Communityworks grants are being made available for projects addressing issues in the areas of Early Childhood Education, Land Use & Protection and Workforce Development.
Donor Name: Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley
State: Illinois
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/03/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $10,000
Details:
Focus Areas
The Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley has developed an Impact Plan on the community’s greatest needs across three focus areas:
- Early Childhood Education
- Land Use & Protection
- Workforce Development
Grants from the Communityworks Endowment Fund are to address one or more of the priority needs identified under each of the focus areas listed below. A significant aspect of the Community Foundation’s mission is to convene community groups to address community needs. Applicants may also submit grant applications to convene appropriate groups to address the needs listed below.
Funding Information
Grants can be awarded for up to $10,000.
Early Childhood Education
The community has determined that the Community Foundation can have the greatest impact on Early Childhood Education (birth to age 8) by supporting:
- The improvement of the quality of child care
- The support for parent education
- The improvement of the quality and accessibility of early childhood education services
- The improvement of opportunities to access children’s mental health services.
More specifically the Community Foundation seeks to improve the Quality of Childcare by:
- Soliciting grant applications with creative solutions for improving the quality of local childcare, specifically home-based, license-exempt providers.
- Funding programs that improve, advance or develop programs to improve childcare programs.
- Support Parental Education by:
- Supporting the creation of web-based parent education that widely disseminates parent education information about local, school-based, Birth-to-Eight programs.
- Supporting grant applications with creative approaches for providing parental education.
- Improve the Quality and Accessibility of Early Childhood Education Services by:
- Convening local, center-based, and family-based childcare providers for a “Child Care Collaborative,” where members exchange ideas, concerns, solutions, and submit joint grant applications for Illinois Early Childhood grant funds.
- Supporting initiatives to expand home-visiting programs.
- Improve Access to Children’s Mental Health Services by:
- Supporting the initiatives to improve community awareness of children’s mental health needs and capacity-building initiatives aimed at young children.
Land Use & Protection
The community has determined that the Community Foundation can have the greatest impact in these areas by:
- Expanding community efforts on land development with consideration for recreation focused on the benefits of the Kankakee River
- Taking steps to preserve “rural charm” of their service area
- Supporting efforts to address transportation issues.
More specifically the Community Foundation seeks to:
- Expand Community Efforts on Land Development by:
- Assisting in the planning and implementation of programs focused on improving neighborhoods in area communities through various economic and tax incentives. The County has formalized programs such as Main Street, Historical Preservation, brownfields, and urban renewal strategies.
- Continuing to convene planning and advisory meetings for the Riverfront Biking & Walking Trail Initiative. These efforts are critical in the development of the Riverfront for maximum benefit to the community.
- Preserve & protect the trails of the area and surrounding communities.
- Preserve a “Rural Charm” Atmosphere by:
- Cooperating with local historical organizations already in place in various municipalities to implement county-wide historic districts.
- Focus on Transportation by:
- Supporting public forums to inform and involve residents and elected officials with information on initiatives to progress transportation projects. Transportation projects may involve seeking capital funds and encouraging long-term planning among multiple levels of government.
- Develop Plans for County Infrastructure & Zoning by:
- Facilitating communications to the public on the various programs underway to improve zoning and infrastructure by the Kankakee County Planning Department.
- Assisting with a focus on quality development along the ½ mile corridors on each side of Interstate 57 to reflect favorable appearances for developers, residents and travelers.
- Convening public forums and other meetings to foster public and governmental collaboration.
Workforce Development
Its area’s communities have determined that the Community Foundation can have significant impact by supporting:
- Increased work opportunities for unemployed/underemployed youth through collaboration with the Workforce Board and other governmental and community-based organizations.
- Youth programs that prepare entry-level employment through the development of soft skills and work experience.
More specifically the Community Foundation seeks to:
- Increase Work Opportunities for unemployed/underemployed community youth through collaboration with the Workforce Board and other governmental and community service providers via training partnerships, work experience, resource identification, workshops, surveys and other information-gathering efforts as well as through coordinated partnerships for workforce development strategies, initiatives and sponsorships.
- Prepare youth for entry-level employment through the development of soft skills and work experience via sponsorship of programs designed and implemented to prepare youth with employment soft skills, job-seeking and job-retraining skills and youth work experience.
- The Community Foundation also seeks to collaborate and coordinate efforts with appropriate community partners to seek external funding resources or to underwrite costs as well as to assure quality employment preparation of youth including supportive, on-the-job work experience and workplace expectations.
Eligibility Criteria
The Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley will provide grants to organizations with charitable 501(c)(3) classifications by the Internal Revenue Service, or to quasi-governmental agencies, (e.g., school districts, libraries, park districts, etc.) in the Greater Kankakee River Valley Area.
For more information, visit Community Foundation.
