Promise Grant - Subvencion de Promesa
Currently accepting grant applications through November 15, 2021 >Promise Grants support charitable community organizations that provide services to 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.
Support 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 people succeed and feel that they belong. Their vision was 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.
In 2021, the Promise Grant program received 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. Their vision was to help people who are making an effort to help themselves.
Applying for a Grant
Applications for Promise Grants are available on or around October 1 of each year. Applications are due by mid-November. Grant applications must be submitted online. Grant decisions are generally made within one month of the application deadline and applicants will be notified electronically or by phone.
All applicants should review the grant guidelines prior to applying and/or contact Marc Hooks, Grants & Community Initiatives Manager at 815-748-5383 or m.hooks@dekalbccf.org for assistance
Nondiscrimination Policy - Grantmaking
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of actual or perceived race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex and gender identity, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, pregnancy, veteran status, military obligations, marital or parental status, political affiliation, or any other improper criterion be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available by the Community Foundation, and any other program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds appropriated for grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance administered by the Community Foundation.
Past Promise Fund Grants Awarded
- 2020 Promise Fund Grants - $3,570 awarded in support
- 2019 Promise Fund Grants - $3,517 awarded in support
- 2018 Promise Fund Grants - $3,309 awarded in support
- 2017 Promise Fund Grants - $2,988 awarded in support
- 2016 Promise Fund Grants - $5,161 awarded in support
- 2015 Promise Fund Grants - $4,370 awarded in support
Pictured: Representatives of the KEC Early Childhood Education Program receive a $200 grant to assist in upgrading the current selection of children’s books to include those reflecting more diversity.