More than $215,000 awarded to area nonprofit organizations through Community Foundation’s competitive grant program
QUINCY — Fifty nonprofit organizations received a total of $215,960.55 in grant funding through the Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri’s competitive grant program. A total of 55 grants, awarded from 50 funds held at the Community Foundation, will support a wide range of local, charitable interests. The checks were awarded during a presentation Tuesday morning at the Quincy Museum.
The grants will support programs, assist with buying equipment and supplies, and contribute to much-needed operational funding for nonprofit organizations providing arts and culture, community betterment, education, health and human services.
Community Foundation Program Officer Kent Embree said this year’s grants topped the $200,000 mark for the first time.
“What a fantastic year to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Community Foundation,” Embree said in a press release. “We look forward to seeing the difference these agencies make in the communities they serve, not just in the next year but for years to come.”
This year’s grant recipients are:
Organization | Purpose | Grant Fund(s) |
---|---|---|
Advocacy Network for Children | Provide training for human trafficking response/awareness campaign | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
Barry Food Pantry | Food and supplies for Pike County, Illinois residents | Pike County Endowment Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Bella Ease dba Quincy Teen REACH | Student participation in school Washington, DC trip | Grace United Methodist Church of Quincy Fund |
Optimist Club of Quincy Friend of Youth Fund | ||
Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund | ||
United States Founding Fathers Fund | ||
Birthday Blessings | Support for physical and emotional needs of kids in the Missouri foster system | Lewis County Endowment Fund |
Marion County Endowment Fund | ||
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Bluff City Theater | 2022 Second-Sight Theater School Outreach project | Marion County Endowment Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Brown County Arts Alliance | General Operating Support | Thankful Heart Fund |
Camp Point Historical Society | Newspaper digitization project | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
Carl Sandburg College Foundation | Food pantry expansion for the Sandburg Branch Campus in Carthage, Illinois | Hancock County Endowment Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois | Mobile Food Pantry expansion | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Central CUSD #3/Camp Point | Wall and floor mats for new wrestling facility | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
Jon’s Home Center Associates Fund | ||
Chaddock Attachment and Trauma Services | Sensory equipment for students | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
CHART Teen Task Force | Safer sexuality education for students throughout Northeast Missouri | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Cheerful Home Child Care & Early Learning Center | Gymnasium & preschool classroom improvements | Optimist Club of Quincy Friend of Youth Fund |
The Child Advocacy Center of Northeast Missouri, Inc. | Crisis intervention services for child victims of abuse | Jane’s Kids’ Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Community for Christ Assistance Center | Walk-in freezer for frozen meat and vegetables | Grace United Methodist Church of Quincy Fund |
Betty Schmidt Endowment | ||
Community for Christ Assistance Center | School supplies for Back to School Fair | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
Consumed International Ministries/Mission 180 | Musical instruments for community teen outreach program in Marion and Ralls County, Missouri | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Covered Bottoms Diaper Bank, Inc. | Bridging the diaper gap in West Central Illinois | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
Grace United Methodist Church of Quincy Fund | ||
Douglass Community Services, Inc. | Educational program for seniors on digital financial literacy and scam prevention | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Douglass Community Services, Inc. | Kids in Motion curriculum development | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Embrace Children and Families | Training, support, and resources for children and families in the foster care system of the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Missouri | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
FACT: Families and Communities Together | Home Resource Program | Marion County Endowment Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri | Hunger relief in Northeast Missouri | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Foster Adopt Connect, Inc. | MyStorybook Memory Portal to digitally organize foster childrens’ placement histories, legal documents, and mementos | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
Future Chargers Youth Basketball | Program support for Future Chargers Youth Basketball program | Hancock County Endowment Fund |
Girl Scouts of Central Illinois | G.I.R.L. outreach program | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Hancock County Health Department | Community CPR classes | Blessing Hospital Community Health Fund |
The Wood Endowment | ||
