Search Through Grants for Special Education in Illinois in the U.S.

Our Mission

The Old National Bank Foundation believes that social responsibility is essential to fostering vibrant, sustainable communities. We realize this belief through strategic partnerships with charitable organizations addressing defined community needs.

Old National Bank Foundation

The Old National Bank Foundation makes contributions to nonprofit organizations to fund widespread community impact programs and/or projects. The Foundation is part of Old National's overall charitable giving initiative, which enables us to support programs that improve quality of life in areas of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin where our clients, associates and shareholders live and work.

Invested in our communities

Caring for our clients means being an active and dynamic partner in the cities and towns we serve. Through sponsorships, Old National helps organizations improve the quality of life in the areas where our clients, associates and shareholders live and work.

Old National Bank Foundation Sponsorships

Old National sponsorships provide monetary support for events or activities, while enabling us to partner with many community organizations. Typically such sponsorships are in exchange for advertising and/or publicity that directly benefits Old National. Our goal is to make meaningful contributions, measure the results of our sponsorships, and work closely with the organizations we support.

Here are examples of the types of activities we sponsor:

• One-time events
• Fundraisers
• Golf tournaments/scrambles
• Corporate tables at galas
• Sporting events
• Special events (telethons, marathons, races or benefits)

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.

Grantmaking

The great majority of grants are given to organizations located in, and for projects to be conducted within, the state of Iowa and portions of Illinois, as well as to other organizations in which Mr. Carver had an interest during his lifetime. Generally speaking, the Carver Trust supports biomedical and scientific research, scholarships, and programs addressing the educational and recreational needs of youth. 

Program Areas

Elementary and Secondary Education

Supporting educational opportunities for youth, beginning with kindergarten and continuing through high school graduation, is a cornerstone of Carver Trust giving. Grant-making activities in this area may be divided into three, broad categories, each with the goal of enhancing access to resources and the application of innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Read more about this program area.

Higher Education

The Trust’s interests in the area of higher education extend to those projects that strengthen institutions and offer innovative learning opportunities to students enrolled in baccalaureate and graduate programs throughout the grant-making region of Iowa and parts of Illinois. Typically, funding is awarded to capital or programmatic initiatives that seek to substantively improve instruction or increase access to educational resources, with the goal of better preparing students for future academic and professional challenges. Projects incorporating interdisciplinary approaches and demonstrating the potential for lasting impact among a diverse range of students are especially encouraged. Read more about this program area.

Medical and Scientific Research

The goal of the Trust’s program in medical and scientific research is to provide support for innovative investigation that may hold great promise for advancing scientific knowledge and, in many cases, improving human health. To this end, the Trust has supported a variety of university-based scientific endeavors, most notably in the basic medical sciences, the chemical and biological sciences, and engineering. Although a majority of funding is awarded for the purpose of addressing institutional capital needs, a parallel focus of this program area is the research efforts of particular laboratories, often emphasizing multidisciplinary approaches and encouraging the development of untried, and inherently risky, specific aims. Read more about this program area.

Youth Services and Recreation

Projects receiving Trust funding under the youth program designation are typically designed to complement curriculum-based education and encourage individual development and physical well-being. Of the grants awarded within this category, a significant portion has been directed toward the efforts of organizations advocating for disadvantaged and disabled youth and their families. As an example, improving the conditions at adolescent residential facilities in Iowa, including those that offer opportunities for special-needs populations, has represented an important area of Trust charitable giving around the state.

In addition, grants to help communities establish safe and affordable recreation opportunities are also part of the youth-directed programming. The Trust offers strategic funding for the development of public recreation facilities and related activities for children, with priority given to projects in the Iowa counties of Muscatine, Cedar, Louisa and Scott, as well as Rock Island and Mercer Counties in Illinois. More information on the youth recreation program area may be found under Trust Initiated Programming & Guidelines.

Miscellaneous

Grants listed under this designation are those that, for various reasons, do not fall within the Trust’s primary program classifications. Many grants classified as miscellaneous are for projects receiving special consideration for their direct impact on the local Muscatine region.

