Search Through Arts Grants for Nonprofits in Illinois in the U.S.

Employees Community Fund (ECF) of The Boeing CompanyOne of the largest employee-managed funds of its kind in the world, the Employees Community Fund (ECF) of The Boeing Company has been empowering employees to make a greater impact by pooling their tax-deductible donations for more than 60 years. Employee-led grantmaking committees at 20 Boeing sites- provide combined employee donations to nonprofits in their communities through ECF grants.Charitable or educational organizations can apply for grants from the Employees Community Fund (ECF) of The Boeing Company.Chicago ChapterThe Chicago Chapter of the Employees Community Fund is one of the chapters of The Boeing Company’s employee-owned and managed nonprofit charitable organization. Boeing pays all of the administrative costs of the fund, so each and every dollar that employees contribute to the fund is distributed directly to local nonprofit organizations to support and advance their work in the community. ECF Grants are made possible by the regular donations of Boeing employees who want to make a significant and lasting impact on their local community by pooling together their resources.ECF FocusThe Chicago Chapter focuses on established nonprofits in the following areas: Arts and Culture, Education, Environment, and Health and Human Services. We emphasize programs that are sustainable, scalable, and replicable beyond the period of investment. Nonprofits are evaluated on a number of factors, including their history, mission, impact in the community, success of recent initiatives and alignment with our goals. Because we will not fund organizations on an ongoing basis, it is critical that the organization be able to sustain a project on a going forward basis without additional funding from ECF. Grants vary in size (typically between $3,000 and $10,000) depending on the project, as well as the number and quality of other grant applications and the amount of employee contributions to the Chicago Chapter in a given year.Each year we receive many more grant requests than we are able to fund. While it is not possible for every organization to receive funding, those that are in alignment with our goals and mission are given careful consideration. Applicants that are referred to by Boeing employees who contribute to the Chicago Chapter of the fund are prioritized over other applicants.

Background

Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), now including the Pepco Holdings utilities, is the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2015 revenues of approximately $34.5 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon does business in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with more than 32,700 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 2 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Exelon’s six utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to approximately 10 million customers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania through its Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco subsidiaries

Grants

One way we connect with our communities is through local grants. Exelon’s grant applications are easy to complete. You can submit online applications for program, event and sponsorship support.

Exelon Directs Corporate Giving To Four Key Areas:

We fund programs that deliver measurable, sustainable improvements in the communities we serve. We invest in organizations that have proven track records in these areas:

Through our Building Exelon’s Future Workforce focus area, Exelon funds organizations, institutions, and programs that offer Science, Technology, Math, and Engineering (STEM) education and enrichment opportunities for students; scholarship and mentoring support to increase the number of students graduating with college degrees in STEM fields, STEM career and technical education, occupational skills training programs for older youth and adults, and assistance to remove barriers to employment. The following list includes a selection of strategies that Exelon and its operating companies support to build Exelon’s future workforce:

• Out-of-school education & enrichment programs such as summer or after school STEM programs and clubs,
• STEM career exposure opportunities for students such as career fairs and field site visits,
• Novel in-school STEM learning opportunities such as mobile labs and science outreach,
• K-12 STEM teacher training and professional development opportunities,
• STEM classroom resources and lab equipment,
• High school STEM trades career and technical education and training programs,
• Community college-based STEM trade education, training, and apprentice programs,
• Postsecondary scholarships for students majoring in STEM fields,
• STEM career mentoring and tutoring,
• STEM trade occupational skills training programs for adults and older youth, and
• Employment barrier removal assistance services.

Through our Energy Empowerment in Our Communities focus area, Exelon funds organizations and programs that improve the quality of our environment; promote environmental education, conservation, and preservation; develop cleaner sources of energy; protect endangered species; and beautify neighborhoods. Examples of programs that Exelon and its operating companies support through Energy Empowerment grants include, but are not limited to, the following strategies:

• Alternative energy development, installation, and education,  
• Vehicle electrification,
• Climate resilience or adaptation initiatives and education,
• Endangered species protection, wildlife conservation, promotion of biodiversity,
• Landscape and watershed conservation, restoration, and preservation,  
• Neighborhood beautification and green space initiatives, and
• Environmental and energy efficiency education and outreach.  

Through our Enrichment through Local Vitality focus area, Exelon funds a broad range of organizations and institutions that create local employment opportunities, support families, foster resilience, and strengthen communities. Examples of ways in which Exelon and its operating companies support Enrichment through Local Vitality include, but are not limited to, the following strategies:

• Anchor institutions such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and other organizations that provide employment opportunities, economic benefit, and enrichment in communities,
• The establishment and promotion of business districts,
• Projects carried out through community development corporations,
• Community-based programs and nonprofit organizations,
• Emergency preparedness programs, resiliency hubs, and resources that promote public safety,
• Programs that increase local economic investment and employment opportunities, and
• Local Chambers of Commerce.

Exelon believes that our lives are enriched and our communities are strengthened through individual interactions and collective experiences with the arts. Through our Equal Access to Arts and Culture focus area, Exelon funds cultural institutions with broad public exposure and programs designed to make arts and culture more accessible to a wider and more diverse audience. Exelon and its operating companies support a broad range of programs that promote Equal Access to Arts and Culture, including, but not limited to, the following strategies:

• Arts education and enrichment for all ages carried out through schools, community programs, arts institutions, and other organizations,
• Community-based exhibition spaces such as galleries, theaters, performance spaces, and specialty museums,
• The acquisition and exhibition of culturally and locally relevant arts content, and
• The establishment and promotion of theater and arts districts.

