Illinois Capacity Building Grants

The Connect Illinois Broadband Grant Program includes $400 million in appropriated funds available for expansion of broadband infrastructure throughout the state. Through multiple rounds of competitive matching grants, Connect Illinois will provide direct matching grants, awarded on a competitive basis via merit based review, to grant applicants including broadband providers, rural cooperatives, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and partnerships.

The Hospital Health Protection Grant Program (HHPGP-24Extended25) for State Fiscal Year 2025 provides funding to named hospitals to support their ordinary and contingent expenses. The aim is to improve health equity, access to quality care, and reduce health disparities in underserved communities, in accordance with the Safety-Net Hospital Health Equity and Access Leadership Grant Program. The total funding available is $3,000,000.00, with individual awards ranging from $1,000,000.00 to $2,000,000.00. Applications are due by August 30, 2024.

This funding opportunity provides financial support and capacity-building resources to small or emerging nonprofits in McHenry County, helping them strengthen their operations and enhance their community services.

This initiative provides funding to organizations that deliver essential health screenings and services to underserved communities of color in Illinois, aiming to reduce health disparities and improve access to care.

This initiative provides funding to organizations that deliver culturally sensitive HIV prevention and care services to at-risk minority populations in Illinois, including men who have sex with men, homeless individuals, and those with histories of mental illness or substance abuse.

The City of Evanston's "Sustain Evanston" Incentive Program is a funding tool designed to empower small business owners to implement sustainability measures. This initiative directly aligns with the City’s Climate Action & Resilience Plan, serving the foundational mission of fostering a more sustainable community. By offering financial assistance, the program aims to reduce operating costs for businesses while simultaneously enhancing their service to customers through environmentally friendly practices. This strategic alignment underscores the city's commitment to both economic vitality and ecological responsibility. The primary beneficiaries of this program include commercial property owners, tenants of commercial buildings, business districts, and coalitions of businesses within the City of Evanston. The impact goals are centered on improving the environmental footprint of local businesses, promoting sustainable infrastructure, and encouraging eco-conscious operations. Through these efforts, the program seeks to create a more resilient and environmentally sound local economy, benefiting both businesses and residents. The program prioritizes a broad range of sustainability measures, categorized into capital projects, equipment, services, and education materials. Key focuses include the adoption of heat pumps, EV charging infrastructure, solar PV, waste collection enclosures, green infrastructure like green roofs, and energy-efficient upgrades such as insulation and windows. Equipment priorities involve reusable containers, energy-efficient lighting, and appliances. Services like composting, recycling, energy/water benchmarking, and consulting are also emphasized, alongside educational signage and labels. These priorities reflect a holistic approach to sustainability, addressing various facets of business operations. Expected outcomes include a significant reduction in the operational costs for participating businesses due to increased energy efficiency and waste reduction. Measurable results will likely involve the number of businesses implementing sustainable upgrades, the amount of energy saved, the volume of waste diverted from landfills, and the expansion of green infrastructure within the city. The program's strategic approach is to incentivize tangible changes that collectively contribute to the City’s broader Climate Action & Resilience Plan, acting as a catalyst for widespread sustainable practices within the business community. This aligns with a theory of change where financial incentives drive behavioral and infrastructure changes, leading to a more sustainable and resilient urban environment.

This program provides financial support to women-owned or operated small businesses along Route 66 to help them maintain, reopen, or expand their operations while celebrating their contributions to the local culture and economy.

The FY 2025 Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) RFP, managed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), targets new and current grantees looking to increase service capacity. The grant focuses on preschool education and prevention initiatives, supporting entities outside of Chicago in providing educational, health, social, and child development services to young children and their families. Applications must meet GATA prequalification requirements and are due by 4:00 p.m. on May 16, 2024. Grant renewed every year.

