Chicago Community Impact Grants Program

The Chicago Community Impact Grants Program is a McDonald's community investment initiative supporting organizations in Chicago. McDonald's is headquartered in Chicago and describes support for the city's people and communities as part of its broader commitment to community impact through charitable and in-kind contributions, community engagement, and volunteer initiatives. The program launched in 2022 in partnership with The Chicago Community Trust. Since launch, McDonald's has invested more than $12 million through the program in local organizations, reaching more than 100,000 people across Chicago. For the 2027 grant cycle, McDonald's is investing an additional $4 million to continue supporting community-focused work in the city. The 2027 Chicago Community Impact Grants Program focuses on empowering young people ages 16 through 24 through two priority areas. Fostering Communities: Pathways to Empowerment supports workforce readiness and development programs intended to reduce barriers and create pathways to opportunity. Eligible programming may include apprenticeships, pre- and post-employment training, and career exposure opportunities. Funding requests may also incorporate holistic support services that directly enhance core workforce programming, including transportation and mobility assistance, financial literacy education, mentorship, and coaching. Feeding Futures: Food Access and Insecurity supports programs addressing food insecurity and promoting food access for youth ages 16 through 24 in underserved communities. Examples include food banks and pantries, community gardens and urban farms, mobile markets serving food deserts, and community-led solutions designed to remove systemic barriers and increase access to food. Funding is project-based and is intended to support project-specific programming aligned with one of the two initiative focus areas. Individual grant awards will range from $50,000 to $200,000. McDonald's states that final award amounts will depend on the strength of the application and alignment with the goals of the Chicago Community Impact Grants Program. The total investment announced for the 2027 cycle is an additional $4 million, and up to 25 grants will be awarded. The source does not state a required matching or cost-share contribution. Funding decisions will consider program alignment, anticipated community impact, financial health and organizational capacity, geographic focus, community credibility, and the overall strength of the application. Applicants must be Chicago-based organizations serving youth ages 16 through 24 through programs aligned with one of the initiative's two focus areas. They must demonstrate a track record of measurable outcomes and positive community impact, as well as the organizational and financial capacity needed to successfully implement and manage the proposed program. Applicants must also maintain strong community relationships and a reputation for responsible stewardship, integrity, and service. The source describes the program in the context of supporting Chicago's nonprofit community, but does not provide additional legal-status requirements, fiscal sponsorship provisions, or detailed exclusions for other entity types. Eligible applications will be reviewed, evaluated, and scored through a competitive grantmaking process using published criteria. Financial Health considers financial stability, stewardship of resources, funding diversity, and the organization's ability to sustain and implement the proposed program. Program Alignment measures how closely the proposal advances either the Feeding Futures or Fostering Communities priorities for youth ages 16 through 24. Impact considers the organization's ability to demonstrate meaningful and measurable outcomes and positive effects for participants and communities. Organizational Brand and Reputational Risk considers credibility, community reputation, and alignment with McDonald's values and community impact priorities. Funding is not guaranteed, and applications demonstrating strong priority alignment, measurable impact, financial sustainability, service to priority Chicago communities, and organizational credibility are identified as the most competitive. Applications for the 2027 cycle opened September 1, 2026 and close September 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM Central Time. McDonald's will host an informational webinar for the Community Impact Grants Program on September 10, 2026 to provide additional details and help organizations prepare applications. The webinar is informational and is not identified as a required pre-application step. Interested and eligible organizations are directed to apply through the application link provided on the program page. Questions may be submitted to the McDonald's Community Impact Team, although an actual email address is not included in the supplied source text. McDonald's states that it will not take preliminary or informational calls with prospective applicants in order to maintain a fair application process. The source does not state an award notification date or a project performance period. The program has operated each year since its 2022 launch, supporting treatment of the opportunity as recurring annually, with the next cycle anticipated around September 2027.

Demonstrate strong alignment with one of the two youth-focused priorities; provide evidence of meaningful and measurable outcomes; demonstrate financial stability, responsible stewardship, funding diversity, and capacity to sustain and implement the program; show strong community credibility and relationships; clearly establish service to priority Chicago communities; ensure any requested holistic workforce support services directly enhance the core workforce programming.