Highland Park City Council Approves Grant Agreement with Highland Park Community Foundation
City to provide $300,000 of funding to support grants for social services, cultural, and educational non-profit organizations serving residents of Highland Park
December 12, 2018 – The Highland Park City Council approved a grant agreement with the Highland Park Community Foundation (HPCF) at the December 10, 2018 City Council Meeting. The agreement assigns the HPCF as the fiduciary for approximately $300,000 in grant funding that was historically disbursed by the City to benefit various local not-for-profit organizations that provide arts and human services programming to City residents. The approval of the grant agreement with HPCF follows a comprehensive review by the City Council of the City’s grant making process in an effort to streamline City operations, better serve grant agencies, and maximize efficiencies.
The HPCF was established in 1992 to build and maintain a permanent endowment fund that would help to address unmet needs in the community. The HPCF serves to support and expand the services of a wide-ranging group of organizations that provide social service, educational, and cultural programs. Their entire operational focus is to coordinate grant making and they are well equipped to efficiently manage grant programs including applicant reviews, financial management of grant awards, grant reporting, and close out. HPCF is led by a Board of Directors comprised of individuals with close ties to the Highland Park community. Not-for-profit agencies who historically applied for grants from both HPCF and the City, may now apply through one organization, which eases the grant application process for local non-profits.
"We are pleased to partner with the Highland Park Community Foundation. This partnership brings operational efficiencies to the City and eases the grant seeking burden on local agencies that provide critical services to residents,” stated Mayor Nancy Rotering. “The Highland Park Community Foundation has proven itself to be financially solvent, strategically sound, a valued partner for the organizations who receive funds, and an effective administrator of grant making funds. We look forward to working together as we fill the gaps in funding and make sure that residents’ needs are met”
The grant agreement between the City and HPCF sets forth various conditions for how City grant funds should be administered including criteria for grant recipients, criteria for grant funding, reporting requirements, and controls for HPCF use of the City issued grant funds. Furthermore, HPCF will allow for at least one City Council member or City employee to participate in HPCF’s grant application review process and deliberations. The agreement also requires HPCF to review applications at a meeting that is open to the public, but allows HPCF to deliberate on the specific grant amounts to be awarded in a closed meeting to protect sensitive financial and other information of the grantee. HPCF is required to provide the City with an annual report on or before December 31 of each year of the 10-year term agreement. The amount of funding to be provided by the City to HPCF in future years of the agreement will be set by the City Council each year as part of the City’s budgeting process.
For more information on the Highland Park Community Foundation or the grant process, please contact Executive Director Terri Olian at 847-433-4100 or visit www.hpcfil.org.