Awards in this category of Trust giving may, for example, provide support to organizations mobilizing to help area residents following a natural disaster or emergency, such as flooding or storm damage. Other assistance of this type has been directed to local first-responder and law enforcement agencies, which have received occasional support for specialized medical, firefighting and policing equipment, as well as situations whereby certain area nonprofits are seeking one-time support for urgent capital or programming needs.

Still other miscellaneous grants celebrate special events and aspects of Muscatine and its history, as well as organizations and projects that share a unique connection to the life and interests of Roy Carver. Additionally, occasional grants in this program area may serve to emphasize important natural resources throughout the local area and the upper Mississippi River region, with a focus on projects that help to guide children and youth toward a deeper understanding of, and respect for, the ecosystem and surrounding environment.

Program Area: Democracy

"Building a more equitable democracy by striving for participation and representation by all people who call the Great Lakes home."

Our democracy has faced numerous threats in recent years, from voter suppression and gerrymandering to targeted disinformation and related efforts to undermine public confidence in elections and government. Election administration is inconsistently funded, and voter experiences vary widely from zip code to zip code. In addition, a long-overdue national reckoning with systemic racism compels us to examine the ways in which government processes exclude rather than include all residents.

The results of these and many other such actions are unequal and unfair representation, disenfranchisement predominantly of communities of color and young voters, reduced voter participation in local or mid-term elections, increasingly toxic levels of partisanship, and crippling mistrust of government. Through a combination of research, policy development, litigation and public engagement efforts, the Joyce Foundation will invest in policy change to protect and expand voting rights, fair representation, and ensuring census data accurately reflects all of our communities.

Strategy

Voting Rights & Elections

Protecting voting rights and well-run elections are the very heart of a functioning democracy. Elections should be free, fair, accessible, and trusted. Yet, far too often, our elections fall short of that aspiration.

Policies related to the ease or difficulty of registering to vote and accessible options for casting a ballot impact turnout. Voters’ experiences vary widely by zip code—some communities face polling place closures and long lines, while others have new top-of-the-line technology and an abundance of voting options. Voter suppression and disinformation efforts erode trust that elections are fair and accurate. This focus area seeks to increase participation in our democracy by all voters - especially voters of color and young voters.

Census Data Accuracy

The 2020 decennial census experienced multiple complex problems that impacted census operations and, ultimately, appear to have impacted the quality of census data. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Census Bureau operations and timeline, displacement or limited access to certain populations, cancellation of quality control tests, reports of inadequate staffing, first-time use of online and phone response options, and controversial executive policy decisions resulting in litigation all disrupted a process that is typically planned and tested down to the smallest detail.

Following 2020, census experts will need to conduct a data quality assessment to determine how flawed the final census data is and where it is flawed, law and policy experts will need to determine possible options for remedial action, and the field will need to learn from this experience to avoid (or at least better plan for) such problems in the future.

Fair Representation

A true representative democracy will not be realized until the rules and structures for determining representation are reconfigured to redistribute power to the entire electorate, so that communities choose who represents them. As such, the Foundation invests in redistricting reform to remedy the severe gerrymandering prevalent in Great Lakes states and to identify solutions to other laws that undermine voters’ ability to determine who represents them.

Background

McGraw Foundation, headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, makes annual grants to not-for-profit organizations.  The Foundation’s areas of interest involve the fields of conservation, educational programs at all levels, and human services. Occasionally, grants are made in other areas such as health, medical research and cultural.

Grant requests are suggested to be within a range of $2,000 to $10,000. Grant recipients and amounts will be determined by several criteria. Naturally, availability of funds is a key factor.

The Foundation will occasionally make large grants ($25,000 or more) to support unusually promising efforts in any of its areas of interest. Innovative research, special education, and/or other activities will be considered if the Foundation’s support would assist an effort or a project in making a significant impact.

Areas of Focus

Education: Higher

The Foundation has been a pioneer in support of environmental education at the highest level by establishing three chaired professorships. 

