AVAILABLE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Funding Opportunities:

  • Clean Energy Career Pathway Program
    • Description: “The Clean Energy Career Pathway Program will provide funding directly to eligible recipients to support the planning and implementation of a Clean Energy Career Pathway. Programs will include coursework, field experiences, and work-based learning designed to prepare students for entrance into careers focusing on clean energy.”
    • Eligibility includes: “Eligible entities for this NOFO are defined as
      • Regional Offices of Education (ROEs);
      • Intermediate Service Centers (ISCs);
      • state institutions of higher education;
      • schools designated as laboratory schools, public university laboratory schools approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE);
      • area vocational centers;
      • charter schools;
      • cooperatives and other joint agreements with a governing body or board of control; schools operated by an ROE, ISC, or state agency; and
      • school districts are eligible to apply”
    • Award Range: $100,000 – $500,000
    • Deadline: November 12, 2024 at 5:00pm
  • Illinois Grocery Initiative – New Stores in Food Deserts
    • Description: “The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (the “Department” or “DCEO”) is issuing this Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) to improve access to fresh food within food deserts by providing incentives to establish grocery stores.”
    • Eligibility includes: “Eligibility for this program will be constrained by geographic location, characteristics of prospective store ownership, and the intended offerings of the store.” Open to:
      • Units of local government
      • Independent grocers or cooperatives with fewer than 500 employees and no more than four grocery locations. This includes for-profit and nonprofit entities.
    • Award Range: $150,000 – $2,400,000
    • Deadline: December 2, 2024 at 5:00pm
  • IL Energy Transition Navigators Program
    • Description: “The goal is to establish a network of community-based providers across the state of Illinois. These providers will offer community education, outreach, and recruitment services to encourage eligible individuals to participate in clean energy workforce and contractor development programs.”
    • Eligibility includes: “Eligible applicants are community-based providers.” See NOFO for more information.
    • Award Range: $200,000 – $500,000
    • Deadline: December 2, 2024 at 5:00pm
  • Equitable Energy Future Grant Program (Notice of Funding Opportunity 3054-2878)
    • Description: “…to provide pre-development funding opportunities to eligible contractors to support the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects benefitting businesses, community organizations, and the workforce in Illinois with a specific focus on historically disadvantaged communities. The grant program is designed to help remove barriers to project, community, and business development caused by lack of capital.”
    • Eligibility includes: “Equity Eligible Contractors (EEC) that can provide an Illinois Power Agency EEC certification” or “An Illinois business or nonprofit or cooperative organization that meets the equity building criteria in paragraph (9.5) of subsection (g) of Section 8-103B of the Public Utilities Act.”
    • Award Range: $250,000 – $1,000,000
    • Deadline: December 31, 2024 at 5:00PM
  • For a complete list of DCEO grants, please visit our website.  
  • Additional DCEO funding
  • Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
    • Description: “Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to support income eligible households with utility costs. LIHEAP will begin accepting applications on October 1, 2024, through August 15, 2025, or until funds are exhausted.”
    • Deadline: August 15, 2025
  • Additional State of Illinois
  • Federal Government
  • U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), 2024 Build to Scale Program (EDA-B2S-2024)
    • Description: “The Build to Scale (B2S) program aims to increase the capacity of entrepreneurs in regions throughout the United States to demonstrate, deploy, and deliver new technologies by starting and growing new companies and creating and sustaining new, good jobs.” “Eligible applicants include a state, an Indian Tribe, a city or other political subdivision of a state, and an entity whose application is supported by a state or political subdivision of a state and that is: a nonprofit organization; an institution of higher education; a public-private partnership; a science or research park; a Federal laboratory; a venture development organization; an economic development organization or similar entity that is focused primarily on improving science, technology, innovation, or entrepreneurship; or a consortium of any of the aforementioned entities”
    • Award Range: up to $5 million
    • Deadline: October 28, 2024 at 3:59pm
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program (Community Chamber Grants)
    • Description: “The Community Change Grants will fund community-driven projects that address climate challenges and reduce pollution while strengthening communities through thoughtful implementation. This historic level of support will enable communities and their partners to overcome longstanding environmental challenges and implement meaningful solutions to meet community needs now and for generations to come. There will be two tracks of funding under this opportunity. Track I will fund approximately 150 large, transformational community-driven investment grants of $10 million – $20 million. Track II will fund approximately 20 meaningful engagement grants of $1 million – $3 million.”. Here is a link to more info, click HERE.
    • Award Range: up to $20,000,000
    • Deadline: November 21, 2024 at 10:59 PM
  • Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program in Illinois from USDA
    • Description: “To help microenterprises startup and growth through a Rural Microloan Revolving Fund.” Those eligible for the loan are “Businesses located in an eligible area with 10 or fewer full-time employees.”
    • Range: Up to $50,000
    • Deadline: December 31, 2024 at 10:59pm
  • Local Governments
  • City of Champaign
    • New Business Program
      • Description: “Businesses less than two (2) years old.” “Applicants must have plans to open a business within a commercially zoned and vacant or underutilized building within the City of Champaign within one (1) year of application or have an active business within the City of Champaign that has been in operations for less than two (2) years. Home-based businesses in the City of Champaign may participate in the New Business Program.”
      • Award Range: “…up to $10,000”
      • Deadline: October 20, 2024
  • Growing Business Program
    • Description: “Businesses more than two (2) years old seeking to grow their operations and expand employment.” “Applicants must have an active business in a publicly accessible location within the City of Champaign that has been in operations for more than two (2) years.”
    • Award Range: “…up to $20,000”
    • Deadline: October 20, 2024
  • City of Chicago – Community Development Grants (CDG)
    • Description:
      • Small CDG: “Small grants…are intended to support eligible commercial, mixed-use and light manufacturing projects”
      • Medium CDG: “Medium grants…are intended to support eligible commercial, cultural, industrial, institutional, social service and mixed-use projects”
      • Large CDG: “Large grants…are intended to support eligible commercial, cultural, industrial, institutional, social service and mixed-use projects”
    • Award Range: SmallCDG – up to $250,000; Medium CDG – between $300,001 – $5 million; Large CDG – $5 million and above
    • Deadline:
      • Small CDG: November 8, 2024 at 11:59am
      • Medium CDG:  February 14, 2025 at 11:59pm
      • Large CDG: Rolling

