Morton Community Foundation- Annual Spring Community Grant

The Morton Community Foundation's Annual Spring Community Grant supports innovative charitable initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of life for residents in the Morton area. Established in 2003, this grant prioritizes projects that are high-impact, sustainable, collaborative, identifiable, and measurable. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) non-profits and governmental entities. Ineligible projects encompass those benefiting individuals directly, administrative expenses, and consumables. This grant opportunity is vital for fostering community development and addressing pressing local needs.

Background
The Annual Spring Community Grant Cycle has occurred every year since 2003 and is made possible through the generosity of the MCF’s donors—individuals, families, and organizations committed to improving the quality of life here in the Morton area. Endowed gifts create reliable funding for current needs and future opportunities. That’s the power of endowment.
Some donors choose to support specific organizations, while others provide scholarship funding that helps students get to and through school. Some donors decide that they want their legacy gifts to address the challenges and opportunities of future generations. These endowed gifts support Community Grants, MCF’s grantmaking program that endeavors to meet the community’s most urgent needs through responsive grantmaking.
Objectives
The Morton Community Foundation's purpose is to assist new and/or creative charitable causes and to advance one or more of these objectives:
Address and help resolve important existing or emerging community issues.Support projects and organizations offering the greatest opportunity for positive and significant impact for Morton area residents.Promote cooperation and collaboration among organizations.Improve the quality or scope of charitable work in our community.
We prioritize projects that are:
High Impact: Provides services or will benefit a large number of Morton area residents, or a large number of Morton area residents within a particular grouping of residents (example: individuals with disabilities, seniors, etc.)
Sustainable: Creates a lasting impact.
Collaborative: Leverages other funding sources and builds partnerships.
Identifiable: Items to which a plaque, sticker, or identifying stickers can be applied, or in the case of digital media, recognition can be given that the MCF provided funding for the project.
Measurable: Effectiveness of the project can be measured with reliable data.

Eligibility

Federally designated 501(c)(3) Non-profit organizations, designated 501(c)(6) organizations, such as the Morton Chamber of Commerce (so long as the grant request is for charitable purposes) and governmental entities serving Morton area residents may submit grant requests

Ineligibility

Generally, the MCF does not make grants for the following:Grants to non-profit organizations located outside Morton, IL, that cannot show a clear impact on Morton area residents.
Grants to individuals (scholarships), or grants to cover camp fees, training sessions
Administrative/Operating expenses of a project or of a non-profit organization.
Charitable activities that promote a "religion". However, grants may be made to faith-based organizations for non-religious purposes (example: We could fund a back-to-school backpack program made available to all Morton area students by a local church.)
Lobbying or any other activity of a political nature.
Endowment or to retire indebtedness of a non-profit organization.
Private foundations and other grant making organizations.
Consumable items (example: T-shirts, water bottles, food for food pantries, office supplies, marketing items, etc.)
Projects that have already been completed.