The Field Foundation Of Illinois 

The Field Foundation seeks to invest in organizations working to address systemic issues in divested communities. We see our current, past and prospective grantee partners as immense sources of power that need support in achieving objectives that will serve their communities. We seek to learn more about them for potential investment of our limited dollars.

Racial Priorities

The Field Foundation is committed to investing 60% of its portfolio in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) organizations throughout the Chicago area. BIPOC organizations can be classified in the following way: By, for, and about serving BIPOC individuals, cultures, and communities. To assess whether your organization fits into this definition, please consider the following:

• BY: Your leadership and board are directed, managed, and/or led by majority BIPOC individuals.
• FOR: Your organization primarily works to improve social conditions for BIPOC cultures, communities, and individuals.
• ABOUT: Your organization’s mission references your commitment to serving BIPOC communities.

While the Field Foundation will continue to fund a range of nonprofits, we will be race explicit in our work, and focus on understanding how funding with a racial equity lens can improve outcomes for Chicagoans.

Geographic Priorities

To understand how need and race align throughout the city of Chicago, the Field Foundation created a series of maps. The maps outline a geographic study area where less than 10% of the residents are from Caucasian backgrounds. They analyze quality of life indicators such as educational outcomes, access to health insurance, commute times, violence rates, and access to arts and culture in those areas. By overlaying race with these quality of life indicators, we found there is an incredible divestment of resources leading to a nexus of poverty and trauma that align with communities of color in Chicago. 

Program Areas

Justice

The Field Foundation’s Justice portfolio seeks to support organizations working to address the root causes of inequity and systemic racism through community organizing, advocacy, and policy.

This looks like community organizing campaigns—driven by communities of color on Chicago’s South and West Sides—that engage community members directly impacted by inequities, challenge the status quo, demand changes in policy and practice, educate communities about root causes, and advocate for systemic and just solutions.

• What We Fund:
  • Field has prioritized several focus areas, including housing, immigration, and systems impacted by justice reform. While the Justice portfolio is interested in supporting and funding organizations working in these focus areas, we want to learn from communities addressing other critical issues and encourage applicants to organize and advocate outside of these issue areas.
• Things to keep in mind: 
  • Field is committed to supporting organizations strongly rooted in local communities to identify root causes of inequity.
  • We fund organizations working to address problems at both systemic and policy levels.

Media and Storytelling

The Field Foundation seeks to change how news production and storytelling reflect Chicago and create a more equitable, connected, and inclusive local media ecosystem—in which the stories of all Chicagoans are told accurately, fairly, authoritatively and contextually.

The Media & Storytelling program was created in partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation following recommendations from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) journalists, media makers, and storytellers who participated in a series of salons and individual meetings organized by Field.

• What We Fund:
  • Partnerships and collaborations
  • Content creation
  • Capacity building
  • Training and leadership investment
  • Rapid response efforts
• Priorities:
  • The Field Foundation’s Journalism & Storytelling program is informed by recommendations from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) journalists, media makers and storytellers who participated in a series of salons and individual meetings organized by Field.

Funding

Grant requests have typically in the range of $15,000 to $50,000.

Community Foundation Granting Opportunities

Since its inception in 1972, the Community Foundation’s assets have grown from $1,300 to nearly $27 million. This growth in well-managed endowed funds and other assets, along with administering grant dollars on behalf of the Marajen Stevick Foundation and in cooperation with the Lumpkin Foundation, has enabled us to make $1 million distributions annually for several years to nonprofit organizations in east central Illinois.

As the size of our available granting dollars has grown, our granting strategy has evolved to reflect our commitment to using our donors’ dollars wisely to make sustainable differences in our area. We believe that the combination of grants we offer serve as tools that will yield measurable and lasting results from our investment in impact.

For many years, the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois has distributed, on behalf of our donors, grants to assist nonprofit organizations. These grants are for durable goods and items which will help an organization provide better service but sometimes are not a high priority in their budget.

Each proposal is evaluated on its potential value to east central Illinois, funding available for disbursement and the quality of planning, leadership, support and vision expressed in the application

Types of Projects or Programs Supported

The Community Foundation invites proposals in the areas of:

• arts and humanities,
• environment,
• education,
• health and human services,
• urban affairs, and
• youth activities.

While applications in any of these categories will be considered, awards may not be made in every category. Successful proposals will address problems to be solved or opportunities to be seized upon in the east central Illinois area. While these grants fund durable goods, you are encouraged to submit proposals that:

• Suggest practical approaches to addressing community problems
• Promote collaboration and cooperation among agencies
• Generate community support, both professional and volunteer
• Strengthen an agency’s effectiveness or stability

About GIG Fund

The GIG Fund is a grant of $2,000-4,000 that supports creative projects and educational events in the Midwest. These funds help organizations present artists in their community by supporting programming and touring costs.

The GIG Fund provides flexible grants for nonprofit organizations to support programs and activities featuring professional artists. GIG Fund grants help cover fees for touring or local artists. Funds may also be used for project costs such as accessibility accommodations and marketing. We work with a panel to help us review applications and distribute grants annually.