Education: Elementary & Special

McGraw Foundation supports a wide array of organizations that focus on assisting the education and advancement of children as well as adults. McGraw Foundation also makes grants to elementary schools and organizations involved in all areas of special needs education. Funding in this arena has encompassed many organizations that provide services such as after-school tutoring, special education, and adult literacy.

In addition to F.A.I.T.H., McGraw Foundation also makes grants to elementary schools and organizations involved in all areas of special needs education. Funding in this arena has encompassed many organizations that provide services such as after-school tutoring, special education, and adult literacy.

Human Services

Since 1949, McGraw Foundation has been concerned with helping people in need. While the emphasis is on organizations serving children, funding also extends to people of all ages.

Children's issues such as these have been supported throughout the years:

• child welfare
• foster care and adoption
• family counseling
• enriching summer camps
• crisis intervention

Funding for quality-of-life issues for people of all ages has included:

• developmental disabilities
• health clinics
• domestic violence
• housing and homelessness
• job training and continued support
• seniors needs

Health & Medical 

Since its inception, McGraw Foundation has made grants in the health and medical fields.  Health and medical funding has included:

• specific medical research
• rehabilitation
• support programs for patients and their families
• medical attention for people without health insurance
• palliative care and hospice organizations

Civic & Cultural

Complimenting it's main focus on education and the environment, McGraw Foundation has supported some of Chicago's distinctive cultural and arts organizations.

Areas of interest include zoological societies' animal conservation, public communication, musical organizations, and civic organizations' promotion of science and the general welfare of society.

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.

Background

Motorcyclists are some of the most vulnerable road users in Illinois. More than 10 percent of Illinois’ total fatalities are motorcyclists. It is evident that a multi-dimensional approach to motorcycle safety is needed to prevent fatalities and serious injuries. The Motorcycle Awareness Program (MAP) in Illinois consists of motorcyclist training, outreach, and education.

Project Goal

Educate all drivers on the awareness of motorcycles and motorcycle safety.

Proposal Guidance

The intent of the MAP program is for all drivers to be more aware of the presence of motorcycles on Illinois roadways. This program should be done through public awareness and outreach programs to enhance driver awareness of motorcycles and motorcyclists.

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

Project Examples

• Promoting and educating people on safety messages developed using Share-the-Road.
• Develop an educational presentation program for motorcycle awareness.
• Create an awareness program for four-wheeled motorists with educational campaign materials to promote within a community.
• Develop a statewide awareness program to prevent impaired motorcycle riding.
• Develop a statewide awareness program to promote motorcycle helmet use.

Opportunity Funding

$500,000.00

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

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.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Program

Motor vehicle crash data shows bicycle and pedestrian fatalities are a major issue in Illinois. In order to prevent these from happening, the Illinois Department of Transportation has created the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program. The main impacts on highway safety are made through enforcement, education, EMS, and engineering.

This program offers grant funds for agencies to address these highway safety issues in their local areas or statewide. The programs main emphasis should be on the educational and enforcement aspects of pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Project Goal

The goal of the pedestrian and bicycle safety program is to reduce the incidence of crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists and the resulting fatalities and serious injuries. 

Opportunity Funding

$4,000,000.00

RFP: Together Fund (Local Business) – We Rise Together

Background

We Rise Together: For an Equitable & Just Recovery is a coalition of public and private funders and communities accelerating equity in the Chicago region’s economic recovery so everyone who lives here can reach their full potential. To catalyze an equitable economic recovery from the COVID recession, We Rise focuses on grantmaking and engagement in communities hardest hit by COVID and those that are a majority Black and Latine because they are the places and people disproportionately affected by the pandemic. 

Need/Opportunity Statement

In historically underserved, low-income neighborhoods across the Chicago area, mid-stage businesses and worker-owned cooperatives play a critical role in fostering economic vitality, creating jobs, and strengthening social connections. However, many of these businesses face persistent challenges in scaling their operations, securing the tools and resources necessary for growth, and effectively harnessing growth opportunities.  

