Grant Recipients
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation connects generosity to local impact by stewarding resources, cultivating partnerships and fostering equity across our region. We empower individuals, families and organizations to create meaningful change — today and for generations to come.
Each year, Illinois Prairie Community Foundation awards grants in 6 categories:
Spring Grants: General Grants, Mirza/Arts and Culture Grants (including David and Kay Williams Music Education Grant) and Shulman Jewish Life and Education Grants
Fall Grants: Environment & Nature Grants (including Go Green Grant), Women to Women Giving Circle Grants and Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) Grants.
Past grant recipients looking to view a previously submitted grant application, please contact Michele Evans.
General Grants
General Grants are awarded to programs in the fields of education, environment, health and wellness, and youth. Funding comes from endowments and generous donors to the Annual Campaign. You can make a lasting positive impact on our community right now through your gift to the Annual Campaign.
Mirza/Arts & Culture Grants
Mirza/Arts and Culture Grants are made possible through the generosity of the Jerome Mirza Foundation's Mirza Arts and Culture Fund and distributions from the following endowments: Illinois Prairie Arts and Culture Endowment, Hilfinger Endowment for the Performing Arts, Laura Sullivan Arts and Culture Endowment and David & Kay Williams Music Education Endowment.
Sol Shulman Jewish Education & Life Grants
Dr. Sol Shulman, a long-time professor of chemistry at Illinois State University and Holocaust survivor, left a generous bequest to Illinois Prairie Community Foundation to establish an endowment. His wishes were that distributions from the endowment be used to fund programs that focus on Jewish educational programs and materials, Jewish-themed arts, music, and theater programs, and Jewish cultural enrichment programs in McLean County that are open to all.
Environment & Nature Grants
Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, a continuing stream of funding has allowed the community foundation to create an independent grant cycle for environmental programs starting in 2024. Previously, environment-focused grants were offered as part of the General Grants application in the spring.
Women to Women Giving Circle Grants
The Women to Women Giving Circle makes annual grants to programs and projects that encourage advancement and opportunities for local area women and children and/or girls. Since its founding in 2009, Women to Women has awarded $534,369 in grants. These grants have touched the lives of thousands of women and children in Central Illinois.
Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) Grants
Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, YEP has $10,000 available annually to fund programs that benefit youth. The YEP cohort works as a team to create the grant application, publicize the grants' availability, review the applications, and decide which proposals to fund and at what level of funding. The cohort gives priority to applications that are written by youth or have substantial input from youth.