 Illinois Arts Council 

The Illinois Arts Council serves the people of Illinois through a variety of grants and services, primarily geared to: 

Support Illinois' Arts Sector: Operating and technical support provided to organizations and programs statewide helps keep Illinois’ arts sector vital, vibrant, and accessible to all.

Advance Arts Education: The arts can be a part of the education of every single child in this state through the programs, services, partnerships, and collaborations of the Illinois Arts Council. 

Foster Creativity and Working Artists: Resources, opportunities, and direct support for the work of individual artists -- the foundation of Illinois' creative environment.

Illinois State funding for the arts includes programs offered by Arts Midwest.

About Arts Midwest

Arts Midwest advances creativity across our region, building unprecedented opportunity for everyone who calls this place home. We support, inform, and celebrate arts organizations and creative communities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond. As one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, we work to strengthen local arts and culture efforts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, state agencies, private funders, and many others. Together, we nourish the creative roots of the Midwest—and share our region’s transformative ideas with the world.

This year, we’re pleased to offer two tracks of funding: GIG Fund and GIG Fund: Arts and Wellness.

GIG Fund

The GIG Fund is a grant of $2,000 – $15,000 for nonprofit organizations to offer public-facing arts projects and activities in Midwestern communities.

The goal of the GIG Fund is to make arts opportunities more accessible to underserved audiences across the region. Funds may be used for performances; exhibits; arts festivals; public art, or other activities that provide Midwesterners the opportunity to experience art and creativity. This round of GIG Fund grants is for supporting activities taking place between December 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. There are three requirements:

1) Engage a Professional Artist or Ensemble 2) Offer at Least Two Activities Featuring the Artist(s) and 3) Reach an Underserved Audience: At least one activity must engage an underserved audience—groups with limited access to the arts due to geography (such as rural audiences), economics (such as lower income audiences), disability, or lack of relevant content (such as families or school communities without ready access to children’s or all-ages programming).

These grants are federal funds that derive from the National Endowment for the Arts. A 1:1 match is required.

About Arts Midwest

We amplify Midwestern creativity, building community and opportunity across our region and beyond.

Arts Midwest advances creativity across our region, building unprecedented opportunity for everyone who calls this place home. We support, inform, and celebrate arts organizations and creative communities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond. As one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, we work to strengthen local arts and culture efforts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, state agencies, private funders, and many others. Together, we nourish the creative roots of the Midwest—and share our region’s transformative ideas with the world.

This year, we’re pleased to offer two tracks of funding: GIG Fund: Arts and Wellness, and GIG Fund.

GIG Fund: Arts and Wellness

The GIG Fund: Arts and Wellness is a grant of $2,000 – $15,000 for organizations of any budget size whose projects have an arts and wellness focus.  Funds may be used for performances, workshops, programs in clinical settings, creative aging programs, efforts that engage veterans in the arts, etc.  Applicants may only apply for one GIG Fund grant per year.

Arts Midwest recognizes the field of arts and wellness to be far-reaching and applicants should identify how their arts project addresses some element of health and wellness.

This round of GIG Fund grants is for supporting activities taking place between December 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. There are three requirements.

1) Engage a Professional Artist or Ensemble 2) Offer at Least Two Activities Featuring the Artist(s) and 3) Professional Development: With support from The Hearst Foundations, Arts Midwest will offer professional development opportunities to grantees to strengthen arts and wellness initiatives across the Midwest.

Discretionary Grant Program

The discretionary grantmaking program supports the work of nonprofits within our service area (Kane and Kendall counties) in the following designated charitable categories:

• Arts and Humanities,
• Education,
• Health Care, and
• Social Services.

These grants are for capital purposes only. Agencies should be “project ready” with estimates and a timeline for completion within the next year.

Grants are ordinarily made for one year only. In light of the Community Foundation’s limited resources and in fairness to the many organizations seeking support, former grant recipients are asked to wait at least two full years from the date they received payment of a grant from the Community Foundation before applying for a new grant.

Funding

Over the past five years, the average grant size is approximately $12,000. The size of grants awarded ranges primarily between $2,500 and $20,000.

It is not suggested that you apply for a grant beyond this range. Grants are rarely awarded over $20,000. If you have a project or would like to discuss a grant request that does not fall within this range, please contact Cathy about it prior to submitting a Letter of Intent.

About Us

Illinois Humanities, the Illinois affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that foster reflection, spark conversation, build community, and strengthen civic engagement. We provide free, high-quality humanities experiences throughout Illinois, particularly for communities of color, individuals living on low incomes, counties and towns in rural areas, small arts and cultural organizations, and communities highly impacted by mass incarceration.

Activate History Micro-Grants Program

Activate History micro-grants provide $750 project-based grants to enable those who maintain local collections of various kinds (archives, texts, photos, stories, and more) to explore creative ways for community members to become more engaged with them. We see this work as encouraging individual curiosity and connections to local history; as celebrating the efforts of amateur and other local historians; and as an avenue for growing the outreach efforts of local collections– all of which helps bolster community identity. Illinois Humanities has designed this micro-grants program to be accessible with a quick turnaround, in response to the dearth of available funds for individuals and smaller entities to host discussions on history and related matters.

Funding

• The Activate History micro-grants are for $750 each.
• Applicants can request up to $150 in additional support to help make their events more accessible to audience participants, particularly those with physical disabilities, as well as an additional $100 for documentation of the project (say hiring a photographer to cover a key event, for example). This might include such features as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), but can also include other resources such as providing transportation to and from events for those who need it.

