The DuPage Foundation is pleased to announce the awarding of nearly $310,000 in grants to 31 DuPage County not-for-profits working in the areas of Education, Arts and Culture, the Environment, and Animal Welfare as part of its 2019 fall Community Needs grant cycle. Grants were distributed at the Foundation’s Holiday Open House on Wednesday, December 11. See photos from the event here.

Because of grant recommendations from individual advisors to its donor-advised funds, the Foundation was able to fund an additional $86,000 above its Community Needs budget. “Each grant cycle I am amazed by the generosity of our donor-advised fundholders,” said Barb Szczepaniak, vice president for programs. “Their interest in learning about the projects that our community’s hardworking organizations are implementing, and their support of these projects, is inspiring.”

As part of the Foundation’s current strategic plan, Community Needs grant priorities have been modified to ensure support is addressing the most critical needs in our community. “During the fall grant cycle, our Grant Committee tested these proposed modifications to be certain the updated priorities truly reflect the types of program we’re most interested in funding,” said Szczepaniak. “The revised priorities are intended to help organizations submit successful applications that are laser-focused on the needs and gaps that have emerged in the community.”

The 2020 Community Needs grant guidelines include the following grant category descriptions:

• Health & Human Services - Primarily supports programs that align with the Impact DuPage health and human needs priorities: affordable housing, behavioral health, and health status improvement.
• Education - Primarily supports pathways to self-sufficiency including financial, health, and language/math literacy, and/or the development of leadership skills. 
• Arts & Culture - Primarily supports programs that offer broad access, outreach, and/or unique opportunities to enrich the arts and cultural experience in DuPage.
• Environment - Supports environmental education, programs that promote conservation and restoration of natural areas, habitats, and green spaces, efforts to reduce pollution and waste, and programs that protect wildlife and endangered species.
• Animal Welfare - Supports programs that promote the well-being of domestic animals.

The following organizations were selected to receive funding through the Foundation’s fall Community Needs cycle and recommendations from representatives of Foundation donor-advised funds. See project descriptions for each of the Community Needs grantees here.

Total Education Grants (9): $128,738

• Alive Center: $15,000
• The Community House: $10,000
• Dare to Dream: Get Educated!: $14,500 (Partially funded by the Donor Advised Fund for Needy Children)
• The GardenWorks Project: $5,000 (Partially funded by the Linda and Clark G. Carpenter Fund)
• Giant Steps: $14,238
• Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center: $20,000 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• KidsMatter: $20,000 (Partially funded by the Phil and Judy Barnett Family Fund and Harbaugh Family Fund)
• Literacy DuPage: $20,000 (Partially funded by the Phil and Judy Barnett Family Fund)
• Robert Crown Center for Health Education: $10,000

Total Arts & Culture Grants (16): $112,950

• Addison Center for the Arts: $3,750 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• Anima – Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus: $3,000
• BrightSide Theatre: $5,000
• Buffalo Theatre Ensemble: $10,000
• Chicago Sinfonietta: $15,000 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• ClaySpace: $5,000 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• College of DuPage Foundation: $20,000
• Covenant Living Communities and Services: $5,000 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• DuPage Symphony Orchestra: $10,000
• Elmhurst Art Museum: $20,000 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• Elmhurst Symphony Association: $2,500 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• Glen Ellyn Wheaton Chorale: $2,000
• Music Institute of Chicago: $2,000 (Funded by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund)
• Reclaim 13: $2,200
• Spirito!: $5,000
• St. Andrew Lutheran Church: $2,500

Total Environment Grants (5): $52,250

• The Conservation Foundation: $10,000
• The Conservation Foundation: $2,000
• The Morton Arboretum: $13,000
• SCARCE: $20,000
• Village of Glen Ellyn: $7,250

Total Animal Welfare Grants (1): $15,000

• West Suburban Humane Society: $15,000 (Partially funded by the Phil and Judy Barnett Family Fund)

TOTAL COMMUNITY NEEDS GRANT FUNDING AWARDED:  $308,938

During this past fiscal year, ending June 30, 2019, $6.8 million was awarded from the Foundation’s more than 300 funds on behalf of our donors and community. Applications for the Community Needs grant program are accepted twice per year. Health and Human Services grant applications are due Friday, March 6, 2020 by 5:00 p.m. See more information and apply here.

About the DuPage Foundation

The DuPage Foundation is DuPage County’s philanthropic leader. Established in 1986 to raise the quality of life throughout DuPage County, the Foundation serves our community by helping area residents and organizations realize their unique charitable goals, providing impactful support to our community’s not-for-profits, and fostering key partnerships to address critical issues affecting DuPage County.

As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Foundation receives contributions and bequests from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations looking to make a difference for our community and the causes about which they are most passionate. Since its inception, the Foundation has grown to more than $95 million in assets and awarded more than $45 million in grants to not-for-profit agencies serving the residents of DuPage County and beyond.

For more information about the Foundation, visit dupagefoundation.org. To arrange future media opportunities, contact Melissa Fischer, marketing manager, at 630.598.5290, or melissa@dupagefoundation.org.