The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation is seeking applications for its Community Stewardship Challenge Grant.
Donor Name: Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
State: Illinois
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/20/2023
Size of the Grant:
- Nonprofit Organizations: up to $32,000
- Government-Owned: up to $27,000
Grant Duration: 12 months
Details:
Grant Categories
The grant provides support in the three categories below, which are not separable:
- Cash Donation Match: The Foundation provides 3 dollars for every 1 new dollar raised by a nonprofit organization over the 12-month grant period, not to exceed a contribution of $21,000 from the Foundation, to be applied towards stewardship of an eligible project site. The 3 to 1 match applies to net donations only and will not match any fundraising costs, fees, or service charges incurred during donation transfers.
- Volunteer Labor: Grantees are eligible to receive $4,000 for stewardship activities upon verification that volunteers have logged 400 hours or more on stewardship activities during the 12-month grant period. An additional $2,000 may be awarded upon verification that volunteers have logged a total of 100 hours on establishing and/or updating social media accounts to publicize stewardship workdays and public events at the project site.
- Equipment Purchase: For nonprofit-owned sites, the Foundation will reimburse up to 80% or $5,000, whichever is less, of the capital cost of stewardship equipment purchased during the 12-month grant period. This category of support is not available to government-owned sites.
Funding Information
- Grants of up to $32,000 are available for sites owned by nonprofit organizations and grants of up to $27,000 are available for government-owned natural areas. Actual payment is dependent on the result of fundraising and volunteer activity during the grant period. Payments requests are considered and paid out on a TBD schedule during the grant period. No funds will be awarded after 12 months
- The Grant period is 12 months.
Examples of Eligible Activities
Examples of the types of activity that can be supported under the grant include:
- Contracts to conduct a prescribed burn, engineering work and hydrological improvements, removal of invasive species, and/or creation of burn breaks
- The purchase of plant materials including seed, trees, plants
- The purchase of supplies including gasoline, herbicide, gloves, goggles, tree protectors, nomex suits, etc.
- The purchase of monitoring equipment such as magnifying glasses and nets
- The purchase of wood duck or bluebird houses
- Grantees may spend up to $1,000 of the Cash Donation award on hand tools
- Grantees may spend up to $1,000 of the Volunteer Hours award on hand tools
- Hand tools can include backpack sprayers, loppers, hand saws, small chain saws, rakes, Pulaski axes, water back packs, etc.
- Grantees may spend a total of $1,000 of the dollars received from the Foundation on the purchase of interpretive signage if the signage highlights the stewardship work and the grant.
Eligible Projects
- Solicit funds from members and followers to support the care of the project site
- Challenge volunteers to log a total of 400 hours in habitat care over 12 months
- Use grant funds to improve the health of the natural habitat. Please visit the Photo Monitoring Guidelines for requirements.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants:
- 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations that actively engage volunteers in the management of a publicly-accessible natural area
- Site Criteria
For more information, visit ICECF.
