Eligibility

To be considered, an applicant must meet all of the following requirements:

Be a not-for-profit corporation that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Be organized under the Illinois General Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1986 to provide charitable services.
Be based in Illinois and provide charitable services only in Illinois.
Have at least one full-time paid employee.
Full-time employment is verified using the compensation information reported on the organization’s Form 990-IL (filing online is now available).
Have an operating budget of $1 million or less.
Have a nondiscrimination policy that prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, family status, or religion.

An organization is not eligible if a person, or an immediate family member of that person, holds elective office and earns more than $60,000, and that person serves the organization as paid staff, a consultant, director, officer, or board member.
- Immediate family members may include a spouse or domestic partner, sibling, or child.
The total grant request may not exceed 30% of the organization’s budget.
No more than 25% of the grant may be used for overhead costs, unless the funding is for a one-time expense.
Previous grant recipients may apply again only if their grant term ended at least one full calendar year ago.
An organization may not receive a grant award for more than two consecutive calendar years.
Fiscal sponsors, sub-grantees, and applications submitted on behalf of another organization will not be considered.
Organizations that are exempt from regularly filing AG990-IL forms must provide a recent audited financial statement to be considered.