W.O.W. Capital Grant Program

Many low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, especially those on the South and West sides of Chicago, have been disinvested in by the government and private sector. As a result, these residents do not own or control many of the assets in their neighborhoods (businesses, homes, land, commercial property, etc.). Residents in these neighborhoods are excluded from opportunities to build financial wealth, often shut out of development decisions, and can be at risk of displacement.

W.O.W. is a collaborative initiative developed by Community Desk Chicago (The Desk) to support communities in launching wealth-building models, based on their terms, that advance their quality of life, build wealth and shift power dynamics in their neighborhoods.

Seeded through a $4.11M City of Chicago investment, the W.O.W capital grant program provides both capital grants and technical coaching to commercial shared ownership models that promote ownership and control of businesses and community assets, specifically, Community Investment Vehicles (CIVs) and Worker Cooperatives (Work Co-ops).

Selected CIVs and worker co-ops will be awarded W.O.W. capital grants for up to 75% of the total project costs for their real estate project, with a maximum award size of $500,000. Up to $3.5 million of W.O.W. capital grants may be awarded.

W.O.W. capital grants are one-time awards that must be expended by December 31, 2026.

The W.O.W. capital grant program provides structured technical coaching, capital coordination and other related resources to support the launch of both worker co-ops and CIVs across the City of Chicago. The W.O.W. framework provides the necessary technical resources to help ensure success as communities design wealth-building models their way.

In addition to receiving funding, W.O.W. grantees will participate in a set of interrelated activities that support the progress and success of their CWB model and their real estate project. Over the course of 16 months (September 2025 to December 2026), participants’ activities will include:

• Work Plan –organizing and executing key project tasks through a structured work plan to help ensure long-term success
• Technical and Operational Support – monthly engagement with an operations coach and a real estate coach
• Launch Support – access to “back office” investment services and third-party educational resources on financial literacy, wealth building and community engagement
• Knowledge and Networks – participation in a CWB Community of Practice (COP) to share lessons learned and best practices with peers and national experts
• Capital Coordination – connections to local and national philanthropy, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and other flexible capital sources

Please download the W.O.W. capital grant program funding opportunity to view eligibility criteria and more details about the program. If you are interested in participating in the program, please complete the W.O.W. capital grant program questionnaire to determine if your organization is eligible to apply.

For questions about the W.O.W. capital grant program, please email us at wow@communitydeskchicago.org.