Fall Community Needs Grants Award $189,787 to Local Nonprofits and Community Organizations

November 2, 2016

Through generous donor support, the DeKalb County Community Foundation is excited to award $189,787 in Community Needs Grants this fall. A total of 31 local nonprofits and community organizations were supported for a variety of projects.

To date, over $22 million has been awarded to the community through grants and distributions since the Community Foundation was founded in 1993. Out of a desire to give back and love for their community, philanthropists of all ages have established and contributed to undesignated funds at the Community Foundation which provide funding for Community Needs Grants through yearly distributions that will continue forever.

Grant applications are aligned to five grantmaking interest areas: Arts and Culture, Education, Community Development, Environment & Animal Welfare, and Health & Human Services. Each application is reviewed by the Grants Committee, consisting of Community Foundation volunteer board members and staff. Following the grant allocation meeting, grant recommendations receive final approval from the full 21-member DeKalb County Community Foundation Board of Directors.

“It is both a joy and privilege to help local organizations fund the many important projects that go on around DeKalb County,” said Grants Committee Chair Amie Carey. “The Grants Committee takes the distribution of funds very seriously and spends a great deal of time working to empower as many groups as possible through our allocations.”

The following grants were approved by the DeKalb County Community Foundation Board of Directors on October 27, 2016:

Organization Name	Grant Purpose	Grant Amount
Barb Food Mart	to purchase shopping carts and reusable shopping bags for clients who frequent area food pantries	$2,000
Barn on Baseline (Dekalb County Animal Welfare League)	to provide a safe, sanitary, environment for dogs in the new senior pet sanctuary building	$8,000
Children’s Home + Aid	to support Healthy Families Illinois programming in DeKalb County	$1,900
DeKalb Area Women’s Center	for a development & fundraising feasibility study	$1,400
DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office	to provide books to children during traumatic events	$2,000
DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau (YSB)	to train therapists to be trauma certified therapists to work for Hope Haven and YSB	$5,500
DeKalb CUSD 428	to purchase Google Expeditions, virtual reality equipment, for grades 2 – 12	$3,500
DeKalb Police Department	to purchase a Utility Terrain Vehicle	$8,000
Egyptian Theatre	to make essential upgrades to the safety and security of the theatre	$4,200
Equine Dreams	to expand the indoor arena and mounting area with horse stalls	$10,000
Family Service Agency of DeKalb County	to implement Electronic Medical Record keeping	$7,000
Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project	to provide Outreach and Community Legal Education workshops to low-income workers in DeKalb County	$2,000
Fox Valley Older Adult Services	to install and repair entrance door canopies and ADA compliant door openers	$6,000
Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois	to support Project Opportunity: an initiative to strengthen troops of underserved girls in DeKalb	$1,200
Kirkland Community Fire District	to aid in the restoration of the Kirkland Fire Department building from damages caused by the Fairdale tornado	$10,000
Kishwaukee United Way	to establish a 2-1-1 call number for DeKalb County citizens and providers to connect with resources and referrals	$7,000
NIU-Visual and Performing Arts School of Music	to purchase new rehearsal chairs and music stands for university and community use in the NIU choral rehearsal space	$2,000
Northern Illinois University	to support promotional materials for the ARTigras celebration in 2017 and beyond	$820
Northern Public Radio	to purchase video equipment for Studio A	$1,000
Opportunity House, Inc.	to renovate the facility on N. California St to increase program capacity and enhance coordination and integration of programs	$25,000
Pay-It-Forward House, NFP	to purchase new house phones and update the website	$3,500
Permanency Action Team	to support the success of two Resource Fairs by hosting a mobile food pantry	$2,400
Safe Passage	to create a video and enhance the domestic shelter’s fundraising capacity	$15,000
Lynn G. Haskin Elementary School	to upgrade school library software	$1,000
Sycamore High School	to purchase technology and furnishings for they Sycamore High School Library	$7,750
Sycamore Park District	to pave a 1 mile trail segment to extend the Great Western Trail to Peace Rd	$20,000
TAILS Humane Society	to purchase kennel doors for dogs in the dog adoption center	$2,200
The Gracie Center	to purchase a refrigeration unit for the PopUp Shop trailer	$2,217
Voluntary Action Center of DeKalb County	to replace the community kitchen’s heating, air conditioning, ventilation and exhaust system, ceiling, and lighting	$25,000
Youth Outlook	to purchase computers for newly established electronic client records and off site work	$2,200

Grant applications are available to nonprofits and eligible community organizations a few months prior to March 1 and September 1 annually.

Join us in supporting nonprofits and community organizations in DeKalb County! To discuss your charitable interests, make a donation, or to learn more about the Community Foundation, please contact Executive Director Dan Templin, at 815-748-5383 or dan@dekalbccf.org.