Illinois Prairie Community Foundation Accepting Grant Applications in September
Environment & Nature, Women to Women, and Youth Engaged in Philanthropy Grants

 

[September 02, 2024] 

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation’s fall grant cycle will accept applications from September 1-30, 2024. Programs seeking grants must run from Feb. 1, 2025 through Jan. 31, 2026.

The Environment & Nature Grants, which became its own grant cycle last year, will have $40,000 available to award to a variety of nonprofits to fund programs focused on the environment and nature. Previously, environment-focused grants were offered as part of the General Grants application in the spring.

Also included in the fall grants are the Women to Women Giving Circle Grants, which have $60,000 available to award, and Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP), which has $10,000 to award.

The Women to Women Giving Circle seeks to improve the lives of women and children in Central Illinois. Its focus for grants this year will be on programs providing assistance/solutions for women and children facing housing, food, transportation and/or childcare insecurity. Extra consideration will be given to programs that address local housing insecurity and its interconnectedness with access to food, transportation and/or childcare. Youth Engaged in Philanthropy grants are for youth-focused programs, with priority given to organizations that include youth in the application process. The grants are awarded by 13 area high school students who are members of YEP.

“The number and quality of grant applications increases each year,” said Michele Evans, Grants & Communications Director at IPCF. “Not all grants are able to be fully funded, but for those nonprofit organizations receiving funding, that can make a huge difference to them.”

These grants provide support to programs that serve to residents of McLean, DeWitt, Livingston or Logan counties, but do not have to serve all four counties. Funding for the grants comes from endowments held at IPCF, designated gifts and individual donors.

Grant applicants will find a link to the online application form on the IPCF website at https://ilprairiecf.org/fall-grants. Successful applicants will receive funding starting in January 2025.

Applicants must represent a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, a local unit of municipal, county, state or federal government, a school or college/university, or a tax-exempt religious organization or place of worship.

For additional information and questions, grant applicants may contact Michele Evans at [e-mail] or 309-662-4477.

About Illinois Prairie Community Foundation

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, now in its 26th year, encourages and facilitates philanthropy in McLean, DeWitt, Livingston and Logan counties by connecting donors who care with causes that matter to them. The foundation manages funds including endowments and donor advised, fiscal sponsorship and scholarship funds. More information is available at www.ilprairiecf.org.

Community Partners for Illinois Prairie Community Foundation are: Brandt Group of Companies, Cox & Fulk, Donald Heinold CPA, Fox & Hounds Salon & Spa, Heartland Bank & Trust, Shirk Family Foundation, Striegel Knobloch & Co., Tarvin Culligan, Westminster Village and WGLT.

[Michele Evans
Grants & Communications Director
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation]