2024 Impact: How Bright Promises Drives Lasting Change
2024 Impact—How Bright Promises Turns Community Leadership into Lasting Change
In a region with more than 3,000 child‑serving nonprofits, too many children and families still face unequal opportunities. Bright Promises connects leaders, communities, and solutions to move beyond silos—igniting change together.
Last year, our work reached 11,800 children, youth, and families across 83 program sites, with 250+ hours of training and capacity building and 4,500 free resources distributed—evidence that coordinated, community‑rooted approaches are working.
We Help Solve What Others Overlook
Our mission is to identify, fund, and share solutions to under‑recognized needs so every young person can reach their full potential. We don’t just fund programs—we strengthen the environments where children live, learn, and grow.
In 2024–2025, we advanced this by investing in community‑led solutions shaped by lived experience, building organizational capacity, and mobilizing movements that align efforts and amplify impact across Chicagoland.
What this looks like in practice: partners build strong foundations in early childhood, support youth mental health, and equip young leaders to advocate and thrive—meeting urgent needs swiftly and strategically.
We Invest for Lasting Impact
We pair multi‑year, flexible funding with evaluation and shared learning so solutions scale—and systems change, not just programs. In 2024, Bright Promises invested $561,000+ in 22 community‑based partners, helping them expand reach and embed durable improvements.
The results:
- 80% of grantees sustained improvements beyond the grant period; 75% embedded changes into everyday practice.
- In some initiatives, participation soared by 169%, a signal of growing demand and effective approaches.
- Our model adds evaluations and outcome‑focused supports beyond grants to ensure enduring change.
Spotlights from the field: Youth at Palenque LSNA co‑designed a racial equity toolkit now being piloted in schools; Humanity Rising reached 5,000+ youth through anti‑bullying and mental‑health programming; Project VISION engaged 375 youth in healing‑centered, identity‑affirming spaces with measurable gains in self‑esteem and belonging.
We’re Chicago’s Trusted Connector
With over 155 years of local roots, Bright Promises convenes leaders and organizations to make collaboration possible—designing the spaces, tools, and trust that move nonprofits from operating in isolation to working in alignment.
At our grantee convening, 100% of organizations reported gaining new tools for youth engagement, trauma‑informed practice, and leadership development, underscoring the value of our connector role.
Explore our initiatives—EQUIP (early childhood quality), Healing, Leading, Changing (youth racial trauma), and F.A.I.R. Fund (youth leadership)—to see how we connect people, ideas, and resources across the city.
What Your Support Makes Possible
In 2024/25, program expenses totaled $561,820, with administrative and fundraising investments that keep our engine running ($313,117 and $74,851, respectively). Contributions included foundations ($139,500), events ($128,234), individuals ($38,175), corporations ($7,588), plus other income—every dollar helping children and youth thrive.
Read the Full Impact Report
See the complete data, stories, and partner highlights in the 2024 Impact Report.
2024 Impact—How Bright Promises Turns Community Leadership into Lasting Change
In a region with more than 3,000 child‑serving nonprofits, too many children and families still face unequal opportunities. Bright Promises connects leaders, communities, and solutions to move beyond silos—igniting change together.
Last year, our work reached 11,800 children, youth, and families across 83 program sites, with 250+ hours of training and capacity building and 4,500 free resources distributed—evidence that coordinated, community‑rooted approaches are working.
We Help Solve What Others Overlook
Our mission is to identify, fund, and share solutions to under‑recognized needs so every young person can reach their full potential. We don’t just fund programs—we strengthen the environments where children live, learn, and grow.
In 2024–2025, we advanced this by investing in community‑led solutions shaped by lived experience, building organizational capacity, and mobilizing movements that align efforts and amplify impact across Chicagoland.
What this looks like in practice: partners build strong foundations in early childhood, support youth mental health, and equip young leaders to advocate and thrive—meeting urgent needs swiftly and strategically.
We Invest for Lasting Impact
We pair multi‑year, flexible funding with evaluation and shared learning so solutions scale—and systems change, not just programs. In 2024, Bright Promises invested $561,000+ in 22 community‑based partners, helping them expand reach and embed durable improvements.
The results:
- 80% of grantees sustained improvements beyond the grant period; 75% embedded changes into everyday practice.
- In some initiatives, participation soared by 169%, a signal of growing demand and effective approaches.
- Our model adds evaluations and outcome‑focused supports beyond grants to ensure enduring change.
Spotlights from the field: Youth at Palenque LSNA co‑designed a racial equity toolkit now being piloted in schools; Humanity Rising reached 5,000+ youth through anti‑bullying and mental‑health programming; Project VISION engaged 375 youth in healing‑centered, identity‑affirming spaces with measurable gains in self‑esteem and belonging.
We’re Chicago’s Trusted Connector
With over 155 years of local roots, Bright Promises convenes leaders and organizations to make collaboration possible—designing the spaces, tools, and trust that move nonprofits from operating in isolation to working in alignment.
At our grantee convening, 100% of organizations reported gaining new tools for youth engagement, trauma‑informed practice, and leadership development, underscoring the value of our connector role.
Explore our initiatives—EQUIP (early childhood quality), Healing, Leading, Changing (youth racial trauma), and F.A.I.R. Fund (youth leadership)—to see how we connect people, ideas, and resources across the city.
What Your Support Makes Possible
In 2024/25, program expenses totaled $561,820, with administrative and fundraising investments that keep our engine running ($313,117 and $74,851, respectively). Contributions included foundations ($139,500), events ($128,234), individuals ($38,175), corporations ($7,588), plus other income—every dollar helping children and youth thrive.
Read the Full Impact Report
See the complete data, stories, and partner highlights in the 2024 Impact Report.
.svg)
