More than $1 million in COVID-19 grants distributed to DuPage nonprofits

A new fund created by DuPage County and the DuPage Foundation has distributed more than $1 million in "immediate intervention grants" to 16 nonprofit organizations.

The DuPage Community Transformation Partnership Fund was established this past January for strategic grant making. The DuPage County Board executed an agreement to allocate federal funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act to DuPage Foundation for the grant program. The fund supports social service organizations that help DuPage County residents most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These grants provide the opportunity for transformative change for our community," DuPage Foundation President & CEO Dave McGowan said in a statement. "Through these grants and our partnership with the county, we are routing much-needed assistance to many of our not-for-profit partners that have been searching for solutions to meet the sweeping demand for their services."

The DuPage Community Transformation Partnership Fund zeroed in on the three main areas:

• Food insecurity, with $280,000 in grants split between six organizations such as the Northern Illinois Food Bank ($100,000), West Suburban Community Pantry ($60,000) and more.

• Housing instability, with $268,700 in grants split between the three organizations Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet ($163,700), DuPagePads ($80,000) and Metropolitan Family Services DuPage ($25,000).

• Mental health and substance use disorders, with $553,535 in grants split between nine organizations such as Northeast DuPage Family and Youth Services ($81,500), Gateway Foundation ($74,135) and more.

The grants total $1,102,235.

The DuPage Community Transformation Partnership Fund plans to award $10 million in grants through 2026 for immediate and long-term community needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The applications we received really told a story of what people were going through and the challenges brought on by the pandemic," said DuPage Foundation Vice President for Programs Barb Szczepaniak in a statement. "While we are ecstatic to provide this level of assistance, there are still many issues facing our community that are persisting."

Organizations applying for immediate intervention and transformational grants must be a 501(c) (3) social service nonprofit and meet select eligibility criteria. For more information, visit dupagefoundation.org/DCTP.