Local Nonprofits and Community Organizations Receive $150,000 in Support

Community Needs Grants, DeKalb County Community Foundation

Thanks to donor generosity and the power of endowment, the DeKalb County Community Foundation is able to award $150,000 in Community Needs Grants this spring.

This support impacts 28 local nonprofits and community organizations for a variety of projects.

One of several grantmaking programs at the Foundation, Community Needs Grants receive funding through undesignated funds (community impact funds) and field of interest funds. When donors make gifts to these types of funds, they allow the Community Foundation Board to give where the need is most in DeKalb County.

Applications for Community Needs Grants are available to nonprofits and eligible community organizations in the spring and fall each year. Grant applications align with 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, which includes Community Foundation volunteer board members and staff. The committee’s grant recommendations receive final approval from the full 21-member DeKalb County Community Foundation Board of Directors.

Spring 2017 Community Needs Grants Awarded:

Organization	Grant Purpose	Amount Awarded	Fund(s) Providing Support
4-C: Community Coordinated Child Care	to redesign the organization’s website	$ 11,445	Rodney A. & Dorothy Thiele Wright Fund
Adventure Works of DeKalb County, Inc.	to replace carpet and remove trees in new Adventure Works headquarters	$ 2,500	Charter Grove Grange #1843 Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Children’s Community Theatre	to purchase facial microphones	$ 3,000	Clifford and Marjorie Danielson Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Children’s Learning Center Inc.	to replace floor tile in the children’s bathrooms, bathroom hallway and entryways; to replace its kitchen counters, a sink, and a cabinet; and to refinish existing cabinets in the Center’s kitchen	$ 12,000	Daycare Fund for Children
Cor Cantiamo	to purchase music	$ 2,000	Clifford and Marjorie Danielson Fund
DeKalb Behavioral Health Foundation, Inc. DBA Ben Gordon Center	to replace and update furnishings in the waiting room and client rooms	$ 20,000	Rodney A. & Dorothy Thiele Wright Fund
DeKalb County Community Gardens	to purchase a vehicle to operate the “Grow Mobile Program” in communities in need across food deserts in DeKalb County	$ 9,000	Rodney A. & Dorothy Thiele Wright Fund
Elder Care Services of Dekalb County	to provide benches and planters for seniors waiting to be picked up and update the Policy & Procedure Employee Handbook	$ 4,300	Rowland & Lucile Matteson Elderly Assistance Fund, DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Genoa Park District	To assist in the costs to build a skate park.	$ 2,500	Rodney A. & Dorothy Thiele Wright Fund
Genoa-Kingston CUSD 424	to implement technology in the culinary arts program at Genoa-Kingston High School	$ 1,300	Helen and Kenneth O’Kane Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Genoa-Kingston School District – Middle School	to purchase heart rate monitors	$ 5,000	Rodney A. & Dorothy Thiele Wright Fund
Hinckley-Big Rock Elementary School	to construct a new playground	$ 5,000	E. T. and Jean B. Juday Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Horsepower Therapeutic Riding	to purchase a hydraulic lift	$ 5,000	George E. and Betty B. Dutton Undesignated Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Indian Valley Vocational Center	to implement Google Classroom	$ 7,000	Rodney A. & Dorothy Thiele Wright Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Kingston Boy Scout Troop 47	to purchase a trailer for supplies	$ 2,000	Bothe Family Endowment Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Kishwaukee College	to start a “Use of Force Training Lab”	$ 5,000	Stephen R. & Betty L. Brown Endowment Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Kishwaukee Family YMCA	to install a sprinkler system in preschool classrooms	$ 15,000	Charles W. Otto Endowment Fund
Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association	to certify staff to safely handle crisis situations with specific behavior intervention techniques	$ 2,500	Charles W. Otto Endowment Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Little Lambs Preschool of Immanuel Lutheran Church	to install security cameras to track people in the building	$ 2,200	Albert Kerby and Helene Tink Endowment Fund
Northern Illinois Food Bank	to fund the “Take 50 Foods to Encourage Program”	$ 5,000	Jerome and Blanche Cerny Undesignated Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Northern Illinois University Huskie Food Pantry	to reorganize the pantry and raise awareness	$ 500	Albert Kerby and Helene Tink Endowment Fund
Oaken Acres Wildlife Center	to support educational programs in DeKalb County	$ 3,850	Rowland & Lucile Matteson Conservation & Wildlife Fund; Janet Hack Animal Welfare Endowment Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Open Door Rehabilitation Center	to replace heavily used carpet	$ 6,250	Albert Kerby and Helene Tink Endowment Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Sandwich School District – Herman E. Dummer School	to align library software with other schools in the district	$ 1,000	Ronald and Karen Klein Endowment Fund for Libraries; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Somonauk CUSD # 432	to remove and replace railroad ties in the playground	$ 3,000	Richard and Carol Ubl Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
St. Mary Catholic School – DeKalb	to purchase communication equipment for use in emergency situations	$ 4,455	Gordon and Lucy Melms Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
The Growing Place	to replace flooring and purchase equipment for infant safety	$ 4,200	Daycare Fund for Children; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Waterman Enhancement Group	to implement phase three conversion of a grass field in Waterman into a park	$ 5,000	DeKalb County Building & Development Association Endowment Fund; DeKalb County Community Endowment Fund
Total Grants Awarded		$150,000

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.

Community Resources – Looking for resources in the community and don’t know where to find them? Start with 211, an easy-to-remember number that helps connect individuals and families to community-based organizations. Learn more.