Check out the latest insights from our program team and grantees.
Grantees

Congo Square Play Promotes Healing, Catharsis in Chicago
Congo Square Theatre is an ensemble dedicated to producing transformative work rooted in the African Diaspora. For 20 years it has committed to telling stories by and for Black people.
Grantee
Congo Square Theatre Company

Building collective power through research
Black Researchers Collective was founded in 2019 with a mission to train and equip communities with the research tools necessary to be more civically engaged and policy informed.
Grantee
Black Researchers Collective

The nation’s first Black arts museum
South Side Community Art Center is the nation’s first Black arts museum that develops and showcases some of the nation’s most influential Black artists.
Grantee
South Side Community Art Center

Chicago violence prevention leader joins Justice Department as senior adviser
READI Chicago Director Eddie Bocanegra Joins Justice Department as Senior Adviser
Grantee
Heartland Alliance

Engaging to protect our water
Fifty years on, Alliance for the Great Lakes expands environmental justice advocacy through inclusion and partnerships.
Grantee
Alliance for the Great Lakes

Pivoting to a reimagined stage
The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project adapts and endures, rethinking performance space and how to reach audiences and students through a pandemic.
All Insights
-
Content Type
-
Programs
-
Focus Areas

Examining the Rise of Armed Extremists and Militias in Michigan
Recent political violence issues have been on the rise in the U.S. During this webinar, panelists discussed these trends, their implications on democratic institutions specifically in Michigan, and what policy makers might be poised to do about it.
Fairer Redistricting Initiatives Advance in Michigan and Ohio
Joyce grantees in Michigan and Ohio have played integral roles advancing policy for fairer implementation of legislative districts for all citizens in those states.
Fairness in redistricting
Michigan residents have a chance to help craft fairer, more equitable legislative districts, and a coalition of nonprofit organizations is banding together to help community groups take advantage of the opportunity.

COVID-19 Stories: Nailing the Ballot Question
Is 2020 the year of mail-in election ballots? In Ohio, they now sprout from trees.

COVID-19 Stories: Upping the Census Count
Text messages and grocery store receipts? That was not part of the expansive outreach campaign Joan Gustafson and her partners envisioned when they set out three years ago to persuade more Michiganders to participate in the national 2020 Census.
Critical 2020 Census Count Underway
Joyce supporting statewide census outreach efforts across the Great Lakes region, as well as the national Census Counts partnership. Having an accurate census count relates directly to the foundation’s promotion of fair representation and voting rights.

Want to be the first state to vote? Better make sure you’re ready
Which state should hold the first presidential primary? One that’s most prepared, argues the Joyce Foundation’s democracy program director, Carrie Davis.
A big day for democracy: Here's a look at the Supreme Court decisions and what's next.
Supreme Court actions reached markedly divergent decisions on two cases: Rucho v. Common Cause and Department of Commerce v. New York. For those of us concerned about the health and inclusivity of our democracy, this is a day of mixed reactions.

Why the Stakes Are High for Cook County with Supreme Court’s 2020 Census Case
Supreme Court heard arguments on whether a question about citizenship will be allowed on the 2020 Census, and early indicators suggest that the question will stand. If so, Cook County must redouble its efforts to ensure we have a full and complete census.

The Joyce Foundation Signs Onto SCOTUS Brief Against Census Citizenship Question
Joyce joined 30 philanthropic organizations in signing onto a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Court to strike down the Citizenship question from the 2020 Census.

American Democracy in Crisis: The Fate of Pluralism in a Divided Nation
he Joyce Foundation set out to assess how the ideal of a pluralistic society is doing in this time of social and political upheaval.
American Democracy in Crisis: The Challenges of Voter Knowledge, Participation, and Polarization
The Public Religion Research Institute and The Atlantic have published results from the first in a series of polls exploring challenges to democratic institutions and practices.