The Envisioning Justice Grants program, supported by Illinois Humanities, focuses on leveraging the arts and humanities to foster a truly just society. This initiative aligns with the foundation's broader mission to create understanding about mass incarceration and its profound impact on communities throughout Illinois. By funding impactful initiatives that use creative and intellectual approaches, Illinois Humanities seeks to build more affirming, engaged, and empowered communities, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and just society. The program targets a diverse range of beneficiaries, specifically prioritizing currently or formerly incarcerated individuals, people serving long-term sentences, justice-involved young people, women (particularly women of color and/or those impacted by gendered violence), the LGBTQAI+ community, migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, immigrants, elderly populations, people with disabilities, and Indigenous populations. Furthermore, the grants prioritize projects that focus on communities that are sites of prisons or jails, experiencing significant incarceration, and/or undergoing significant demographic change due to the criminal legal system. The overarching impact goal is to facilitate understanding of mass incarceration and support those working to mitigate its effects. Envisioning Justice Grants prioritize projects that are regional or statewide in scope and partnership-oriented, emphasizing collaborative efforts to address complex issues. The funded initiatives include prison education programs, independent media, community dialogues, and conferences. These efforts are designed to create spaces for critical reflection, artistic expression, and humanistic inquiry, which are central to the foundation's strategic priorities. While specific measurable results are not explicitly detailed beyond "create understanding" and "build more affirming, engaged, and empowered communities," the program implicitly aims for increased community engagement, enhanced public discourse on carceral issues, and improved conditions for affected populations. Organizations can apply for grants of up to $10,000, with no matching funds required, making the program accessible to a wide range of groups. Eligibility is limited to nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations or those with a fiscal sponsor, based anywhere in Illinois. While all Illinois applicants are eligible, individuals from East St. Louis, Decatur, Carbondale, Galesburg, Urbana-Champaign, and the Bloomington-Normal Metro Area are particularly encouraged to apply. This geographic focus, coupled with the thematic priorities, underscores Illinois Humanities' theory of change: that by supporting arts and humanities initiatives, particularly in highly impacted areas and among vulnerable populations, they can drive meaningful social change and foster a more just and informed citizenry.

This grant provides funding to Illinois community colleges to improve developmental education by enhancing faculty training, expanding data capacity, and scaling effective teaching practices.

This funding opportunity provides unrestricted financial support to nonprofit organizations in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois that focus on grassroots advocacy, community organizing, and policy initiatives aimed at achieving racial equity and community well-being.

This funding initiative supports community organizations in Chicago that promote equitable access to health resources, focusing on projects that enhance physical activity, healthy eating, and mental wellness, particularly for historically marginalized communities.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to nonprofit organizations in Illinois to implement community-based programs aimed at reducing firearm violence in designated neighborhoods through the recruitment and training of local Peacekeepers.

This funding is designed to help Illinois public schools improve their performance by supporting school leaders in developing and implementing effective improvement plans for underperforming schools.

This funding program provides financial support to nonprofit organizations that deliver essential social services to residents of Naperville, Illinois, with a focus on areas such as emergency assistance, mental health, and support for seniors, youth, and individuals with disabilities.

The Consolidated Communications Fund for Economic Development and Community Leadership Grants, provided by the Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation, offers financial support to nonprofit organizations in Coles County, Illinois, that aim to enhance workforce skills, entrepreneurship, and business development environment, with a focus on projects that build organizational strength and leadership capacity in areas like fundraising, governance, finance, marketing, and technology.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to nonprofit organizations and public entities for small-scale health initiatives that improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of residents in Pike County, Illinois.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations in Illinois to coordinate and enhance services for communities disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis, focusing on prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts for individuals with substance use disorders and their families.

This program provides funding to emerging nonprofit theater organizations in Chicago to help them strengthen their operations and ensure long-term sustainability through capacity building and strategic development.

This funding opportunity is designed to enhance the training and retention of paraprofessionals who support students with disabilities in Illinois schools by providing professional development resources and learning opportunities.