Illinois Prairie Community Foundation General Grants

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation offers General Grants in the fields of education and health and wellness. The competitive grant program supports eligible organizations serving residents of McLean, DeWitt, Livingston, or Logan counties in Illinois. Programs do not have to serve all four counties. The source states that applications for the 2027 grant cycle will be accepted in February 2027. General grant funding covers the period from June 1 through May 31 of the following year. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) organizations, organizations operating with a fiscal sponsor that is a 501(c)(3) organization, units of municipal, county, state, or federal government, including public schools, nonprofit institutes of higher learning, and tax-exempt religious organizations or places of worship. Programs offered by religious organizations may not proselytize for a particular religion or cause. All funded programs must be available to residents of at least one of the four eligible counties and must be operated without violating applicable anti-discrimination laws. Organizations that previously received funding from Illinois Prairie Community Foundation must be current on all required final reports. The Executive Director, CEO, or Board President of the applicant organization must approve the application. The Foundation gives greatest consideration to new programs and programs offering creative or innovative solutions to identified needs while building on proven practical methods. Programs that have received repeated funding in the past receive less consideration. Competitive proposals should demonstrate the potential to become ongoing and self-sufficient beyond the grant period. Programs should also use clear methods for measuring and reporting results, with emphasis on objective and quantifiable measurements. Cost effectiveness and a complete, clear program budget are additional considerations identified by the Foundation. General Grant funds are subject to several restrictions. The Foundation does not fund capital improvements or expenditures such as vehicles, facility windows, office copy machines, or equipment such as a walk-in freezer. Non-program-related expenses are not funded, and grant committees generally prefer not to fund personnel expenses. However, stipends may be used to engage a qualified professional from another entity to conduct a program. Event sponsorships, annual fundraising events and related expenses, conference or continuing education expenses, endowment campaigns, and scholarships intended to further an individual's college or university education are not funded. Sliding-scale or needs-based financial assistance that enables a person to participate in a program is permitted. Applications are submitted through the Foundation's online grant application portal. The source states that the Grant Agreement and Grant Final Reports will also be available through that portal. Applicants are directed to review the Foundation's criteria common to all grant types and its tips for submitting an effective grant application. The supplied information does not provide an exact February 2027 opening day, a final application deadline, a pre-application requirement, a stated award amount, total program funding, number of awards, or a required matching contribution. No direct PDF application or guidelines URL is supplied. For assistance with the grant process, applicants may contact Programs Manager Michele Evans at mevans@ilprairiecf.org or 309-662-4477. Applicants wishing to view an application submitted in a previous year are also instructed to contact Michele Evans. The next identified application period is February 2027, followed by the stated general grant funding period beginning June 1 and continuing through May 31 of the following year. The references to the 2027 cycle, previous-year applications, repeated past funding, and the annual June through May funding period support treating the program as recurring.

Prioritize new programs and creative or innovative solutions that build on proven practical methods; show potential for ongoing self-sufficiency beyond the grant period; use clear, objective, quantifiable methods to measure and report results; present a cost-effective program with a complete and clear budget; repeated past funding receives less consideration.