We have 57 amazing organizations in the running for the 2026 Round Up For Good Grant! Click below to read each organization's mission statement and project proposal, and visit their website.
Owners will vote for 10 organizations to be featured in 2026. Voting begins on Wednesday, September 3rd and concludes on Wednesday, September 10th. All eligible owners will be sent an email with an eballot to vote. If you do not receive an eballot on September 3rd, please contact marketing@commonground.coop
Mission: Cultivating Excellence, Empowering Girls is the mission of Campus Middle School for Girls. In service to this mission, CMS provides:
* a challenging curriculum that encourages girls to set high expectations for themselves;
* small class sizes that allow a high level of student participation and teacher attention;
* diverse curriculum offerings that allow girls to explore an array of subjects, express themselves creatively, and work toward mastery in a variety of disciplines;
* a safe and positive social environment that enables adolescent girls to achieve a sense of emotional and physical well-being;
* community service opportunities that encourage students to become reflective, responsible global citizens;
* close ties to the University of Illinois and surrounding community that expose students to working scholars, laboratories, museums, libraries and other resources.
To this end, we aim to promote confident, enthusiastic, and responsible young learners through a combination of small class size and a curriculum emphasizing strong academic skills.
Project Proposal: Campus Middle School (CMS) is an independent, non-profit middle school that has a track record of providing innovative and challenging learning opportunities in the context of a welcoming and inclusive environment. If chosen, we would use this grant to purchase a kiln.
CMS does not have an endowment or other ample sources of funding beyond tuition payments (the majority of which goes toward staff salaries and building utilities). Thus, purchasing new materials or “extras” requires substantial financial resources. Any significant purchase, such as a kiln, requires a multi-year savings and fundraising plan. For the past several years, other pressing priorities (e.g., a new science curriculum) have made acquiring a kiln out of reach for the foreseeable future.
A kiln at the school would advance CMS’s mission in two important ways. First, in alignment with our goal to provide students with a challenging and diverse curriculum, CMS has a long history of connecting young people with visual arts and music, evidenced in part by the two annual arts festivals that are curated by students (e.g., our annual Winter Arts Festival; https://www.campusms.org/special-events). With our current resources, when students create ceramic art, the Art Teacher would have to work with a kiln owner (e.g., a current family or another school), have students design their pieces of clay, load them all up, and transport them to the kiln. Once fired, the Art Teacher would then have to load them up and return them to CMS so students can glaze their pieces. Once the glazing is complete, the Art Teacher would again have to load all of the pieces up and return them to the kiln, have them fired, and then transport them back to CMS; with each trip, the likelihood of a piece breaking increases. This process is only made possible because of the generosity and effort of our Art Teacher, though her time could be invested in more useful ways. Having a kiln on site would increase the range of arts experiences students could have, which directly supports our mission to “empower girls.”
Second, to support innovative learning opportunities and to enact our mission, CMS has cultivated and maintains close ties with local artists and arts organizations. For example, we have a strong partnership with C4A, which allowed us to expand our music offerings. With respect to visual arts, our students have worked with Tracy Satterthwaite of Cracked Glass in Urbana and have participated in the Empty Bowls Supper that benefits The Daily Bread Soup Kitchen. We are committed to finding more sustainable ways for our students to engage with the arts so that we can expand our connections with local organizations, like the CU Potter’s Club.
CMS has long wanted to incorporate more pottery making into the Art Program, but without a kiln, the logistics for firing has kept these types of projects out of reach. An important part of our mission is to support students to “express themselves creatively.” As federal resources for the arts are threatened, now more than ever we need local support to ensure that the arts continue to flourish in Champaign-Urbana. We believe that the arts not only supplement traditional academic learning, but that exposure to art through school cultivates creativity, kindness, and community.
Mission: Formed in 2018, CIYFC is a chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition.
We envision a just future where farming is free of racial violence, accessible to communities, oriented towards environmental well-being, and concerned with health over profit. Locally our focus is on building climate resilience, fostering a collaborative community, and advocating for farmer well-being.
The Central Illinois Young Farmers Coalition is open to farmers of all ages, as well as food system advocates and aspiring farmers, who are leading the way to create a healthier, more hopeful food system. We organize social gatherings and learning events for our members and hope to advocate for more progressive food systems policy.
Project Proposal: The main focus of the CIYFC chapter is our CIDER fund. The CIDER Fund, short for Central Illinois Disaster and Emergency Relief Fund, was created by and for farmers in Central Illinois who are experiencing acute and unexpected crises on their farms or in their homes and are in need of quick relief. The CIDER Fund offers payments to farmers with a fast turnaround when crisis strikes, such as disastrous weather events, fires, health emergencies, and more. These funds are meant to help our Central Illinois farmer community keep stable when things go wrong, with a minimal application, fast correspondence and disbursal, and no expectation or burdensome paperwork.
