grants

About our Grant

Impact Grants Chicago recognizes the valuable work of the many local nonprofit organizations addressing the critical needs and issues facing Chicago communities. To support this work, Impact Grants Chicago annually awards unrestricted grants to Chicago nonprofits.

Impact Grants Chicago conducts one grant cycle each year beginning in September when the Letter of Inquiry application opens for eligible nonprofits, and ending in May when we award the grants at our Grant Awards Celebration.

We award two types of grants - Impact Grants (typically $100,000) and Merit Grants. The number of Impact and Merit Grants awarded is determined each year based on Impact Grant Chicago’s total membership and revenue. Our members contribute $1000 annually, and 100% of these funds are pooled for our grants.

To better understand our grant process, we recommend that you read through the Eligibility Requirements, What Impact Grants Chicago Does Not Fund, the Grant Process and Schedule, and Grant FAQs sections of the website prior to submitting your Letter of Inquiry.

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Eligibility and Requirements

To apply for an Impact Grants Chicago grant, an organization must meet ALL of the requirements listed below. No exceptions are made.

  • Be classified as a “Public Charity” with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code for a minimum of 36 months prior to the deadline for submitting the grant application.
  • Operate in, and provide the majority of services in, the City of Chicago.
  • Submit a complete and accurate application by identified due date. This includes responses to all questions, specific organizational documents, and current and complete copies of the organization’s IRS Form 990 and Audit per instructions in the Letter of Inquiry (LOI).
  • Independently file an IRS Form 990 (unless exempt by federal law).
  • Report total revenue between $1 million and $8 million in the IRS Form 990 submitted with the Letter of Inquiry. If exempt from filing 990, the organization must meet this revenue requirement using the Audit document submitted with the LOI.
  • Be independently and separately audited. If your nonprofit is part of a consolidated organization, the consolidated audited financial statements must include consolidating statements (statement of activities and balance sheet) that reflect separate operating results for the applicant, or the consolidated audit must reflect the financial results presented in the IRS Form 990.
  • Use the full amount of the grant within 24 months of receiving the award.

New for the 2026 LOI - incomplete applications (e.g., those with missing information and/or incorrect documents) and late applications, including information or documents sent after the deadline, will be considered ineligible.

Further eligibility determination is at the discretion of the IGC Board of Directors.

Unsure of your organization’s eligibility? Use this simple tool for an initial eligibility check.

Eligibility Tool

Please note: Previous recipients of a $100,000 Impact Grant may not apply for a period of 36 months (e.g., 3 grant cycles) after the grant was awarded.

What Impact Grants Chicago Does Not Fund

Organizations may not use Impact Grants Chicago awards for the following:

  • Capital projects for property that is:
    • Not owned by the applicant as of the Full Grant Application due date;
    • Under a lease not in effect as of the Full Grant Application due date; or
    • Under a lease with less than five years remaining on the lease as of June 1 of the year of the Impact Grant award
  • Projects involving acquisition of real estate
  • Debt reduction
  • Pass-through grants to other organizations (i.e. grant must be used by the nonprofit applying)
  • Interim or bridge funding
  • Fundraising activities or events
  • Endowments
  • Private Foundations
  • Partisan, legislative, or other political activities
  • Fraternal, sectarian, religious and other organizations where the grant is intended for the principal benefit of the organization's own members or adherents. 
  • Programs involving inherently religious activities, or any program where participation in a religious activity is required in order to receive services.

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Grant Process and Schedule

The Impact Grants Chicago grant cycle is a four-step grant application process. The table below provides a high level overview of the timeline and steps. The FAQs address common questions, and Impact Grants Chicago offers an Applicant Information Session every September before the application opens.

 

To preview the questions in the applications, click on Letter of Inquiry and Full Grant Application.

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Applicant Information Session

Impact Grants Chicago will host an Applicant Information Session for the 2026-2027 grant cycle on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 12 noon central time. The one-hour session will include an overview of our funding model and the grant process, suggested strategies for a strong application, and a Q&A session for applicants. The Applicant Information Session will be recorded and available here on our web site, along with a copy of the slide deck from the session. Registration for the event is not required to access the recording or presentation.

