Search Through Bureau County Grants for Nonprofits in Illinois

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Global Impact Cash Grants

Identifying and incubating innovative early-stage solutions. We identify, incubate, and develop innovative early-stage solutions with the highest potential for impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We're looking for programs that fit within our investment sectors, focus on the underserved, and use technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services.

We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. A brief Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application. Please expand and carefully review each of the three sections below to learn more

Our priority social impact sectors

We focus on investing in innovative, tech-enabled solutions to the challenges and opportunities that matter most to communities in need, prioritizing four social impact sectors:

Cisco Crisis Response

Mobilizing to provide essentials to communities in need and those in crisis, including food, housing, secure connectivity, and disaster relief

By leveraging Cisco’s people, technology, financial resources, and strategic partnerships, we help strengthen community resilience and drive long-term recovery from crises.

Education

Supporting students, teachers, and schools by increasing engagement, building skills, promoting subject mastery, and expanding their capacity to thrive

Cisco is committed to inclusive access to digital skills training and supporting those who use technology to educate. Through programs like Cisco Networking Academy and social investments in education, we create new opportunities for individuals to thrive.

Economic Empowerment

Transforming communities through skill development, long-term career opportunities, entrepreneurship, and access to financial products and services

Strategic grants that unlock economic prosperity and growth for individuals and communities.

Climate Regeneration

Building an inclusive, regenerative, and resilient climate future through education, regenerative agriculture, conservation, protection, and clean energy solutions

Our efforts began in 2021, when the Cisco Foundation committed US$100 million over 10 years to fund nonprofit grants and impact investing in climate solutions. 

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

The Labcorp Charitable Foundation

We believe every person deserves equitable care and education.

In 2020 Labcorp established a private charitable 501(c)(3) foundation to advance our desire to bring quality healthcare access to all by supporting education and our local communities. 

Common grant opportunities include:

• Supporting food pantries and meal programs
• Providing healthcare and patient services for underserved populations
• Encouraging STEM programming
• Advocating for healthy lifestyles through ongoing medical research and screening

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Non-Enforcement Programs

This funding opportunity houses most of the non-enforcement programs. Please see the specifications for each program explained below. Please note that applications are not limited to these programs.

• Child Passenger Safety Resource Center (CPSRC)
• DUI Court Program
• Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP)
• Injury Prevention Program (IP)
• Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL)
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP)

This grant is administered by the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) within the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT serves as the federally-required State Highway Safety Office for the state of Illinois.

Funding amount: $8,000,000.00

Child Passenger Safety Resource Center (CPSRC)

To aid local communities in reducing the death and injury rates on Illinois roads, BSPE established the Child Passenger Safety Resource Centers (CPSRC). The CPSRCs are designed to conduct public information and education campaigns focusing on child passenger safety (CPS) and other highway safety issues. They serve as regional resources providing education, training, and support in promoting CPS programs. The CPSRC program shall also focus on the Strategic Highway Safety Plan priorities areas for their region.

Five (5) CPSRCs are planned to be funded in Illinois and will be staffed by a Child Passenger Safety Liaison. Each CPSRC covers a specific region in the state and coordinates and supports, CPS training, CPS seat distribution, and traffic safety initiatives within that region.

The five regions are:

• Chicago
  • City of Chicago
• Cook and Collar Counties
  • Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Kendall, Grundy, Will, Kankakee, Iroquois
• Northwest
  • Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, Boone, DeKalb, Rock Island, Carrol, Jo Daviess, Winnebago, Stephenson, Henry, Bureau, Stark, Marshall, Putnam, LaSalle, Mercer, Henderson, Warren, Knox, Livingston, Ford
• Central
  • Hancock, McDonough, Adams, Schuyler, Brown, Pike, Fulton, Cass, Morgan, Scott, Mason, Menard, Sangamon, Christian, Logan, Tazewell, McLean, DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, Shelby, Champaign, Douglas, Coles, Vermillion, Edgar, Peoria, Woodford, Macoupin, and Montgomery
• Southern
  • Calhoun, Green, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Fayette, Effingham, Jasper, Crawford, Saint Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Clinton, Washington, Marion, Jefferson, Clay, Wayne, Richland, Lawrence, Edwards, Wabash, Perry, Jackson, Franklin, Hamilton, White, Williamson, Saline, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Pulaski, Massac, Cumberland, and Clark.