Mission

The A. Montgomery Ward Foundation was established by his daughter, Marjorie Montgomery Ward Baker, in 1959 to support and strengthen charitable institutions that provide quality educational and cultural programming for the current and future residents of Chicago, Illinois, and its surrounding communities.

Program Type:

• Arts, Culture, & Humanities; Education

The majority of grants from the Montgomery Ward Foundation are 1 year in duration.

Cultural Sustainability: Equity-Based Operating Grants

Arts Midwest is now accepting applications for Cultural Sustainability: Equity-Based Operating Grants, a pilot program that offers grants of up to $67,000 to small arts and culture organizations that are rooted in communities of color.

What is it?

Cultural Sustainability: Equity-Based Operating Grants is a general operating grant pilot program that offers grants of up to $67,000.

About Cultural Sustainability: Equity-Based Operating Grants

Cultural Sustainability: Equity-Based Operating Grants is a pilot program offered by the six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) in partnership with The Wallace Foundation. It will give general operating support grants to arts and cultural organizations rooted in communities of color with annual operating expenses up to $500,000.

In total, Arts Midwest will be awarding 18 general operating grants across our nine-state region.

• 9 Organizations (one per state) with operating expenses between $0-$249,999 will receive a $55,000 general operating grant.
• 9 Organizations (one per state) with operating expenses between $250,000-$499,999 will receive a $67,000 general operating grant.

Over the 15-month pilot program, Arts Midwest will offer five virtual workshops on topics focusing on long-term visioning and sustainability planning. Grantees will also be invited to join virtual peer networking sessions and quarterly check-ins with Arts Midwest staff.

Arts Midwest believes that equity means ensuring that everyone has access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.

About the Foundation

The Kjellstrom Family Foundation was established in 2004 and sustains Janet's memory and philanthropy. With assets over $10M, the foundation contributes over $600,000 annually to local charities.

The Kjellstrom Family Foundation seeks to be flexible for grantees seeking award opportunities. Currently the Foundation will award grants which might be classified as:

• Programmatic
• Capital expenditures, or
• General administration or overhead
• Capacity Building

Challenge Grants

The Foundation will award challenge grants for endowment or capital expenditures. The Trustees have agreed to allocate no more than one-fourth of the annual grant guideline to fund these opportunities.

The organization defines the terms and time frame, with the challenge grant funds being awarded when the match is achieved. (i.e. match ratio of $2 raised to $1 challenge grant, etc.)

The Foundation will also consider grants which would serve as matching funds to a challenge grant. (The Foundation will not match funds toward meeting a Community Foundation Carroll H. Starr Endowment Challenge.) Particularly, the Foundation would be inclined to consider a match to challenge grants issued by an out-of-community entity or person.

Capacity Building

Capacity building grants help leverage other funding, create or sustain better systems or processes, build partnerships or efficiencies and/or enhance knowledge for improved operations or governance. Through KFF's collaborative partner, the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence, capacity building supports can strengthen organizational systems and build competence and professionalism. Examples of fundable capacity building supports include: board and staff development, strategic action planning, fund development planning, mergers, collaborations, technology, marketing/communications, etc.

Funding

In general, individual grants will not exceed $40,000. Grant awards which match a challenge from an out-of-community entity or person will not exceed $25,000. On the other hand, the Foundation may issue challenge grants for endowment or capital expenditures in an amount not to exceed $50,000.

About Us

Illinois Humanities, the Illinois affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that foster reflection, spark conversation, build community, and strengthen civic engagement. We provide free, high-quality humanities experiences throughout Illinois, particularly for communities of color, individuals living on low incomes, counties and towns in rural areas, small arts and cultural organizations, and communities highly impacted by mass incarceration.

Action Grants

Action Grants are project grants of up to $4,000 to nonprofit organizations located in Illinois or doing work impacting Illinois audiences. Action Grants are meant to provide support to groups that want to try out innovative approaches to public humanities programming. Applicants must be nonprofit organizations and can include churches, libraries, colleges or universities, and others.

Action Grants cover projects or initiatives that explore the digital humanities, apply new techniques in audience engagement, and build new and diverse audiences. Our hope is that these grants will help spark more risk-taking and experimental and engaging public humanities work on the part of Illinois nonprofits. Project budgets can cover project expenses as well as engagement activities. Projects must utilize the humanities. Media projects such as oral history, filmmaking, journalism, story telling, and other disciplines are all a part of this field.

Through this grants area, we hope to learn more about the following questions along with grantees:

• What are models for building creative interactivity and growing audiences?
• Can creative programming help to grow audiences?
• How can this experimentation bolster organizations’ longterm viability?

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation offers grant opportunities to area nonprofit organizations providing community services in a wide variety of areas including arts and culture, education, music education, environment, health and wellness, youth, women and girls, and Jewish life and education.

General Grants

IPCF General Grants are open to programs and projects that focus on education, health and wellness, and youth.

The Mount Carroll Community Foundation is here to help our community's charitable projects and programs contribute to the quality of life in our community. One of the ways that is done is through grant awards.Founded in 2011, the Mount Carroll Community Foundation, a component fund of the Quad Cities Community Foundation, annually distributes funds from its endowment earnings to community non-profit organizations that enhance the quality of life in the community we serve.