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Harvest Outreach Ministries | Harvest House transitional sober living facility | HOMEBANK Fund |
Marion County Endowment Fund | ||
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Historic Bethel German Colony | Refurbishment of an 1844 colony schoolhouse | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County | Updating phone and internet connections | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
The Quincy Foundation Fund | ||
Horizons Social Services | Operating and soup kitchen and food pantry program support | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
Jensen Camp Foundation | Outhouse replacement | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Junior Achievement of Greater St. Louis | Program expansion in additional Illinois counties | Unrestricted Endowment Funds |
Lewis County Fair Association | Project support for Lewis County barn upgrades | Lewis County Endowment Fund |
Lewis County Food Pantry | General operating support | Lewis County Endowment Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Mental Health Centers of Western Illinois | Trauma-related training for staff through The Knowledge Center at Chaddock | Thankful Heart Fund |
Ralph Oakley Family Fund | ||
NorthEast Independent Living Services | Counseling and Transition Coordination Services | G. Arthur (Art) Keller, Jr. Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Quincy Art Center | smART Kids program expansion to rural Adams, Brown, and Pike Counties | Noma Meyers Eaton Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Quincy Children’s Museum | Outreach experience program support | Alan L. Stiegemeier and Mary Ellen Stiegemeier Charitable Fund |
Quincy Hospitality House | General operating support | Grace United Methodist Church of Quincy Fund |
William & Sheila Menke Endowment | ||
James L. & Dorothy W. Rouner Fund | ||
Quincy Humane Society | General operating support | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
Quincy Museum, Inc. | General operating support | Alan L. Stiegemeier and Mary Ellen Stiegemeier Charitable Fund |
Quincy Society of Fine Arts | Instant Arts and After School classroom arts programs | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
The Quincy Foundation Fund | ||
Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association | Youth programs | Jayne & Leroy Boeckelman Fund for Young Musicians |
Katherine Broemmel Endowment for the Arts | ||
Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund | ||
Irwin Family Fund | ||
Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association | General operating support | Katherine Broemmel Endowment for the Arts |
Quincy YMCA/ Brown County Early Learning Center | General operating support | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
Regional Office of Education | Ready. Set. Grow! children’s book purchase | Grace United Methodist Church of Quincy Fund |
Kaye & Norman Kemner Education Fund | ||
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
Salvation Army of Quincy | LEAP – Life Employment Assistance Program | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
Grace United Methodist Church of Quincy Fund | ||
Salvation Army of Quincy | Smiles for Hire program | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
Salvation Army of Quincy | Emergency rent and utility assistance for at-risk Palmyra residents | Marion County Endowment Fund |
Son Valley Youth Ranch | General operating support | Lewis County Endowment Fund |
Transitions of Western Illinois | Mobile interactive white board for New Horizons school | Paul H. & Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund |
HOMEBANK of Quincy Fund | ||
The Quincy Foundation Fund | ||
Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials | Outreach and marketing efforts | Brown County Endowment Fund |
Two Rivers Resource Conservation and Development | Access Food Feed the Hungry program | Pike County Endowment Fund |
Unrestricted Endowment Funds | ||
YWCA of Quincy | Permanent Supportive Housing program | Ralph Oakley Family Fund |
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 board members and volunteers from throughout the region, evaluates each application to determine the 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.
“Each of these grants is an expression of a donor’s vision and love for community,” Community Foundation CEO Catherine Bocke Meckes said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to grow charitable funds on behalf of our donors and help fulfill a shared goal of bettering our region. These grants are a testament to the generosity of our communities and the dedication of our nonprofits.”
In addition to Tuesday’s presentation, county endowment fund councils will present grants from county endowment funds. Fund councils in Brown, Hancock and Pike County in Illinois and Lewis and Marion County in Missouri reviewed applications and made recommendations on grants to be awarded to best serve each county’s needs and opportunities. Grants from county endowment funds will be presented at ceremonies in each county.
Since 1997, the Community Foundation has made grants totaling more than $13 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.
For more information, call 217-222-1237, email info@mycommunityfoundation.org or go to mycommunityfoundation.org or www.facebook.com/mycommunityfoundation.
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