Defenders get grants from Community Foundation of McHenry County

The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County recently received grants from the Community Foundation for McHenry County.

Two of the grants were presented to the organization's staff and board during the monthly meeting in March. The monies from one grant will go toward developing a native prairie habitat along 4.5 miles of roadside.

The other grant will support the Defenders' Styrofoam collection program around McHenry County.

In addition, The Defenders is a recipient of a $4,000 unrestricted grant through the foundation's "GIVE 360" program.

Launched in 2015, it is designed to encourage philanthropy in a new group of donors utilizing the idea of collective giving. The program unites and informs emerging philanthropists to make a collective impact on McHenry County. This innovative program allows members to pool their dollars and, for less than a dollar a day, make a positive impact on the community.

Staff and a board member for The Community Foundation visited The Environmental Defenders' board meeting on March 18 to present the check.

The Defenders are grateful to the Community Foundation for McHenry County and thank them for their support!

The Defenders are dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the natural environment in McHenry County.

As a citizen organization, it is committed to building sound ecological relationships between people and the natural world that supports all life. To achieve the aim of environmental preservation and improvement, they provide the community with educational programs and volunteer action on pollution prevention, sustainable land use, and energy and natural resource conservation.

For information on the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, visit mcdef.org or www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalDefenders.

Since 2001, the Community Foundation for McHenry County has connected the generosity of donors with community needs by making grants to organizations working to create a better quality of life throughout McHenry County.

Philanthropic efforts for the county are coordinated and led by the team at the foundation.

In fiscal year 2018, the foundation, together with its donors, granted more than $2.2 million to nonprofit organizations: protecting the human services safety net for those hardest hit by the economy, developing new audiences to sustain our county's arts and education organizations, and improving conditions for healthy and active lifestyles.

For more on the Community Foundation for McHenry County, visit www.mccfdn.org or follow the foundation on Facebook.