Eligible charitable community organizations in DeKalb County, IL, are encouraged to apply for a Promise Grant – Subvención de Promesa. The deadline to apply for funding is November 15, 2021.

Promise Grants support the needs of the underserved and often dismissed populations in DeKalb County. The purpose of the Promise Grant program is to inspire, educate, and empower individuals who may experience extraordinary challenges due to their ethnicity, immigration status, and abilities.

Available dollars for this grant program comes from two Funds at the DeKalb County Community Foundation. The Promise Fund-El Fondo de la Promesa and the Howard and Mildred Eychaner Fund.

Eloise and Jack Kaeck created The Promise Fund-El Fondo de la Promesa in 2001 to help others. “As a young adult growing up in Virginia, I saw a lot of questionable behaviors that didn’t sit well with me,” said Eloise. “Today, we have a name for those behaviors; discrimination, social injustice, and unfair labor practices. We want to help people succeed and feel that they belong because they do. Through this Fund, we hope to inspire the community to provide hope and opportunity, to understand and experience the true needs of the underserved neighborhoods, and work to address them.”

New this year, the grant program receives an extra boost in available dollars thanks to the Howard and Mildred Eychaner Fund, established years ago as a charitable remainder trust for the Foundation. The Eychaners grew up in the great depression and worked alongside many other poor people struggling to make ends meet. Over the years, they saw groups of dismissed people working extra hard to survive.

“My parents always wanted to help folks who are making an effort to help themselves,” said their son Jim Eychaner. “If there are determined people in DeKalb township, facing difficult and often unfair challenges, that’s where my parents would want to help.”

For questions or additional information on Promise Grants, please contact the Community Foundation at 815-748-5383 or grants@dekalbccf.org.