Project Goal

To create a coordinated effort to address CPS and other local highway safety issues within the designated region through outreach and education.

Requirements of CPSRC

• Serve as a regional point of contact for CPS programs, trainings, and community events. Additional emphasis areas would be heat stroke/overheating awareness, pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, older driver, teen, alcohol, drugged, and distracted driving programs;
• Promote and educate the public regarding the risks of leaving a child or unattended passenger in a vehicle.
• Participate in the development CPS continuing education unit (CEU) opportunities with CPSRCs from all five regions.
• Offer, promote, and teach a minimum of five (5) standardized CPS certification courses and two (2) renewal courses in the region. The CPSRC's Child Passenger Safety Liaison must be the lead on at least 50% of the classes taught in their region.
• CPS courses funded by IDOT should be listed as “open to the public” unless prior approval is granted by IDOT. Reimbursement of technician certification fees are only allowed for Illinois residents.
• Provide public information, educational materials, and technical tools designed to foster community level approaches to highway safety issues, specifically: proper car seat usage, seat belt usage, Illinois’ Seat Belt Law and Child Passenger Safety Protection Act.
• Participate in Statewide CPS Week/Seat Check Saturday promotions and conduct a minimum of one (1) car seat check event during that time.
• Grantees must utilize the electronic car seat check form – www.carseatcheckform.org – to track all car seat checks using IDOT funds including seats that are given to local agencies.
• Distribution of car seats to individuals needing financial assistance.
• Must be able to ensure car seats are being issued to individuals in need. Established need process must be submitted to IDOT with the application.
• Assist local agencies with setting up a minimum of two (2) car seat checks a month.
• Assist local agencies with teen safety fairs, traffic safety presentations and other community events, preferably with focus in communities that are overrepresented and underserved.
• Provide education to the public about child passenger safety and general traffic safety by staffing informational booths at community events.
• Use data-driven approaches to evaluate and address local highway safety issues.
• Participate in local traffic safety networks of law enforcement and local organizations dedicated to highway safety.
• If requested, assist IDOT with the annual statewide seat belt survey.
• If requested, assist with and IDOT motorcycle helmet survey.
• If a CPSRC would like to facilitate training outside of its regional boundaries, the CPSRC must contact the CPSRC that covers that area and discuss a collaborative effort.
• Create meaningful public participation and engagement to ensure diverse views are heard and considered.

Non-Enforcement Programs

This funding opportunity houses most of the non-enforcement programs. Please see the specifications for each program explained below. Please note that applications are not limited to these programs.

• Child Passenger Safety Resource Center (CPSRC)
• DUI Court Program
• Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP)
• Injury Prevention Program (IP)
• Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL)
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP)

This grant is administered by the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) within the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT serves as the federally-required State Highway Safety Office for the state of Illinois.

Funding amount: $8,000,000.00

DUI Court Program

The DUI Court Program is an initiative of BSPE that promotes the safety and well-being of all people using Illinois’ roadways. The DUI Court Program focuses specifically on DUI Courts, a relatively new court that borrows from the successful Drug Court Model. DUI Courts have been utilized very effectively in many states and focus directly on repeat DUI offenders and/or high-BAC offenders – essentially only high-risk, high-needs offenders. DUI Courts are proven to change behavior and reduce recidivism by holding offenders accountable.

Project Goal

To encourage the further proliferation of DUI Courts in jurisdictions throughout Illinois.

Proposal Guidance

The objective of this grant is to provide the resources necessary for the startup and operating costs of the establishment and administration of a DUI Court.

Applicants may propose a comprehensive program. A DUI Court is a problem-solving court and is required to be certified by the Illinois Supreme Court. Applicants are strongly encouraged to follow the parameters put forth in The National Center for DWI Courts’ The Ten Guiding Principles of DWI Courts.

Example Projects

Applicants may focus on one, multiple, or partial of the following DUI Court activities:

• Training
• Treatment/evaluation
• Participant substance testing
• Probation services
• Prosecutor/and or defense legal services
• Evaluation

Funding

Grant application maximum funding request shall not exceed $350,000.