About Us

Illinois Humanities, the Illinois affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that foster reflection, spark conversation, build community, and strengthen civic engagement. We provide free, high-quality humanities experiences throughout Illinois, particularly for communities of color, individuals living on low incomes, counties and towns in rural areas, small arts and cultural organizations, and communities highly impacted by mass incarceration.

Vision Grants

Vision Grants support nonprofit organizations in their pursuit of planning, evaluation, and DEI initiatives. Through research, workshops, and more, these vision-driven projects help steer organizations to make a positive impact. As a funder and partner, we provide the resources and support to help your organization grow more equitable while strengthening your programs and initiatives.

Guidelines

Planning plays a critical role in smaller groups’ ability to successfully carry out humanities initiatives. Especially for groups that wish to delve into more interactive public humanities programming or target new audiences, planning grants can help develop a series, explore collaborations, or look into harnessing digital technology or other tools. We believe that better planning leads to stronger programming and that stronger programmatic initiatives can lead to stronger organizational vitality. Vision grants can also be used for succession planning.

Working with consultants to conduct research, provide training, and help develop evaluation tools is entirely acceptable. Projects can include convening scholars, bringing together or surveying audience members, traveling around the state to research an initiative, and other activities to help groups plan.

In addition, Vision grants can be used for groups to go through workshops and trainings meant to help them become more effective as anti-racist organizations and more intentional in holistically addressing gender, class, sexuality, disability/ability, and other issues.Additional Funding

• Optional Accessibility Fund: An additional stipend of up to $150 for services such as American Sign Language interpretation or captioning to help make events more accessible to everyone.
• Optional Media Fund: An additional stipend of up to $100 for services such as documentation, photography, videography, etc.

Chicago Region Artistic Vitality

We support over 175 small, professional arts organizations of all disciplines. We provide general operations grants, technical assistance, and other support to help our arts partners sustain their artistry and strengthen their operations. We call this Gen Ops Plus.

To Value Small Arts Organizations

The ecosystem of arts in the Chicago region is big and diverse, yet most nonprofit arts groups operate on small budgets. Together, small arts groups produce most of the art in our region. They reach beyond downtown into nearly every neighborhood. They ensure a perpetual wellspring of new and emerging talent. They challenge. They risk. They fail. They try again. They blow us away.

Many small arts groups – especially the smallest of the small – tend to have fewer options for grants. That’s why we make it our business to support professional arts groups, of all disciplines, that operate on less than $1 million per year.

To Support With Few Restrictions

Unrestricted general operating grants are the life blood of small arts groups, big or small. It allows them the flexibility to spend those dollars where they see fit. Multi-year general operating support provides an extra measure of stability.

To Grow Stronger

It takes training, discipline and often years of experience to master one’s art. Just as challenging, just as important, is mastering the art of running an arts organization. Stronger, more efficient operations tend to allow more time, attention and resources to go toward the art itself. We support the Arts Work Fund and several other technical assistance providers to help organizations grow stronger.

Grant Amounts

Organizations are eligible for grant amounts based on annual expenses for the most recently-completed calendar or fiscal year, ranging from $2,500 to $13,500.

Our Mission

We are committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.

The world is more just when actions are inclusive, and fair, where past and present barriers are removed to provide equitable access, treatment, consideration, and opportunity.

The world is more verdant and abundant when the planet and its people flourish.

The world is more peaceful when people are free from fear, conflict, violence, and war.

We believe that the people closest to the ground know best how to respond to the pressing challenges of the communities we seek to serve. Our support is centered on mutual respect, learning, and relationship building. We follow the lead of individuals and organizations rooted in spaces, communities, and experiences, investing in their ideas and giving them space to grow.

We focus resources on promising solutions to pressing challenges and embrace creative thinking to increase the odds of meaningful change.

Chicago Commitment

Chicago is a global city with vibrant, diverse neighborhoods and a strong civic culture. And yet historical and current systemic racism creates unequal access to resources and opportunities for Black, Latine, Indigenous, Asian, LGBTQIA+, and disabled people and communities—especially when these multiple identities intersect. A resilient and dynamic Chicago region is dependent upon a more equitable Chicago, where every Chicagoan has the opportunity to prosper and contribute to their community and where Chicago’s diverse voices are elevated, recognized, respected, and included.

We focus on strengthening local organizations including the creative sector; supporting civic partnerships on timely issues; investing in vital communities; and advancing influential leaders with a diversity of experiences and a commitment to racial equity.

Our Areas of Focus

Our focus areas were designed with the priorities of Chicagoans in mind—taking heed of what residents and leaders believe are the most urgent concerns and promising solutions.

• Civic Partnerships
  • Leading or participating in partnerships to address critical or timely challenges with the goal of advancing racial equity and building a more inclusive Chicago.
• Vital Communities
  • Investing targeted resources in a small number of place-based initiatives and organizations that provide infrastructure support to neighborhoods.
• Advancing Leadership
  • Promoting and advancing leaders committed to diversity whose influence will inform and improve decision making across the city.
• Culture, Equity, and the Arts
  • Reflecting diverse creative sector voices and sustaining the creative life of the city.

Culture, Equity, and the Arts Grant

The Culture, Equity, and the Arts (CEA) program is based on the ideal that arts and culture are essential to furthering the Chicago Commitment’s goal: To invest in people, places, and partnerships to advance racial equity and build a more inclusive Chicago.

The arts help to introduce people to diverse perspectives, build bridges across social boundary lines, expose people to culturally relevant experiences, and develop human empathy.