in support of the City’s goals for climate resiliency and sustainability. The SUN program provides

funding to support programs, services, or small-scale improvement projects that further one or more

of the following:

  • Promotes healthy, sustainable, community living
  • Fosters creativity and collaboration to enhance climate resiliency
  • Includes diverse, multi-generational Urbana residents in the process of creating climate related actions and strategies”

Open nonprofits or individuals/neighborhood groups with a nonprofit sponsor.

  • Award Range: “…targeted grant amount is $10,000 per project. The city will accept applications for larger projects on a case-by-case basis.”
  • Deadline: November 4, 2024
  • Village of Gurnee – Impact Grant
    • Description: “This is a 1:1 matching grant open to a business of any size located within the Village of Gurnee corporate limits, generate sales tax, in good standing with the Village and compliant with all obligations, & a building owner of a qualifying business. No minimum project size with a rolling application period.”
    • Award Range: $10,000 – $20,000
  • Private/Community Resources
  • Small Certified Supplier Innovative Finance Program
    • Description: Open to certified minority-, women-, veteran-, and LGBTQ+ owned businesses (certified by national or state organizations) in the following states California, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey.The annual revenue of the business should be between $250,000 to $10 million.
    • Award Range: $5,000
  • Trees in Your Community Grant from Green Latinos
    • Description: “Urban forestry funding available to community-based organizations to work in low-income, disadvantaged communities. Projects would implement urban forestry efforts focused on tree planting and maintenance, community engagement, and/or workforce development in the field of urban forestry.” There are different eligible areas. In Illinois these are the eligible counties/areas:
      • Boone
      • Bureau
      • Cook
      • Grundy
      • La Salle
      • McHenry
      • Menard
      • Peoria
      • Putnam
      • Winnebago
    • Award Range: “…range from a minimum of $200,000 to a maximum of $1,500,000…”
    • Deadline: October 11, 2024
  • Spark Good Local Grant- Walmart
    • Description: “Each year, Walmart U.S. stores, Sam’s Clubs and Distribution Centers award local cash grants… These local grants are designed to address the unique needs of the communities where [they] operate”. Must have a Spark Good Account from Walmart.com. Open to nonprofits – 501(c)3, government entity, or “K-12 public or nonprofit private school, charter school, community/junior college, state/private college or university; or a church or other faith-based organization with a proposed project that benefits the community at large, such as food pantries, soup kitchens and clothing closets”, Read more about the eligibility at: https://walmart.org/how-we-give/program-guidelines/spark-good-local-grants-guidelines
    • Award Range: “range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000”
    • Deadline: October 15, 2024
  • Stephen L. Tadlock Veteran Business Grant from Founders First CDC
    • Description: “National Grant for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses.”. Open nationwide to veteran owned business that have 2-100 employees, been in business for at least 1 year, with an annual revenue of less than $5 million, must be US based.
    • Award Range: $1,000
    • Deadline: October 15, 2024
  • GitLab Foundation: AI for Economic Opportunity
    • Description: “…interested in creative applications including (but not limited to) tools and services that improve economic opportunity across many applications: skill development, job matching, hiring systems, internal mobility, coaching, benefits access, debiasing systems, data analysis and use, job quality, etc.  Applicants should be US based nonprofit organizations, but we encourage partnerships between multiple organizations including partnerships between nonprofits and for-profit startups, consultants and other technology experts.”
    • Award Range: $250,000 grants
    • Deadline: October 16, 2024
  • Panera Bread Foundation
