HICF Celebrates $50 Million in Grantmaking

The Heart of Illinois Community Foundation recently reached a significant milestone after awarding more than $50 million in grants and scholarships since the Community Foundation’s founding in 2000. This accomplishment emphasizes the sheer scale of the Foundation’s efforts to support the most pressing needs and promising opportunities in the community.

“Surpassing the $50 million milestone represents progress toward our mission of increasing community generosity,” said Kris Lutt, Chair of the HICF Board of Trustees. “Today we celebrate the Foundation’s impact and the generosity of donors at all levels who made this possible. We live in a very giving community that has made the Community Foundation the premier center for thoughtful philanthropy.”

Founded in 2000, the Foundation’s first-year assets reached $177,717, with $6,550 in grants awarded. Today, the Community Foundation has grown to steward charitable assets of over $56 million, and total grants since inception now stand at just over $50 million. The gift that carried the HICF across the $50 million mark was a $2,500 grant from Dan Hardy to the Decatur Park District.

Our community’s generosity has accelerated in recent years. It was 18 years before the Community Foundation granted its first $25 million in grants and scholarships but less than six years passed before the Foundation granted the next $25 million. In 2023, the Community Foundation granted more than $6 million, its largest grantmaking year to date.

“The real impact of the over $50 million in charitable grants is the stories behind the numbers,” said HICF President Natalie Beck. “It’s about the difference the grants make. It’s about the intentional actions, large and small, of hundreds of local donors and HICF fundholders.”

“It’s hard to sum up the vast accomplishments philanthropy has made through the HICF,” Beck added. “We greatly look forward to continuing our work and enhancing the future of the Illinois heartland.”