Grants awarded to Elgin projects aiming to fight community inequities

Elevating Equity, a grantmaking program initiated by Grand Victoria Foundation, has chosen its first 10 grassroots-led projects to fund.

The program awarded grants totaling $40,000 to groups and individuals "seeking to address inequities in the Elgin community," said Steve Moon, director of Elgin programs at Grand Victoria Foundation. Grants were available up to $5,000.

The first group of grantees proposed projects ranging from an oral history collection of the Latino community in Elgin to racial healing circles for people of color to a bike program addressing inequities in Elgin's transportation systems.

"It can feel vulnerable to apply for a grant with a budding project, so it was encouraging to have Elevating Equity see my vision to uplift BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community members in the roles of healers, facilitators, and teachers and give it wings," grantee Atoy Spates said in a news release from the foundation. "It was encouraging to see Elevating Equity striving to make the grant accessible to people who normally wouldn't apply for grants."

Six other individuals - Andre Dyson, Antonio Ramirez, Cristina Colunga, Maria Carpio Chavarin, Maria Valdez and Sandra Davila - and three organizations - Ballet Folklorico Girasol, Elgin Community Bikes, and Elgin Math and Science Academy - were awarded grants. Their projects can be viewed on the Elevating Equity website

"It's a lot of cool projects and a lot of cool people doing really interesting things down at levels that opened up a lot of perspective," said Parker Thompson of Elgin Community Bikes. "I'm excited to be able to meet more of them and figure out where we cross missions and can collaborate."

Thompson said the $2,500 grant his group received will buy parts to repair donated bikes. The bikes are sold or donated to people based on need and what they can pay.

The Grand Victoria Foundation and a "Design Team" of five Elgin residents - Marcos Bostho, J.D. Harshbarger, Dr. Rise' Jones, Erin Rehberg, and Velma Parker Sept - spent two years creating and implementing the grass-roots grantmaking program they say is "by and for" the people of Elgin.

"It begins with acknowledging that philanthropy is a system that has historically reinforced inequities," Sharon Bush, executive director of Grand Victoria Foundation, said in the release. "By and large, those making decisions at foundations do not reflect the communities who face inequities every day. That is why we wanted to create a structure where grass-roots leaders have power over grantmaking decisions and thereby increased agency to make change that is most meaningful to them."

Elevating Equity publicly launched in October 2020 with an inclusive grantmaking process. It included a video application, a series of virtual support sessions and in-language support so those not proficient in English could read about and submit an application in the language of their choice, Moon said. The program will recruit a new group of Elgin residents to lead the Design Team for the 2021 round of grantmaking.