Non-Enforcement Programs

This funding opportunity houses most of the non-enforcement programs. Please see the specifications for each program explained below. Please note that applications are not limited to these programs.

• Child Passenger Safety Resource Center (CPSRC)
• DUI Court Program
• Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP)
• Injury Prevention Program (IP)
• Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL)
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP)

This grant is administered by the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) within the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT serves as the federally-required State Highway Safety Office for the state of Illinois.

Funding amount: $8,000,000.00

Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP)

The Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP) is an initiative of BSPE that promotes the safety and well-being of all people using Illinois’ roadways. This program is preventative in nature by focusing on solutions designed to create awareness and reduction in alcohol and drug-impaired driving.

Project Goal

To create a coordinated effort to address alcohol and drug-related traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

Proposal Guidance

Applications should focus on one or both of the following objectives:

• Prevention Projects:
  • The objective of this activity is designed to increase public awareness and knowledge about alcohol and drug-impaired driving, promote safe and healthy behavior among underage and/or adult individuals, and to increase the awareness of the consequences associated with a DUI arrest, other sanctions for impaired driving, or an impaired driving motor vehicle crash.
    • Public information and prevention education programs should consist of comprehensive, coordinated efforts that are designed to present a clear message that fosters the attitude that driving impaired by alcoholic beverages, cannabis, and/or other impairing drugs or substances is unacceptable, criminal behavior.
    • These messages should be sustained and emphasize existing holiday enforcement campaigns and should also occur throughout the grant year.
    • Additional prevention initiatives include educational programs and activities. These may occur through schools, community groups and/or religious organizations and may include parent education, formalized curricula, coalition development/community involvement, and peer education programs.
  • Community outreach prevention activities may include:
    • employer programs
    • responsible alcohol and or cannabis sales/service (including enforcement efforts)
    • policies and/or educational programs to reduce alcohol, other drug and traffic safety problems on college campuses
    • transportation alternatives
    • adult and underage drinking/substance abuse prevention
    • underage and/or adult educational programs
    • school-based activities
    • institution of working relationships with school health and guidance personnel as a means of providing information to students about a variety of traffic safety and health behaviors
    • develop and conduct alcohol, cannabis, other drug and/or impairing substances training sessions for a variety of professional disciplines
    • establish and support student-led safety and/or prevention-focused clubs and activities
• Criminal Justice Projects:
  • The IDP program can include criminal justice projects that provide necessary resources and training to law enforcement, prosecutors, and additional judicial personnel.
    • Applicants may propose a comprehensive program that will effectively utilize resources to combat impaired driving.
  • Criminal Justice activities may include:
    • Full-time ARIDE and/or DRE law enforcement officer and associated costs
    • underage alcohol and or cannabis sales law enforcement activities and associated costs
    • effective use of criminal justice, medical or other professionals through presentations in the classroom or the design of and delivery of training courses and materials
    • law enforcement impaired driving training
    • law enforcement forensic phlebotomy activities
    • forensic toxicology efforts

Project Examples

Community outreach programs include, but are not limited to:

• Communities should promote responsible alcohol and/or cannabis service policies and practices in the retail alcohol service industry through laws, regulations, and policies, with appropriate publicity, signage, and enforcement.
  • Communities are also encouraged to promote alternative transportation programs that enable impaired persons to reach their destinations without driving and risking harm to themselves and others.
• A comprehensive alternative transportation program uses a community-wide approach addressing all types of drinking  and cannabis-use situations (in commercial establishments and private homes) with one or more transportation alternatives.
  • Two (2) types of alternative transportation programs are designated driver and safe rides programs.
• In a designated driver program, the designated driver for a group agrees not to drink alcoholic beverages, use cannabis or other drugs and/or impairing substances so that all participants can arrive safely at their destination.
  • Alcohol servers and social hosts who support and sponsor designated driver programs usually provide non-alcoholic beverages free to the designated driver.
  • Alternatively, safe rides programs provide free or reduced-price rides to drinkers using taxis, buses or private automobiles.

Employer programs include, but are not limited to:

• model policies regarding impaired driving, seat belt use, and/or other traffic safety issues
• employee awareness and education activities
• management training to recognize and deal with alcohol and drug impairment/abuse
• education and substance use treatment programs for employees.

