Volunteers
Your time shapes this community.
As a CFNIL volunteer, help distribute more than $2 million annually to your deserving community.
While much of the work of a reviewer is completed at home, all reviewers participate in in-person committee meeting to discuss the applications they have reviewed. Because they need to be familiar with the communities of northern Illinois, all reviewers must be current residents of Boone, Ogle, Stephenson, or Winnebago County. Exceptions may be made for non-resident scholarship fund representatives.
Volunteer Your Time
For all volunteer-related questions, reach out to info@cfnil.org or fill out the form.
Scholarship Volunteer FAQs
Scholarship reviewers recommend recipients for scholarship funds by reading and scoring applications based on a set of criteria established by the fund’s donor.
- Volunteer prospects participate in an informational session (in-person or virtual session led by CFNIL staff or viewing a prerecorded video independently) to learn about CFNIL and their role as volunteers.
- Volunteers participate in training (offered annually) to learn (or relearn!) the application review process.
- Volunteers review and score a batch of applications online.
- Volunteers attend one in-person meeting with a small committee that reviewed the same batch of applications to discuss scores and recommend recipients.
- Scholarship Volunteer Registration: January
- Scholarship Volunteer Trainings: End of February
- Scholarship Committee Meetings: March - April
- Spring Cycle Application: March 1 - April 1
- Scholarship Recipient Announcement: May 1
- Scholarship Awards Night: Mid-June.
- Fall Cycle Application: November 1 - January 1
- Community Scholarship Fair: First week of December
- Winter Cycle Application: December 1 - February 1
Grant Volunteer FAQs
Grant reviewers read and assess grant requests and recommend grant awards based on grant proposals submitted through the Community Grants Program. Grant reviewers typically commit 15–20 hours to the grant review process in the fall.
- Volunteer prospects participate in an informational session to learn about CFNIL and their role as volunteers. Subsequently, they inform CFNIL staff which Focus Areas are of interest.
- CFNIL staff assign volunteers to Focus Area committees.
- Volunteers participate in training (offered annually) to learn (or relearn!) the application review process.
- Volunteers review and score a batch of applications online.
- Volunteers attend one in-person meeting with a small committee that reviewed the same batch of applications to discuss scores and recommend recipients.
- Community Grant Application Opens: Late June
- Community Grant Application Closes: Mid-August
- Grant Reviewer Trainings: Mid-September
- Applications Open for Review: September
- Grant Review Committee Meetings: October
- CFNIL Board of Trustees Approves Recommendations: Mid-November
- Grant Recipients Notified: Late November
Our Volunteers in Action