Now Accepting Applications for Current Grant Cycle
MARION — Treasurer Michael Frerichs today joined the Illinois Hunger Coalition and the United Way of Southern Illinois to encourage local not-for-profit organizations to apply for grant money through the Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund. The application process is open now through March 31, 2019.
The fund assists small non-profits with annual budgets of $1 million or less. Money comes from filing fees non-profits pay when incorporating in the state of Illinois, not personal or property tax dollars.
“The Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund is specifically designed and committed to helping small non-profits throughout the state,” Frerichs said. “Today, I am in Marion to encourage organizations in the southern Illinois area to apply for this grant to help local communities with economic development, housing needs, and food programs.” The Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund focuses grant-making in three categories: workforce and economic development, housing, and food programs. Grant applicants located in an area where pervasive poverty, unemployment, and economic distress exist are given special attention.
Although authorized in 2007, no grant money had ever been issued until Frerichs revitalized the program in 2017. In 2011, the legislature transferred the authority to administer the fund out of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and into the Illinois Treasurer’s Office.
Frerichs became state treasurer in 2015.
Frerichs identified the inactive Charitable Trust Program in early 2015 during a comprehensive office review. Although the filing fee created to fund the grant program was actively collecting money, Frerichs found no explanation why grant applications were not being accepted.
After research and discussion, Frerichs activated the 11-member advisory board to review grant applications. The advisory board agreed to pursue two rounds of grant-making in 2017.
The current application process runs now through March 31, 2019. The on-line application is at to a computer or the internet should contact the treasurer’s office at (312) 814-1817. Recipients for this cycle will be selected in June 2019.
The application requests basic information about the non-profit’s organization and leadership.
Applicants also will be asked to certify their eligibility for this grant, provide a narrative on how the grant money will be spent, provide supporting documentation that shows that the non-profit has filed the appropriate forms with the State of Illinois and the federal government, and other information that demonstrates the fiscal health of the organization.
Spring 2018 Awardees:
▪Advocates for Urban Agriculture in Chicago qualified for $25,000.
▪African-American Resource center at Booker in Rockford qualified for $25,000.
▪Community Career Center in Naperville qualified for $10,000.
▪Evanston ReBuilding Warehouse in Evanston qualified for $25,000.
▪Goldie’s Place in Chicago qualified for $25,000.
▪Illinois Valley Brain Injury Clubhouse in Streator qualified for $16,500.
▪Indo-American Center in Chicago qualified for $25,000.
▪JOURNEYS | The Road Home in Palatine qualified for $25,000.
▪Ladies of Virtue in Chicago qualified for $16,000.
▪Mahomet Area Youth Club in Mahomet qualified for $20,000.
▪Proactive Community Services in Hazel Crest qualified for $25,000.
▪Project: VISION in Chicago qualified for $20,000.
▪Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago in Chicago qualified for $25,000.
▪Southwest Chicago Homeless Services in Chicago qualified for $25,000.
▪StreetWise in Chicago qualified for $15,000.
▪The Land Connection in Champaign qualified for $25,000.
▪UMMA Center – Urban Muslim Minority Alliance in Waukegan qualified for $24,825.
▪Wayne Township Pantry and Senior Services, NFP in West Chicago qualified for $25,000.
▪Woodstock Institute in Chicago qualified for $24,908.
▪YMCA at the University of Illinois in Champaign qualified for $25,000.
About the Illinois Treasurer As Illinois State Treasurer, Frerichs is the state’s Chief Investment Officer and actively manages approximately $30 billion. The portfolio includes $13 billion in state funds, $11 billion in college savings plans and $6 billion on behalf of local and state governments. The investment approach is cautious to ensure the preservation of capital and returns $42 to the state for every $1 spent in operations. Frerichs’ office protects consumers by safeguarding more than $2 billion in unclaimed property, encouraging savings plans for college or trade school, increasing financial education among all ages, assisting people with disabilities save without losing government benefits, and removing barriers to a secure retirement. The Treasurer’s Office predates Illinois incorporation in 1818. Voters in 1848 chose to make it an elected office.