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Illinois Prairie Community
Foundation awards 106 grants to local nonprofits
[April 25, 2026]
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois
Prairie Community Foundation has awarded $226,284 in five categories
of competitive grants to 106 programs in McLean, DeWitt, Livingston
and Logan counties. Grant awards ranged from $500 to $5,000. Funding
came from donors to the Community Foundation’s annual campaign, the
Jerome Mirza Arts & Culture Fund, the Sapphire Sky Wind Fund and
other endowed and non-endowed at the Community Foundation.
New this year, the Redbird Impact Philanthropy Leaders (RIPL) Grants
were awarded to programs focusing on civic engagement. Receiving 4
RIPL Grants totaling $10,000 were:
· Back 2 School Alliance – $3,000 for “Backpacks for Big Kids”
· Cultural Fest Inc. – $1,500 for “Culture Fest Nonprofit Community
Outreach Booth Initiative”
· School Street Food Pantry – $3,500 for “School Street Food Pantry
Feeding our African Redbirds”
· STAR Adult Literacy – $2,000 for “STAR Adult Literacy Volunteer
Recruitment”
Receiving 56 General Grants totaling $113,197 for programs in the
fields of education, health and wellness, and youth were:
· Best Buddies in Central Illinois – $1,500 for “Best Buddies
Leadership”
· Bloomington Public Library – $1,500 for “Juneteenth at BPL”
· Bloomington-Normal Girls Softball Association – $2,000 for “BNGSA
Field Prep Machinery”
· Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal – $2,500 for “STEAM
Powered Play”
· Boys & Girls Club of Livingston County – $3,000 for “Summer Brain
Gain - Higher Yielding Learning Activities”
· Brightpoint – $2,500 for “Brightpoint Central Region Prevention
Services”
· Camp Hope Foundation – $2,000 for “Year-Round Family Support
Program”
· Central Illinois Special Hockey Association – $2,000 for “Central
Illinois Special Hockey Association”
· City of Refuge Ministries – $1,200 for “City Kids Christian Camp”
· Clinton Community Educational Foundation – $1,000 for “Read Across
Clinton”
· Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois – $2,500 for
“CAPCIL Transit”
· Community Connection Group of Central Illinois – $1,000 for “Team
Connection”
· Community Health Care Clinic – $500 for “Caring For Our Community”
· Cultural Fest Inc. – $1,500 for “Kidz Zone & Community Health Fair
Initiative”
· DeWitt-Piatt Bi-County Health Department – $2,300 for
“DeWitt-Piatt Bi-County Health Department Garden Project”
· Dreams Are Possible – $3,500 for
“Enrichment Opportunities”
· Faith in Action – $1,500 for “Car Handle Assist for Care
Receivers”
· Farmer City BMX – $2,000 for “Farmer City BMX”
· First Christian Church – $1,200 for “The Helping Shelf”
· For The Children Bloomington-Normal Camp 362 – $2,997 for “For the
Children Camp #262”
· Girl Scouts of Central Illinois – $2,000 for “Pillars of Potential
- Girl Scout Events in the Greater Bloomington Community”
· Girls on the Run of Central Illinois – $1,000 for “Power Up with
Girls on the Run”
· Heart of Illinois Big Brothers Big Sisters – $1,500 for “Youth
Mentoring Program”
· Homes of Hope – $1,800 for “Pathways to Participation”
· Humane Society of Central Illinois – $1,000 for “Paws & Pages:
Youth Mental Wellness Sessions”
· Illinois Art Station – $1,500 for “Illinois Art Station Free
Fourth Saturday”
· Illinois Valley Brain Injury Clubhouse – $1,200 for “Pathways to
Health & Wellness”
· Junior Achievement of Central Illinois – $1,000 for “CareerSpark”
· Kernovate Inc. – $1,000 for “Kernovate Beds Emergency Delivery
Service (BEDS)”
· Lane Christian Church – $2,000 for “Back to School Bash”
· Lifelong Access – $1,500 for “Supported Employment Program Job
Education and Behavioral Health Clinic Access”
· Lincoln Pastoral Counseling Services, Inc. – $2,000 for “Subsidy
Program”
· Martin Township Public Library – $500 for “Game On! A Community
Board Game Collection”
