Communityworks Endowment Fund Grant

Note: A Letter of Inquiry is required prior to the application process. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Who We Are & What We Do
By yearend, they had a modest $1,050. Through commitment and vision, the Quincy Area Community Foundation expanded and grew to become the Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri.
Serving 12 counties on both sides of the Mississippi River, we operate as a bridge between our donors’ charitable visions and the nonprofit organizations that bring those visions to life.
Communities in Illinois, Missouri, and across the country face challenges in early childhood education, workforce development, and land use and protection. However, many lack the resources to address and advance them. In 2003, the Grand Victoria Foundation (GVF) launched the Communityworks initiative to strengthen Illinois Community Foundations’ ability to do so.
After securing three rounds of support from GVF and leading a two-year effort to identify challenges and opportunities in these three target areas, your Community Foundation established its Communityworks Endowment Fund, which is open to 501(c)(3) organizations or units of government that advances workforce development, childcare, and early childhood education in Adams, Brown, Hancock, and Pike Counties, IL.
Meanwhile, the Community Foundation continues to evaluate changing needs and opportunities in these critical focus areas in order to make strategic, meaningful grants.
ISSUE AREA 1
Early Childhood Education Long-Term Vision:
To have a large pool of educated providers who see themselves as professionals who take advantage of the ongoing opportunities to grow in their field. To educate parents on the benefits and value of choosing quality child care.Increase revenue streams for child care providers over and above parent fees and raise value / respect for child care profession.
Early Childhood Education Short-term Vision:

• Improve the quality and quantity of the region’s child care settings.
• Goals:
• Encourage providers to maintain and improve the quality of their child care programs.
• Increase community awareness of child care's impact on our communities.
• Strengthen the relationship and involvement between parents, providers, and employers.
• Improve provider retention in the child care field.
• ISSUE AREA 2
• Workforce Development Long-Term Vision:

Ensure current and future workers are prepared with the skills needed to fill a variety of existing, expanding, and new employment opportunities that provide livable wages and benefits to ensure workforce sustainability.
Workforce Development Short-term Vision:

• Improve essential and technical skills in the region.
• Goals:
• Identify high-priority workforce needs and individuals to help fill them.
• Increase access to and participation in skills training to fulfill high-priority workforce needs.
• Reduce barriers for individuals to enter the workforce.
• Provide supports for individuals to successfully remain in the workforce.

Eligibility

501(c)(3) organizations or units of government that advances workforce development, childcare, and early childhood education in Adams, Brown, Hancock, and Pike Counties, IL.
Programs must focus on one of the following issues: workforce development and/or early childhood education (including child care).
Priority will be given to: new or expanded and innovative efforts, high-impact programs or projects (not operations) that will benefit a significant number of individuals or families, programs that increase the pool of educated professionals or skilled workers, programs that strengthen the quantity and quality of child care settings, and programs that reduce barriers for individuals to enter and remain in the workforce.