Impacting Nonprofits Through Internships
November 1, 2016
Partnering for DeKalb County
November 3, 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.
