Grace Bersted Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Grace Bersted Foundation supports education, health and human services in DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois.

IP TAKE: Nonprofits that serve children and the disabled in the Chicago suburbs should contact this funder for unrestricted general operating support.

PROFILE: Established in 1986, the Grace Bersted Foundation is a private foundation in Illinois and is run separately from the Alfred Bersted Foundation, which has similar geographical and topical interests. The foundation is managed by Bank of America’s Illinois office. Grantmaking includes education, health and human services.

This funder aims to support underserved populations in its home region. It does this mostly by funding the needs of children and disabled people in Illinois. Most of this foundation’s grants are in the form of unrestricted general operating support. Past local support has gone to Literacy DuPage, the YMCA of Elgin, Zion Benton Children’s Service and the Center for Enriched living.

Foundation grants are often between $10,000 and $40,000. Grantmaking is focused on the Northern Illinois counites of DuPage, Kane, Lane, and McHenry in the Chicago suburbs. In fact, an organization must have an office located in one of these counties to be eligible for a grant. Cities of focus include Barrington, Elgin, and Zion. A majority of foundation grants are made for one-year periods. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records.

This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. The annual application deadline is August 1, and applicants can expect to hear back with a funding decision by November 1 of that same year. Grantseekers must use the Bank of America online system to apply for a grant. Because of limited resources, nonprofits may only submit an application to one of the following foundations in a calendar year: Alfred Bersted Foundation, Grace Bersted Foundation, Henrietta Lange Burke Fund, Carl R. Hendrickson Family Foundation, and the Colonel R. Stanley McNeil Foundation. Direct general questions to the staff at ilgrantmaking@ustrust.com or 312-828-2055.

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