FY2026 Community Partner Grant Season Coming Soon

We appreciate your interest in partnering with us to strengthen our community, stay tuned for more information.

About the Grant Cycle Application

Grant making is at the heart of The Community Foundation of Will County’s work to enhance the quality of life in Will County. We award grants annually to not-for-profits for a broad array of charitable purposes in the area such as healthcare, human services, education and cultural arts.

Grant Application Tips

As you prepare your application, let us highlight some key priorities:

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Collaboration

First, we are looking for collaboration. We strongly encourage partnerships between organizations and thoughtful coordination within the community. It is to your advantage to not duplicate services or programs that are already being provided by another organization. Show us how your project fills a gap, enhances existing efforts, or builds strategic partnerships to maximize impact.

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Community

Second, our grants are not intended for operational expenses, (such as funding salaries, utilities, rent, or general overhead). Instead, focus on physical, tangible items — things that will serve your organization and the community for years to come. Think of equipment, infrastructure improvements, technology, or program tools that have long-term value.

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Funding

Third, be specific. While we appreciate learning about your organization as a whole, we need to clearly understand the project tied directly to this grant request.

Tell us exactly what you are purchasing or building. Use numbers and even line items to help us understand exactly what the grant will fund.

Our grants seek to address larger issues of importance in our community, especially those which:

Reflect a strategic collaborative partnership – not-for-profits working together to address a wider need;
Address a critical need impacting a wide segment of the community;
Build the organizational capacity of a nonprofit to be more effective and efficient in how they do their work.

Specifics help us evaluate impact, sustainability, and feasibility.

Tell us:
Who will benefit?
How many people will be served?
What measurable difference will this project make?
How long will the equipment or improvement be in use?
The clearer and more concrete your proposal, the stronger it will be. We are excited
to invest in projects that create lasting value, strengthen partnerships, and make a measurable difference in our community.

Thank you, and we look forward to reviewing your applications.

Grant Guidelines

Our maximum grant is $15,000.

We focus on assisting programs that help the highest number of Will County residents as possible. Please be very specific in your requests regarding the population(s) served, all of whom must be located in Will County.

If you have additional questions, please contact us at 779.285.2173. Thank you!

Grant Timeline

Online Application will be made available April 1, 2026
Grant application due date to come.
Applications will be reviewed Summer 2026
Notifications will be sent to applicants late August 2026

GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS

Please be advised this is a new application system. Please follow the prompts to login and start the application process. There will be a video tutorial in your dashboard that we encourage you to watch.

If you experience any problems or have questions, please call the Community Foundation directly at 779.285.2173.