Grantmaking Process

The Heart of Illinois Community Foundation is here to assist and support you with your generous community contributions!

Who may receive a grant?

You may request a grant distribution to almost any qualified 501(c)(3) public charity, private school or university, or religious institution in the United States. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations prohibit grants to individuals and for-profit entities. In order to ensure that all grants meet IRS guidelines, the Community Foundation staff will verify the nonprofit status of every organization before awarding a grant.

Who can make grant recommendations from my fund?

Only the advisors who signed the original agreement may make recommendations from your fund, unless we are informed otherwise by the donor in writing. For example, if you want your children to be able to recommend grants, please provide that request to us in writing. Also note, that if you share your Donor Portal user ID and password with other individuals, they will have the ability to review your fund activity and recommend grants from your fund.

How to make a recommendation

You may make a distribution request at any time, using one of the following methods:

Grant Purpose

For information that you would like to be conveyed to the grantee in the letter accompanying the grant check please be sure to include that information in your request.

Grant Distribution

The Foundation submits all donor requests, once due diligence has been completed, to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for review and ratification.

Once grants are approved, Foundation staff will deduct monies from your fund and mail a corresponding grant award letter and check to the grant recipient. You will also receive a copy of the letter that is mailed to the grantee for your records.

Grant distribution checks are created and mailed on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Year-End Distributions

For year-end distributions, if you would like your grant check to arrive at the recipient organization prior to December 31, please submit your request for distribution by December 10th.

Community Wish List

If you’d like to make a difference but you’re not sure how or where you want to donate, please consider funding one of more items from our Community Wish List.

See what our community needs
Starr horse boy