· McLean County Sportsmen’s Association – $2,500 for “Venison for
Food Pantries”
· Mid Central Community Action, Inc. – $3,000 for “Community
Building and Engagement Giving Shed”
· National Inventors Hall of Fame Inc. – $2,500 for “Camp Invention
STEM Education Program for Low-Income Logan County K-6 Youth”
· Normal Community High School Girls' Basketball Program – $2,500
for “Fierce Minds: Positive Self-Talk for Confidence, Resilience and
Mental Wellness”
· Normal Public Library – $500 for “Normal Public Library Little
Free Pantry”
· Prairie Pride Coalition, Inc. – $3,000 for “Reclaiming our LGBTQ+
History”
· Promise Council – $4,000 for “Student Success Barrier Removal
Program”
· Regional Housing and Supportive Services – $3,500 for “Hope on
5th”
· Scouting America, W.D. Boyce
Council – $1,000 for “2026 Bloomington Cub Scout Day Camp”
· Special Olympics Illinois – $2,000 for “Inclusive Sports
Programming for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities in SOILL
Region G”
· The Baby Fold – $2,000 for “Beyond the Bell: Expanding Opportunity
After School”
· The Baby Fold – $2,400 for “Commercial Door Closures for Hammitt
School at Oglesby”
· The Center for Youth and Family Solutions – $1,500 for “Parent
Education Program Bloomington Area”
· The Salvation Army Bloomington – $1,000 for “The Salvation Army
Youth Program”
· The Salvation Army Lincoln 360 Life Center – $2,500 for “The
Salvation Army Lincoln 360 Life Center Pantry”
· The Salvation Army Pontiac 360 Life Center – $2,800 for “Homeless
Support & Food Pantry”
· The Vault Community Center – $3,000 for “The Golden Gears Cafe
Small Business & Culinary Arts Program”
· Town of Normal Children's Discovery Museum Foundation – $2,500 for
“Building Social Emotional Learning Skills Through STEAM”
· United Way of Logan County – $2,000 for “Dolly Parton's
Imagination Library in Logan County”
· Weldon Public Library – $1,800 for “School Supplies for Student
Success”
· Wesley United Methodist Church – $5,000 for “Wesley Distribution
Ministry”
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· YouthBuild McLean County – $3,000
for “Healthcare Vocational Training Simulation Labs”
· YWCA McLean County – $3,000 for “Young Wonders Program”
Receiving 32 Mirza/Arts and Culture Grants totaling $69,967 were:
· BCAI Cultural Arts & Humanities – $1,800 for “Summer Arts
Exposure”
· Board of Trustees of Illinois
State University – $2,000 for “2026 Concerts on the Quad”
· Board of Trustees of Illinois State University – $2,500 for “ISU
String Project 25th Anniversary Festival”
· Board of Trustees of Illinois State University - University
Galleries – $1,500 for “Teen Art Group at University Galleries”
· Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal – $1,600 for “Music
Therapy”
· Brass Band of Central Illinois – $1,500 for “2027 Spring Concert”
· City of Bloomington - BCPA – $1,000 for “2026 First Friday
Concerts”
· Cultural Fest Inc. – $2,750 for “Cultural Fest 2026 – 47th Annual
Multicultural Arts Celebration”
· Further Jazz, Inc. – $1,750 for “5th Annual Further Jazz Festival”
· Girl Scouts of Central Illinois – $1,100 for “Palette of
Possibilities”
· Heartland Community College – $3,300 for “CreatiVets at Heartland
Community College: Healing Through the Arts”
· Heartland Jazz Orchestra Foundation – $1,750 for “Community Jazz
Concerts”
· Heartland Productions Inc. – $3,800 for “2 New Plays Programs”
· Holiday Spectacular Inc. – $1,500 for “Celebrate America 250”
· Holiday Spectacular Inc. – $1,500 for “Holiday Spectacular: Free
Tickets for Low Income Community Members 2026”
· Illinois Shakespeare Festival – $2,000 for “The Courtyard Music
Series at Ewing Cultural Center”
· Illinois Symphony Orchestra Inc. – $4,100 for “Concerts for Kids”
· Illinois Voices Theatre – $2,000 for “Seedling Theatre”
· Illinois Wesleyan University – $3,000 for “Illinois Chamber Music
Festival at IWU - 2026 season”
