Community Foundation of Northern Illinois

Confirmed in Compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.

Grants

The Neighborhood Grants Program

The Neighborhood Grants Program exists to:

Encourage and support the work of neighborhood-based groups and organizations trying to preserve and/or improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods
Promote resident participation and leadership in neighborhood-based groups/organizations
Invest in and build on the existing strengths and assets of Rockford's neighborhoods
Promote civic pride in our community

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, an applicant must:

Be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, not-for-profit agency and/or an organized group carrying out a charitable purpose for the common good in an efficient manner
Have a minimum of five identifiable active leaders (i.e. President, Treasurer, Secretary, etc.)
Have an established process to manage grant funds that includes a current checking account in the name of the organization/group
Be operated and organized in such a manner that no applicable anti-discrimination laws are violated;
Have submitted the required final reports if you are a past recipient of a grant
Be a neighborhood that is located within Winnebago County
Have the capacity to complete the proposed project by the end of the year
Be current on all final reports for grants from the Community Foundation; if your agency has a program currently being funded with a Community Foundation grant and your final report is not yet due, you must submit an interim letter letting us know the progress of your program (do not use the online final report form for this)

We Look For

The Neighborhood Grants Program of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois looks for projects that:

Encourage partnerships between residents, businesses, non-profits and institutions (i.e. schools) within the neighborhood
Are generated and led by residents of the neighborhood
Build on the assets existing in the neighborhood. The project may address problem issues or situations, but should also build on the strengths and capacities that already exist in the neighborhood. This might be utilizing specific skills of residents, involving youth or working with an existing neighborhood group
Demonstrate matching funds from other resources (i.e. businesses)

Examples of Possible Projects:

Beautification Projects	Reforesting Neighborhoods	Neighborhood Signage
Neighborhood Clean-ups	Crime Prevention Activities	Neighborhood Newsletters
Neighborhood Organizing	Youth/Family/Resident Activities	Home ownership Seminar
Neighborhood Surveys

Beautification Projects

Permanent fixtures (i.e. trash receptacles, planters) must be installed on public property or common areas.
Landscape projects must be permanent improvements to the area (i.e. shrubs, trees, perennials). Annuals should be used for accent color.
Landscape projects must have a maintenance plan (i.e. watering, weeding.)

Neighborhood Newsletter

The Foundation only provides seed money to start-up a neighborhood newsletter.

Reforesting Neighborhoods

Trees can only be planted on public or common areas (not on private property.)

Neighborhood Clean-ups

We do not fund garden tools. (Tools can be accessed through the Neighborhood Tool Bank,
917South Main Street, 963-6236.)

Grant Cycle

Deadline for submitting a Neighborhood Grant application is December 1st. Groups and organizations will be notified of the grant decisions by the end of March. In general, grants range from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $2,500, but grants for smaller amounts are also encouraged.

All grant recipients are required to submit a final evaluation report at the completion of the project no later than December 30th. The report must address how grant funds were used and the project outcomes.

Exclusions

Grants are not made from the Neighborhood Grants program for the following:

Salaries
Neighborhood watch signs
Labor charges for hired work
Landscaping private property
Refreshments for neighborhood meetings
Entertainment
Gardening and clean-up tools (tools may be obtained through the Neighborhood Tool Bank,
917 S. Main St., 963-6236)
Projects and programs that promote a religion or require participation in a religious activity as a condition for receiving services. However, grants may be made to faith-based organizations for other purposes.

Online Application

Please Note: As the Community Foundation strives for complete accuracy in its grant programs, we reserve the right to update grant application forms 30 days before the deadline. Only applications started within 30 days of deadline will be accepted. While you may browse the online application at any time, you are reminded to check your calendar before you begin filling out any grant application.

To start a new application, click New Application. (Will not be offered in 2009.)

To access an application that you chose to save and finish later, click Saved Application.

Please Note: Your computer must use one of the following commonly used internet browsers and have cookies enabled in order to access the online application.

Internet Explorer version 5.5 SP-2 or higher
Netscape 6.2.2 or higher
Netscape Communicator 4.76 or higher
Internet Explorer 5.1.4 for Mac OS X

If you have questions, please contact James Patterson, Program & Scholarship Officer at (815) 962-2110 ext 11 or jpatterson@cfnil.org.