Elea Institute: Education Grants Program

The Elea Institute's Education Grants Program aims to enhance hospice and palliative care education for healthcare providers, patients, and families in Illinois. With grant sizes ranging from $50,000 to $100,000, this initiative supports 1-3 projects over a period of up to two years. Eligible organizations must be 501(c)(3) tax-exempt and focus on the specified Illinois counties, fostering community outreach and educational efforts to improve patient care.

Purpose
Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), the Elea Institute is seeking proposals to provide charity care, integrative therapy, and end of life care within 13 counties of Illinois. This grant program will provide funding for up to two years of care and programming. This RFP is meant to identify and provide financial support to non-profit organizations that meet the following criteria. To that end, three below-listed grant programs have been developed.
Charity care for hospice and palliative care (“charity care”)Integrative therapy that complements patients receiving hospice and/or palliative care (“integrative therapy”)Education related to hospice and palliative care (“education”)
Background
Elea Institute is a nonprofit charitable organization created out of the proceeds from the 2022 sale of JourneyCare, a nonprofit hospice agency that stood at the forefront of hospice and palliative care in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. The organization’s name is inspired by the mythological figure Elea, who was the personification of mercy and compassion in ancient Athens.
The primary goal of Elea Institute is to honor our heritage and advance the missions that guided JourneyCare and its predecessor organizations: to ensure that all people have access to high-quality hospice and palliative care.
Elea Institute is dedicated to improving care and comfort for people with serious illnesses by awarding grants for innovative programs and initiatives, funding research, and advancing policies to promote high quality, widely accessible hospice and palliative care.
Additional Details
Designed to fund education for health care providers, patients, families, and community members related to hospice and palliative care. Staff professional development may qualify if it helps staff provide better care to patients.
Average grant size: $50,000 – $100,000Estimated number of grants: 1 – 3 projectsGrant project period: up to 2 years

Eligibility

Organizations that meet the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply for more than one grant program area.Tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue CodeDoes direct or indirect work connected to the hospice and/or palliative care fieldsLocated in the United States, with activities focused in at least one of the 13 counties in Illinois previously part of JourneyCare’s service area.These are:BooneLaSalleCookLeeDeKalbMcHenryDuPageOlgeKaneWillKendallWinnebagoLakeSelection CriteriaOrganization is financially stableProject will build on existing activitiesWill have direct impact on patients or patient careExperience engaging the community through outreach and education efforts

Ineligibility

Elea Institute does not consider applications from:For-profit organizations, unless there is a specific charitable purpose with appropriate board oversight and expenditure responsibilityOrganizations where project budgets include more than 25% of unrelated general operating costsGrant funds cannot be used to directly support lobbying efforts