Best Kendall County Grants for Nonprofits in Illinois

U.S. Writers Aid Initiative

PEN America is an organization of writers and their allies, and that solidarity is never more important than when members of our literary community face crises. PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative, part of the PEN America Writers Emergency Fund, offers grants for writers in the United States facing acute financial need following an emergency situation.

The U.S. Writers Aid Initiative is intended to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, translators, and journalists in addressing short-term financial emergencies. To be eligible, applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported.

Grant decisions are made on a quarterly basis by a volunteer committee of literary peers in consultation with PEN America staff, using the following guidelines to evaluate professional credentials:

• Publication of one or more books. (Writers who are only self-published or published by a press that charges for publication are not eligible.)
• Multiple essays, short stories, or poems appearing in literary anthologies or literary journals (either online or in print) in the last two years.
• A full-length play, performed in a theater by a professional theater company. Productions in academic settings qualify if the author is not a student at the time of the production.
• Employment as a full-time professional journalist, columnist, or critic, or a record of consistent publication on a freelance basis in a range of outlets during the last two years.
• Contracted forthcoming books, essays, short stories, poems, or articles for which the name of the publisher can be provided.
• Other qualifications that support the applicant’s professional identity as a writer.

Residential Sharps Collection Program

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces the availability of funds from the Illinois Solid Waste Management Fund (SWMF), administered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA or Agency) Materials Management and Compliance Section (MMCS). The SWMF provides funding for conducting household waste collection and disposal programs. See 415 ILCS 5/22.15(i). Sharps collected from private citizens are household waste.

Illinois EPA MMCS intends to reimburse units of local government that operate a sharps collection station, as defined in Section 3.458 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, for expenses incurred in the collection, storing, and disposing of used sharps. Each unit of local government is eligible for the actual costs of sharps collection and disposal, up to $35,000.00.

Illinois Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program

This NOFO sets forth the requirements for funding the Illinois Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program (20 ILCS 730/5-20; 14 Ill. Admin. Code Part 840) and the Energy Transition Barrier Reduction Program (20 ILCS 730/5-30), as specified by the Energy Transition Act as part of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, PA 102-0662 ("Climate and Equitable Jobs Act" or "CEJA") and PA 104-458, as amended. CEJA establishes several workforce programs, administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, to expand the clean energy workforce in Illinois and accelerate the adoption of clean energy sources, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency. Finally, this NOFO will provide additional training funds for successful applications under the CPRG Program. The CPRG Program is funded by the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that allocated funds to the Illinois EPA Office of Energy under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant [FAIN 00E03862] to implement greenhouse gas reduction measures.

Investments in clean energy technology and infrastructure, funded through CEJA and other state and federal funding sources, will generate significant construction, installation, maintenance, and repair activity in Illinois. Historically, these investments have not benefited all Illinois' communities and workers.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program is one of several programs created by CEJA to grow the clean energy workforce in a more equitable way.

To create a qualified, diverse pipeline of workers prepared for careers in clean energy, the Illinois Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program creates Clean Jobs Workforce Hubs in 14 regions throughout the State to provide clean energy and related workforce and training opportunities to participants, engage with potential employers, and form partnerships to ensure participants have dedicated and sustained support to build careers in clean energy and related sector jobs. The main objective of the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program is to increase access to and opportunities for education, training, and support services to help program-eligible individuals succeed in the labor market generally and the clean energy sector specifically. Upon completion, participants will be prepared for entry-level clean energy jobs.

The regional Clean Jobs Workforce Hubs include:

• Chicago (South Side)
• Chicago (Southwest and West Sides)
• Waukegan
• Rockford
• Aurora
• Joliet
• Peoria
• Champaign
• Danville
• Decatur
• Carbondale
• East St. Louis
• Alton