We know that mid-stage businesses are uniquely positioned to drive inclusive economic growth. However, they often operate with constrained resources and limited access to the capital, vendors, and infrastructure needed to achieve their full potential. Similarly, worker-owned co-ops offer a powerful model for shared ownership and wealth-building, empowering employees with a direct stake in the success of their enterprises. Yet, co-ops face unique challenges in securing resources for infrastructure, awareness, and technical support, particularly in sectors like retail, manufacturing, and trucking that are traditionally underfunded. 

By moving resources directly to nonprofits working alongside these businesses, we aim to catalyze their ability to grow revenue, expand capacity, and invest in transformative initiatives like acquiring commercial spaces, adopting advanced tools, and strengthening their operational resilience. This RFP invites applications that present strategic approaches to strengthen these enterprises, supporting a sustainable recovery and fostering a resilient economic foundation across the region.

Goals & Outcomes

While this is a one-year grant, the activities supported through this funding should be designed to contribute to the broader, long-term goals of improving local economic resilience. Work completed during the grant period should build a strong foundation for continued progress toward the following goals:  

• By supporting business growth and cooperative development, projects should create stable job opportunities, increase local spending, and increase economic resilience within low-income neighborhoods. 
• Through cooperative models and local business growth, projects should promote shared wealth-building, economic autonomy, and the growth of the local economy. 
• Programs should enable businesses to scale effectively, increasing their capacity to serve and uplift their communities. 
• Measure changes in access to capital, financial literacy, and use of business management tools. 
• Track the number of new jobs created or maintained, particularly full-time roles with family-sustaining wages. 
• Monitor improvements in operational resilience, such as enhanced access to infrastructure, technology, or technical assistance.

While this is a one-year grant, the activities supported through this funding should be designed to contribute to the broader, long-term goals of improving local economic resilience. Work completed during the grant period should build a strong foundation for continued progress toward the following goals:  

• By supporting business growth and cooperative development, projects should create stable job opportunities, increase local spending, and increase economic resilience within low-income neighborhoods. 
• Through cooperative models and local business growth, projects should promote shared wealth-building, economic autonomy, and the growth of the local economy. 
• Programs should enable businesses to scale effectively, increasing their capacity to serve and uplift their communities. 
• Measure changes in access to capital, financial literacy, and use of business management tools. 
• Track the number of new jobs created or maintained, particularly full-time roles with family-sustaining wages. 

Monitor improvements in operational resilience, such as enhanced access to infrastructure, technology, or technical assistance. 

Outcomes include up to three of the following:

• Build Knowledge and Narrative 
• Improve Overall Financial Health 
• Increase Fundamental Business Finance Knowledge and Application 
• Strengthen Workforce 

Mission Statement

To manage, conserve and protect Illinois' natural, recreational and cultural resources, further the public's understanding and appreciation of those resources, and promote the education, science and public safety of Illinois' natural resources for present and future generations.

Volunteer Fire Assistance Program

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry administers the USDA Forest Service’s VFA funds. The funds are for rural and small fire departments. The grant funds fire projects at 50% of the cost of a project up to $10,000 per department. Forestry’s portion is up to $10,000, the Department may spend as much as they need to complete the project. No one item can be $5,000 or more. The funds can only be used for fire projects, EMS, HazMat or crash rescue are not eligible. The funds are awarded based on competitive applications. The types of projects that have been funded in previous grants include radios, hose, SCBA, turn out gear, wildland PPE, hand tools, chainsaws, backpack blowers, modifying federal excess vehicles and equipment and other equipment.

About

Compeer Financial is a member-owned, Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. We provide loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America. With 1,300 dedicated team members serving approximately 72,600 member-owners, we offer specialized expertise and personalized service regardless of the size of the farm, the type of crop grown or the livestock raised. Our services are provided with convenience in mind, through visits to fields, barns and homes, or by maximizing technology to make the most of every hour in every day.

