Each year, the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation hosts the Business Solves Conference and Citizens Awards, a gathering of innovators and partners committed to strengthening communities. This year’s conference was held on October 27-28 in Washington, DC. Over the two-day event, we joined business leaders and stakeholders to learn about the creative ways organizations and individuals are working together to solve community challenges.
Business Solves panel discussions and sessions were engaging and varied. We heard from business leaders from across the county on a wide range of topics. One of the themes that resonated most with us was affordability. Speakers addressed housing affordability, and we learned how Citi Foundation is dedicating resources to help increase access to affordable housing across the United States. We heard from a panel that addressed the critical issue of affordability and access to essential needs. We appreciated the insights shared by Entergy Louisiana, PNC, and the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, which discussed strategies for expanding access to essential resources and services.
Sessions also covered civic action, food insecurity, entrepreneurship, workforce development, AI, and more. The costs of caregiving for older adults was addressed in a session led by Edward Jones. Presenters highlighted findings from their recently released report, The Financial Impact of Caregiving, which explores financial security, unexpected caregiving needs, and workforce implications. Because we often work closely with organizations helping to address employee child care needs, it was interesting to see several parallels between caregiving challenges and workforce impacts.
One of the highlights of Business Solves is undoubtedly the announcement of the Citizens Awards. Congratulations to all 2026 Citizens Awards Finalists and award recipients! The US Chamber of Commerce Foundations made awards in nine categories, in areas such as civic engagement, economic opportunity and empowerment, health and wellness, sustainability. Organizations of all sizes were eligible for recognition. Finalists and award recipients are implementing programs across sectors and geographic regions. We encourage you to learn about the impressive work of all the finalists.
A Citizens Award recipient that stood out to us is Chicago Fire Foundation, which received the 2026 Best Community Improvement Program award. Chicago Fire Foundation was recognized for its P.L.A.Y.S. (Participate, Learn, Achieve, Youth, Soccer) Program, which connects soccer and social-emotional learning in more than 70 Chicago Public Schools. We were delighted to see Chicago Fire Foundation honored in this category, as they were also a finalist for Foundations for Families’ Community Impact Award. We look forward to following its continued success!
We invite you to explore Foundations for Families’ Consulting Services. If you’re interested in learning how we can support your agency to understand community needs and identifying solutions to address them, please be in touch. Our team of consultants will work with your organization to determine a process, timeline, and approach that is the best fit for your needs.
Thank you.
Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to use our blog posts for thought, integration, and sharing. When using or sharing content from blog posts, please attribute the original content to Foundations for Families.