Published: Morris Herald-News, January 2, 2017
By Devan Gagliardo, Program Director of the Community Foundation of Grundy County
Whether you are eagerly awaiting the New Year to start fresh or dreading the New Year because the old was so good … welcome to 2017!
With each New Year comes new beginnings, new opportunities, and new successes. The Community Foundation of Grundy County (CFGC) is happy to assist our local organizations with grant money to make their new projects turn into successes.
Each year we are able to assist local organizations financially through our unrestricted grant fund at CFGC. Last year saw an increase in the number of grant requests submitted as well as an increase in the amount organizations asked for. In the end the, following organizations benefited from a CFGC grant in 2016: The Exhibit, Grundy County Health Department, Hope Helps, Illinois Valley Industries, Big Brothers and Big Sister of Will and Grundy Counties, Ambucs, I&M Canal Corridor Association, and the Morris Community YMCA.
The New Year starts a new grant cycle at the foundation. Our grant cycle follows the calendar year and money is granted out until the fund is depleted. All 501c3 organizations are welcome to submit requests. Please note, we typically do not approve funds to individuals, religious denominations, disease specific organizations, or scholarships.
In addition, the Grants and Programs Committee recently made the decision that we would not use our unrestricted grant fund for school or extracurricular activities trips. Currently, the maximum award amount is $5,000 per organization per year.
Those interested in applying for a grant should submit all information outlined in the grants brochure one week prior to the first Wednesday of the month. As long as all necessary information is included in the request, the request will be presented to CFGC’s Grants and Programs Committee.
The Grants and Programs Committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month to review requests. If a grant is approved by the Grants and Programs Committee, it is then presented to the Board of Trustees on the third Thursday of the month for final approval.
The grant brochure can be found on our website, cfgrundycounty.com. For information on our grant process, contact [email protected] or 815-941-0852.