Mission: Supporting community members, living in a food desert, by providing the opportunity to learn to grow and/or purchase fresh produce for their tables in their own neighborhood.
Project Proposal: The garden has grown so much in the last 25 years! We were 8 beds to begin with, now we are 68! All the new beds and gardeners have worn out our major tools. If chosen, we will use funds to replace our major tools, (string trimmers, tiller, lawn mower,).
We would like to install a pole mounted, WiFi equipped trail camera for security in the garden. Unfortunately we have reoccurring incidence of vandalism in the last 2 years. We believe that this is the work of outsiders and think that the chance of appearing on our "Garden Camera" via our Facebook page will deter the those like the 'lady' I found putitng her cat in one of our beds, whoever ruined all of our sombreros when they flooded the tool shed, and numerous other acts of vandalism. More Signage will help too.
Another area of need is our compost bins. In the first year we build a triple set so that we could make our own soil. That set was quickly followed by 2 more sets. With these bins we have been able to grow our own and avoid purchasing composted earth. They too are showing their age. We would like to replace then with 3 new sets of compost beds.
We would like to increase our power in the garden by installing an additional solar power station with WIFI hot spot, and pay for installation.. We need to increase the power available in order to have consistent electricity to power and WIFI to communicate with our FarmBot.
Mission: Experience Champaign-Urbana: We promote a welcoming destination experience for visitors to strengthen economic opportunity and enhance the lives of residents. Experience Champaign-Urbana will be a connected and collaborative leader in promoting the region as an extraordinary destination to visit, work and live.
Champaign County African American Heritage Trail: The mission is to educate today’s residents and visitors about the rich cultural history of a people whose stories have been largely unrecognized. Our vision is to inspire conversation, expand understanding, and contribute to a better society.
Project Proposal: We would like to use this grant to further the activities and promotion of the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail. We just completed phase 1 of the trail project, which included 23 trail signs around the county, establishing and promoting tours, and funding murals related to Black history in the county. We are now in phase 2 of the trail project. We would apply the grant funding to one or more of the following phase 2 initiatives (dependent on the final funding amount and the status of our current funding at the time we are awarded the grant):
1. Printed materials for trail tours (this includes booklets, mural coloring sheets for school groups, and other collateral)
2. Asset expansion (this includes additional historical signs and/or murals around Champaign County)
3. Trail programming (this includes workshops and guest speakers)
We lead a committee that collectively decides which initiatives we should support with grant and foundation funding. If we are awarded this grant, we would bring the above options to our committee to decide which project(s) would be best served by the funding.
Mission: Standing up for children in the court system who have experienced abuse and neglect.
Project Proposal: Champaign County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a local non-profit organization that stands up for children in the court system who have experienced abuse and neglect.
Right now, 330 Champaign County children are in foster care due to abuse or neglect. As a result, courts are required to make very difficult decisions about their futures. Our trained volunteers, with the help of our staff and attorneys, focus on their situations and advocate for their best interests in court and in the community. CASA volunteers and staff are the only ones in the foster care system who concentrate solely on the needs of the kids - Our Kids - giving them the opportunity for hope, stability, and a safe and permanent home.
Volunteer Advocates are the backbone of the work we do. We currently work with approximately 100 volunteers who multiply our effectiveness, reaching many more children much more frequently than our small team of professional staff could do alone. Every new volunteer completes an application, interviews with our staff, passes a background check, and participates in 27 hours of pre-service training before being sworn in as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and assigned to a case. Once they begin working with a child/children, volunteer advocates complete monthly home visits, stay in contact with service providers, educational professionals, and family members, attend important meetings related to the well-being of the child(ren), write court reports, and maintain confidentiality. With the support of our professional staff, our volunteers advocate for placement stability, educational support, medical and dental care, social-emotional wellness, extracurricular activities, and more. Our volunteer advocates typically serve a case from the time it opens until it is closed, which on average is two to three years. During this time, the volunteer develops a trusting, professional relationship with each assigned child, which helps the healing process and ultimately affects positive outcomes in the child's life.
Because of the nature of the work we do with children who have experienced traumatic and complex circumstances, it is critical that we not only provide our volunteers with thorough training before they begin actively volunteering, but that we support them in consistent and meaningful ways as long as they are with our organization. Although we have historically provided regular training sessions for current volunteer advocates on relevant topics to expand their knowledge, we would like to enhance our programming to better support and retain our valuable volunteers.
If we are awarded funds through the Common Ground Food Co-op's Round Up For Good program, we would provide new opportunities for volunteer training, appreciation, and retention. This will include, but not be limited to, the following:
- Gas cards for mileage reimbursement. (In our 2024-2025 fiscal year, our advocates logged 38,026 miles in their personal vehicles to visit Our CASA Kids where they are staying.)
