• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Museum
  • Shop
    • The Museum Shop
    • Chicago Fair Trade Holiday Pop-Up Shop
    • CFT at the Andersonville Galleria
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Watch
    • Read
    • Listen
  • Be Involved
    • Membership
    • Conscious Closet Club
    • Volunteering
    • Young Media Makers Competition
Chicago Fair Trade Logo

Chicago Fair Trade

Educate, Activate, Celebrate

  • About
    • Staff and Board
    • Business Members
    • Timeline
    • Youth Advisory Council
    • In the Media
  • Contact
  • Log In
  • DONATE

FLASH FUNDRAISER

BEST FLASH FUNDRAISER EVER!

Thanks to you, our Flash Fundraising drive this year has raised an amazing  $29,525 from 267 donors!

As a small non-profit, this is huge for us. Chicago Fair Trade relies on your generosity to keep doing what we’re doing – and in just three days, your efforts have given us the security we need to plan ahead for the next year.  Plans include expanding our work educating youth,  advocating for garment workers, mentoring other fair trade grassroots organizations, and f course we’ll continue to host creative events throughout the year. 

A HUGE thank you to everyone who donated, and a special shout-out to our core team of fundraisers who worked so hard to make this happen! 

YAY! Thanks to you, we are on a roll!

Did you miss the deadline? Fear not! You can still donate!

Donate here!

How your donation helps

Funding from this year’s Flash Fundraiser will help us carry out our mission of Cultivating a community dedicated to an economy that values the labor & dignity of all people. Here are just some of the things your donation has made possible.

Educate

Your support allows us to bring Fair Trade champions like Nasreen Sheikh to Chicago to meet with and inspire students – the future leaders of the fair trade movement.

It also allows us to provide students with internships, mentor Fair Trade Clubs (including the newest one at St. Ignatius High School!), and engage students from every corner of Chicago in our After School Matters program, “Build Your Brand: Ethical Entrepreneurship.”

Activate

Right now, Chicago Fair Trade has a historic opportunity. CFT is the Illinois Coordinator for the FABRIC Act, strong legislation that will mean concrete improvements for nearly 100,000 garment workers in the US. Chicago Fair Trade’s organizing efforts are paying off.

Just this week, Senator Tammy Duckworth became a Co-Sponsor of this groundbreaking legislation! These campaigns take staff time and that takes dollars, but the time and effort generate meaningful systemic change!

Celebrate!

Your donations support our annual World Fair Trade Day celebration, the largest of its kind in the US!

This past year, we hosted Open House Chicago Fair Trade. Each year, this event brings the message of fair trade to thousands of new people, and helps grow our movement.

We know there are many good causes out there, and we thank you for considering donating to Chicago Fair Trade. As a small but effective non-profit organization, every donation truly makes a difference.

Thanks to all the donors!

Thank you! Together we’ve reached our goal, but let’s not stop there! All 275 of us have raised $30,200; let’s keep going!

120.8%

Prefer to send a check? Please let us know so we can add the amount to our running total. Make your check out to “Chicago Fair Trade” and mail to “3319 N Cicero Avenue #410386 Chicago, IL 60641”.

Meet our fundraisers

  • Katherine Bissell Cordova

  • Abby Alley

  • Bernadette Aguilar

  • Bethany Collins

  • Chipo Nyambuya

  • Jerome McDonnell

  • Kristine Brandel

  • Jocelyn Leitzinger

  • Maranda Leigh

  • Michelle Thomas

  • Nancy Jones

  • Rahel Mwitula Williams

  • Robbie Klinger

  • Sarah Faur

  • Taylor McCleneghan

Special thanks to our donors!

September 25, 2026

Donated $25.00

September 25, 2026

Friend of Emily Rosenberg.

Donated $50.00

September 25, 2026

Donated $50.00

December 13, 2023

Donated $200.00

October 30, 2023

Donated $250.00

October 26, 2023

Donated $100.00

October 8, 2023

Donated $250.00

October 1, 2023

Donated $25.00

September 29, 2023

Good job!

Donated $30.00

September 28, 2023

Donated $15.00

September 27, 2023

Donated $100.00

September 27, 2023

This is an awesome organization! Thank you for the work that you do! 🙂

Donated $25.00
Donate

DAY THREE: UPDATE AND NOTE FROM CHIPO NYAMBUYA

I am so committed to Chicago Fair Trade’s work that I am participating in this fundraising drive from Liberia, where I relocated earlier this year.  I am also extending the Fair Trade mission and message to Liberia.   

While Chicago Fair Trade’s work focuses on serious topics like labor rights and combating climate change, I love that Chicago Fair Trade always makes time to celebrate the good. Chicago Fair Trade is a joyous community. We embody the philosophy: if I can’t dance, I can’t fully be part of the revolution.

Since February, we have hosted a variety of creative and joyful events including: 

  • *A Fair Trade Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebration
  • *A World Refugee Day celebration and donation drive
  • *A One-Stop Plant Swap 
  • *Chocolate making workshop

We love hosting a wide variety of events every year to help build connections in our community, introduce our members to new organizations and ideas, and grow our collective movement.

We would really appreciate your support to continue building community connections. Click HERE to make a donation today, so we can celebrate reaching our goal!

Many thanks,

Chipo Nyambuya

Chicago Fair Trade Board Member

Footer

Get in Touch

  • ChicagoFairTrade
  • chicagofair
  • chifairtrade
  • Chicago Fair Trade

Get Involved

  • Donate
  • Become a Member
  • Fundraising with CFT
  • Volunteering

Get Our Newsletter

Copyright © 2026 Chicago Fair Trade · Log in · Privacy Policy