Through this program, we offer unrestricted general operating support, directly and through regranting partners, to large, mid-sized, and small organizations. These resources provide flexible, reliable funding that helps organizations maintain stability, plan ahead, pursue new ideas, and invest in new artistic directions.

We offer multi-year, general operating support directly to organizations with budgets above $1 million. Grant sizes range from $55,000 to $80,000 per year, typically for three years.

Freeport Community Foundation

The mission of the Freeport Community Foundation is to empower non-profits to develop solutions that help northwest Illinois communities thrive.

Freeport Community Foundation supports nonprofit organizations serving citizens in Stephenson, Jo Daviess, and Carroll counties in Northwest Illinois.

Marvin - Wilson Community Needs Annual Grant

The Freeport Community Foundation is particularly interested in funding initiatives that are collaborative, inclusive and responsive to current and emerging needs of the community. Programs and/or activities should:

• Present innovative, creative and practical approaches in dealing with community needs
• Strengthen the capacity of the community to solve problems or seize opportunities in the future
• Encourage partnerships and collaborative efforts to reduce duplication of services
• Demonstrate vision, action, effectiveness, good management and quality

The philanthropic fields of interests include, though are not limited to, initiatives that will:

• Address current and emerging needs
• Foster civil and community betterment
• Meet human and health service needs
• Provide reform and innovation in the schools and new approaches to learning
• Support the advancement of arts and literature

Who We Are

Your Community Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created by and for the people who live here. We build bridges between donors with a charitable vision and the nonprofits who make our region a great place to live, work, and play.

Gather

We work with individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits to create tailor-made funds that help them make their charitable visions a reality. Donors can trust that the Community Foundation will act as a steward of those funds, ensuring funds are used according to their intent and vision.

Grow

Together with a team of trusted, local advisors, we invest funds to build endowments so they are available to support ever-changing needs and opportunities in the 12 counties we serve.

Grant

Based on our donors’ intentions and goals, we invest in our region to make our communities great places to live, work, and play.

What We Do

The Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri connects people who care with causes that matter for here, for good, forever. 

We work with donors, nonprofits, and community leaders to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve. We accomplish this by building permanent charitable funds that benefit our communities today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

Community Grants

The Community Foundation annually awards grants through its Community Grant process to meet needs and advance opportunities in its 12-county region. Through the Community Grant program, the Community Foundation seeks to strengthen nonprofit services to enhance the quality of life throughout the region that we serve. Due to the broad scope of this program, it is a competitive process and requests are evaluated by a volunteer committee based on the annual program budget and fund restrictions.

Focus Areas

 Grants in the areas of

• arts & culture,
• community betterment,
• education,
• health,
• human services. 

Priorities:

Through the Community Grant program, the Community Foundation seeks to award grants that will enhance the quality of life in West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri by:

• Helping organizations better respond to defined needs or opportunities within the community they serve;
• Encouraging community collaborations and partnerships to maximize the impact on the community and population served;
• Reaching a significant number of community members or specific groups of underserved community members throughout its 12-county service area; 
• Supporting nonprofit organizations which are physically located in or have demonstrated, active services that directly benefit residents within the Community Foundation’s service area.
• and  making a significant impact on the success of the overall request (consider the size of the grant in relation to the total budget).

Illinois Humanities

Our Mission

Illinois Humanities is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that spark conversation, foster reflection, build community, and strengthen civic engagement for everyone in Illinois.

Our Vision

An Illinois where the humanities are central to making the state more just, creative, and connected.

Multiplier Grants

Nonprofit organizations carrying out partnerships and collaborations with other nonprofits, humanities groups, or directly with their audience or community are candidates for this project-based grant. From projects that impact under-funded, under-served communities, to telling stories of forgotten history, these initiatives champion collaboration in the public humanities. Partnering with organizations in this work helps us all to make valuable connections for the humanities throughout Illinois.

Definition of the Humanities

The humanities are the examination of what it means to be human through the interpretation and discussion of all forms of thought, interest, and expression.

We value traditional humanities disciplines, such as art history, literature, history, and philosophy. However, our emphasis on the public humanities means that we look at the humanities as more than an academic discipline. For us, the public humanities are a mode of inquiry and conversation that aims to engage, support, or challenge the ideals, beliefs, tensions, and prejudices of the communities in which we live. We believe that important thought can happen outside of the academy–in neighborhood institutions, schools, churches, and at kitchen tables across the country.

We are especially interested in instances of the public humanities that promote civic engagement in raising critical issues facing everyday people and conducted with the hope of increasing their thirst for staying engaged. Rather than being defined by rigid disciplinary boundaries, it is the humanistic lens, which emphasizes curiosity, questioning, and dialogue, that matters.

Amount

Up to $10,000.

Additional Funding

• Optional Accessibility Fund:
  • An additional stipend of up to $150 for services such as American Sign Language interpretation or captioning to help make events more accessible to everyone.
• Optional Media Fund:
  • An additional stipend of up to $100 for services such as documentation, photography, videography, etc.

GIG Fund

Flexible support to help arts and culture organizations grow their capacity, fund artist engagements, and build community.

What is the GIG Fund?

The GIG Fund is a grant of $2,000-4,000 that supports creative projects and educational events in the Midwest. These funds help organizations present artists in their community by supporting programming and touring costs. The GIG Fund is a grant that supports Midwestern organizations that want to contract with a professional artist to offer activities to their community. 

