Current Grantees
Access Resources to Assist with your CFNIL Grant Management
Every year CFNIL distributes hundreds of grants to organizations here in northern Illinois to support charitable activities that make our communities healthier, safer, and more vibrant. Some of these grants require reporting back to CFNIL on progress and results.
This page includes information about how to manage reporting requirements on grants awarded by CFNIL. The page is divided into two sections:
- Donor Designated Fund Grantees: Annual distributions from endowment funds which were established by donors for the benefit of specific, designated organizations or activities. Depending on the parameters of the fund agreement and designated activities, these grants may be characterized as Designated With Reporting (DWR). Organizations receiving DWR grants must complete an Annual Report before receiving the next distribution.
- CFNIL Competitive Grant Program Grantees: Organizations which have been awarded CFNIL grants via any competitive program (including Neighborhood Grants, Community Grants, In Youth We Trust Grants, DKG Mini Grants) must complete Interim and/or Final Reports on their grant activity.
Need help applying for a CFNIL grant? Looking for guidance on the application portal or elements of the application itself? Visit our Resources for Grantseekers webpage for guidance on using CFNIL's online grants portal, navigating the application, and much more!
Donor Designated Grant Guidelines
Annual Reports must be completed by 5:00 p.m. on June 1st of each year in order to receive the next annual grant.
The Annual Report form is accessed via the CFNIL online grants portal. If you or your organization do not already have an account on the portal, contact Lisa DeLang at edelang@cfnil.org or 779-210-8210 to receive your login credentials.
Upon logging on to the grants portal you will see the Applicant Dashboard. Look for the tab that says "Active Requests". Find the grant record for which the report is due, and click the blue "Edit" link at the right of the row.
Once you have opened the report, you will see two fields. Each field will accept an uploaded document or text that you type directly into the form. If you have prepared a report outside of the system, simply upload that document. If you prefer to type the information into the text box, please do so. The second (optional) field is available if you would like additional space to enter information or to upload another document.
Contact James Patterson, CFNIL Senior Program Director, at jpatterson@cfnil.org or 779-210-8206.
CFNIL Competitive Grant Program Grantees Guidelines
Are you a current Community Grants Program grantee?
Check out the presentation slides and video from the 2024 Grantee Orientation Meeting to get started.
View 2024 Grantee Orientation Meeting Presentation Slides
Watch 2024 Grantee Orientation Meeting Presentation Recording
All grant recipients are required to submit an online Final Report upon completion of the charitable activity for which the grant was made. Final Reports will include a detailed budget explaining how the funds were used and a description of the achieved outcomes of the charitable activity. Grant recipients will be asked to compare the actual results achieved with the anticipated results given in the original proposal. The Final Report may also include an oral presentation or other components as deemed necessary by CFNIL.
Final reports are due approximately 14 months after approval. The online Final Report form will be made available soon after your grant is awarded, and may be accessed via the Applicant Dashboard on CFNIL's online grant portal. If your organization has been awarded a multi-year grant, your organization will have to complete a Progress Report between funding years.
Applicant organizations must submit an interim report for each in-progress grant from CFNIL’s Community Grants Program, even if your new application is for a different program. Each new application must include an upload of all interim reports within the online grant portal. If you need to submit reports for multiple open grants, combine the reports into one document to upload. PDF format required. Interim reports should include:
Interim reports should include:
1. Description of the charitable activity’s progress
2. Description of any changes to the charitable activity since approval
3. Reason that a Final Report is not being submitted
Please Note: If you are applying for the same charitable activity for which you are currently being funded, it's to your advantage to provide a more detailed interim report so that the reviewers can understand the current impact of your charitable activity.
We encourage you to share the good news about your grant and recognize the generosity of the donors who made it possible. Please read and follow the Grant Communications Guidelines below when announcing your grant in press releases, on social media and elsewhere.
Please contact Engagement Director Jennifer Smith if you need to obtain a different version of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois logo than those found below. Also, share press releases, articles, and photos relating to your funded program with her. Don’t forget to connect with the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube so we can share your story!
Questions? Contact James!