Responsible alcohol services include, but are not limited to:

• promotion of alcohol and/or cannabis server training programs
• enforcement programs to prevent the sale of alcoholic beverages and/or cannabis to minors (e.g., “Cops in Shops” and “Shoulder Tap” operations)
• adequate staffing to enforce existing alcoholic beverage control and regulations
• awareness of dram shop provisions as they relate to individuals and providers

Criminal Justice programs include:

• give prosecutors the skills and resources to obtain convictions and seek appropriate and effective sanctions for offenders (reduce number of plea bargains)
• ensure screening of all high-risk DUI offenders for substance abuse
• provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement officers regarding one or more of the following:
  • SFST, ARIDE, DRE, and/or phlebotomy
• facilitate uniformity and consistency in prosecution and adjudication of impaired driving cases
• give judges the skills and resources necessary to appropriately adjudicate impaired driving cases
• ensure that judges are well versed in DUI issues and prepared to adjudicate youthful offenders
• educates medical facility personnel regarding no civil liability for the truthful reporting of blood and urine tests in DUI cases
• encourage reporting of blood and urine tests
• assist with the development, implementation or expansion of “No-refusal” search warrant and/or e-search warrant programs
• Toxicology activities
• oral fluid and/or other testing for DUI drug identification
• personal services up to  time and a half in overtime for DRE callouts

Non-Enforcement Programs

This funding opportunity houses most of the non-enforcement programs. Please see the specifications for each program explained below. Please note that applications are not limited to these programs.

• Child Passenger Safety Resource Center (CPSRC)
• DUI Court Program
• Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP)
• Injury Prevention Program (IP)
• Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL)
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP)

This grant is administered by the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) within the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT serves as the federally-required State Highway Safety Office for the state of Illinois.

Funding amount: $8,000,000.00

Injury Prevention Program (IP)

To aid local communities in reducing deaths and injuries on Illinois roads, the BSPE established the Injury Prevention (IP) grant program. This program is designed to enable local agencies to conduct public information and education campaigns focusing on highway safety issues.

Project Goal

The goal of the Injury Prevention Program is to develop and implement effective traffic safety injury prevention and education strategies in Illinois.

Proposal Guidance

The IP Program offers grant funds for agencies to address highway safety issues in their local areas or statewide. The programs main emphasis should be on the education, prevention, and training associated with highway safety in an effort to reduce serious injuries and fatalities.  

There are example projects listed below but grant proposals are not limited to that list. New and innovative ideas are encouraged.

Program applicants must provide clear data supporting the need for the program. Applicants must demonstrate specific ways this program will improve the established problem and how the project will help IDOT meet the performance measures established in the Triennial Highway Safety Plan. 

Project Examples

• Develop a traffic safety coalition in your community by bringing together multiple traffic safety partners to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on Illinois roadways.
• Create a teen-led program to encourage and educate elementary aged children to learn the importance of buckling up and using a booster seat.
• Develop and implement peer-to-peer teen safety programming with topics including, but not limited to, using safety belts, driving within the speed limit, not driving impaired or distracted, Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), and the crash risk associated with driving with passengers.
• Training Efforts – training of State laws applicable to highway safety issues; Safe Kids’ CPS Certification Course; or safety education and training using evidence-based curricula.
• Public education and awareness campaigns designed to inform motorists, youth, and the general public of State traffic laws applicable to highway safety issues specifically: unrestrained passenger, heat stroke/hot car awareness, impaired driving, pedestrian/bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, speed/aggressive driving, and distracted driving.
• Provide educational materials and technical tools designed to foster community level approaches to highway safety issues specifically: occupant protection, impaired driving, speeding, pedestrian/bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, drowsy driving, and distracted driving.
• Provide victim impact, highway safety-based education programs, and trainings to local communities in an effort to reduce injuries and fatalities due to motor vehicle crashes.
• Provide safety education and instruction using evidence-based curricula.
• Use data-driven approaches to evaluate and address local highway safety issues.
• Participate in and/or organize applicable local traffic safety networks, coalitions, and councils dedicated to highway safety.