Compeer Financial regularly collaborates with others who are also dedicated to agriculture and rural America. Our in-house specialists participate in conversations that extend beyond our service area, providing formal and informal insight on topics pertinent to all industries, including dairy, swine, grain and renewable energy. With $27 billion in total assets, Compeer Financial is one of the largest cooperatives in the Farm Credit System. This nationwide network of lending institutions supports agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services.

Farmers Market Grant Program - Vendor

Fresh and healthy food is a vital part of our local and regional food systems. Farmers markets offer farmers the unique opportunity to work directly with consumers and diversify their business.

The Compeer Financial Farmers Market Grant Program has two different grant programs: one designed to help organizations and another for farmers directly.

Grants for farmers market vendors are designed to help farmers with education, marketing or technology advancements. This can include developing branding, website creation, or mobile payment technology products (excluding cell/smart phones) or fees. Other examples of eligible uses of grant funds include: scales, tents, tables, display racks, coolers, labeling equipment, and signage.

Fed. - Sp. Ed. - Pre-School Discretionary: IDEA Preschool Discretionary - Child Find Project

Program Purpose:

The purpose of the Child Find Project of Illinois -- Public Awareness (hereafter referred to in this NOFO/RFP a the “Child Find Project”) is to provide resources and materials for LEAs and other child referral sources to assist them in meeting their requirements for Child Find.

Program Description:

The Child Find Project is one of three discretionary grants1 that assist school districts, special education cooperatives, and families to improve educational outcomes of young children with disabilities and meet the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B State Performance Plan (SPP)2 by supporting school districts and early intervention programs with resources to aid in the early identification of young children with suspected disabilities.

Child Find is a component of IDEA, which requires states to have a comprehensive system to locate, identify, and refer all children with disabilities aged birth to 21 for early intervention or special education services as early as possible.3 This includes all children who are in need of special education and related services, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are awards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability. Infants and toddlers with disabilities (birth-2 years) and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. Children and youth (ages 3-21) receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B. ISBE and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) have had an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) since 1998 to share Child Find responsibilities specifically for infants and toddlers as mandated by IDEA. IDHS serves as the administrative agent for the early intervention program funded by IDEA Part C. The IGA is part of Illinois’ comprehensive Child Find system. More information about Child Find can be found on its Public Awareness Materials webpage.

Program Background/History:

The goal of the Child Find Project is to educate the public about the importance of early intervention and early childhood special education (ECSE) services for eligible children as early as possible in their development. The Child Find Project is charged with the development and statewide dissemination of resources and service information to Illinois school districts, early intervention providers, health care providers, and the general public.

Fed. - Sp. Ed. - Pre-School Discretionary: IDEA Preschool Discretionary - Early CHOICES

Program Purpose:

The purpose of Early CHOICES is to provide professional development (PD) and TA to increase the number of high-quality, inclusive options for early childhood students with disabilities.

Program Description:

Early CHOICES is one of three discretionary grants1 that assist school districts, special education cooperatives, and families to improve educational outcomes of young children with disabilities and meet the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B State Performance Plan (SPP)2 by providing training, TA, materials, and/or special services. The total award over a three-year period will not exceed $1.227 million.

Program Background/History:

Early CHOICES is a statewide training and TA grant that focuses on least restrictive environment (LRE) for children ages 3-5 or as a support for school districts to educate children with disabilities with their nondisabled peers in environments where they would be educated if they did not have disabilities. Early CHOICES assists ISBE with SPP Indicator 6 (Preschool LRE). Early CHOICES began in 1990 and was part of the larger Project CHOICES. Project CHOICES was part of the Illinois Statewide Technical Assistance Collaborative (ISTAC) from 2009-14. ISTAC included Illinois Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Illinois Autism Training and Technical Assistance, the Parent Engagement Project, and Transition Outreach for Adult Living Training. Early CHOICES moved from ISTAC in school year 2014-15 and became a stand-alone grant to focus specifically on LRE for children ages 3-5. 

TANF Employment & Training Program -College Scholarship Program

Estimated Total Program Funding Amount: $573,000.00

Anticipated Number of Awards: 2

Cost Sharing/Matching Requirement? No

Executive Summary:

This program provides TANF and other low-income students who are also the guardian of 1 or more children, an opportunity to obtain a degree and employment. The program is primarily a supportive services program allowing TANF families who need extra support to enroll and stay in school to better their employment opportunities and increase their economic self-sufficiency.