Click here, to register to attend the Applicant Information Session.

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Grant FAQ

General questions about grants

Q. How are grant recipients chosen, and what is the difference between the types of Grants you give (Impact Grants and Merit Grants)?
A. All applications from eligible nonprofits are assigned to a Grant Review Committee (GRC) made up of our members. Each committee follows the same rigorous process of review and evaluation, and each Committee member has an equal vote in deciding which nonprofits are chosen to move forward in the process, including which organizations are identified as finalists. Each finalist will receive either an Impact Grant (typically $100,000) or a meaningful Merit Grant. At our Grant Awards Celebration in May, the full membership of Impact Grants Chicago votes to determine which organizations will receive the Impact Grants. 
 
The number and amount of our Grants is determined each year based on Impact Grants Chicago total membership and revenue. Each member joins with a $1,000 donation and 100% of these funds are pooled to create funding for grants. In recent years, we were able to fund four $100,000 Impact Grants and use the remaining membership dollars, along with additional donations, to support three meaningful Merit Grants. The total number of grants can vary year to year, and the amount of the Merit Grants is not determined until spring and differs from year to year.
 
 
Q. Can we submit an application for a certain amount?
A. No. All organizations are applying for an Impact Grant which is typically $100,000.
 
Q. Are your grants restricted or unrestricted?
A. All grants are unrestricted and may be used towards any of your organization’s expenditures that meet our funding criteria.
 
Q. Do you require grants to be used in a specific timeframe?
A. Impact Grant recipients must use the funds within 24 months. Merit grant recipients do not have a timeline on their use of funds
 
Q. Do you only fund women-focused organizations?
A. No. Impact Grants Chicago is a women’s collective giving organization but we consider all applications that meet our eligibility criteria.
 

Grant Process and Schedule

Q. How should I submit my Letter of Inquiry (“LOI”) or Full Grant Application (“FGA”)?
A. LOIs are submitted online through the Impact Grants Chicago website via the “Apply For A Grant” navigation and button. The table in the Grant Process and Schedule section above provides key dates, including the dates when our online application will be open. The LOI requests information about your organization, the programs and services provided, communities served, and standard audited financial statements.
 
In late January, applicants invited to submit Full Grant Applications will be given instructions on how to submit this additional application upon. The FGA requests information about your leadership team and board, strategic priorities, funding sources, additional financials and a current budget.
 
Working in parallel with the Grant Review Committees is the Financial Review Committee. As the name suggests, this group conducts an analysis on the financial data provided in the two applications (LOI and FGA). 
 
 
Q. Do you have any suggestions on how to write a strong application?
A. Impact Grants Chicago hosts an Applicant Information Session in September, shortly before the LOI opens. This session reviews the grant process and key dates, and provides suggestions on how to write a strong application. You can register for the session, or access a video recording of the session once available, on the Applicant Information Page of our website.
 
Q. Who can we contact to discuss our application?
A. Impact Grants Chicago is committed to a fair, unbiased process. As a result, we are unable to give advice on topics other than questions about the application process or forms. For questions regarding these topics, please send us a message. Slideroom, our online applicant management system, provides extensive email support, FAQs, and self-help guides for submission issues.
 
Q. How can I update my application after it has been submitted?
A. All applications are completed in Slideroom, our online application software. Once you have submitted your application, Slideroom does not allow you to make changes. If you want to make changes before the application deadline, send us a message and request that your application be “unsubmitted”. You will receive a reply when this is completed and you will then be able to make changes. It is your responsibility to “Re-submit” your application prior to the deadline to be considered for a grant. No changes or additions to an application will be accepted after the deadline.
 
Q. Can you tell me about the Virtual Site Visits? And about the last step in the grant process?
A. The third step of our grant process is the Virtual Site Visit. This one-hour virtual meeting provides the Grant and Financial Review Committee members with an opportunity to meet your organization’s leadership team, learn more about your work and impact, and ask additional questions. Nonprofits selected to participate will receive more information prior to the Virtual Site Visits, including an opportunity to ask questions about how and what to prepare.
 