Non-Enforcement Programs

This funding opportunity houses most of the non-enforcement programs. Please see the specifications for each program explained below. Please note that applications are not limited to these programs.

• Child Passenger Safety Resource Center (CPSRC)
• DUI Court Program
• Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP)
• Injury Prevention Program (IP)
• Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL)
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP)

This grant is administered by the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) within the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT serves as the federally-required State Highway Safety Office for the state of Illinois.

Funding amount: $8,000,000.00

Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL)

To aid local communities in reducing deaths and injuries on Illinois roadways, the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) established the Law Enforcement Liaison (LEL) program. This program is designed to encourage law enforcement officers and their leaders to support the enforcement of traffic safety laws, particularly those dealing with impaired driving, occupant protection, distracted driving, and speeding.

Project Goal

To support local law enforcement by providing education and information on traffic safety laws, recruit new grantees, and to monitor grantees with law enforcement grants.

Grant Proposal Guidance

The LEL Program was created to enhance communication between BSPE and local law enforcement agencies by strengthening the network of law enforcements’ knowledge of traffic safety laws in Illinois and encourage their involvement in traffic safety initiatives.

Grant Required Actions:

• Recruit new law enforcement agencies into grant program. Application should include projected recruitment targets and retention targets.
• Conduct three (3) on-site/virtual and one phone/virtual monitoring visit per year with assigned law enforcement grantees.
• Assist potential and current grantees with applications, reporting, documentation, and/or planning grant activities as needed.
• Assist law enforcement agencies as needed to ensure they are participating and reporting of enforcement results and activities.
• Assist agencies with improving their ability to plan and execute enforcement with a data driven approach.
• Participate, contribute, and support media events and press conferences with approval from BSPE.
• Meet periodically with BSPE staff to discuss updates, current trends, upcoming initiatives.
• Assist BSPE with its annual statewide seat belt survey.
• If requested, assist with a BSPE motorcycle helmet survey.
• Use LEL regional map created and approved by BSPE.
• Track contacts with LEL activity, report, share information and needs with IDOT.
• LELs must support and promote the State Highway Safety Office, BSPE, in a positive manner to current grantees, potential grantees, and our traffic safety partners.
• Create meaningful public participation and engagement to ensure diverse views are heard and considered.
• Collaborate with other highway safety partners and stakeholders.
• Support additional assigned activities, tasks, or directives initiated by IDOT.

Project Funding Guidance

Funding for these types of programs is limited; current/past funding of a program does not guarantee future funding. Program applicants must provide clear data supporting the community need and specific ways this program and funding will improve problem areas. Program applicants must also demonstrate how their request will help meet  IDOT’s performance goals.

Applications for LEL program should be only for LEL program only and not in combination with other grants programs.

Non-Enforcement Programs

This funding opportunity houses most of the non-enforcement programs. Please see the specifications for each program explained below. Please note that applications are not limited to these programs.

• Child Passenger Safety Resource Center (CPSRC)
• DUI Court Program
• Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP)
• Injury Prevention Program (IP)
• Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL)
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP)

This grant is administered by the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) within the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT serves as the federally-required State Highway Safety Office for the state of Illinois.

Funding amount: $8,000,000.00

Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP)

The Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) grant program allows for the administration of an effective program to provide expertise on a multitude of DUI and other traffic offense cases to law enforcement, prosecution, and others. In particular, this grant program intends to address law enforcement, prosecutors, and other appropriate audiences on the complexities of DUI cases including but not limited to toxicology and other evidential items, no-refusal search warrants, alcohol and drug impairment detection by law enforcement, DUI Courts, e-search warrants, forensic phlebotomy, and DUI related issues with commercial, adult-use cannabis.

Project Goal

To utilize a prosecutor to administer a statewide program providing expertise and guidance on DUI and other traffic case matters to law enforcement, prosecutors, and others.

Grant Proposal Guidance

This grant program is designed to establish an Illinois TSRP Program and support that program within the state of Illinois.

Program applicants must provide clear data supporting the need for the program and specific ways this program and funding will improve the problem areas. Program applicants must also demonstrate how their project will help meet the BSPE’s performance measures. 

