BUFI NEWS Black United Fund of Illinois Blog

 Who We Are 

 The Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI) is one of Chicago’s most effective federated nonprofits and a trusted fiscal agency and Black-led urban nonprofit in Chicago, serving foundations, Grantmakers, and grassroots organizations across Black and urban communities. 

As a federated nonprofit, BUFI operates as an umbrella organization that supports, strengthens, and distributes funding to multiple independent community nonprofits.

As a fiscal agency, BUFI provides the financial management, compliance infrastructure, and administrative support smaller organizations need to properly receive, manage, and report grant funds.

Together, these two roles make BUFI one of the most valuable and impactful community intermediaries in Chicago’s philanthropic landscape and a premier urban nonprofit in Chicago & Illinois.

BUFI ensures foundation and grant dollars reach the neighborhoods where they create the strongest and most measurable outcomes. Funders gain a single, reliable point of distribution to dozens of vetted, community-rooted organizations.

BUFI does not compete with community nonprofits —

 Recognized in the urban space in Chicago and statewide across Illinois, BUFI powers, strengthens, and amplifies community nonprofits. 

 BUFI serves urban communities in Chicago and Illinois—city-based neighborhoods with higher population density and diverse populations. These urban areas concentrate jobs, commerce, transit, and housing markets, while also facing shared challenges like housing affordability, access to services, public safety, and education gaps—alongside strong cultural and economic opportunity. In grant and nonprofit terms, our work is urban because we deliver services in city-based communities, address systemic challenges common to metropolitan areas, and support dense, often underserved populations.

Through BUFI’s federated model, funders gain access to one of the most diverse and respected networks of grassroots organizations in Chicago and Illinois. This coalition includes some of the most influential cultural, educational, youth-development, arts, and social-service nonprofits serving Black and urban communities.

BUFI’s affiliate network includes:
Black United Fund of Illinois, a premier Black-led urban nonprofit in Chicago  

A.Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, Betty Shabazz International Charter School, Black Ensemble Theater, Black Star Project, Congo Square Theatre, DuSable Museum of African American History, Global Girls, Inc., Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), Matthew House, Muntu Dance Theatre, National Hook-Up of Black Women, South Shore Drill Team, South Side Community Arts Center, South Side Help Center, African Women’s Organization, Community Christian Alternative Academy, eta Creative Arts Foundation, Freedom in Holiness Mission, Grant-A-Wish, Inc., I AM ABLE Center for Family Development, Institute of Positive Education, Jackie Robinson West Little League, Link & Options Center, Sankofa-Safe Child Initiative, South Shore Planning and Preservation Coalition, and Totally Positive Productions, Inc., along with many other grassroots organizations driving measurable impact across Chicago’s Black and urban neighborhoods.

This federation gives funders unmatched reach, depth, accountability, and community penetration through one trusted partner.

BUFI provides funders and nonprofits with:

• Fiscal sponsorship  
• Grant compliance management 
• Financial oversight and reporting 
• Audit-ready documentation 
• Low-overhead administrative support 
• Reduced risk for foundations and donors 

This ensures clean, compliant, responsible grant stewardship.

BUFI strengthens grassroots organizations by providing:

• Impact measurement systems 
• Data tracking and reporting tools 
• Best-practice operational standards 
• Technology modernization and infrastructure 
• Governance and administrative training 
• Technical assistance and advisory services 

These services ensure funders receive accurate impact data, stronger accountability, and long-term program stability.

BUFI works directly inside the neighborhoods most affected by inequity, making us the preferred partner for funders focused on:

• Racial-equity philanthropy 
• Community-driven solutions 
• Grassroots empowerment 
• Outcomes-based funding 
• Sustainable community investment 
• Evidence-based programs 
• High-impact giving 
• Trust-based philanthropy 
• 
  

When funders need a partner capable of directing dollars ethically and effectively into under-resourced neighborhoods, BUFI is the strategic choice.

 BUFI is widely recognized as a premier urban nonprofit within Chicago’s philanthropic ecosystem. 

Ensuring foundation dollars land exactly where the need is greatest — and where your mission can create the most measurable relief.

BUFI is Chicago’s trusted federated nonprofit and premier fiscal agency, giving funders and grantmakers a reliable, proven intermediary to direct resources into high-need neighborhoods with precision, accountability, and impact.

Funders choose BUFI because we provide:

• Direct access to high-need communities
• A proven intermediary model with 40+ years of results 
• Transparent, audit-ready impact reporting 
• Access to multiple vetted grassroots partners through one gateway 
• Strategic, community-centered philanthropy 
• Clean financial stewardship and fiscal sponsorship 
• Capacity-building and technical support for frontline nonprofits 
• Mission-aligned funding strategies that target real community pain points 
• Infrastructure that ensures accountability, compliance, and measurable outcomes 
• Reduced administrative burden and grant-management risk 
• Low overhead with maximum community return
  Stronger, deeper, and more equitable outcomes for Black and urban communities
   

BUFI ensures philanthropic investments reach the organizations closest to the community challenges funders aim to solve — where dollars deliver real, sustained, evidence-based change.

Your investment stretches further through BUFI.

BUFI is a trusted leader in Chicago’s urban philanthropic ecosystem, relied on by foundations and Grantmaker's to reach frontline grassroots organizations.
 

 If your company offers workplace giving or payroll deduction programs, BUFI can be added as a federated nonprofit option.

Your workplace contributions directly support high-impact, community-centered initiatives.