|
Foundation awards 97 grants to
local nonprofits
[May 06, 2025]
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois
Prairie Community Foundation has awarded $222,411 in three
categories of competitive grants to 97 programs in McLean, DeWitt,
Livingston and Logan counties. Grant awards ranged from $600 to
$7,695. Funding came from donors to the Community Foundation’s
annual campaign, the Jerome Mirza Arts & Culture Fund, the Sapphire
Sky Wind Fund and several endowments at the Community Foundation.
Receiving 52 General Grants totaling $115,902 for programs in the
fields of education, health and wellness, and youth were:
· Back 2 School Alliance – $2,500 for “Backpacks for Big Kids”
· Best Buddies in Central Illinois – $2,000 for “Best Buddies
Leadership”
· Bloomington Public Library – $2,000 for “Juneteenth at Bloomington
Public Library”
· Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal – $3,000 for “STEAM
Powered Play”
· Brightpoint – $4,000 for “Brightpoint Central Region Prevention
Services”
· Central Illinois Special Hockey Association – $2,500 for “Central
Illinois Special Hockey Association”
· Central Illinois Veterans Commission – $3,000 for “Tiny Homes for
Veterans”
· Children’s Advocacy Center of McLean County – $2,000 for “Prevent
360 Purchase of Supplies and Materials”
· City of Refuge Ministries – $1,500 for “City Kids Christian Camp (CKCC)”
· Clinton Community Educational Foundation – $1,250 for “Read Across
Clinton”
· Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois – $2,500 for
“CAPCIL Transit”
· Community Connection Group of Central Illinois – $900 for “Team
Connection”
· Community Health Care Clinic – $2,300 for “Home Blood Pressure
Monitoring”
· Corpus Christi Catholic School –
$1,000 for “Outdoor Active Play Initiative: Multi-Sport Net”
· Cultural Fest Inc. – $1,500 for “2025 Cultural Festival Kidz Zone”
· Dreams Are Possible – $4,500 for “Dreams Are Possible”
· Dwight Economic Alliance – $4,000 for “Kids Kamp”
· Easterseals Central Illinois – $2,000 for “Timber Pointe Outdoor
Center Cooking Program for Campers”
· Encore Developmental Services – $2,000 for “Communication and
Community Access Program”
· Eversight – $1,000 for “Sight-Saving Recovery Supplies for McLean
and Livingston Counties”
· First Christian Church – $2,000 for “The Helping Shelf”
· Girl Scouts of Central Illinois – $3,000 for “Powering Girls’
Potential – Direct Assistance for Local Girl Scouts”
· Girls on the Run of Central Illinois – $1,000 for “Power Up with
Girls on the Run”
· Great Plains LIFE Foundation – $2,000 for “Stay 4 Project”
· Homes of Hope – $2,500 for “Heart Healthy Heroes”
· Illinois Art Station – $2,200 for “FREE Saturdays at the Station”
· INtegRIty Counseling – $1,500 for “Serving with INtegRIty II”
· Junior Achievement of Central Illinois – $1,200 for “CareerSpark”
· Lexington CUSD #7 – $2,000 for “SMART (Science, Math, Art,
Reading, Technology) Camp”
· Lincoln Pastoral Counseling Services Inc. – $2,000 for “Subsidy
Program”
· McLean County Unit School District No. 5 Educational Foundation –
$1,500 for “Furnishing an Outdoor Classroom at Eugene Field School”
· Miller Park Zoological Society – $600 for “Puerto Rican Crested
Toads Habitat”
· Oasis Community Outreach – $3,000 for “Oasis Community Outreach”
· One Hope Project – $1,600 for “NourishED: Empowering Students for
Healthy Futures”
· Partners for Community – $3,552 for “Free Beds for Low Income
Families”
· Piatt County Mental Health Center – $1,500 for “DeWitt County
Youth Mental Health Bags”
· Prairie Creek Public Library District – $2,000 for “Summer Reading
Adventures”
· Regional Housing and Supportive Services – $2,500 for “Hope on
Fifth Cleaning Equipment”
· Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Illinois – $2,500 for
“Ronald McDonald House: A Home Away from Home”
· Salem4Youth – $1,000 for “Bee University”
· School Street Food Pantry – $3,000 for “School Street Food Pantry:
Access to Culturally Diverse Foods Program”
· Special Olympics Illinois Region G – $2,000 for “Inclusive Sports
Programming for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities in SOILL
Regional G”
· The Baby Fold – $2,000 for “Early Childhood Services”
· The Salvation Army Lincoln 360 Life Center – $3,000 for “The
Salvation Army Lincoln 360 Life Center Pantry”
· The Salvation Army of Bloomington
– $3,000 for “The Salvation Army Food Pantry”
· The Salvation Army Pontiac 360 Life Center – $3,000 for “Food
Pantry & Hygiene Items”
· The Vault Community Center – $3,000 for “The Golden Gears Small
Business Leadership Program”
· United Way of Logan County – $2,000 for “Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library in Logan County”
· W.D. Bryce Council, Boy Scouts of America Inc. – $600 for
“Bloomington Cub Scout Day Camp”
· Weldon Public Library – $1,000 for “School Supply Program”
· Wesley United Methodist Church – $5,000 for “Wesley Distribution
Ministry”
· YWCA McLean County – $3,700 for “Young Wonders Early Learning
Toddlers and Twos”
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Receiving 37 Arts and
Culture Grants totaling $78,749 were:
· BCAI Cultural Arts & Humanities – $3,000 for “Summer Arts
Exposure 2025”
