This summer, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois worked with the Harlem Veteran Project to produce a few short films about our grant and scholarship recipients, and the donors who make their work possible. The first film in our series is about the Bruce Munro: LIGHT exhibit at the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens – Rockford Park District, a project that received a $35,000 grant from the Community Arts & Humanities Fund from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.  

The Carroll H. Starr Endowment Challenge is an opportunity for nonprofits in Boone, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties to build a permanent endowment at the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is honored to receive a Business is Blooming award from the Rockford Area Convention & Vistors Bureau (RACVB). The award is given to businesses and organizations that make our region a more beautiful place with the care they put into their storefronts and surroundings. A news release describing the award and awardees is below.

Midway Village Museum is closing in on its goal to raise $150,000 as part of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois Carroll Starr Endowment Challenge campaign. The museum launched its campaign in December 2016 and recently received a major Leadership Gift from Alpine Bank in the amount of $15,000. The Leadership Gift helped the museum move closer to its goal of $150,000 for the campaign.

Last fall, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois made a grant to the Rockford Symphony Orchestra (RSO) to help it reach new and diverse audiences. One of the funded projects was a podcast series hosted by the RSO’s Music Director Steve Larsen. In each episode, Larsen interviews a musician from the RSO about their instrument and life in music. In the first episode, Matt Gaunt, RSO’s tuba player, admits that he’s reformed marching band enthusiast, talks about his collection of brass instruments, and demonstrates how the tuba can be more sprightly than its reputation.

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) is now accepting applications for its Community Grants program. All applications must be submitted online through CFNIL’s Web Portal by October 2, 2017 at 5 p.m.

On Friday, September 15, Cheryl and Mike Metcalf will host a benefit concert by JD Shelburne at Timber Pointe Golf Club. Shelburne is a singer and songwriter from Nashville, TN who plays a style of country music that is deeply influenced by gospel and pop. He’s currently on tour promoting his 2016 album “Between Here and the Stars.” You can learn more about J.D. and hear some of his music on his website.

Last year, CFNIL made a $188,622 grant to the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Residency Program for its project: “Growing the Next Generation of Healthcare Professionals.”

Last year, CFNIL was honored to award a grant to Rockford Corridor Improvement and Zion West Enterprises for its Expanded Yard Maintenance Program, which employs residents of Ellis Heights to maintain vacant lots in the neighborhood. The grant was used to purchase a new commercial mower, allowing for additional staff to maintain more properties in the neighborhood. You can watch the video here.

The Bruce Munro: LIGHT exhibit at the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens opened in June and will continue to illuminate our region until November.There’s nothing quite like it. The lights come alive at dusk, the color and intensity ripples throughout the garden, and the Sun sculpture – inspired by the Rockford Park District’s logo – radiates with local pride. The exhibit, which was assembled by local volunteers, has the power to change how you see Rockford. Stop in for an evening stroll at 1354 N. 2nd Street in Rockford.

Are you interesting in applying for Community Grants, CFNIL’s largest and broadest grants program? Come to CFNIL’s annual Grantseekers Meeting at Memorial Hall in Rockford (211 N. Main Street) on Thursday, August 24, 2017 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. At the meeting, CFNIL staff will present information about:

Our most sincere condolences to all who knew Janet Kjellstrom, who passed away last month at the age of 92. Janet was a wonderful friend to the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and scores of local arts, healthcare, and educational organizations. We always looked forward to meetings with Janet. She will be remembered for her wit, her adventurous spirit, her generosity, and her love of Rockford.

This week, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois was honored to present a $50,000 check to the Rockford Park District to improve the sound and lighting systems at Sinnissippi Park’s Music Shell. The new systems will improve concert quality while saving money on energy and maintenance. Click here to learn more about the concert series at the Sinnissippi Music Shell.

The Club Blue Grants Program supports organizations that supply the basic goods and services that promote the safety, health, and well-being of children in our community. The Club Blue Grant Program will accept applications from June 29 to August 1 at 5 p.m. All applications must be submitted through CFNIL’s online application portal.

In a scholarship ceremony earlier today, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois announced the inaugural recipient of the Northwestern Illinois Building Trades Blais Family Scholarship. Marquell Williams, a 2017 graduate of Auburn High School in Rockford, received the award that is available to children of members of the Northwestern Illinois Building Trades & Construction Council (NWIBT).

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) and HomeStart are proud to announce the recipients of the 2017 Neighborhood Grants Program. The grants will be awarded to 13 organizations that are working to improve the quality of life in their communities. CFNIL has operated a neighborhood grants program since 1995, distributing more than $676,000 to build better neighborhoods in Rockford.

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is now accepting applications for the Richard J. Schnell Memorial Scholarship. Applicants must: – Be enrolled in an American Dental Association accredited dental or dental hygiene program, or a graduate post-doctoral program, for the upcoming school year; – Be attending a two- or four-year college or university in the state of Illinois, or the Indiana University School of Dentistry; and – Show evidence of financial need.

he Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) will award 154 scholarships worth up to $237,250 to local students. Since 2000, CFNIL has awarded $2,564,422 to local students pursuing post-secondary education. You can a list of all the 2017 recipients here.

Thanks to our friends Children’s Home + Aid for their touching story about Jasmine, Charlie, and how they’ve been helped through CHA’s Doula Program. The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is honored to support this vital program with a $29,520 grant from the Dr. Louis & Violet Rubin Fund.

Happy Mother’s Day. Thank you to the Rockford Register Star’s Kristen Zambo for her story on how Anna Wartowski’s legacy of generosity lives on. You can read the story here.

The announcement of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois’ $35,000 grant to the Rockford Park District Foundation for the Bruce Munro: LIGHT exhibit at Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens received media attention from the Rockford Register Star, WREX, and