The Scholarship fund is to be used as an additional funding source for eligible students to reduce or eliminate financial barriers to their successfully obtaining a degree. In addition, the Provider must ensure that eligible students apply for and receive all other possible financial assistance available through the completion of the FAFSA form.

Executive Summary:

This is a community capacity building grant for organizations that provide coordination, training and education and community service linkages for local anti-poverty programs and other programs that serve the TANF population and other low-income individuals and families. Organizations should be hub organizations that facilitate and convene other local organizations and employers with the purpose of reducing poverty and helping individuals access services effectively in the local community.

Program Description

Required Information:

The general purpose of the funding is to provide broad-based community services to TANF eligible (Transitional Assistance to Needy Families) and other low-income families to access state and local human services in order to improve outcomes that lead to self-sufficiency for the public good. 

Goals and objectives of the Program.

The Grantee will provide broad-based community services to:

• Improve the quality of life for children, youth and families by making human services, workforce development, health and educational programs and policy more effective, accessible, coordinated and responsive to community needs;
• Provide linkages enabling individuals and families to access state and local human service agencies; and
• Focus on ways each of the local communities served can address the most pressing self-sufficiency issues in their area.

Program Deliverables

These services will address areas such as:

• Development of Community Planning Partners
• Education about Public Benefits (Essentials of Public Benefits/SNAP and TANF), spend-down, navigating disability and how to obtain them.
• Offering TANF Informational sessions
• Early Childhood (Parenting workshops)
• Diversity and Language Access Resources (LARC)
• Mental Health and Substance abuse
• Housing security assistance
• Employment
• Financial Literacy & Asset Building
• Health services and Healthy Lifestyles
• Cultural awareness
• Tax Preparation

About

The Illinois Department of Human Services was created in 1997 to provide our state's residents with streamlined access to integrated services, especially those who are striving for economic independence, and others who face multiple challenges to self-sufficiency.

Special Education - EI Child & Family Connections (25-444-84-2880-01)

Program Summary

• Introduction to the funding opportunity:
  • Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Division of Early Childhood (DEC) Bureau of Early Intervention (EI) seeks agencies located within Illinois to serve as the Child and Family Connections (CFC) offices for designated geographic areas.
• Description of the purpose and scope:
  • CFC offices are the regional intake entities defined in state statute (325 ILCS 20) and rule (89 IL Admin. Code 500 Section 500.45) as IDHS's designated entity responsible for implementation of the EI Program within its designated geographic area. IDHS is required to assure the designation of regional points of entry to accomplish consistent and equitable intake and service coordination throughout the State, with services defined in 89 IL Admin. Code 500 Section 500.45.

Program Overview

• Background and Context:
  • The EI Program is a statewide program for the evaluation and assessment of eligible children under 36 months of age; Any child under the age of 3 who is the subject of a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect as defined in the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and in Illinois Act (325 ILCS 20/3) (from Ch. 23, par. 4153); or children engaged with Extended Services with any of the following conditions - please see here for more information.

The purpose of the Older Americans Act is to maximize the quality of life of older persons. The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) provides federal Older Americans Act funds (Title III) and State General Revenue Funds (GRF) to regional Area Agencies on Aging for this purpose.

The grants fund a broad array of services that enable older adults to remain in their homes for as long as possible. These services include, but are not limited, to:

• Access to services such as transportation, case management, and information and assistance;
• In-home services such as personal care, chores, and homemaker assistance; and
• Community services such as legal services, mental health services, and adult daycare

This program also funds multi-purpose senior centers that coordinate and integrate services for older adults such as congregate meals, community education, health screening, exercise/health promotion programs, and transportation.

