Polk Bros. Foundation Grants

_NOTE: Polk Bros. Foundation’s longstanding funding strategies — those featured on this page — are being phased out. In fall 2024, the Foundation announced new goals focused on making more progress toward racial equity and justice in Chicago. Our new grantmaking strategies will be fully launched in fall 2026.
Before we begin to put any resources toward our new goals, we have first entered a two-year transition period to provide grantee partners with time and resources to enable them to plan for upcoming changes.
During this transition, which ends in fall 2026, we are unable to accept unsolicited proposals.

Polk Bros. Foundation Grants

Polk Bros. Foundation’s primary focus is support for efforts that address poverty’s complex roots and devastating effects, and which benefit populations of need in disinvested Chicago communities. Very few awards are made to organizations located outside the city of Chicago.
Grants are made for both new and ongoing initiatives in six program categories: strong communities, strong families, education, health, arts access and learning, and enhanced capacity. In all areas, proposals should address increased access to services, systems-level change and improvement in the quality of life for area residents.

The Foundation also has a small grants program that makes grants of up to $25,000 to organizations with limited funding histories and annual expenses of $75,000 - $500,000. The application process for small grants is the same as for the larger board grants.

Education

To ensure all Chicago public school students are prepared for success in college, in their careers, and in life, we invest in school improvement and student academic success.

Arts Access and Learning

To increase Chicago public school students' access to the learning opportunities that come from deep participation in the arts, we support school-based arts education programs and community-based arts instruction for youth.

Enhanced Capacity

To help our grantees — and the systems in which they operate — thrive, we support capacity building at the organization level and at the sector level.

Strategic Collaborations

To achieve greater impact, we often join forces with our colleagues in philanthropy, nonprofits and the public and private sectors.

Process

The Foundation also has a small grants program that makes grants of up to $25,000 to organizations with limited funding histories and annual expenses of between $75,000 and $500,000. Organizations can generally receive up to five consecutive grants through the small grants program.

Deadlines for organizations with budgets of $500K:

For organizations with budgets of $500K and under, please refer to this timeline for our Small Grants Board Meetings instead.

• Phase One - Jan. 6 & July 1
• Phase Two- Feb. 1 & Aug. 1

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• Applicants to Polk Bros. Foundation must have received a 501(c)(3) ruling from the Internal Revenue Service or, in rare cases, apply under the fiscal sponsorship of an organization that has one.
• Eligibility checklist:
• the organization currently has 501(c)3 status or a fiscal sponsor
• the organization operates in / serves Chicago
• the organization had actual cash expenses of at least $75,000, not including in-kind expenses, during the most recent or current fiscal year
• the organization has been in operation for at least one year
• the organization has completed a 990 tax return or audit for the previous fiscal year

Ineligibility

• The Foundation does not consider more than one request from an organization or its affiliates in a 12-month period, nor does it generally fund more than 8 percent of an organization’s operating budget.
• Please note that if an interim executive director is in place, we may defer consideration of the organization’s proposal until a permanent replacement has been hired.
• The Polk Bros. Foundation will not support:
• Organizations that devote a substantial portion of their activities to attempting to influence legislation or to participating in campaigns on behalf of candidates for public office
• Religious institutions seeking support for programs whose participants are restricted by religious affiliation or whose services promote a particular creed
• Purchase of fundraising dinner or raffle tickets or advertising in dinner/gala programs
• Medical, scientific or academic research
• Grants to individuals
• Tax-generating entities (including municipalities, school districts or individual schools) for services within their normal responsibilities