Our History

In 2003, the Illinois Women’s Funding Federation (IWFF) and the Public Interest Fund of Illinois (PIFI) joined forces and created Community Shares of Illinois.

IWFF was founded in 1988 to establish a source of permanent, unrestricted funding for programs benefiting women and families; to increase publics awareness of issues of interest to women and families; and to encourage wage earners to make regular contributions to programs dedicated to helping women overcome poverty, lack of education, abuse and discrimination.

In 1992, nineteen citizen and advocacy organizations formed PIFI as a mechanism to support Illinois non-profit organizations engaged in social change, citizen education and empowerment; and work to enable people—particularly the poor—to achieve fuller participation in society by eliminating social, economic, cultural and/or political barriers.

Restructuring as Community Shares of Illinois strengthens our ability to provide support to community-based organizations throughout our state.