Matching requirement

Organizations will be required to demonstrate matching funds on a 1:1 basis for the grant amount.

To demonstrate the match, your expenses should each be at least double your GIG Fund grant. Potential sources for the match include salaries and wages, in-kind contributions, volunteer hours, earned and contributed revenue (donations, ticket sales, other non-Federal grants), or cash from the applicant or partner organizations.

The Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund (SOS) strengthens the Greater St. Louis community through informed, focused grant-making by educating and inspiring women to engage in significant giving.

SOS Commitment To Diversity, Equity And Inclusion

SOS is committed to equity, diversity, collaboration, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability because all people deserve to live full and abundant lives free of prejudice, discrimination and oppression.

We will prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in our philanthropy.

means full participation of all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, gender orientation, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ability, citizenship status, language, religion, geographic location, and national origin, among other identities.

is the condition that would be achieved if one’s identity no longer predicted how one fared in life.

creates a culture and environment for diverse individuals to bring their authentic and full selves. Inclusion results when underrepresented people are seen as fully belonging in a community.

Focus Areas

Grants are not restricted to issues dealing exclusively with women, but are made to organizations focusing on at least one of the following areas:

• Arts and Culture
• Education
• Environment
• Health
• Social Services

Single-year Eligibility

Single-year grants of $5,000 – $25,000 are awarded to nonprofit organizations in the Greater St. Louis community. Applicants are encouraged to submit Letters of Inquiry for general operating support, project/program support, and capacity building. Capacity building strengthens the development of an organization’s core skills and capabilities, such as leadership, management, finance/fund-raising, programs, and evaluation, in order to build the organization’s effectiveness and sustainability.

Multi-year Eligibility

In the 2022-2023 granting cycle, SOS will be investing in one, renewable, three year accelerator grant for $33,333 a year, totaling $100,000. The application can be for a specific project or for general operating support.

Organizations that apply for multi-year grants must:

• Demonstrate a history of successful programming and financial stability
• Show collaboration with other agencies
• Exhibit strong leadership in board and organizational management
• Have a clear multi-year plan that is visionary, meets an urgent community need and significantly enhances the applicant organization’s ability to serve their mission into the future
• Demonstrate how having consistent funding will allow your agency to think big and take chances
• Have specific and numerically measurable project goals, objectives/actions and outcomes/impact described for each year
• Include a three year budget:
  • If applying for a project include a separate project budget for each year
  • If applying for general operating support, submit the organization’s budget for the current year and two subsequent years
  • Have the option to include up to 2 additional supporting documents such as an Annual Report or Strategic Plan
• Organizations that have received single-year SOS grants for the past two consecutive years CAN apply for a multi-year grant. However, organizations applying for a multi-year grant CANNOT apply for an SOS single-year grant in the same grant cycle.

Our Mission

Illinois Humanities is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that spark conversation, foster reflection, build community, and strengthen civic engagement for everyone in Illinois.

Our Vision

An Illinois where the humanities are central to making the state more just, creative, and connected.

Founded in 1974, we are the state partner for the National Endowment for the Humanities and supported by state, federal, and private funds. We provide free, high-quality humanities experiences throughout Illinois, particularly for communities of color, individuals living on low incomes, counties and towns in rural areas, small arts and cultural organizations, and communities highly impacted by mass incarceration. 

Envisioning Justice Grants

These project-based grants support collectives, non-profit organizations, and other groups that use the arts and humanities to work toward a truly just society. Prison education programs, independent media, community dialogues, and conferences are just a few of the impactful initiatives we fund to create understanding about mass incarceration and its impact on communities in Illinois. By supporting those doing this important work, we build more affirming, engaged, and empowered communities.

Envisioning Justice grants have been awarded since 2017, and we work diligently to ensure that the organization will continue to offer this funding opportunity. 

Priority will be given to projects that are:

• regional or statewide in scope
• partnership oriented
• centering impacts of mass incarceration on the following populations:
  • currently or formerly incarcerated individuals
  • people serving long-term sentences
  • young people, particularly those who are justice involved
  • women, particularly women of color and/or impacted by gendered violence
  • LGBTQAI+ community
  • migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants
  • elderly populations
  • people with disabilities
  • Indigenous populations
• Or that focus on communities that are:
• The site of a prison or jail
• Experiencing significant incarceration; and/or
• Experiencing significant demographic change as a result of the criminal legal system

Guidelines

• Organizations can apply for grants of up to $10,000.
  • No matching funds are required.
• Optional Accessibility Fund
  • An additional stipend of up to $250 for services such as American Sign Language interpretation or captioning to help make events more accessible to everyone.
• Optional Media Fund:
  • An additional stipend of up to $100 for services such as documentation, photography, videography, etc.

Purpose

The purpose of the Operations and Program Grant program (formerly known as the Coordinated Field of Interest Grant program) is to provide general operating support or program support for successful ongoing efforts. General operating support is crucial to the long-term success of nonprofit organizations. This grant program aligns with the Community Foundation’s strategic effort to use effective grantmaking practices including:

Flexible Funding: requests for general operating support are eligible for funding, and are given preference.

Reliable Funding: One-year or Two-year requests will be considered.

Nonprofit organizations may apply for a grant from several different Community Foundation funds through the Operations and Program Grant program. To save time and effort, applicants submit one application and are considered for multiple funding sources.