A successful TSRP program is comprehensive and statewide. The program will provide legal research assistance to local prosecuting attorneys and will also provide training to law enforcement officers, and others as needed on the most effective methods of investigating and prosecuting impaired drivers and other traffic safety issues. This should also create meaningful public participation and engagement to ensure diverse views are heard and considered.

Training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and others may include, but not limited to:

• yearly statutory and case law updates that impact traffic and impaired driving enforcement or prosecution
• legal and practical aspects of sobriety checkpoints
• NHTSA field sobriety testing procedures and legal aspects of field sobriety testing; pre-trial motions conferences for prosecutors with emphasis on impaired driving cases
• “Cops in Court” training sessions to instruct police officers on how to testify in the courtroom and how to improve their report writing
• DRE and/or ARIDE issues, forensic phlebotomy, search warrants, and impaired driving fatal crash reconstruction courses

In addition, the TSRP will foster the proliferation of successful DUI prosecutorial tools such as law enforcement forensic phlebotomy and search warrants for DUI cases. New, innovative ideas such as E-Search Warrants should be pursued via the TSRP Program.

Funding

Grant application maximum shall not exceed $600,000.

What We Do

The community foundation is like the community’s charitable savings account. We pool resources from community members, invest them and then use them to make grants for the betterment of the entire community. We exist to serve donors, nonprofit organizations and the community as a whole. Donors to ACCF enjoy tax advantages not available to private foundation donors. They also receive professional services without hiring staff. Nonprofit organizations receive grants from community foundations to support their programs and projects. Many nonprofits also establish their own endowment funds with the foundation as a means of investing for the future. We’re also engaged as a community leader. We help set the vision for Ashland County while ensuring charitable gifts are used effectively to meet the community’s present needs and to build a brighter future.

Ashland County Farm Bureau Scholarship

Ashland County Farm Bureau was started in 1918 in an effort to seek solutions to problems that affect the social and economic well-being of farmers. Since its formation, Ashland County Farm Bureau’s focus has remained on grassroots input from local members on issues relating to agriculture. One long-standing priority of the Ashland County Farm Bureau is to support youth with interest and involvement in agriculture by offering scholarships. The Ashland County Farm Bureau appreciates the opportunity to partner with the Ashland County Community Foundation in disseminating these scholarships. 

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

Executive Summary

Outpatient Fitness Restoration provides for outpatient mental health services and fitness education to non-dangerous defendants who are adjudicated unfit to stand trial. The standard for Fitness draws on fundamental principles of fairness to establish that it is both unlawful and unethical for defendants to proceed in a criminal matter without an understanding of the proceedings, its consequences, and the ability to assist their attorneys due to mental illness or intellectual disability. After defendants are adjudicated Unfit to Stand Trial by a judge, they may be committed to restoration in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Illinois courts allow for Fitness Restoration on an outpatient basis and is interested in increasing access to this option for adults and juveniles charged with Misdemeanor and other non-violent offenses for whom outpatient treatment is clinically appropriate. Outpatient Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) consumers may also be monitored through this program. Recognizing that Outpatient Restoration will include a range of customers having varied insurance coverage, the Division of Mental Health clarifies that resources from this grant must not be applied to any costs associated with the delivery of any services and supports that can be reimbursable by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), Medicare, or a private insurance company.

The purpose of this program is to operate an Outpatient Fitness Restoration Program by licensed mental health professionals who will provide community-based fitness restoration services, which include psychiatric, mental health and substance abuse treatment services, housing case management and linkage, as well as legal education, for adults and juveniles found Unfit to Stand Trial (UST) by the County Criminal Courts and remanded by court order to the Department of Human Services for treatment on an outpatient basis. Adults and juveniles will be referred to a Community Mental Health Agency, by the Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health (IDHS/DMH) Forensics and Justice Services Bureau for court ordered outpatient forensic restoration and treatment services. Services will be provided on site or by telehealth by clinical staff.

The Outpatient Fitness Restoration program is designed to:

reduce the number of adults and juveniles determined to be UST, with mental illness and/or co-occurring psychiatric, intellectual disabilities or substance use disorders, on the State Mental Health Hospital waiting list for inpatient fitness restoration services and,

increase prompt access to clinically appropriate outpatient fitness restoration services for adults and juveniles determined to be UST who do not require the restrictiveness of a hospital setting.

