Neighborhood Capital Fund

Project Scope Form

The Project Scope Submission Deadline is Wed. August 20th, 2025 at 4 p.m. CT. Project scope submissions past the deadline will not be considered for the 1st round (Feb 2026 cycle) but may be considered for future rounds. Select projects will be invited to submit a full application in September 2025 and applications will be due in November 2025. Funding will be announced in February 2026.


Building on lessons learned through We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery and other capital investment initiatives, a group of funders led by The Chicago Community Trust has developed the Neighborhood Capital Fund. The goal of this two-year fund is to support real estate projects that help local communities on the South and West sides of Cook County achieve their visions for thriving economies. The fund will provide streamlined, late-stage capital grants for brick-and-mortar projects to help complete their capital financing and move to and through construction.


About the Neighborhood Capital Fund: The goal is to realize local communities’ visions for thriving economies on the South and West sides of Cook County through a collaborative and streamlined capital grant fund. The fund will provide late-stage capital investments in brick-and-mortar projects to help complete their capital financing and move to and through construction.


This form is meant to provide us a high-level understanding of your real estate readiness including: proof of site control, design documents, and documentation of funding commitments. See attached file for full list of needs ahead of your form completion. If the number of files you have exceeds the limit, email us providing the excess files at mphillips@cct.org. Submissions should not take longer than 30-40 minutes.



Please note that progress is not saved. Please make sure to start and complete the application in the same session or otherwise lose your progress. Refer to this sample project scope form to prepare and gather your materials ahead of filling this form out.

 

Project Eligibility

Please review the "Know Before You Submit" section of the Neighborhood Capital Fund opportunity on the Trust's Opportunities website for more details.


PLEASE READ: *Certain fields are numbers only.* Please also pay attention to the word/character count limits.

 

Development Details

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Please limit responses to under 10 words (e.g., Food hub with community kitchen, Cafe with art gallery, Commercial mall with small business development center)

 

Limited to 2000 characters

 
 

In the File Upload section towards the bottom of this form, please provide evidence of such as a Letter of Intent, Purchase and Sale agreement, evidence of public land application/approval (Cook County Land Bank, City of Chicago Chi Blocker Builder).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  1. Planning Phase - The project is still in concept development, and site control has not yet been secured. Activities may include identifying a potential site, building partnerships, or conducting high-level planning. At this stage, capital needs are typically limited to early technical assistance or grant support for visioning and exploration.
  2. Pre-Development Phase - The project has secured site control, or a clearly defined path to site control, and is focused on testing feasibility and laying the groundwork for construction. This includes preliminary design, budgeting, community engagement, and market or environmental assessments. Capital at this stage is often needed for soft costs such as studies, legal work, or early design.
  3. Pre-Construction Phase - The project is nearly shovel-ready, with design and approvals mostly complete and financing efforts underway or near closing. Activities may include completing construction documents and securing final permits. Capital needs at this stage are focused on closing funding gaps or covering final pre-construction costs.
  4. Construction Phase - The project has broken ground and is actively under construction. This includes site work, building activities, and ongoing inspections.
  5. Completion Phase - The project is nearing or has reached substantial completion. Activities may include final inspections, occupancy permits, tenant improvements, or operational ramp-up. Capital needs are focused on permanent financing or final-stage close-out support.
 

Financial Details

 

Please provide the total anticipated project budget for your project from pre-development through construction completion. This should include acquisition, hard costs, and soft costs (e.g., design, engineering, permitting, construction, legal, etc.).

 

Attach operating budget and business plan in the File Upload section towards the end of this form.

 

Please include the total amount of funding you have already secured for your project. This may include grants, loans, equity, or other confirmed sources of capital. Do not include funds that are pending or under consideration—only include funding that has been formally awarded or committed. *Attach proof of commitments in the File Upload section towards the end of this form.

 

Must have at least 75% of capital secured to qualify for the Feb 2026 cycle. Only include committed sources of funding

 

Mark all those that apply

 
 

Developer Details

 

The organization or business leading the project's development

 

The main person(s) contacted for project details and coordinating application submission.

 
 
 
 
 

Please upload proof of site control, architectural designs, project budget, operating budget, business plan, and evidence of financing.


Acceptable forms of site control may include, but not limited to: Letter of Intent, Purchase and Sale agreement, evidence of public land application/approval (Cook County Land Bank, City of Chicago Chi Blocker Builder).


Architectural designs may include: Concept Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Drawings


Project budget must at least include: hard costs, soft costs, and contingency.


And please remember to include the operating budget and business plan.


If the number of files you have exceeds the limit, email us providing the excess files at mphillips@cct.org.

Drop your files here