Projects
Years ago we had a committee meet to address lack of services on Grundy. Come to find out, it isn't a lack of services but a lack of knowledge and awareness among the residents.
Out of that 941-HELP was born. It is:
- a phone number - 815-941-4357 that rings at We Care
- a website directory of services
If your organization is not listed, please call us to be added.
If we have your information incorrect, please send us an email with the accurate information.
941-HELP - Grundy resources for Grundy residents.
devan@cfgrundycounty or 941-0852
Sometimes donors don't know all of the nonprofits that serve Grundy residents. And they quite often don't know how to figure out what those nonprofits want and need.
In response, we have created the Wish List Project where area nonprofits can complete a survey that we then publish on our website for donors to review - and pick some items to fund!
Each school year we meet with students at high schools in Grundy County to introduce them to philanthropy and ask them to choose grant recipients using monies provided by the Foundation.
On May 31, 2018, Young Philanthropists granted $20,000 in grants to 17 nonprofits serving Grundy County.
Click here to read the full story in the Morris Herald-News.
If you have a high school student in Grundy County interested in being part of a Young Philanthropists team, please contact Devan Gagliardo at 941-0852 or [email protected].
This took us a while but it's finally a successful reality!
We've heard the social service agencies say for years that we need more one-on-one comprehensive case management.
About 5 years ago we put out an RFP (Request for Proposal) to give a grant to an area nonprofit to provide this service. Our first go-round didn't go so well.
Then we heard about a new program at the Salvation Army in Peoria called "Pathway of Hope" but it was very new and they weren't ready to implement it outside of their area.
We gave another grant to implement case management and again it didn't go as we had planned.
Then the planets aligned and Salvation Army was ready to expand the program and We Care of Grundy County was ready to add deeper services to their programming.
Toward that, we have given a 3-year grant to We Care to bring Pathway of Hope to Grundy County.
So far it is having a profound impact on our county's most vulnerable residents - and that makes us very happy and proud!
To learn more about the program and to access the services, please follow this link to the Pathway of Hope page on the We Care website.
There have been times when there are no local organizations to take on a topic, so we will do that until such a time as a local partner can take it over.
This is the case with public transportation.
Grundy County had a IDOT grant to provide public transportation via a "Dial-A-Ride" program, but it had limited hours, capacity, etc.
Sherey Zerbian was our Program Director at the time and she spent a few years diligently convening stakeholders with the help of the Illinois Rural Technical Assistance Center out of Western Illinois University.
Fast forward a few years and Sherey was able to secure more grant funding to expand the program and revamp it into the now Grundy Transit System.
As a result, Sherey left us to run GTS full-time and she's doing a great job with it!
To learn more about GTS, rides, costs, and employment, please click here to visit their website.
GC2 is an annual fall event to dive deep into issues of concern to elected and planning officials.
Like our "Challenges of Future," GC2 brings topic experts to present so that elected officials are well-equipped for policy and planning decision.
Past topics have been:
- 2006: Stormwater Management Ordinance
- 2007: Mechanisms for Land Protection
- 2008: Road Networks
- 2009: Forecasting and Green Development
- 2010: Planning for Sustainable Trends in Food and Energy
- 2011: Entrepreneurship
- 2012: Funding for Local Units of Government
- 2013: Schools, Business, and Community:
- Meeting Today’s Needs and Building a Pipeline for Tomorrow’s Workforce
- 2014: Using Collective Impact to Grow a Local Workforce
- 2015: What Do We Value and How Do We Pay for It?
- 2016: Tools for Taxing Bodies
- 2017: What Will Grundy County Look Like in 10 Years? Jobs, Housing, Roads - What Planning Decisions Do You Need to Make?
GC2 occurs in the fall each year. To learn more, please call Julie Buck at 941-0852 or [email protected]
How is Grundy County doing? How are we doing when compared to our neighboring counties, state, and national statistics?
In 2012 we produced a data collection called "Vital Signs." For 10 topics, we look at the most important comparison points and gave an outlook of sunny, cloudy, or stormy.
Additionally, many of us partnered in 2008 to create a Needs Assessment.
Since then, other organizations regularly produce data reports. Links to all are below.