The IDHS/DMH will provide outpatient fitness restoration training to clinical staff on an ongoing basis as well as provide technical assistance on clinical and administrative matters involving court ordered consumers. Outpatient NGRI monitoring may include psychiatric, mental health and substance abuse treatment services, housing case management and linkage and/or quarterly progress reporting to the court.

Funding Purpose

The general purpose of this program's funding is Outpatient Fitness Restoration for outpatient mental health services and fitness education to non-dangerous defendants who are adjudicated unfit to stand trial. The standard for Fitness draws on fundamental principles of fairness to establish that it is both unlawful and unethical for defendants to proceed in a criminal matter without an understanding of the proceedings, its consequences, and the ability to assist their attorneys due to mental illness or intellectual disability to achieve for the public good.

Number of Grant Awards

The Department anticipates funding approximately 16 grant awards to provide this program:

• One in Cook County
• 15 outside of Cook County

Expected Dollar Amount of Individual Grant Awards

The Department anticipates that the dollar amount of individual awards will be $ between $17,500 and $350,000 in Cook County and $17,500 and $200,000 outside of Cook County.

Cost Sharing

Providers are not required to participate in cost sharing or provide match.

The Insuring Rural Communities Scholarship was created to support students from rural areas of Missouri and Illinois. It is funded by grants from Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), its member insurance agencies and various insurance company partners and friends, matched by Travelers Foundation. IRC is administered through The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis. Students of all ages who have graduated high school or have a GED are eligible to apply for annual, renewable scholarships of up to $5,000 to pursue information technology, healthcare, or risk management degrees or certificates.

Travelers Foundation, the charitable arm of Travelers, focuses on equity and inclusion in support for initiatives that improve academic and career success, develop thriving neighborhoods, and create culturally enriched communities.

VIAA is an insurance agency network dedicated to supporting the profitable growth and sustainability of independent insurance agencies throughout Missouri and central and southern Illinois.

This scholarship is renewable through graduation or up to ten semesters, and is available in amounts up to $5,000 per academic year.

Community Ties Giving Program

As part of the Community Ties Giving Program, Local Grants help us achieve our mission by providing small and medium-sized grants within our priority cause areas to local organizations spread widely across Union Pacific's footprint.

Funding Priorities & Objectives

Throughout its existence, the success of Union Pacific's business has been inextricably linked to the economic and community wellbeing of cities and towns across the nation. We take pride in the role we have played in helping communities thrive and believe the impact we can have on local communities is greatest when it is authentic to our history and reflective of the diverse company we are today.

As such, we have carefully aligned our Local Grants cause areas to our company's unique heritage, strengths, and assets. Specifically, we prioritize funding for direct services and efforts that build the capacity of organizations focused on the following causes within our local operating communities. Within each focus area, we aim to support programs and organizations working to advance the diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented populations within the local context and issue areas addressed. Find more information about our commitment to DEI in our FAQs.

Safety

In order for communities to thrive, all residents must feel safe. Just as the safety of our employees and community members is paramount to how we operate, Union Pacific is committed to helping communities prevent and prepare for incidents and emergencies, and helping residents get home safely at the end of each day. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to: 

• Encourage safe behaviors and prevent incidents through education and awareness, particularly projects which focus on rail, driver, bike, and pedestrian safety, and ensure outreach efforts reach underserved populations.
• Eliminate risks and improve safe and equitable access to community spaces through infrastructure improvements, such as signage, proper lighting, and public trail improvements.
• Prepare and equip residents and emergency responders* to effectively respond to incidents and emergencies if or when they occur.
  • *Union Pacific supports publicly funded emergency responders through a variety of corporate programs; only independent nonprofit, 501(c)(3) emergency response organizations, such as volunteer departments, are eligible for funding through this grant program
• Prevent crime and violent incidents and support survivors of domestic violence through efforts that address the root causes of these issues and seek to mitigate their occurrence.
• Build the capacity of safety-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Workforce Development

For more than 160 years, Union Pacific has helped stimulate economic growth in cities and towns throughout the nation by training and providing employment to millions of workers. More than ever, we are committed to helping underrepresented residents in our communities achieve family-supporting careers like those offered by Union Pacific. As such, we prioritize funding for programs that seek to:

