As grants are awarded we will post them on this page.

The grant recipients for the first cycle on March 30 include:

• A Safe Place
• Catholic Charities
• Hanul Family Alliance
• Mano a Mano Family Resource Center
• Nicasa
• Northern Illinois Food Bank
• PADS Lake County
• Roberti Community House

The grant recipients for the second cycle on April 13 include:

• A Safe Place
• Catholic Charities
• ChildServ
• Community Partners for Affordable Housing
• Family Services of Lake County
• Lake County Haven
• Libertyville Township Gift Fund
• Most Blessed Trinity Parish

The grant recipients for the third cycle on April 27 include:

• CYN Counseling Center
• Elderwerks
• Erie Family Health Centers
• Family First Center of Lake County
• Messiah Lutheran Church
• Nicasa
• Pioneer Center
• Rosalind Franklin University Health Clinics
• Youth and Family Counseling

For assistance finding food, shelter, rent or utility assistance, or other essential services, call 211 or text your zip code to 898211 to speak with someone who can help. 211 is available 24/7.

United Way recognizes that many smaller organizations are doing critical work serving communities and populations that are disproportionally impacted by COVID-19. To ensure that smaller organizations have access to COVID-19 funding, this distribution of the Lake County COVID-19 Community Response Fund will be limited to organizations that have a budget under $1,000,000 annually.

The distribution for the week of May 11 will focus on meeting the COVID-19 related food and essential basic needs for families, young children and seniors. United Way recognizes that many smaller organizations are doing critical work serving communities and populations that are disproportionally impacted by COVID-19. To ensure that smaller organizations have access to COVID-19 funding, this distribution of the Lake County COVID-19 Community Response Fund will be limited to organizations that have a budget under $1,000,000 annually.

• All funding must be directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Only 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that have a budget under $1,000,000 and are actively meeting this focused need at the present time should apply.
• Funding must serve Lake County residents only.
• Religious organizations may apply, but cannot restrict services to their members or require religious activities as a condition of receiving aid.
• All funding must be for expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations with a budget of $500,000 or less may request up to $10,000, organizations with a budget of $500,001 to $1,000,000 may request up to $15,000.
• Funding must be spent within 30 days

Organizations eligible to apply should submit a 1-2 page application containing the following information:

• Name of organization, annual revenue for most recent completed fiscal year, and name and contact information for the person responsible for this program.
• A one to two sentence description of the services for which they are requesting funds – suitable for describing the program in a press release.
• One paragraph summary of the program meeting the identified need (above).
• 1-2 paragraphs on how this program has changed to address the increasing/changing needs of individuals impacted by COVID-19.
• Amount of request and what will be provided for this request. Be as specific as possible.
• Number of people to be served with the requested funding.
• Geographic area served by this program.
• Please submit a copy of the IRS 501(c)3 designation letter with the application.

For your information, here is the Lake County COVID-19 Community Response Fund Memorandum of Agreement and Required Reporting Form. Successful candidates will need to complete these after the grant is announced.

This funding request is due by 4:00 p.m. Monday, May 11. Successful candidates will receive notification of funding by May 15. Applications should be emailed to Robin Bultman at robin.bultman@uwlakeco.org. Because of the quick moving nature of this proposal process, no late submissions will be considered.

If you have questions about this request for proposal, contact David McDowell at david.mcdowell@uwlakeco.org or Michelle Crombie at michelle.crombie@uwlakeco.org.

Future funding will be announced on this website.If donations will allow, the next distribution details will be announced the week of May 20.