The Operations and Program Grant program continues to follow the original purposes of each fund and the intent set up by its donors. All specific fund purposes fall into one or more fields of interest: Animals & Environment; Arts & Culture; Community Development; Education; Health; and Youth Development.

Fund Focus Areas:

• Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund - General Operating and Program requests only.
• Basic Human Needs—Iowa
• Chip Sunderbruch Memorial Risk Management Fund: Focuses on risk management and safety
• Children at Risk Fund: Focuses on youth programs.
• Health & Wellness Fund: Focuses on health and wellness.
• John J. Quail Fund: Focuses on arts and culture.
• Judith Berger Endowment: Focuses on education, poverty & children in need.
• Nell C. Brennan Fund: Focuses on educational opportunities for underserved children.
• Roy E. Murray Fund: Focuses on youth.
• Sekharan Family Fund: Focuses on hospice and homelessness.

Background

Since 1953, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois has made more than $72,500,000 in grants and scholarships to nonprofits and students. This is possible through the generosity of CFNIL’s donors—individuals, families, and organizations committed to improving the region’s quality of life. Endowed gifts create reliable funding for current needs and future opportunities. That’s the power of endowment.

Some donors choose to support specific organizations, while others provide scholarship funding that helps students get to and through school. Some donors decide that they want their legacy gifts to address the challenges and opportunities of future generations. These endowed gifts support Community Grants, CFNIL’s largest and broadest grantmaking program.

CFNIL is pleased to continue its tradition of grantmaking with the fall Community Grants cycle. Community Grants are made in six Focus Areas: Arts & Humanities, Education, Health, Human Services, Sustainable Communities, and Youth & Families. Within Education, CFNIL’s strategy is to invest in complementary education and career pathways, and to support a regional education system that continually produces healthy and productive citizens. More information on Education Works is available here.

Proposals requesting more than $75,000 will be evaluated for their alignment with Education Works. The more you request, the greater scrutiny your proposal will receive.

Focus Areas

CFNIL accepts proposals in the following Focus Areas. Generally, 50% of CFNIL’s grants will be allocated for Education, while 10% will be for each of the following Focus Areas: Arts & Humanities, Health, Human Services, Sustainable Communities, and Youth & Families.

Arts & Humanities

Funding priorities are for those proposals that:

• Increase the availability and access to artistic and cultural experiences, especially those that represent the diversity of our community’s culture.
• Celebrate the region’s history and preserve historical integrity.

Education

Funding priorities are for those proposals that:

• Provide creative and systemic approaches to educational improvement.
• Support the education of current and future medical professionals.
• Fit under CFNIL’s Education Works grant strategy.

Health

Funding priorities are for those proposals that:

• Improve the quality of and access to health services.
• Support wellness.
• Conduct research to promote the health and well-being of our community.

Human Services

CFNIL funding priorities are for those proposals that:

• Serve the basic needs of individuals and families.
• Provide services to persons with disabilities, especially those that promote inclusion.

Sustainable Development

CFNIL funding priorities are for those proposals that:

• Promote neighborhood and economic development.
• Support efforts to ensure safety and access to quality, affordable housing.
• Preserve our natural environment, especially those projects that increase the region’s understanding and appreciation of the environment.

Youth & Families

CFNIL funding priorities are for those proposals that:

• Provide pathways to self-sufficiency.
• Strengthen families.
• Support intellectual, emotional, physical, and social development.

Multi-Year Grants

An organization can only apply for a multi-year grant if seeking funding for projects, programs, or events that align with the following criteria:

• Education Works.
• Medical education.
• Medical research.

Illinois Humanities

Our Mission

Illinois Humanities is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that spark conversation, foster reflection, build community, and strengthen civic engagement for everyone in Illinois.

Our Vision

An Illinois where the humanities are central to making the state more just, creative, and connected.

General Operating Grants

General Operating Grants support organizations that are firmly rooted in the humanities. From cultural and ethnic organizations to museums, libraries, and consortiums, these organizations broaden possibilities and increase access to the public humanities. These unrestricted funds empower growth and sustainability by providing recipients with more flexibility and freedom to allocate resources wherever they need them most.

Definition of the Humanities

The humanities are the examination of what it means to be human through the interpretation and discussion of all forms of thought, interest, and expression.

We value traditional humanities disciplines, such as art history, literature, history, and philosophy. However, our emphasis on the public humanities means that we look at the humanities as more than an academic discipline. For us, the public humanities are a mode of inquiry and conversation that aims to engage, support, or challenge the ideals, beliefs, tensions, and prejudices of the communities in which we live. We believe that important thought can happen outside of the academy–in neighborhood institutions, schools, churches, and at kitchen tables across the country.

We are especially interested in instances of the public humanities that promote civic engagement in raising critical issues facing everyday people and conducted with the hope of increasing their thirst for staying engaged. Rather than being defined by rigid disciplinary boundaries, it is the humanistic lens, which emphasizes curiosity, questioning, and dialogue, that matters.

Guidelines

Grants decisions will be made based on whether organizations have a mission involving the humanities, organizational size, geographical balance, and whether an organization represents a historically disinvested or economically under-resourced community, such as rural or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities.

We are committed to serving all geographic areas within the state of Illinois; hence, approximately half of General Operating Grants will be distributed to Cook County-based organizations, and half to organizations located outside of Cook County.

Amount

Up to $10,000.