• Put youth on the right track by creating awareness of and pathways toward employment opportunities; building foundational skills, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); establishing necessary technical skills and life skills; and providing mentorship and positive role models for the future.
• Raise awareness of, educate and prepare young adults for middle skills jobs like those Union Pacific offers, for instance through community colleges, vocational and career training programs, workforce readiness initiatives, and programs that assist with job placement and/or on-the-job experience.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas relevant to Union Pacific operations such as welding, electrical work, machine operations, and civil and electrical engineering are given priority.
• "Up-skill" the existing workforce by providing training and resources that enable them to reach the next level of their career.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas of relevance to Union Pacific operations are given priority.
• Resolve barriers to employment such as transportation, childcare, acquiring necessary equipment for work, and second chance employment programs.
• Build the capacity of workforce development-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Community Vitality

Union Pacific Railroad is committed to establishing vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities for employees, customers and residents to work, visit and call home. Just as the railroad opened avenues for economic development and opportunity more than 160 years ago, we maintain this tradition by cultivating unique cultural and recreational experiences and equipping community members with opportunities to live healthy, vital lives. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Create, sustain or expand artistic and cultural experiences offered to a broad and diverse audience (e.g., museums, theaters, zoos, cultural and local heritage, visual and performing arts, etc.)
• Provide recreational opportunities that foster wellbeing, enrichment and/or an appreciation for our natural environment (e.g., parks, libraries, senior centers, recreation centers, learning centers, etc.).
• Revive neighborhoods and main street areas, especially in historically underinvested neighborhoods, to improve livability, promote commerce and attract more residents, businesses and visitors to town.
• Ensure residents’ basic needs are met and barriers are overcome (e.g., safe shelter and homelessness prevention, hunger relief, mental health and community health needs, etc.).
• Offer youth development and educational opportunities to ensure young people can thrive into healthy and productive community members (e.g., mentoring, leadership development, tutoring, services for youth in foster care, etc.).
• Build the capacity of community vitality-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Environmental Sustainability

The future of our business, communities and planet depends on bold, collective action to reduce and slow the impacts of climate change while building a more sustainable economy for the next generation. Union Pacific is taking deliberate steps to reduce our environmental impact and helping our partners improve their own. Extending this commitment to our community investments, we seek to support leading environmental nonprofits and community-based organizations to advance the health of our environment. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Preserve and restore nature, including programs focused on natural habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
• Protect and enhance water, soil and air quality through innovative and proactive solutions such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and emission reduction programs.
• Reduce waste through initiatives focused on promoting recycling and circularity throughout the community, including recycling and composting programs and other efforts that reduce waste.
• Develop environmental stewards through youth programs focused on fostering environmental appreciation, responsibility, and leadership.
• Advance a sustainable economy by helping communities accelerate their transition to environmental jobs and renewable energy, as well as helping nonprofits and small businesses build their own capacity to operate more sustainably.
• Promote environmental justice through initiatives that ensure access to clean air, water, and land and protect underserved populations from disproportionate and adverse environmental effects.
• Build the capacity of sustainability-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience.

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

Helping Build Better Futures

Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. For over four decades, our deep commitment to the principles of providing value and caring for others has helped define our culture. It extends beyond the walls of our stores, distribution centers, and offices, and into our local communities around the world. The intersection of these principles defines our global community mission:

Deliver great value to our communities by helping vulnerable families and children access the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future.

Our Social Impact Areas

We bring our community relations mission to life around the world by focusing our giving on four social impact areas where we believe we can have the most impact and are critical to helping families and children succeed and thrive.

Basic Needs

We are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations that help fill critical basic needs such as a warm meal, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep for vulnerable families.

Education & Training

Our efforts have focused on quality enrichment and extracurricular programs that provide skills, resources, and opportunities to support school and career success for children, teens, and young adults.

Patient Care & Research

We support organizations that deliver services to families and children facing health challenges and life-threatening illnesses.

Empowering Women

We support programs that provide services ranging from help for those fleeing domestic violence, to others that offer education, training, and job placement resources.