Nine nonprofits awarded a total of $234,000 in CommunityWorks grants

Grants to help education and workforce development programs

June 1, 2021 — Nine local nonprofit organizations have been selected to receive a total of $234,000 in grants from the CommunityWorks Endowed Fund established at The Community Foundation of Macon County (CFMC). This year’s grants are targeted to help education and workforce priorities. The 2021 recipients were announced June 1 on Decatur's WSOY-AM's Byers & Co. by Judge Lisa Holder White, a CFMC Board Trustee.

“As expected, we received several outstanding applications from our area’s nonprofits to help fund the important work they are doing in the fields of education and workforce development,” says CFMC President Natalie Beck. “We look forward to seeing the benefits for our community through the good work made possible through these grants.”

This year’s recipients, individual awards and proposed programs:

• The Salvation Army of Decatur & Macon County, $7,000, “Education and Employment Opportunities Serving Adults with Children and Homeless”
• Millikin University, $10,000, “Long-Vanderburg Scholars Program”
• Community Mission, $10,000, “First Community Connections”
• Boys & Girls Club of Decatur, $20,000, “Project Learn”
• Decatur Family YMCA, $20,000, “Before/After School & Summer Day Camp Program”
• Macon Resources, Inc. (MRI), $20,000, “MRI Job Training Program”
• Richland Community College, $25,000, “Scholarships—Bridging the Gap Between Education and Workforce”
• Decatur Public Schools Foundation, $50,000, “DPS Prep Academy”
• Workforce Investment Solutions, $72,000, “Workforce Career Pathways Project”

“CommunityWorks helps provide a coordinated, systems-based approach toward achieving community aspirations,” says Beck. “We are grateful to be able to offer these competitive grants annually to our hard-working nonprofit organizations.”

In 2005, The Community Foundation of Macon County was one of only 18 initial foundations chosen to receive a CommunityWorks grant from the Grand Victoria Foundation to establish an endowment fund. Through the years, generous donors have added to the fund to meet challenge matches required by that foundation, increasing this endowment fund to more than $6 million.

Questions about the CommunityWorks program should be directed to CFMC President Natalie Beck at 217.429.3000 or nbeck@maconcountygives.org.