- Continued impactful and relevant training. (CASA Volunteers clearly benefit from frequent opportunities to expand their understanding of the issues that affect children in foster care and how to handle challenging situations.)
- Cohort gatherings. (Given the highly confidential nature of our work, effective learning and support often come from gathering with other volunteers to share similar experiences and support.)
- Volunteer appreciation and retention events. (Due to the heaviness of our work, light-hearted events focused on volunteer appreciation provide the encouragement volunteers need to persevere and continue their impact.)
The children in our community who have experienced abuse and neglect need specialized, consistent support and a voice in their situations. Champaign County CASA advocates specifically for these children, but this is only possible because members of our community generously and sacrificially give of their time and resources. When an individual chooses to volunteer their time for a CASA child, it is in the best interest of the children they serve that we care for and support them as well. We are grateful for our volunteer advocates, and retaining them allows our mission and work of standing up for children to be most effective, ultimately giving children hope and a healthy trajectory for their future.
Mission: Champaign County Healthcare Consumers (CCHCC) believes that health care is a basic human right, and is dedicated to the mission of working for quality affordable health care for all, and for environmental health and justice. CCHCC organizes individuals and communities to have a voice in the health care system and to affect social change to achieve health justice. CCHCC carries out its mission through direct service, consumer education, advocacy, and community organizing.
Project Proposal: The Grant would support our Health Justice Fund. The Fund was created to help CCHCC clients access prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, durable medical equipment, co-payments, and other services that improve people's health and their health care access. The fund can provide $5 or $50.00 depending on what is needed for those under 150% of the Federal Poverty Level, but larger amounts can be awarded with the approval of the Client Services Coordinator or Executive Director. We also work with clients to find long term solutions for getting their medications like applying for health insurance or a prescription assistance program.
Mission: To instill respect, kindness, and compassion for animals as community values.
Project Proposal: The funds raised through the Round Up For Good grant will be used to support our program to provide affordable spay and neuter services to residents of Champaign County. With increasing homeless animal populations, affordable spay and neuter programs help keep animal populations in at a healthy level.
Mission: The Champaign-Urbana Reparations Coalition (CURC) seeks reparations for African American people. Reparations are acts of repair. They include acknowledgement of harm, policies that remedy historic and ongoing anti-Black practices and can include payments. Our mission is to address the historic and ongoing harms caused by systemic racism and discrimination and to work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all. We partner with other social justice groups to amplify our work through education and legislation, building capacity among Black-led efforts in particular.
Project Proposal: The Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program, which is partially funded by the Illinois State Legislature, is a key partner of the Champaign-Urbana Reparations Coalition (CURC). CURC builds upon a strong foundation of collaboration to redress and heal past and current local racial injustices.
The Family Roots Pilot Program aims to address the historical legacy of family separation caused by slavery in the United States. Under the program, African American descendants of enslaved individuals learn more about their African ancestral heritage and familial connections through genetic testing, reclaiming their African ancestral lineages by using genetic genealogy to identify living African relatives. The program is open to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those with documented African ancestry, African Americans, and other members of the African diaspora. Current funding only provides testing for approximately 1,600 individuals of African descent in Illinois. With Coop support, we could purchase and process more test kits (~$200 per individual) and connect with more descendants of enslaved people. Participants are finally able to shed light on complex family histories and construct a more cohesive ancestral family narrative. This is important because ethnic and family identities substantially impact psychological well-being.
The project is committed to the highest standards of privacy, data security, and ethical research practices. The Family Roots Pilot Program management understands the sensitive nature of genetic and personal information, which is why they have implemented robust safeguards to protect participant data at every stage of the research process.
Due to the forced separation of African American families during slavery, as well as inadequate support for reunification during the Reconstruction era, many members of the African American community have been deprived of African familial connections, heritage, and cultural identity, leading to long-lasting psychological, social, and economic impacts. To date CURC has tabled with the Family Roots Program at community events and welcomed them to our monthly meetings. If this proposal is successful, the program will be able to reach more families with the purchase of more test kits.
Mission: The mission of the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company (CUTC) is to provide entertainment, education, and opportunities for involvement in all aspects of the theatrical arts.
Project Proposal: Funds will be used for our Penguin Project production. Every summer we produce a Penguin Project production that supports youth ages 12-22 with disabilities. They perform all the roles within the show, with non-disabled students mentoring them throughout the process and appearing on stage with them to further support their efforts. The production is produced with permission of the national Penguin Project organization headquartered in Peoria, IL. 2026 will be our 9th annual production. The annual production has a budget of approximately $20,000.
Mission: We partner with people with developmental disabilities who live in Champaign County. Together we pursue independence, opportunity, and choice through quality, self-directed supports.
