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Foundation announces community grants; Local organizations, groups benefit from donor generosity
COURTESY PHOTO Belvidere Republican
The Boone County Community Foundation (BCCF) hosted its annual community grant breakfast on Nov. 14. Over $56,000, in community grants, was awarded to 22 Boone County organizations through the Community Grant Program.
The Boone County Community Foundation (BCCF) on Nov. 14 held its annual community grant breakfast, at which time 22 grants were awarded to county organizations “to help meet the needs of Boone County,” as explained in a BCCF release.
The recipients included:
⦁ Belvidere Family YMCA: $5,000, for the Y on the Fly Program at General Mills Park
⦁ Belvidere High School Music and Performing Arts Boosters: $3,715, for a collaborative with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra
⦁ Blackhawk Area Boy Scouts of America: $750, for membership and program assistance
⦁ Boone County Arts Council: $3,000, for a fifth-grade arts festival
⦁ Boone County CASA: $1,600, for its volunteer and recruitment program
⦁ Boone County Council on Aging: $1,000, for outreach to isolated seniors
⦁ Boone County Fair Association and 4H: $8,000, to upgrade the 4H and Grange stands
⦁ Boone County Museum of History: $7,500, for updates to the Duxstad Pioneer Cabin/Native American exhibits
⦁ BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding and Entertainment Center: $1,000, for equine-assisted services to veterans
⦁ The Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project: $1,000, for outreach, education and financial assistance
⦁ First Step Day Care: $3,000, for sheds for outside equipment and moveable bins
⦁ Friends of the Ida Public Library: $2,000, for a laptop program and Ozobot Evo Coding Kits
⦁ Girl Scouts of America, $750: for first aid/CPR training, recruitment kits and events materials, translation
⦁ Habitat for Humanity of Boone County: $2,000, for home construction costs
⦁ Northern Illinois Food Bank, $5,000: for Take 50 for four Boone County member agencies
⦁ Parks and Conservation Foundation: $2,500, for Rec Mobile
⦁ Regional Access and Mobilization Project: $1,000, for youth education and advocacy services
⦁ Remedies Renewing Lives: $1,500, to create a teen space and enhancements to the current children’s space
⦁ Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling: $1,000, for free services for sexual assault/abuse survivors in Boone County
⦁ Sister Cities Association of Belvidere: $2,000, for a summer exchange program
⦁ The ARC of Winnebago, Boone and Ogle counties: $2,000, for two future planning seminars in Boone County
⦁ Zion Lutheran Church: $1,000, for food distribution
BCCF Executive Director Melissa Erickson explained that the 2023 awards were part of the Community Grant Program, which is made up of the Melvin and Mildred Banks Funds, the Wilbur and William Cummings Fund, and individual donor-advised funds.
She narrated that the foundation was formed in 2005 by five individuals considered to be “pillars of the community, well-established businessmen and residents.”
The founders included Jack Wolf, Rob Funderburg, Curt Tobin, John Crone and Dick VanEvera, she added.
The Community Grant Program was formed in 2011, Erickson continued, with help from the Banks and Cummings funds.
Grant applications—from non-profit, charitable and service-sector organizations—were submitted between Aug. 1 and Sept. 15, and then reviewed by a grant selection committee.
Awards, the director said, are “based on funds we have to be allocated.”
One of the stipulations for being considered, Erickson said, is, “They have to be serving Boone County.”
Having a finger on the pulse of Boone County, “We know what the challenges are,” Erickson said. “We know the needs of the community.”
“There is a lot of collaboration; community members, government [agencies] and residents,” she emphasized.
The BCCF learns about “the causes and organizations that are important to them [donors], the things they love and care about,” the director outlined, and the BCCF works with donors to determine how they want their donations to be used, and also helps set up the funds per the donor’s wishes.
These grants are “truly important to the quality of life for generations to come,” Erickson commented, in line with the BCCF’s mission “to improve the quality of life in Boone County for today, tomorrow and the future by building a culture of giving in our community and by connecting donors.”
For more information about the Boone County Community Foundation, visit www.boonecountycf.org.
