Sustainable Elgin Community Grant

Sustainable Elgin Community Grant Overview

The goal of the Sustainable Elgin Community Grant Program is to provide funding to assist Elgin residents, neighborhood groups, and local non-profit organizations, businesses, institutions, and associations implement ideas to make Elgin a more sustainable community. Ideas must include a component of community education and/or resident engagement.

Amount of Grant

Reimbursement grants will be awarded up to a maximum of $1,500 per project.

Applicant Eligibility

Any group located within the Elgin corporate limits is eligible to apply. “Group” can refer to residents, non-profit, business, club, organization, or neighborhood association, provided one individual is willing to be the primary contact, be responsible for fiscal interactions and measurement of impact.
Only one grant per organization per calendar year will be funded.
An organization may act as a fiscal agent only once per year.
An organization cannot act as a fiscal agent for another organization that has a 501(c) status.

Project Eligibility

Projects that make Elgin a more sustainable community, such as protecting and maintaining the natural environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and/or building a resilient community. Projects must address at least one focus area of the Elgin Sustainability Action Plan (link to document) or the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus Greenest Region Compact (link to document).
Grant must include a community education and/or engagement component.
Projects must take place within the corporate city limits of Elgin.
Applications must be intended for a specific project or program.
Grantees must provide a 50% match towards the project.
Expenditures of grant monies must occur between January 1 - December 5, of the year the project is approved.

Not Eligible for Funding

Permanent additions, improvements, or construction to personal/private property.
Any applicant already receiving funds directly from the City of Elgin will not be considered for funding. This includes in-kind donations from and/or agreements with the City of Elgin.
Purchasing permanent equipment or capital expenditures.
Operating expenses or existing deficit from a previous year or project.
Any project for a church or any sectarian purpose.
Any project for a political purpose.

Grant Guidelines

Projects will be funded through reimbursements, up to a maximum of $1,500.
It is the responsibility of the grant recipient to submit requests for reimbursements in a timely manner.
It is the responsibility of the grant recipient to complete any and all necessary permits or applications to the City of Elgin.
Grantees must acknowledge Elgin Sustainability Commission and City of Elgin in all promotional materials, publicity and informational materials used. The Sustainability Commission and City of Elgin logo must be on all appropriate materials for funded project.
Grantees must present a final written report in person to the Elgin Sustainability Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting within 60 days of the completed project, along with an oral report on the outcome of the project. The written report must be submitted 1 week prior to regularly scheduled ESC meeting of the month. Failure to submit a timely report will jeopardize future funding.
Changes to a project once a grant has been awarded will necessitate a formal written request as well as a revised budget.

Funding Request Availability & Timeline

All applicants who are approved for funding under this program shall enter into a grant agreement with the City of Elgin. The grant agreement shall be signed and returned to the City of Elgin no later than fifteen (15) days after receipt of the document. The City of Elgin is not responsible for lost or misdelivered mail. Failure to return the grant agreement within that time period will result in loss of the grant award. Payment of approved grant awards will be after full execution of the grant agreement, completion of the project, and the processing of appropriate cash request documents for reimbursement. The Elgin Sustainability Commission will not fund more than 50% of a proposed project.

The maximum grant request that will be accepted is $1,500. Submission of an application does not guarantee funding. Funding requests can be submitted at any time during the year up to a calendar year deadline of October 31. Applications will be reviewed and approved by the Sustainability Commission. Recipients will be notified of their status within one week of Sustainability Commission approval.

Funds will be available on a first come, first serve basis. Once all funds are allocated during the calendar year, new funds will not be available for the grant program until the start of the following year.

Grant Criteria

The City of Elgin Sustainability Advisory Commission (ESC) reviews and evaluates each application based upon the following criteria. These criteria may not apply to every application, and do not represent the only means of evaluation.

Does the project address at least one of the focus areas in the Elgin Sustainability Action Plan or the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus' Greenest Region Compact 2?
Proposals must target, at a minimum, residents, neighborhoods or businesses located in Elgin. Preference may be given for projects that target traditionally unengaged populations.

Grant Scoring

The ESC will score all grant applications. Successful applicants demonstrate strong management, innovation, environmental impact, community education, and financial feasibility. A total of 21 points are available during the scoring process. A minimum 15 points are required to recommend awarding the grant.

Reimbursement Method

Grant recipients will be reimbursed for approved expenses following the completion of the project, subject to compliance with the provisions of the grant application, guidelines, and agreement. All receipts and a copy of the required project report must be submitted in order to receive the final payment. Inability to pay for all reimbursable expenses should not be a barrier to applying, and the Commission will work with recipients to identify alternatives.

Required Measurement of Impact/Success

The Sustainability Commission wants to share your successes and lessons learned with others. One of the requirements of this program is measurement of the impact of your project. Recipients will be required to complete a project report before receiving their final grant reimbursement.

In addition to the required reporting metrics, applicants are encouraged to define their own measure of success in question #6 of the application. You can tell your story through numbers, stories, photos, or video. As an example, this could mean calculating and/or identifying the greenhouse gases avoided when individuals biked instead of driving their cars to an event or asking attendees at an event to complete a pre- and post- survey to identify increased knowledge on a topic. The Commission can guide you to determine what information to collect. Final reimbursement will not be made until this information has been received. Let us know if you would like assistance in measuring your impact.