Community Grants Program

The Community Grants Program is administered by the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, a regional philanthropic organization that has awarded more than ninety million dollars in grants and scholarships since its founding in 1953. The foundation operates through the generosity of individual, family, and organizational donors committed to improving the quality of life across Northern Illinois. Community Grants represents the foundation’s largest and most comprehensive funding initiative, designed to support a wide range of charitable activities that benefit residents in Boone, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties. The primary purpose of the program is to fund projects, programs, events, and capital needs that address community priorities across eight defined focus areas: Arts and Humanities, Basic Needs and Compassionate Support, Career Pathways, Complementary Education, Dignity and Respect, Health, Sustainable Communities, and Youth and Families. While Career Pathways and Complementary Education are identified as strategic priorities, funding is distributed across all focus areas. Eligible proposals must demonstrate a clear community need, articulate measurable outcomes, and align with one of these focus areas. Activities funded must primarily benefit residents within the specified counties, though broader service areas may be considered if local impact is clear. Funding supports a range of allowable expenses directly tied to project implementation. These include programmatic costs, staff wages, contractor fees, and capital expenditures for assets with a useful life exceeding one year. Indirect costs are permitted but capped at fifteen percent of the total request. The program does not support general operating expenses, fundraising activities, endowment building, deficit reduction, or large scale capital campaigns unless the request constitutes at least twenty five percent of the total project cost. Additionally, proposals that promote religious activities, partisan politics, or discriminatory practices are not eligible for funding. Eligibility is open to a defined set of applicant types, including organizations recognized as 501c3 nonprofits, religious organizations, units of government, and public colleges or universities. Applicants must have been in active service to the public for at least one year as of December first of the application year and must be current on all reporting requirements for prior grants from the foundation. Additional requirements apply for organizations serving school districts, those new to the program, or those that have not operated within the service area in recent years. Applicants are limited to submitting no more than two proposals per funding cycle. Applications must be submitted through the foundation’s online portal and consist of seven required components: a summary, proposal plan, community need statement, detailed budget, evaluation plan, organizational background, and a grant applicant agreement. The evaluation plan requires clearly defined results, indicators of success, targets, methods of measurement, and benchmarks. Proposals are reviewed by volunteer community advisors who make recommendations to the Board of Trustees, which holds final decision making authority. The review process emphasizes fairness, objectivity, and adherence to conflict of interest and confidentiality policies. For the 2026 cycle, applications open on June 25 and must be submitted by August 20 at five pm. Award notifications are expected in early November, and funds are available by the end of November, with the expectation that expenditures begin after December 1. The program operates on an annual cycle, and applicants are encouraged to participate in optional workshops and office hours offered throughout the application period. Questions may be directed to Grants Officer Lisa DeLang via email or phone, who serves as the primary contact for program support and clarification.

Ensure strong alignment with one of the eight focus areas; clearly define measurable outcomes and indicators of success; include a detailed and realistic budget with allowable indirect costs; demonstrate clear community need and organizational capacity