Following the Virtual Site Visits, our Committees meet to discuss the nonprofits still being considered, and they vote on the finalists. Finalists are invited to attend the Grant Awards Celebration (GAC) to meet with and present to our entire membership. Impact and Merit Grant recipients are announced at the GAC following an electronic, real-time vote. 
 
Q. Can I reapply for a grant next year?
A. All applicants who did not receive an Impact Grant may apply again the following year. Impact Grant recipients are not allowed to apply again for three years. Applicants awarded Merit Grants are eligible to re-apply the following year.
 
 

Eligibility Requirements

Q. Can you make an exception to the eligibility requirements for my organization?
A. No. Out of fairness to the many nonprofits who apply for a grant, we are unable to make any exceptions to the eligibility requirements for an individual organization. This includes the eligibility requirements for minimum and maximum total revenue, even if the amount of the difference is relatively small.
 
In addition, and new for the 2026 LOI, incomplete applications (e.g. those with missing information and/or incorrect documents) and late applications, including information or documents sent after the deadline, will be considered ineligible. Impact Grants Chicago will no longer contact applicants to request updated documents. 
 
Q. We are going through the process of obtaining a 501(c)(3) designation; however, we are a program sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization and are using them as our fiscal partner. Do we qualify?
A. No. Your organization must have operated under its own 501(c)(3) status for at least 36 months at the time of submission to qualify.
 
Q. We are a national organization but have a local office providing services in Chicago. Can we receive funding from Impact Grants Chicago for our Chicago operations?
A. Yes, subject to the following qualifications:

Your Chicago operations must operate in the city of Chicago and the majority of your services must be provided in the city of Chicago (based on percentage of people served or total expenditures). In addition, Impact Grants Chicago must be able to review the Chicago entity’s IRS Form 990 and audited financials (e.g. statement of activity and balance sheet) separately from the national organization.

 
Q. Can we receive funding from Impact Grants Chicago if we are Chicago-based, but are part of a consolidated entity?
A. Yes, subject to the following qualifications:

Either the financial statements presented in the audit (statement of activities and balance sheet) reflect the same entity and operations reflected in the IRS Form 990 for the same time period; or, the audit must contain both consolidated and consolidating (i.e. differentiated for separate entities within the consolidated organization) statements (statement of activities and balance sheet).

 
Q. Our organization is exempt from paying sales tax in the state of Illinois and we have a certificate from the state. Can we use this to prove our nonprofit status in our Letter of Inquiry (“LOI”) submission?
A. No. If your organization is a 501(c)(3) public charity, you should have a determination letter from the IRS. A copy of the determination letter must be attached to your LOI. We use the IRS Letter of Determination to confirm that you have been an operating nonprofit for at least 3 years.
 
Q. We are a faith-based organization. Can we apply?
A. Yes, with certain qualifications. The section on the website about What Impact Grants Chicago Does Not Fund includes our guidelines related to faith-based organizations.
 
1. Fraternal, sectarian, religious and other organizations where the grant is intended for the principal benefit of the organization's own members or adherents.
 
2. Programs involving inherently religious activities, or any program where participation in a religious activity is required in order to receive services.
 
If your organization does not violate these guidelines, then you could be eligible to apply to Impact Grants Chicago.
 
Q. We have not yet had an audit; can we apply?
A. No. The state of Illinois requires all nonprofits with revenue greater than $350,000 to be audited annually. Given Impact Grants Chicago’s minimum revenue eligibility criteria of $1 million, all applicants should have a current audit.
 
Q. When funding capital improvement projects, does Impact Grants Chicago have specific requirements with respect to the ownership/leasing of the property?
A. Yes. The property must be owned by the applicant, or under a lease with at least five years remaining as of June 1 of the Impact Grant awards year. See the Eligibility and Requirements page for more information.
 

If you have any questions regarding Grants, send us a message.