Three years after $10.1 million Bezos Earth Fund giving in Chicago, Illinois. Here's what is taking roots

Chicago has thousands of vacant lots, and more than 80 percent of those parcels are in communities where the population is at least 80 percent Black. For decades, "vacant" has meant overlooked, more than empty.

Bezos Earth Fund's 2023 aid

The Bezos Earth Fund announced $10.1 million for Chicago projects on July 17, 2023. This fund came as part of the first $50 million round of its Greening America's Cities initiative, a $400 million commitment running through 2030.

Thirty organizations in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Wilmington were supported with the first round of the Bezos Fund.


Here's the three biggest recipients of the donations:

-Grow Greater Englewood ($3.8 million)

-Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Renewable Living ($1.75 million)

-Blacks in Green ($1.5 million).

The rest of the giving was handed over to Green Latinos, PolicyLink, the Trust for Public Land and the Great Lakes Climate Adaptation Network.

Grow Greater Englewood

Ten acres of polluted land planned to be converted into a thriving natural site for recreation, exercise, and regenerative agriculture. Bezos Earth Fund writes, "The funding helps begin construction on a 1.75-mile nature trail along a former rail corridor (almost two decades in the making), a project almost two decades in the making. The trail will be one component of the larger Agro-Eco District initiative." Block Club Chicago reported $70 million as the overall goal for the trail.

It is crucial to follow legal parameters to ensure the benefits reach the community. Therefore, plans like the youth workforce programe, Englewood Conservation Corps were introduced.

The group has continuously endeavoured to convert vacant lots into urban farms, markets, and trails.

Black Oaks Center

Black Oaks Center works in Pembroke Township to restore an additional 500 acres of land for farming; provide technical support and supplies to 25 additional brown- and Black-owned farms. This was previously the largest Black farming community in the north of the Mason-Dixon line. According to ProPublica, Illinois's black-owned farms stand at only 18,659 acres - which is less than a tenth of a percent of the state's agricultural land.

Black Oaks claims they have been working with the Savanna Institute, USDA/The Conservation Fund as well to restore at least 1,000 acres of farmland, and it offers apprenticeships in permaculture and agroforestry (Agroforestry means growing food and trees together on the same land).

Black in Green (BIG)

Blacks in Green's $1.5 million is meant to scale its Sustainable Square Mile project in West Woodlawn - developing green spaces, purchasing vacant

neighborhood properties, and hiring full-time staff.

Three years in, some of Chicago's are being measured in acres of farmland, miles of planned trail and neighbors on payroll. Whether those numbers hold up is the part worth watching.

Trading gray for green

On July 7, 2026, a Bezos Earth Fund press release said that under Greening America's Cities program, it is giving another $100 million to build parks, green spaces and outdoor areas in eight neighborhood cities of America.

"In neighborhoods across eight American cities, underutilized and overlooked land is trading gray for green, with the Bezos Earth Fund announcing a $100 million investment as part of its Greening America's Cities initiative to fund community-designed parks, beautiful large-scale green space, and immersive outdoor areas in Allentown, Pa.; Atlanta; Cleveland; Indianapolis; Little Rock, Ark.; Los Angeles; Salt Lake City; and Sioux Falls, S.D."

FAQs

1. What is the purpose of the $10.1 million funding announced by the Bezos Earth Fund for Chicago?
   The $10.1 million funding aims to support community projects in Chicago as part of the Bezos Earth Fund's Greening America's Cities initiative, which is focused on transforming vacant lots into green spaces, recreational areas, and sites for regenerative agriculture.
2. Which organizations are the largest recipients of the Bezos Earth Fund's funding in Chicago?
   The three largest recipients of the funding in Chicago are Grow Greater Englewood, which received $3.8 million; Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Renewable Living with $1.75 million; and Blacks in Green, which received $1.5 million.
3. What initiatives are planned for the funding received by Grow Greater Englewood?
   The funding for Grow Greater Englewood will help initiate the construction of a 1.75-mile nature trail along a former rail corridor and is part of the broader Agro-Eco District initiative, which aims to convert polluted land into thriving natural sites for recreation and agriculture.