The Philanthropy Awards are the Make It Better Foundation’s keystone program — a national platform designed to identify, elevate, and amplify high-impact nonprofits. Each year, organizations are recognized across multiple levels based on their impact, innovation, and potential to scale. Although we love all of our winners, these NFPs stand out as models for others […]
What if listening may be the key to helping solve our biodiversity crisis? Not just hearing — really listening. To the roar of a lion. The haunting song of a humpback whale. To the layered chorus of a forest at dawn, or the unsettling quiet of an ecosystem in collapse. The sounds of our living […]
Years ago, when Sharanda Morehead was a teacher at LEARN Romano Butler in the Chicago neighborhood of North Lawndale, she remembers how Margaret Romano would pop into her classroom about once a week. She would say things like, “How are things going?” or “What do you need?” During the next week’s check-in, Romano often arrived […]
From neighborhood festivals and blockbuster exhibits to outdoor concerts, farmers markets, and landmark cultural events, June in Chicago has a little something for everyone. This month also brings opportunities for celebration and reflection with Pride Month, Juneteenth, and the highly anticipated opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. Whether you’re soaking up some […]
Many of the behaviors that show up in adult relationships — defensiveness, emotional shutdown, perfectionism, people-pleasing, fear of conflict — often begin as survival strategies long before adulthood. At a recent conversation hosted by The Family Institute at Northwestern University — a Make It Better 2026 Philanthropy Award winner — licensed marriage and family therapist […]
The power of partnership is ingrained in every aspect of The Joffrey Ballet, a 2026 Make It Better Foundation Philanthropy Award Winner. As one of Chicago’s most beloved cultural institutions since 1995, the company has intentionally cultivated relationships locally, nationally, and internationally, elevating not only its own profile but also sharing visibility and success with […]
In the summer before college, 17-year-old Carly Siegel felt a slight tingling in her finger. It was easy to dismiss — a small, fleeting sensation on an otherwise ordinary day. But Carly mentioned it to her mom while they were sitting in the car, and together they decided to have it checked out. That one […]
In a world where the most respected careers are doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scientists, why should kids be encouraged to pursue art? Despite drastic underfunding of the arts in U.S. schools — especially in communities with more non-white, low-income, and non-English speaking students — art education remains vital. Creative experiences help children thrive, benefiting their […]
At 2 a.m., a mother rocks her crying two-month-old, exhausted and unsure what to do next. She tries soothing, then distraction, then silence. Nothing works. By morning, guilt sets in. She wonders, like so many caregivers: Why didn’t anyone teach me how to do this? Most people will one day be responsible for another person, […]
In the early hours of October 9, 2017, the Tubbs Fire swept through Sonoma County and destroyed the Anova school, a place that had been a lifeline for its community. For Anova’s students — children on the autism spectrum and with other neurodevelopmental differences — the loss meant the sudden absence of routine, stability, and […]