· Board of Trustees of Illinois State University – $2,000 for
“2025 Concerts on the Quad”
· Board of Trustees of Illinois State University – $2,000 for
“ISU String Project and String Project Summer Camp”
· Board of Trustees of Illinois State University – $2,586 for
“Suzuki Strings Festival”; funded by the David and Kay Williams
Music Education Fund
· Board of Trustees of Illinois State University – $2,000 for
“Teen Art Group at University Galleries”
· Brass Band of Central Illinois – $1,400 for “2026 Spring
Concert”
· City of Bloomington’s Bloomington Center for Performing Arts –
$1,500 for “2025 First Friday Concert”
· Cultural Fest Inc. – $2,000 for “2025 Cultural Festival”
· Freedom Sings USA: Central Illinois Chapter – $2,000 for
“Freedom Sings USA: Central Illinois Chapter”
· Further Jazz Inc. – $1,400 for “4th Annual Further Jazz
Festival”
· Heartland Jazz Orchestra Foundation – $1,800 for “Community
Jazz Concerts”
· Heartland Productions Inc. – $3,500 for “Two New Play
Projects” – “New Plays from the Heartland” and “The Play’s the
Thing”
· Holiday Spectacular Inc. – $1,800 for “Free Tickets for
Low-Income Community Members 2025”
· Holiday Spectacular Inc. – $1,800 for “Holiday Spectacular
Celebrates America 2025”
· Illinois Art Station – $730 for “Equipment to Support DIY &
Experimental Music Scene at Illinois Art Station”; funded by the
David and Kay Williams Music Education Fund
· Illinois Shakespeare Festival – $2,000 for “Music in the
Courtyard Series”
· Illinois State University – $2,253 for “Sunset on the Longest
Day 2025”
· Illinois Symphony Orchestra – $3,500 for “Concert for Kids”
· Illinois Wesleyan University – $2,000 for “51st Annual IWU
Jazz Festival”
· Illinois Wesleyan University – $3,000 for “Illinois Wesleyan
School of Music Chamber Music Festival”
· Inside Out Accessible Art – $2,000 for “Inside Out Accessible
Art”
· Kingsley Junior High School Drama Club – $1,000 for “KJHS
Drama Club”
· LeRoy Elementary School – $1,250 for “LeRoy Elementary
Pre-Band Program”
· Lincoln Community High School – $3,000 for “Piano and Music
Theory for High School Students of Logan County and Beyond”
· McLean County Arts Center – $3,000 for “Sugar Creek Arts
Festival”
· Poco a Poco – $3,500 for “Summer Music Fest”
· Prairie Fire Theatre – $3,600 for “The Baker’s Wife (a
Broadway Musical)”
· Prairie Fire Theatre – $2,750 for “The Ghost in the Opera
House (Touring Children’s Opera)”; funded by the David and Kay
Williams Music Education Fund
· pt.fwd – $2,000 for “Collaborative Concert with ISU Creative
Technologies 2026”; funded by the David and Kay Williams Music
Education Fund
· pt.fwd – $3,000 for “2025-2026
Concert Series”
· Ridgeview CUSD #19 – $775 for “Ridgeview Elementary – Access for
All”; funded by the David and Kay Williams Music Education Fund
· Share the Music – $1,800 for “Share the Music”
· Sound of Illinois (SFPEBQA) – $1,000 for “Youth in Harmony”
· The Center for Creativity & Community – $1,900 for “The Center for
Creativity & Community”
· The Penguin Project of McLean County – $2,000 for “The Penguin
Project of McLean County”
· Threshold to Hope, Inc. – $1,500 for “Art Instruction and
Exploration for Low-Income Artists”
· Town of Normal Children’s Discovery Museum Foundation – $2,400 for
“Makers & Musicians”
Receiving 8 Sol Shulman Jewish Life and Education Grants totaling
$27,760 were:
· Illinois Symphony Orchestra – $4,000 for “ISO Around the Town
Performance Celebrating Jewish Music and History”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $1,800 for “Jewish Film Festival”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $600 for “Literacy for Our Learners”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $3,000 for “Music Enrichment at MMT”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $3,500 for “PJ Library Author Alan
Silberberg Workshops”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $7,695 for “Religious Action Center’s
L’Taken Social Justice Seminar and Teen Trip to Washington, D.C.”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $5,370 for “Song Leader Boot Camp”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $1,795 for “The History and Taste of
Jewish Delis in Chicago”
Earlier in the year, IPCF awarded $94,524 – $60,000 by the
foundation’s Women to Women Giving Circle, $25,385 from the
Environment & Nature Fund and $9,139 from the foundation’s Youth
Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) cohort. That means the community
foundation will award a record $316,935 in competitive grants this
year.
About Illinois Prairie Community Foundation
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, now in its 27th 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 currently manages assets
in more than 200 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, Fox & Hounds Salon & Spa,
Donald Heinold CPA, Heartland Bank & Trust, Little Jewels Learning
Center, Northern Trust, Renaissance Wealth Management BN, Shirk
Family Foundation, Striegel Knobloch & Co., Tarvin Culligan,
Westminster Village, WGLT and The Drake Zimmerman Group.
[Michele Evans
Grants & Communications Director
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation] |
