Whether you donate to an existing endowment or create your own, be assured that your passion is our purpose.
Support for charitable activities that benefit the people and places of northern Illinois. Over $1.4M is distributed each year through the Community Grants Program alone!
90+ Unique Scholarships, nearly $300K in awards, just ONE Application! Application open December 1 - February 1.
Registration for 2021 Grantseekers Meetings Now Open
Get all your questions answered about CFNIL's Community Grants application process and online portal. Application opens on August 2nd!
This year 140 students from 28 high schools were awarded 175 scholarships totaling over $335,000. Celebrate the exceptional accomplishments of this year's recipients and the generosity of community members who established these scholarships. Hear testimonials from recipients, encouraging words from special guests, and cheer on the scholars in your family or from your school!
2021 CFNIL Scholarship Report
The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) is pleased to announce its 2021 scholarship recipients: 175 scholarships worth up to $335,874 to local students. The scholarships will support the post-secondary educational aspirations of 140 local students from 28 high schools.
This year the IYWT Council is awarding grants totaling nearly $40,000 for twelve projects that will benefit the youth of northern Illinois. Join us for a virtual Grants Reception video, created by and featuring IYWT Council members, testimonials from the grant recipients, and lots of celebrating!
“We’re focused on endowment because we’re long term thinkers. Some of the seeds we plant are not going to come up for eight years, so it was not a struggle for us to imagine that we should start planning now for what the needs might be in ten or twenty years.” -- Bernie Buchholz, Friends of Nachusa Grasslands, which established an Agency Endowment Fund with CFNIL in 2014