As we anxiously await the turn of the calendar to a new year, let's not rush this holiday season! We hope your final days of 2020 will hold good cheer, sweet memories, and lots of laughter. And we look forward to a new year filled with hope and promise of better things to come. From all of us at the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, thank you for your support and partnership. In recognition of this holiday season, CFNIL will be closed Thursday and Friday Dec. 24-25 and Thursday and Friday Dec. 31-Jan. 1.

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) is pleased to announce the recipients of Community Grants for the 2020 - 2021 program cycle. In total CFNIL committed over $1.3 million for 67 projects, programs, and events operated by nonprofit organizations in Boone, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties.

Community Grant in action! This summer the Rockford Park District was able to hold Her Time To Play, a program for middle school girls designed to sharpen their athletic abilities and teach discipline in the classroom. Many of these girls will go on to be student athletes. Her Time To Play has WNBA guest speakers, and support from the basketball community. Check out this great highlight video, created by Rockford Park District, for a look at the camp in action and to hear from participants and parents.

It's a week full of good news: Ciara Stahly, CFNIL Program Officer, is a recipient of the Crusader Community Health Spirit of the Future Award! This award, part of Crusader's Spirit of Caring recognition, realizes the future of our community lies within the passion of our younger givers of time, talent, and/or treasure. Individual candidates aged 18 to 40 exhibit unique kindness and the Spirit of Caring for others in our community through leadership and volunteerism outside the scope of their work environment.

We're so excited to finally be able to share the amazing news that Sarah Lambert, CFNIL's Community Investment Director, is this year's Rockford Chamber of Commerce Women-In-Business Awards Emerging Leader of the Year! This award honors a female professional in the early stages of her career who exhibits leadership skills, a commitment to professional growth, and who contributes positively to her team and organization. The recipient is hard-working, passionate, and eager to learn.

Today, December 1, is opening day for the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) scholarship application! With just one application students access over 90 unique scholarships awarding more than $300,000 this year alone. The application will close February 1, 2020.

Rockford Public Library (RPL), The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL), and Rock Valley College Foundation (RVC) have collaborated for nearly a decade to connect local students to opportunities to finance their college education. Today, they are pleased to announce the creation of a new one-stop-shop information source for all things scholarships in northern Illinois: Scholarships Northern Illinois, accessed at www.scholarshipsni.com 

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is now accepting applications for the first of two In Youth We Trust (IYWT) grant program cycles. For the 2020-2021 school year, in recognition that COVID-19 may impact the feasibility of youth-led projects and events, IYWT will have two grant cycles: one for proposals written by nonprofit organizations (adults) for the purpose of serving youth, and one for proposals written by youth for youth-led, youth-benefiting projects.

Saturday, October 31, dozens of community members gathered on the bank of the Rock River just south of the YMCA Log Lodge for the dedication of a new piece of public art. The sculpture, which commemorates the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which secured the right to vote for women in the United States, is a project of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Celebration Northern Illinois committee. It is the first public art installation dedicated sole

The 815 Community Response Team is pleased to share a Request for Proposals in direct response to the growing need of hundreds of individuals in our community who find themselves unemployed, underemployed, or facing financial hardship due to COVID-19. Earlier this year, our community generously donated to the Emerging Needs Fund in response to COVID and this will be the final distribution from the fund.

Election Day is November 3rd, and there is still time to vote early in person, or to submit your vote-by-mail ballot.  Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, all voters must vote at the assigned polling place. To find your polling place, visit the website for your election authority: Voters in the City of Rockford: Rockford Board of Elections

On October 6, Cheri Nordenberg Greenlee lost her battle with cancer. While we join her family, friends, and community in sorrow at this loss, we are humbled and heartened to announce a new scholarship which Cheri worked to establish in the last days of her life. The Cheri Nordenberg Greenlee Memorial Scholarship will provide financial support for current college students from northern Illinois who are completing the final two years of a bachelor's degree.

In partnership with Arts Alliance Illinois, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and The Kjellstrom Family Foundation announce $60,000 in grants made to four local arts organizations to offset lost revenue due to COVID-19.

CFNIL is pleased to announce the establishment of a new scholarship, the Elsie Jefko Carlson Scholarship. In the hopes to "pay it forward" and honor Elsie's life, her family created this scholarship in order to support single parents who need financial support to further their education. Here is how Elsie is described by her family:

In Youth We Trust Council, the youth philanthropy program of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, is looking for new members to join the Council for its 26th year! Established with a grant from the Ford Foundation in 1994 and endowed by a local donor, this program teaches grantmaking, volunteerism, and leadership skills to today’s youth, preparing them to be the positive change of tomorrow.

During the week of August 10, CFNIL staff presented five grantseekers meetings via the Zoom online platform. We hope you were able to attend “live”, but regardless are sharing the full presentation slides as well as a recording of one of the sessions. Both of these items as well as full details about the CFNIL Community Grants Program may be found at our website: https://cfnil.org/community  The presentation recording may also be viewed below.

Seven nonprofit corporations were selected by the 81Thrive Initiative for a $50,000 discretionary award to assist with the losses endured as a result of COVID-19 AND up to $25,000 in capacity building supports from the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence (NICNE).

CFNIL's Community Grants application opens August 10th! Interested in learning more about this program? Register now for one of the 2020 Grantseekers Meetings! Each presentation will include information about CFNIL's Community Grants Program which is open to charitable organizations in Boone, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties. Learn all about Community Grants at https://cfnil.org/community

The Freeport Community Foundation (FCF) and the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) announced today that they, in partnership, are awarding $60,000 in Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund (ICRF) grants to nine non-profit organizations based in Stephenson County. The emergency-needs grants awarded include funding for emergency needs throughout Stephenson County related to COVID-19 losses.

Platinum Seal allows donors to focus on progress and results The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) this month earned the 2020 Platinum Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar, a service of Candid. By sharing metrics that highlight progress CFNIL is making toward its mission, the organization is helping donors move beyond simplistic ways of nonprofit evaluation such as overhead ratios.

Rock Valley College recently received the third year of grant funding for the “Linking Talent with Opportunity” (LTO) initiative from the Dr. Louis and Violet Rubin Endowment of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL). The $225,000 for the 2021 fiscal year fulfills the three-year, $675,000 commitment CFNIL made to RVC and Highland Community College to develop and implement a new educational “Pathways” model for RVC and Highland district high schools and business partners.