Frequently Asked Questions | Charitable Trust
Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund FAQs
Find answers to the most common questions about the Illinois State Treasurer’s Illinois nonprofit grants. If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, please email us at CharitableTrust@illinoistreasurer.gov.
The Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund is an Illinois grant program that helps small nonprofit organizations provide charitable services in communities across the state. The program is authorized by the Illinois General Assembly and administered by the Office of the Illinois State Treasurer.
Eligible nonprofit organizations must apply online during an open grant cycle.
Applications are typically available during the following periods:
- January 1 to March 31
- July 1 to September 30
Hunger Relief Grants follow a shorter application period from June 1 to July 31.
Before applying, organizations should review the Grant Eligibility Information to make sure they meet the program requirements.
The Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund accepts grant applications from eligible Illinois nonprofit organizations in the following focus areas:
- Food programs
- Housing programs
- Workforce and economic development programs
To qualify, an organization must meet these requirements:
- Be a nonprofit corporation exempt from federal income taxation 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 to the community.
- Be domiciled in Illinois and provide charitable services exclusively in Illinois.
- Have an organizational budget of $1 million or less.
- Have at least one full-time paid employee.
- Have adopted a nondiscrimination policy that includes race, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, family status, and religion.
View additional eligibility requirements and restrictions.
Nonprofit organizations are not eligible if a person, or an immediate family member of that person, holds an elective office with an annual salary of more than $60,000 and also serves as paid staff, a consultant, director, officer, or board member of the organization. Immediate family members may include, but are not limited to, a spouse, domestic partner, sibling, or child.
Grant requests should not exceed 30% of the organization’s budget. Overhead costs should not exceed 25% of the grant request unless the grant will be used for a one-time expenditure.
Previous grant recipients may apply again if their grant term has expired for at least one calendar year. A grantee may not receive a grant award in 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 for exemption.
Small nonprofit organizations in Illinois may be eligible for Charitable Trust grants of up to $20,000 during the spring and fall grant cycles.
Hunger Relief Grants are awarded in the amount of $5,000 each.
A Federal Employer Identification Number, or FEIN, is a unique nine-digit tax identification number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service. A FEIN is also commonly called an Employer Identification Number, or EIN.
A FEIN is required to apply for a Charitable Trust grant. Nonprofit organizations, businesses, and other entities use this number for tax and identification purposes. Organizations can apply for an EIN through the IRS website.
A D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit business identification number issued by Dun & Bradstreet. Nonprofit organizations must have a D-U-N-S Number to apply for a Charitable Trust grant. This number helps verify important information about your nonprofit organization, including its legal name, address, business structure, and leadership. Dun & Bradstreet provides D-U-N-S Numbers at no cost. Before requesting a new D-U-N-S Number, use the Dun & Bradstreet lookup tool to see if your nonprofit organization already has one. Questions? Call 866-705-5711.
Organizations should have the following information ready:
- Name of the CEO, executive director, or head of the organization
- Legal name and physical address
- Business phone number and website, if available
- Legal structure, such as a nonprofit organization, corporation, LLC, or sole proprietorship
- The year the organization was established
- Primary line of business and number of employees
The Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund is funded by fees collected from nonprofit organizations when they incorporate with the State of Illinois. The Corporation must be organized for one or more purposes listed in the General Not-for-Profit Corporation Act.
Applicants must submit an online application during an open grant cycle.
Applications are reviewed by staff from the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office and then by members of the Charitable Trust Stabilization Committee. The committee makes a recommendation to the State Treasurer, who makes the final determination on grant awards.
Before a grant is finalized, a site visit by staff from the Treasurer’s Office and/or a member of the Charitable Trust Stabilization Committee is required.
The Charitable Trust Stabilization Committee includes six private citizens and four appointees from government agencies.
The current committee members are:
- Sheila Simon, Appointee
- Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, Co-Chair
- Erica Spangler Raz, Designee for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Co-Chair
- Ariana Correa, Designee for Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton
- Dan McManus, Designee for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
- Brandon Purcell, Designee for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
- Andreason Brown, Appointee
- Ron Budzinski, Appointee
- Joan Dixon, Appointee
The term of each grant award is one year. Grant funds must be spent within one calendar year after the effective date of the Grant Agreement.
Previous grant recipients may apply again if their grant term has expired for at least one calendar year. A grantee may not receive a grant award in more than two consecutive calendar years.
The Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund helps support small nonprofits throughout Illinois.
Have questions? Contact the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office at CharitableTrust@illinoistreasurer.gov.
Interested in applying for a grant? Please review the Grant Eligibility Information before you begin your application.