Chair, Discover
Gil C. Quiniones
Coalition Co-Chair, ComEd
Eileen Mitchell
Coalition Co-Chair, AT&T Illinois
Roger Hochschild
Coalition Co-Chair, Discover
Gil C. Quiniones
Coalition Co-Chair, ComEd
2 women at a Workforce Funders Alliance job fair

Showcasing Promising Talent Solutions 2023

Join the Corporate Coalition, the Executives’ Club, and our 10 partner organizations on Thursday, 9/28 from 12:00 - 1:00 PM for our third annual virtual Workforce Showcase. The Showcase is a business-to-business discussion to help companies create a more equitable, thriving workforces. Participants hear directly from and talk with business leaders who have implemented new practices and those exploring new challenges. This year's showcase includes new topics and new takes on previous topics, for example integrating young workers into the workplace, getting started with fair chance hiring, new models for tech talent, AI in the talent landscape, and more. Expect insights, connections, and practical information to enrich your thinking and inspire action.

Register and invite your colleagues!
2 women at a Workforce Funders Alliance job fair

Signature Series - Second Chance Hiring Isn’t Charity, It’s Good Business

Join us for a conversation focused on the regulatory and reputation concerns that come with leveraging the often-untapped talent of those with criminal records. Jeff Korzenik, Chief Economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank and author of “Untapped Talent: How Second Chance Hiring Works for Your Business and the Community,” will moderate this conversation. Registration & Networking: 4:00pm-4:30pm CT | Program: 4:30pm-5:30pm CT | Reception: 5:30pm-6:00pm CT Fifth Third Bank | 222 South Riverside Plaza, 32nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606

Register
2 women at a Workforce Funders Alliance job fair

Dr. Bruce Perry: Emotional Regulation & Resilience in the Workplace

Dr. Bruce Perry will be joining the Chicago Resiliency Network virtually on Friday, March 3rd from 12:00 - 1:30 PM to discuss emotional regulation & resilience in the workplace.

If you have any questions or would like more information, reach out to marcos.gonzales@corpcoalition.org
2 women at a Workforce Funders Alliance job fair

Showcasing Promising Talent Solutions

Hear directly from companies including Alinea, Discover, Eaton, Everywhere Wireless, Freedman Seating Company, JLL, Pete's Fresh Market, S&C Electric. They will be discussing new strategies for fair chance hiring, utilizing front-line managers as a key to retention, employer role in support services, becoming an employer of choice, retaining youth of color, public commitments spurring action, utilizing civic engagement to build the talent pipeline, and much more.

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Business UNusual

Attorney at podium arguing innocence of Ian Schweizer via Innocence Project

Forging New Pathways in STEM for Chicago Students

As emerging fields like AI, data science and climate technology have taken on national importance and created new hiring needs, the University of Chicago realized an opportunity to think locally...

Read more

Featured Event

"We're hiring" on a chalkboard, courtesy Chicago Tribune

Showcasing Promising Talent Solutions 2023

The Showcase is a business-to-business discussion to help companies create a more equitable, thriving workforces. Participants hear directly from and talk with business leaders who have implemented new practices...

Read more
Aerial view of Chicago neighborhoods with skyline in background.

The Chicago region cannot prosper while more than half of residents are excluded from mainstream economic, civic, and social life.

Regions that are more equitable grow faster than those with high levels of inequality.

Coalition members are taking action.

Based on community input, companies are identifying new ways to deploy their capital, capabilities, and employee enthusiasm.

Now is the time to act.

COVID-19 brought into sharp relief deep racial and economic disparities. The murder of George Floyd refocused the nation's attention on racial justice. Widespread gun violence and its devastating consequences for individuals, families, and whole communities remind us that we must do more than react.

We must address the root causes. We must move beyond "business as usual" to catalyze permanent systemic change.

OUR APPROACH

Business as usual.

Business UNusual.

1. Move beyond philanthropy.

Philanthropy plays a critical role in our region, but businesses can have a greater impact than philanthropists alone. When companies challenge themselves to do business in ways that actively address inequities, change is possible. Equity and business success become linked—each promotes the other's growth.

2. Rethink business investment and operations.

Large and small, public and private, old and new—businesses are the lifeblood of our region. To reduce and sustain reductions in inequality, companies must invest and operate in ways that help businesses, residents, and the entire region thrive.
Hiring from local talent pools
Creating healing-centered workplaces
Investing in community-led real estate
development projects
Retaining and advancing employees
Working with local vendors
Growing business operations regionally

3. Take action.

Our members focus on what they can do today to create sustainable change in the Chicago region. The Coalition offers practical and innovative initiatives that amplify the impact of each hour and dollar spent.

4. Work together.

When we act together, we can challenge "business as usual" and build something new in its place. We can pool our resources and know-how and hold each other accountable for doing more. Together, we have the potential to change the culture of doing business in Chicago.

Our Initiatives

Chicago Resiliency Network

Building trauma-informed, healing-centered workplaces that are better for employees and better for business.

Companies learning, applying principles, and sharing new practices, challenges, and results.
Participation in the Corporate Connector has changed our trajectory.

Corporate Connector

Fostering relationships between catalytic real estate projects, related businesses, and Chicagoland's corporate community.

Bringing expertise and opportunities to community-led real estate developments and businesses to increase the likelihood of success.
EPIC is a lifeline for projects that need pre-development capital to unlock opportunity.

EPIC

An innovative equity product that invites companies to invest in community-led catalytic real estate projects in neighborhoods affected by disinvestment.

Capitalizing $50-million pool of funds to provide flexible, patient, risk-tolerant, affordable equity capital.

Fair Chance Hiring

Expanding our region's talent pool to include individuals with criminal records—millions of whom can become engaged and productive employees.

Companies come together in a cohort-based program to assess barriers, identify opportunities, and implement strategies with peer companies and local and national experts

5/25 Move to Action

Individual corporate commitments to build an inclusive and equitable Chicago by changing business operations—backed by action plans and impact measurement.

25+ firms have made specific pledges to act in three principal categories: inclusive workforce, businesses of color, and neighborhood investments.
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