The Oak Park and River Forest Community Foundation-a 50-year-old charitable organization that provides grants to organizations like the Animal Care League and West Suburban PADS-is taking a big step into the future.
The foundation is receiving a $2 million grant from the Grand Victoria Foundation (a 12-year-old program run by the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin). In addition, if the foundation can raise $2 million, Grand Victoria will match it, bringing the foundation’s total to $6 million.
As a result, the organization is talking about taking a new direction, moving from simply reacting to local grant requests, to targeting two pressing needs in Oak Park and River Forest: education and environmental sustainability, said Executive Director Sophia Lloyd.
“We’re looking to address community aspirations,” she said. “We’re also working hard at focusing on the problems of the community.”
The foundation announced its grant awards at a public meeting Monday at Park National Bank. Board President Boyd McDowell said Grand Victoria invited those interested to apply for grant funds five years ago. The Oak Park and River Forest Community Foundation was one of 18 selected for grant funds. The foundation turned in its most recent application in July and was one of 15 other foundations in Illinois awarded.
Half of the $2 million grant will go to the foundation’s five-year-old Communityworks program, an initiative launched to help improve the quality of life in Oak Park and River Forest. Communityworks focuses on areas like child care and land use protection, according to the foundation’s website.
The other million would go to the operational endowment at the foundation. That will enable the organization to assume a greater leadership role in measurable, community-wide plans, according to a press release.
The foundation established a committee of various local players to tackle community issues of. The committee, starting with a list of 88 goals, whittled them down to sustainability and education.
The 12 or so players include Oak Park Village Manager Tom Barwin, River Forest Administrator Steve Gutierrez, presidents David Pope and Frank Paris, OPRF Superintendent Attila Weninger, and Dominican University President Donna Carroll.
“The way the newspapers read, we really need some good news,” Barwin said at the meeting Monday.
Pope said he’s excited about the grant award, and is willing to help in whatever way possible to support the foundation’s efforts.
“It’s a real feather in the cap of both River Forest and Oak Park,” Pope said. “The Grand Victoria Foundation clearly has strong confidence in the ability of our two communities to thoughtfully employ these resources and make real headway in the areas of education and environmental sustainability.”
“I think I speak for all of my colleagues at Dominican University when I say … we would be delighted to be part of this solution,” Carroll said.
Next, the community foundation plans to award grants to organizations that would help reach those outcomes. Lloyd said that even if an entity doesn’t specifically address the environment or schools, it could still be considered for the grant. The Animal Care League, for example, has an educational role in the community, she said.
The foundation will look for more members to join its committee. They’re also seeking donors to raise $2 million for the matching grant, which they have three years to accomplish.
The Oak Park and River Forest Community Foundation has about $13 million in assets, $10 million of which are restricted and can only go to donor-specified causes. Its operational budget is about $425,000, employing a staff of five.
“Money is not the end; it’s a means to the end,” Lloyd said after the meeting. “I think people really heard that this is larger than just, ‘How do we get the money?'”
CONTACT: mstempniak@wjinc.com
