Amanda Cage

Program Officer, McCormick Tribune Foundation
CAAIP member Amanda Cage is a program officer at the McCormick Tribune
Foundation. Through five grantmaking programs, three world-class
museums, and Cantigny Park, the foundation positively impacts people’s
lives and stays true to its mission of advancing the ideals of a free,
democratic society. Amanda works in the communities program, a unique
program that partners with newspapers, broadcast stations, and sports
teams to distribute grants to 23 communities nationwide. Through its
partners in Chicago, the communities program focuses on issues that
affect low-income people and funds non-profits that address the issues
of hunger, literacy, workforce development, housing, domestic violence,
child trauma, and at-risk youth.

In 2005, Amanda received a MPP from
the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. While
at the Harris School she interned for the Chicago Community Trust and
the Chicago Office of Senator Barack Obama. Amanda’s past work includes
seven years as a union and community organizer addressing the issues of
low-wage and immigrant workers with the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU) and Jobs with Justice. In these positions she worked on
political campaigns and negotiated union contracts in the healthcare
field and the nonprofit and public sectors.

WHAT AMANDA HAS TO SAY
ABOUT PHILANTHROPY AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
As support for publicly funded programs continues to erode, the role
of private sector dollars, in the form of philanthropy, has become
increasingly important. Programs that provide cultural enrichment,
economic opportunity and community development continue to struggle to
have the resources they need to create positive impact in people's
lives. This is especially important in the African American community.
I chose a career in philanthropy to find solutions to social problems,
especially as they relate to poverty. If done correctly, philanthropy
can be a space for innovation and investment as we investigate new ways
of addressing persistent problems. CAIPP is so important because it
allows African Americans to be engaged in this process. Often
philanthropic institutions or individuals see the African American
community as a charitable cause and not the source of solutions. CAAIP
is here to remind philanthropy that we are indeed part of the
solution.