The State of Illinois is divided into 13 Planning and Service Areas (PSAs), each with its own Area Agency on Aging, to stimulate the development or enhancement of coordinated community-based systems, resulting in a continuum of services to persons age 60 and older. These services help seniors stay as independent as possible in their homes and communities, and avoid hospitalization and nursing home care. Using an intrastate funding formula, IDoA awards sub-grants under each approved Area Agency on Aging Area Plan. The funding formula reflects the proportion among the Planning and Service Areas of persons age 60 and over in greatest economic or social need, with particular attention to low-income minority individuals and those at risk of institutionalization. The Area Agencies on Aging in turn make sub-grants to local service providers, while advocating and representing the best interests of older persons and their caregivers.

Mission

The Grace Bersted Foundation was established in 1986 to support and promote quality educational, human services and health care programming for underserved populations. Special consideration is given to charitable organizations that serve the needs of children or the disabled. The Grace Bersted Foundation specifically serves the people of DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois.

JCCC Foundation

Established in 1991, the JCCC Foundation and its programs are the formalized expression of friendship and community involvement of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago (JCCC). As funding for the JCCC Foundation grants program is derived entirely through JCCC member contributions and fund raising events, the JCCC Foundation allows the Japanese business community as a whole to come together and support Chicago area communities. 

Grants Program

The mission of the JCCC Foundation grants program is to support innovative projects that work with students to enhance learning, build capacity, and increase learning opportunities both inside and outside the school. We look for programs and projects that convert educational theory into concrete actions that foster personal initiative, development of adult values, and development of higher-order thinking skills and real-life problem solving.

Each year, the Foundation awards approximately $100,000 in grants of up to $10,000 to schools and non-profit organizations that provide education-related programming. These grants are known as Student Development and Achievement Grants, Japanese Language Education Grants, and U.S. Japan Partnership Grants.

Student Development and Achievement Grants

Education in Chicago and Illinois is in the midst of a significant transformation. Schools and teachers are experimenting with innovative, student-oriented programs that encourage the development of independent, critical thinking, strong personal values and an enhanced understanding of science, math, literature, art, the social sciences and cultural diversity. These are not theoretical initiatives but rather concrete programs that bring into play all of the natural curiosity, creativity, energy, and initiative of young people. In the process, they encourage self-esteem, personal and social well being, and a deepened understanding of our multicultural world.

To encourage and support these initiatives, the JCCC Foundation is offering Student Development and Achievement Grants for the next school year.

The mission of this grant program is to support projects that work with students to enhance learning and increase learning opportunities both inside and outside of school. 

Potential Projects

Program goals and objectives should support the current Illinois Learning Standards for pre-school, elementary and secondary students in one or more of the following subject areas: Computer Science, Early Learning and Development, English Language Arts, English Language Learning / Bilingual Education, Fine Arts, Mathematics, Physical Development and Health, Science, Sexual Health Education, Social and Emotional Learning, Social Science, and World Languages.

The JCCC Foundation’s aim is to encourage the broadest range of activities and projects. Any initiative that promises it will have a direct impact on students will be considered.

Organizations may wish to seek grants for these purposes:

• To fund projects that demonstrate the educational and student development value of a specific course of study
• To support demonstration projects that illustrate the value of classroom learning in the context of real-life situations
• To encourage greater family participation in school and community activities
• To expand the use of technology for teaching and learning

With these grants, the Chamber and the JCCC Foundation declare their intention to support innovative programs that convert educational theory to concrete actions that foster student development and achievement.

Wellness on Wheels (WOW)

The initiative allows culturally competent and linguistically appropriate services to be offered where, and when clients need them, and successful applicants must have the ability to make immediate adjustments to the outreach plan based on input from clients, disease outbreaks, and special community events. The aim of this funding is to reduce health disparities and health inequities in preventative health screenings in medically underserved communities and disadvantaged and vulnerable communities of color in Illinois. All services in conjunction with this grant must have established partnerships in place to provide linkage to care and other wrap-around services as needed. The Initiative is funded through State of Illinois general revenue funding and will provide a variety of preventative screenings. Screenings include HIV, Hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted infections, along with other specialized services or screenings. Health equity exists when all people have the opportunity to thrive, and no one is limited in achieving comprehensive health and wellness because of their social position or any other social factors/determinants of health such as income, education, race/ethnicity, sexual identity, and disability.

