Mission
The Cook County Community Fund Advisory Board awards grants from unrestricted funds to meet the needs of our community in the following areas: arts, community development, education, the environment, human services and youth. Within these areas, priority projects are those that:

• Strengthen community ties between individuals and collaboration between organizations within our service area (Cook County)
• Address underlying causes of community problems
• Respond to community needs that can be solved or softened by receiving grants of modest or moderate amounts
• Propose new solutions or responses and require start-up assistance
• Seek to create connections among a diverse cross-section of citizens, thereby increasing the community health and hospitality of our region

Applicants are encouraged to apply for matching funds from other grantmaking organizations. Consideration will be given to applicants that are leveraging matching funds.

The following areas are of low priority and generally are not considered for funding:

• Capital and equipment requests
• Ongoing program support

Grant awards from unrestricted funds cannot provide long-term or permanent support for any purpose. Therefore, organizations must have the financial potential to sustain a program after the funding from the Cook County Community Fund has ended. More than one year of funding may be recommended to ensure the stability of a new program.

The Cook County Community Fund does not recommend grants for the following:

• Endowments
• Religious organizations for religious activities
• Medical research
• Debt retirement
• Requests from re-granting organizations for funding that will be used for their own grantmaking
• Individuals (except for scholarships initiated or managed by the fund)
• Political organizations or campaigns
• Fundraising drives or activities
• Tickets for benefits
• Organizations that work to influence legislation as a substantial part of their purpose
• Activities that occur before funding is awarded

Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for funding, an organization must:

• Be classified as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or classified as an organization under Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code or have a fiscal sponsor classified as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or an organization under Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
• Be located within the Cook County Community Fund service area of Cook County, including the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa/Gichi Onigaming

Grant range
Grants generally range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Application timeline

Spring 2024 Grant Cycle

• Application available January 2, 2024 – March 1, 2024 at 5 pm
• Grant begin date: June 1, or later.
• If awarded, funds would be available in June. Notifications will be emailed at the end of May.