August 03, 2025
Shaw Local
NewsSportsBearseNewspaperObituariesNewsletterWeekend PlansEvent Calendar

Community Foundation of Fox Valley awards more than $535,000 in grants to 40 nonprofits

By Judy Harvey
Volunteers sort children’s winter coats to be donated to the Salvation Army, Lazarus House and area schools.

Volunteers sort children’s winter coats to be donated to the Salvation Army, Lazarus House and area schools in 2024. Lazarus House was one of 40 community nonprofits to receive grant money for 2025 through the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley. (Sandy Bressner)

The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley has awarded 40 grants totaling more than $535,000 to support local nonprofit organizations doing critically important work in Chicago’s Fox River Valley.

All 40 recipients were recognized at an event hosted by the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley on July 24 at Society 57 in Aurora. These grants will help improve the quality of life for Fox River Valley residents.

“Today’s celebration is about more than just grants; it’s about the incredible work of our nonprofit partners, and the generosity of this community. Together we are making a real and lasting impact on the lives of our neighbors. We are honored to carry out the intentions of our donors and support organizations who are committed to making a difference in the lives of others throughout the Fox River Valley,” Julie Christman, president and CEO, Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, said in a news release.

The Foundation’s 2024-25 Youth Engagement in Philanthropy cohort - made up of 41 high school students from 12 area high schools - awarded nine grants to local agencies that specifically serve youth needs, fulfilling their “Youth Helping Youth” mission. The grants range from $1,000 to $4,900, among these agencies:

  • Aurora Eagles Inc., 
  • CASA Kane County
  • Community Crisis Center
  • Lazarus House
  • Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry
  • Rising Lights Project 
  • Spectrios Institute for Low Vision 
  • Suicide Prevention Services of America.
Guests claim free groceries and household products at a March mobile food pantry distribution by Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry at Aurora Public Library Eola branch. The next mobile pantry distribution is Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Montgomery Police Department.

Guests claim free groceries and household products at a March mobile food pantry distribution by Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry at Aurora Public Library Eola branch in this photo from 2023. (photo provided by Al Benson)

The Community Foundation also awarded capital improvement grants ranging from $2,000-$50,000 to 31 Fox River Valley nonprofits through its fall 2024 and spring 2025 discretionary grant cycles.

Those nonprofit organizations include:

  • Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry
  • Batavia Historical Society
  • Batavia RSVP, Inc., 
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties
  • Big Rock Historical Society
  • Chapel on the Green
  • Community Health Partnership of Illinois
  • TheConservation Foundation
  • Equine Dreams, Inc.
  • ESSE Adult Day Services
  • Fine Line Creative Arts Center
  • Food for Greater Elgin
  • Fox Valley Food for Health
  • Geneva Historical Society
  • GiGi’s PlayhouseFox Valley
  • Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois
  • HorsePower Therapeutic Riding
  • Loaves & Fishes Community Services
  • Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry
  • Mercy Housing Lakefront
  • Naperville Heritage Society
  • OLI Gardens
  • Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley
  • Project Canvas
  • Three Fires Council
  • Boy Scouts of America
  • Tri-City Health Partnership
  • Wayside Cross Ministries
  • Well Child Center
  • The Wong Center for Education.

For more information on all of the Community Foundation grant programs, visit cffrv.org/grant-programs.