Mission Statement

To manage, conserve and protect Illinois' natural, recreational and cultural resources, further the public's understanding and appreciation of those resources, and promote the education, science and public safety of Illinois' natural resources for present and future generations.

What is Pheasant Funding Grant?

The Illinois Pheasant Fund portion involved in the Special Funds Grant Program provides for enhancing Pheasant wildlife habitat. Organized groups of volunteers from appropriate not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities develop projects and submit applications to the Department to help fund their projects. The grants are competitive and are evaluated for their merit.

Mission Statement

To manage, conserve and protect Illinois' natural, recreational and cultural resources, further the public's understanding and appreciation of those resources, and promote the education, science and public safety of Illinois' natural resources for present and future generations.

Illinois Habitat Fund Grant

The Illinois Habitat Fund provides grants to appropriate not-for-profit organizations and to governmental entities for projects designated exclusively for the preservation and maintenance of high-quality habitat lands. This Fund is part of the Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program. Grants through the Illinois Habitat Fund are competitive and are evaluated for their merit.

Grant funding through this Fund supports activities and programs undertaken by land managers to preserve, protect, acquire, manage, and maintain high quality habitat for future generations. Goals include improving habitat quality and connectivity. Habitat can be characterized by such parameters as type, native diversity, size, structure, scarcity, and location. Connectivity is defined as linkage with neighboring habitat, whether existing or potential. Illinois’ habitat includes all wetlands, woodlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands, natural or altered, that support or have the potential to support populations of wild animals in any or all phases of their life cycles. See 520 ILCS 25/10 for full text of the Habitat Endowment Act.

Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund

The most enduring highway in our public consciousness, Route 66 represents a unique moment in history that continues to define the nation’s identity: the rise of the automobile and its implications of freedom, mobility, and a quintessential American story. Grants from this fund will help preserve and enhance historic places on or connected to Route 66 for future generations.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund provides financial support to public agencies, tribal governments or nonprofit organizations to preserve and interpret historic places along the Route 66 corridor. The National Trust has a special interest in illuminating the narratives of communities whose places and stories have been historically underrepresented, which may include communities and neighborhoods along the Route 66 corridor associated with People of Color (including but not limited to indigenous peoples, Latinx, Black Americans and others), women, immigrants, LGBTQIA communities, veterans, and economically distressed communities.

Grants made from the Preserve Route 66 Fund will generally range from $2,500 to $10,000.

Objective

The objective of the Social Services Grant (SSG) Program is to enhance social service activities for community benefit.

Strategy

Provision of financial support for enhancement of social services (including labor, supplies, and materials) including, but not limited to those concerned with employment, crime prevention, child care, health, drug abuse, education, fair housing counseling, energy conservation, emergency financial assistance, recreational needs, senior services, or training for local agencies and institutions. The grant year starts on January 1 and ends on December 31.

Funding Priorities

The Social Services Grant was established with five main priorities in mind. Those priorities and eligible activities are listed below. Depending on emerging community needs, Staff performs assessment each year to determine if additional funding priorities should be emphasized.

• Emergency Services
  • Provide funding for emergency shelter
  • Food and personal care items
  • Emergency assistance
• Seniors
  • Respite care
  • Meal delivery
  • Home sharing
  • Mental health counseling
• Self-Sufficiency
  • Medical care for the uninsured
  • Financial counseling
  • Childcare
  • Employment services
  • Counseling/Substance abuse services/Case management
• Special Populations: Individuals with mental, physical and developmental disabilities
  • Caregiver support/Respite services
  • Community integration/Socialization/Independent living skills
• Youth
  • Mentoring
  • Counseling
  • Pregnancy prevention/education

Transportation is a priority in each category to fund the following objectives:

• Provide subsidy for a public transit voucher program.
• Provide subsidy for a gas voucher program.
• Provide subsidy for a taxi voucher program.