HISTORY & PROCESS | VISION | CIRCLE MEMBERS | GRANTEES

Building community and reflecting on what we've learned has always been an important part of the circle. The vision for FTT has always been about involving a younger echelon of activists and artists, both as members and grantees, who may not be in positions of power to make grant decisions or have resources, political clout or infrastructure able to fund their project ideas. FTT has given out $39,000 over the past three years (our typical grant is $1,000) to groups working in neighborhoods ranging from Little Village to Rogers Park, Riverdale to Humboldt Park.

After our third year, we decided to become independent. We had been curious about radical forms of grantmaking since the get go, so we thought why not challenge ourselves to mirror the principles by which we make our own grantmaking decisions. Much has changed since the FTT started; the seed money has run out; we are no longer a giving circle housed at Crossroads Fund which means we will not be able to offer proof of tax exemption for matching corporate or major gifts. However, becoming autonomous became important to many of us. We will now be able to fund individuals and make our process our very own! Not to mention, it presents us with the opportunity to model radical giving.

As we grow, rotate active members, invite new folks, model a philosophy of community reciprocity where grantees are not just recipients but givers and participants as well, we begin to carve a new path of radical grantmaking. In an ideal FTT world, everyone contributes either through a monetary donation, assuming leadership within a committee, organizing a fundraiser, or donating a piece of art for a FTT benefit.