    • Description: Open nationwide to nonprofits 501(c)3, to areas were Panera is located. “awards non-profit organizations who provide access to education, opportunity, and mentorship to at-risk, underserved, or historically underrepresented children and youth. Organizations that qualify are 501(c)(3) non-profits, serving ages 10-18, that are planning to start a new program or expand an existing program focused on college readiness, skills building, workforce or leadership development, or mentoring.”
    • Award Range: $25,000 and $100,000
    • Deadline: October 27, 2024 at 10pm
  • Foreground Rural Initiative Professional Development Grants
    • Description: Grant for individuals and organizations. “This Foreground Rural Initiative opportunity invests in the capacity-building, leadership, and professional development of our partners in rural areas and small towns across Illinois to support their success and sustainability.”
    • Award Range: Up to $750
    • Deadline: October 31, 2024 at 5:00pm
  • Tory Burch Foundation – Fellows Program
    • Description: Open nationwide to women owned businesses, the applicant must be at least 21 years of age by the deadline and a legal resident.
    • Award Range: $5,000 business education grant, cohort, etc.
    • Deadline: November 1, 2024
  • Movement Building and Systems Change Grant Program from Lohengrin Foundation
    • Description: “The Movement Building and Systems Change (MBSC) Grant Program supports nonprofits and community-based organizations that engage in organizing, power building, advocacy and structural change initiatives to transform power and resource distribution systems to advance equitable, vibrant, safe, and thriving communities.” Open to nonprofits 501(c)3 organizations in Chicago, Boston, and Boston gateway cities.
    • Award Range: up to $50,000
    • Deadline: November 1, 2024
  • EmpowHer Grants from Boundless Futures Foundation
    • Description: “Female entrepreneurs 22 years of age and older with businesses registered and operating in the United States. An applicant’s business must 1) make a clear social impact, 2) be a registered for-profit entity, 3) be earning revenue, and 4) not be more than 3 years old.” “Businesses that are eligible for an EmpowHer Grant address one of the following social issues* through their product or business model: Poverty & Hunger, Sustainability & the Environment or Strong communities.”
    • Award Range: up to $25,00
    • Deadline: November 1, 2024 at 11pm
  • Not-for-Profit Capacity Building Grant
    • Description: “DuPage Foundation is excited to launch a new grant opportunity to help local not-for-profit organizations strengthen their ability to effectively deliver on their mission now and into the future.” Open to nonprofits (501(c)3) that serve DuPage County residents and haven’t received a grant from the DuPage Foundation’s Community Impact Grant Program in the last 3 years.
    • Award Range: up to $25,000
    • Deadline: November 15, 2024 at 5:00pm
  • Illinois Arts Council’s (IAC) Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF)
    • Description: “CAF recognizes and supports the vital role that artists play as builders and innovators in their communities. By investing in their practice and professional growth, the fund not only enriches the lives of artists but also encourages broader community engagement and investment, leading to a vibrant cultural landscape and fostering connections among residents.” Open to Illinois artists (“An individual working in arts, crafts, design, dance, digital media, film/video, literature, music, performance, photography, theater, visual arts, folk and traditional arts, or community-based arts”) with active and sustained practice, who are age 21 or older, Illinois resident prior to November 20, 2023, can include a work sample created by them during 2022-2024, can include a work sample created by them during 2021 or prior, and not currently enrolled full-time at a college/university.
    • Award Range: “This is a $10,000 taxable award”
    • Deadline: November 20, 2024
  • Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC) Finish Line Grant
    • Description: “This grant program assists businesses and property owners with interior and exterior renovation costs, such as awnings, façade improvements, rodent abatement, and buildouts. If your business or commercial property is located within one of Berwyn’s active TIF Districts, you may be eligible to receive up to 50% reimbursement on your renovation expenses.”
    • Award Range: maximum grant amount $50,000
    • Deadline: December 13, 2024
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