Please join us in welcoming back Alison Harris to the DeKalb County Community Foundation staff. 

Alison was an employee of the Community Foundation in 2010 in the role of administrative manager and then took time off to become a stay-at-home mom. She was recently rehired in a part-time position to support the Foundation’s grantmaking. As a grants manager, Alison’s responsibilities include working directly with donors and nonprofit organizations to distribute grants, conducting due diligence, collecting and analyzing data to evaluate grant program impact, and more.

“I’m excited to return to the nonprofit sector where people are so passionate about their work and the betterment of this community,” Alison said. “Working specifically with grants, I have the privilege of seeing firsthand how the generosity of our donors directly impacts people and organizations in our area. I am thrilled to be back!”

Alison is originally from Rochelle and currently resides in Sycamore with her husband Ryan and their four children. She is a 2005 graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in finance. Alison spent the first part of her career administering and managing retirement plans with Lincoln Financial in Arlington Heights. After moving to Sycamore with her husband in 2009, she began working at the Community Foundation. Alison and Ryan realized their family was about to double in size a few months later, so she resigned to stay at home with her children, something she cherished for many years.

Staying connected with the community was important to Alison, so she obtained her real estate license during her time at home. She continues to work in this capacity with Hometown Realty Group in Sycamore, where she loves guiding clients through one of life’s most significant decisions, homeownership.

“My kids are finally at the age where we’ve swapped playdates and naptimes for sports practices and music lessons,” she said. “I’m still busy, but it’s a new type of busy. And now that all four of my kids are off to elementary school, I’m so happy to be back at the Community Foundation in a Grants Manager role.”

Alison enjoys running, playing in a women’s volleyball league, and cheering on her kids from the sidelines of sporting events in her free time. When her free time has a lull, she says you’ll probably find her somewhere around town, with a coffee in hand.

Pictured above: Alison Harris and her family.

Serving the community since 1993, the DeKalb County Community Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that enhances the quality of life in DeKalb County, IL, through endowments & donor services, stewardship, grantmaking, and community initiatives. The Community Foundation awards grants in the areas of arts & culture, community development, environment & animal welfare, education, health & human services, and nonprofit capacity building. Today, the Foundation manages over 411 Funds that, collectively, provide over $3.5 million in annual support for needs today and in the future.

Pictured below: Alison Harris – 2010/2011 throwback photos