· Illinois Wesleyan University – $2,000 for “Illinois Wesleyan Jazz
Festival”
· Inside Out Accessible Art – $2,400 for “Inside Out Accessible Art”
· Lifelong Access – $1,500 for “Community Day Services Art Supplies”
· McLean County Arts Center – $2,600 for “Sugar Creek Arts Festival-
Music Performances”
· McLean County Dance Association – $1,500 for “Ballet at the Barre”
· Music Connections Foundation – $2,500 for “Mentoring Young
Musicians into Professional Theater”
· Penguin Project McLean – $1,617 for “The Penguin Project of McLean
County”
· Poco a Poco – $3,000 for “Poco a Poco Young Artist Training
Program”
· Prairie Fire Theatre – $3,500 for “Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat”
· pt.fwd – $3,100 for “pt.fwd 2026-2027 Concert Series”
· Strong Towns BloNo – $2,000 for “Sidewalk Wayfinding Mural
Project”
· The Center for Creativity and Community – $2,200 for “Center for
Creativity and Community”
· Threshold to Hope, Inc. – $1,000 for “Art Instruction and
Exploration for Low Income Artists”
Receiving 6 David & Kay Williams Music Education Grants totaling
$9,920 were:
· Freedom Sings USA – $1,050 for “Freedom Sings USA Central Illinois
Chapter”
· Lifelong Access – $1,500 for “Lifelong Friends Music Equipment
Initiative”
· Lincoln Community High School –
$2,000 for “Lincoln Music Collective Band for All”
· Prairie Fire Theatre – $2,600 for “Quack-A-Doodle-Doo! Children’s
Opera Tour” (Additional funding provided by Jerome Mirza Arts &
Culture Fund)
· pt.fwd – $2,000 for “2027 Collaborative Concert with ISU Creative
Technologies”
· Share the Music – $1,370 for “Share the Music Instrument Lending
Project”
Receiving 8 Sol Shulman Jewish Life and Education Grants totaling
$27,760 were:
· Illinois Symphony Orchestra – $3,500 for “ISO Around the Town
Performance Celebrating Jewish Music and History”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $3,838 for “Inspire Through Song”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $3,000 for “Klezmer Band”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $800 for “Literacy for Our Learners”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $1,500 for “Nosh and Learn: An Ashkenazi
Jewish Food Celebration”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $3,838 for “Sustaining Sacred Music at
MMT”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $3,224 for “The Illinois Holocaust
Museum: An Interfaith Visit and Reflection”
· Moses Montefiore Temple – $3,500 for “Union for Reform Judaism
Biennial”
Earlier in the year, IPCF awarded $101,830 – $66,000 by the
foundation’s Women to Women Giving Circle, $26,587 from the
Environment & Nature Fund and $9,243 from the foundation’s Youth
Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) cohort. The community foundation will
award a record $ 328,114 in competitive grants this year.
About Illinois Prairie Community Foundation
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation connects generosity to local
impact by stewarding resources, cultivating partnerships and
fostering equity across our region. IPCF empowers individuals,
families and organizations to create meaningful change – today and
for generations to come. The foundation manages funds including
endowments and agency, designated, donor advised, field of interest,
scholarship and unrestricted funds. More information is available at
www.ilprairiecf.org.
Community Partners for Illinois Prairie Community Foundation are:
The Drake Zimmerman Group, Heartland Bank & Trust, Meyer Capel,
Illinois Farm Bureau, Onward Injury Law, WGLT, First Mid Wealth
Management, Knight Light Photograph, Northern Trust, Renaissance
Wealth Management BN, Bank of Pontiac, Donald Heinold CPA, Fox &
Hounds Salon & Spa, Little Jewels Learning Center, Tarvin Culligan
and Westminster Village.
[Michele Evans
Vice President (Programs)]
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