The Directors of the Field Foundation of Illinois have adopted the following guidelines for the making of grants:

The Foundation awards grants only to institutions and agencies operating in the fields of urban and community affairs, culture, education, community welfare, health, and environment, primarily serving the people of Chicago.

 
To assist the Directors in making grant decisions, certain criteria are followed: the need for the program, the institution's or agency's ability to meet this need effectively, including proper organizational and fiscal management.

The Foundation is interested in supporting both new and established organizations. Preference will be given to funding innovative approaches for addressing problem areas. Established organizations (older than five years old) may receive funding, but only for new projects/programs that demonstrate innovative approaches to problems. As a general rule, general operating funds will not be provided for these established organizations. Generally, funding may be provided for up to three years although organizations must apply each year. The Field Foundation does not make multi-year commitments.

 
To assist organizations in preparing for a full proposal, the Field Foundation strongly encourages applicants to use its Self-Certification Checklist.


Guidelines

No grants will be made to support:

• Endowment;
• Individuals;
• Medical research or national health agency appeals;
• Propaganda organizations or committees whose efforts are aimed at influencing legislation;
• Printed materials, video or computer equipment;
• Fund-raising events or advertising;
• Appeals for religious purposes;
• Other granting agencies or foundations for ultimate distribution to agencies or programs of its own choosing
• Operating support of neighborhood health centers or clinics, day care centers for children, or small cultural groups; and/or
• Generally, the Foundation will not fund disease specific programs or causes unless a direct connection to a social or economically disadvantaged population can be demonstrated.

As the guidelines clearly indicate, the Field Foundation pursues a mission that is quite broad, and as might be expected, the Foundation is intensely solicited by a broad range and increasing volume of institutions and agencies in the Chicago metropolitan area. Because the Foundation's resources are limited, it is compelled to apply the following further restrictions on its grantmaking:


As a general rule:

• Grant requests from separate entities of the same institution/organization/agency or affiliated entities will be treated as having been submitted by a single entity, except that a university's medical unit will be treated as an entity separate from the university.
• Grant requests for conferences, seminars, or meetings must align with program area priorities.

Guidelines for Consideration of Capital Requests

• The Field Foundation of Illinois will consider requests for support of capital needs. Projects may include the purchase or renovation of facilities, repairs and maintenance of physical infrastructure, or (in rare cases) the purchase of major equipment. As a general rule, the Field Foundation prefers to consider capital requests after at least 50 percent of the total project costs have already been committed from other sources.
• The Foundation will give preference to the capital needs of smaller, community-based nonprofits primarily in cases where a grant from the Field Foundation will have a significant impact on the agency's ability to secure additional resources to complete the project. Such projects will be given priority over multi-year, multi-million dollar capital campaigns.
• Capital grants will seldom exceed $50,000.
• Requests for computer equipment will not be considered.

Grant Application Procedures

Grant applications are not provided; however, a formal proposal is required.  The proposal should include:

1. A cover letter summarizing why financial aid is requested and the amount of money sought;

2. A narrative, not to exceed six pages, that includes: a brief history and background on the organization; a description of the program for which support is requested, including an explanation of what the grant is expected to accomplish, how the program will be carried out and by whom, and the methods and procedures which will be used to evaluate its effectiveness;

3. The program and total agency budgets for the applicant’s current year; year-to-date financial statements, along with the most recent audited financial statement; and total agency budget for the previous fiscal year;

4. A list of current project and agency funders, with amounts;

5. A list of the membership of the board of directors and their affiliations;

6. A racial and gender breakdown of board and staff; and,

7. A copy of the ruling or determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service showing that the applicant is exempt from Federal Income Tax, and establishing its status as a publicly supported organization.

In order to facilitate staff review, prospective grantees are encouraged to include the Self-Certification Checklist for Prospective Grantees (PDF file).

The deadlines for submission of proposals are January 15, May 15 and September 15. Faxed or emailed proposals are not accepted. Full proposals must be received in the Field Foundation office by close of business on the date of the deadline. The Board meets three times per year. The grant evaluation process begins approximately four months in advance of each meeting.

It should be pointed out, however, that because of the Foundation's limited resources, it must regretfully decline support at times to worthwhile organizations. A response to all inquiries is provided as quickly as possible. If the response is negative, the Foundation staff will convey the reasons for the decline. In the event of a negative review of a complete proposal, the applicant will be notified in writing and is encouraged to discuss the reasons for the decline with the proposal's reviewer or the Foundation's Executive-Director.