Woods Fund of Chicago

WFC claims to be “committed to appointing leaders of color, predominantly women,” into its leadership positions. ³

Former President Barack Obama was previously appointed as board chair for the WFC Woods Fund in 1997, sitting on the board alongside Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers starting in 1999. ^{4 4}

History and Background

The Woods Fund of Chicago (WFC) was initially created as the Woods Charitable Fund in the state of Nebraska around 1941 by Frank H. Woods, founder of the Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Company; his wife, Nelle Cochrane Woods; and their three sons. ^{5 3}

The Woods Charitable Fund remained a private family foundation until the death of Frank H. Woods, Jr., in 1980, who led the fund’s Chicago giving program at the time. Following his death, the fund was restructured into two separate foundations in 1993 with Jean Rudd, the executive director of the fund’s Chicago program from 1980 to 1993, leading the transition and eventually appointed as the first president of what became the WFC in 1993. ³

Barack Obama, at the time an Illinois state legislator, was appointed to the role of board chair in 1997. Prior to this, he was initially a grantee on work in community organizing, an advisory committee member, and later board member prior to becoming chair.  ³

By 2008, WFC began to incorporate “racial equity” into its grant making operations and strategy. The WFC’s board of directors would later approve implementing a “Pursuit of Racial Equity” plan in 2014 to promote “work that dismantles structural racism” in the Chicago area. ³

In 2025, the Woods Fund of Chicago partnered with the Trust Based Philanthropy Project through its “Meet the Moment” initiative to unite supporters “in solidarity with nonprofits” against potential issues for the nonprofit sector including reductions in funding, legal concerns, and lack of staff. ⁶

Controversies

Association with Bill Ayers

From 1999 through 2002, then-Illinois state legislator Barack Obama sat on the  board of directors for the Woods Fund of Chicago (WFC), in the position of board chair, alongside Bill Ayers, a co-founder and head of the anarchist group Weather Underground. Despite turning himself in around 1980 for his involvement with the group as well as alleged bombings in which he took part, Ayers was never convicted of crimes.  ⁴ Later in 2001, during an interview with the New York Times, he claimed “I don’t regret setting bombs; I feel we didn’t do enough.”  ⁴ According to David Axelrod, who was the chief strategist for then-U.S. Sen. Obama’s (D-IL) 2008 Presidential campaign, Obama and Ayers were “certainly friendly.” ^{4 7}

Funding Dissenters

The WFC has provided funding for Dissenters, an anti-war activist group founded in 2020 that opposes immigration-enforcement policies, supports the defunding of police departments, and opposes aid to the State of Israel.  ^{1 2}

According to a funding report released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the WFC donated $45,000 in 2021, and $35,000 per year between 2022 and 2023 to Dissenters. WFC also disbursed $50,000 of a three-year $150,000 grant to Dissenters in 2024. ⁸

Leadership

Jose Oliva is a member of the board for the Woods Fund of Chicago (WFC), being appointed to the position in 2024. Oliva is also the co-founder and previously co-director of the labor union-affiliated Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA).  ^{9 10 11} Oliva, as of January 2024, also sat on the board of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United.  ^{9 12}

Michelle Morales is the president of the WFC, who was appointed to the position in 2019. ¹³ Morales was previously the co-chair of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s (D) transition team and was appointed to the Chicago Board of Education by Mayor Johnson in 2023 before stepping down in October 2024. Morales is also the vice chair of the board of trustees at Northeastern Illinois University as of 2025. ^{14 15}

Financials

The Woods Fund of Chicago reported a total revenue of under $4 million in 2021, just over $2 million in 2022, and less than $4.4 million in 2023. Its total expenses were under $5.5 million in 2021, over $5.5 million in 2022, and around $6.8 million in 2023. The organization’s net assets were over $51.6 million in 2021, roughly $48 million in 2022, and over $44.7 million in 2023. ¹⁶

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation previously donated to the Woods Fund of Chicago (WFC) including a three-year grant of $150,000 in 2003, grants of $300,000 in 2016 and 2017, and $100,000 in 2020. ¹⁷