Area nonprofits awarded nearly $170,000 through Community Foundation’s competitive grant program

Forty area nonprofits received $169,524 in grant funding through the Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri’s competitive grant program. Forty-four grants, awarded from 48 endowment funds held at the Community Foundation, will support a wide range of local, charitable interests. The checks were awarded Tuesday morning during a presentation hosted by the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County at the John Wood Mansion.  

The grants will support programs, assist with purchasing needed equipment and supplies, and contribute to operational funding for nonprofit organizations providing arts and culture, community betterment, education, health and human services to our region. 

“Nonprofits are the heart of our communities. They support our neighbors, enrich our culture, and empower our kids. When we support our nonprofits, we invest in our region,” said Catherine Bocke Meckes, Community Foundation CEO. “These grants provide only a snapshot of the excellent, important work that our nonprofit organizations provide to our communities.”

Through the competitive grant program, the Community Foundation strives to strengthen nonprofit programs to ultimately enhance the quality of life throughout our region. The Community Foundation annually accepts applications for funding from nonprofit organizations in its 12-county region. A grant committee, comprised of volunteers and board members from the region, evaluates each application to determine awards. 

Earnings from endowment funds make competitive grants possible. Donors work with the Community Foundation to establish permanent charitable funds to support their philanthropic goals and community. The Community Foundation invests and grows those funds, and each year, a portion of the fund’s earnings are distributed as grants while the principal remains intact.

“The funds that support these grants are permanent. The idea of ‘forever’ is visionary, but so are our donors,” says Meckes. “When a donor establishes an endowed fund with the Community Foundation, they create a way to continue giving to the causes they care about for generations. We are grateful for these forward-thinking donors and honored to connect their passions with the nonprofits doing the good work.”

This year’s grant recipients

The Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri builds permanent charitable funds to assist area nonprofits and communities. Its mission, “connecting people who care with causes that matter,” is achieved by gathering funds, growing them through investments, then granting to nonprofit organizations, causes or communities that mean the most to its donors.   

The Community Foundation has made grants since 1997 totaling more than $11 million in the 12-county service area of Adams, Brown, Hancock and Pike in Illinois and Clark, Lewis, Marion, Ralls, Pike, Knox, Shelby and Monroe in Missouri.