She Gave Women’s Giving Circle Grant

The She Gave Women's Giving Circle Grant Program is a private community grantmaking initiative administered through the Heart of Illinois Community Foundation. Founded in 2023, the She Gave Women's Giving Circle brings together women who pool charitable contributions and collectively decide which local organizations and projects will receive grant funding. The Giving Circle has grown to more than 100 members and is designed to engage women of all generations in community philanthropy. Its stated mission includes investing in the economic self-sufficiency of women and opportunities for girls in Macon County. The She Gave fund is an endowed fund under the auspices of the Heart of Illinois Community Foundation, which provides fund management and administrative support. The grant program supports not-for-profit organizations and schools serving Macon County, Illinois. Its purpose is to support programs and projects that empower, connect, and inspire women and girls through initiatives and resources that improve their lives. The broader Giving Circle language emphasizes improving and enriching the lives of women and girls in Macon County and providing resources that help them lead toward a brighter future. The source identifies a maximum grant of $10,000 per organization and states that $25,000 will be awarded through the grant program. No minimum grant amount is stated. No matching or cost-share requirement is identified in the provided materials. Eligible applicants are described as not-for-profit organizations and schools serving Macon County. The geographic requirement is therefore specifically tied to service in Macon County rather than statewide or nationwide eligibility. The source does not provide additional organizational requirements such as a required 501(c)(3) determination, fiscal sponsorship provisions, minimum operating history, organizational budget limits, or restrictions concerning faith-based organizations. It also does not state whether organizations outside Macon County may apply when their proposed program serves Macon County. No detailed list of allowable or prohibited expenses is provided beyond the requirement that funded programs and projects support the stated purpose of empowering, connecting, and inspiring women and girls. For the upcoming cycle identified in the provided schedule, the She Gave Grant Portal opens November 18 and closes December 18. Based on the schedule's placement before the explicitly dated February 11, 2027 and April 10, 2027 events, these portal dates are treated as November 18, 2026 and December 18, 2026. No separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, notice of intent, or other pre-application gating requirement is identified. The source also does not provide application questions, required attachments, narrative requirements, financial documentation requirements, or sufficient details about the portal submission process beyond identifying the She Gave Grant Portal and its opening and closing dates. Grant decisions involve She Gave members. Giving Circle members pool their donations and decide together which projects and charities receive funding, and membership includes the opportunity to vote on how pooled funds are granted to local organizations. The schedule identifies an in-person voting event on February 11, 2027 at the Go Red for Women Event at The Country Club of Decatur. She Gave grant presentations are scheduled for April 10, 2027 during That's What She Said at The Lincoln Square Theatre. No additional scored evaluation criteria, review rubric, site visit requirement, or formal notification date is stated in the supplied material. The program demonstrates an annual grantmaking pattern. The Giving Circle awarded $25,000 in grants in 2024, $25,000 in 2025, and $30,000 in 2026, while the current general program page states that the grant program will award $25,000 and permits a maximum grant of $10,000 per organization. Past recipients include organizations such as Macon County Health Department, God's Shelter of Love, Children's Museum of Illinois, Decatur Family YMCA, Dove, Milligan Academy/Futures Unlimited, Riding Warriors, CJs Loving Hands, InPower Ministries, Project Read Plus, and Old Kings Orchard Community Center. Questions about the competitive grant cycle and application process should be directed to Andrea Gerhard at agerhard@heartofillinois.org or 217-429-3000. No grant performance period or explicit reporting schedule is provided in the source.

Center the proposed program or project on empowering, connecting, and inspiring women and girls in Macon County and clearly connect the work to initiatives or resources that better their lives. She Gave members collectively decide which projects and charities receive grant funding.