Our philosophy of support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is that:
People Need People
Success is a Shared Responsibility
We are not Afraid to Try
Project Proposal: Community Choices supports adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to live full, active lives in the community. We provide supports in 4 main areas: Employment, Community Living, Community Building and Advocacy, and Transportation. With ala carte supports in all these areas, our participants are able to tailor the services they need to build the lives they imagine for themselves.
These funds will go toward our Community Support department where we work with our participants to live independently in the community. Our five staff in this department work with over 60 participants to live in their own homes and apartments or to build the skills they'll need to make independent living possible. We assist people to manage their households, budget, access public benefits, healthcare, find affordable housing, and learn everyday skills like cooking, using basic technology, and cleaning. We also support people to find and manage additional support workers to ensure that their independent living situations are sustainable. With our support, many individuals who were once living in their family homes are able to have a place of their own.
Round Up Dollars will go toward staff wages in this department. We have several grant and fee for service funding sources for this department, but we continue to depend on fundraising and small grants like this to cover costs. We believe strongly that we should pay our staff fairly. Many of them have over 15 years of experience in the field and provide critical services to our neighbors with disabilities. These funds will help to cover gaps in revenue to keep the program thriving and sustainable.
Mission: The Courage Connection mission is to ensure everyone in our community has the education, support, and resources to live in safe, healthy relationships. We believe that safety, respect, and dignity are basic human rights, and we work tirelessly to create a community where those rights are not only protected but actively nurtured. Our mission is both a promise to survivors and a call to action for all members of our community to join in building a culture free from abuse.
For those who are experiencing or have survived abuse, Courage Connection offers a comprehensive network of support services. We provide immediate safety through our confidential 24/7 hotline and emergency shelter, ensuring no one has to face danger alone. Survivors can access counseling services, legal advocacy to assist in securing protective orders, and much more—all free of charge. These services are delivered in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner, recognizing that healing is a personal journey that requires respect, patience, and empowerment.
We know that prevention begins with education. By equipping individuals—especially young people—with knowledge about healthy relationship dynamics, warning signs of abuse, and available resources, we aim to stop cycles of violence before they begin. Our education programs reach schools, workplaces, and community groups, providing practical tools and fostering conversations that break the silence around domestic violence. These initiatives encourage empathy, respect, and personal accountability, helping people recognize their role in creating safer environments.
Our work does not stop at crisis intervention. We know that long-term safety and independence often require practical support—such as housing assistance, job readiness programs, and financial literacy resources. By addressing the economic and logistical barriers that can keep survivors trapped in unsafe situations, we help create pathways toward sustainable independence. This holistic approach ensures that survivors have the tools they need not only to escape abuse, but to thrive in their new lives.
Courage Connection believes that domestic violence is not a private problem—it’s a community issue that requires a community solution. We actively partner with local organizations, law enforcement, schools, businesses, and faith communities to strengthen the safety net for survivors and hold abusers accountable. By fostering collaboration, we multiply the impact of our mission and create a united front against domestic violence.
We are committed to ensuring that our services are accessible to everyone, regardless of language, background, or circumstance. All of our programs are multilingual, confidential, and free of charge. This inclusivity ensures that help is available to all who need it, and that no one is turned away because of systemic barriers.
Ultimately, Courage Connection envisions a future where healthy relationships are the norm, not the exception. We strive for a world in which children grow up free from exposure to abuse, adults can rely on relationships built on respect and equality, and communities stand together to prevent violence. Until that vision becomes reality, our mission remains clear: to provide education, support, and resources so that everyone in our community can live in safety, health, and dignity.
Project Proposal: Much like the grassroots origins of Common Ground Food Co-operative in 1974, Courage Connection began in 1971 when a determined group of domestic violence survivors created a shelter in Champaign County. It was a bold step, and one of the first shelters of its kind in the United States. At that time, women experiencing abuse by their partners had few options. It would be three years before they could independently open a bank account and apply for a credit card. It would be 11 years before the State of Illinois would recognize domestic violence as a crime.
Over the decades, Courage Connection has grown into a full-service domestic violence program—reflecting the complexity of the challenges of abuse. Our mission is to ensure everyone in our community has the education, support, and resources to live in safe, healthy relationships. All of our services are free and confidential.
We believe there is a deep alignment between Common Ground Food Co-op and Courage Connection. The Four Ends that comprise your mission encapsulate the services we provide to our clients every day as we help them to build safe, stable, and self-sufficient lives for themselves and their children. These services include 24/7 local hotline support, emergency shelter, safety planning, housing and stabilization services, court advocacy, therapy/counseling for individuals, families and children from MSWs and LCSWs, support groups, bilingual and ESL support, and community education.
Courage Connection's free and confidential services are available to all—regardless of religion, race, gender, immigration status, national origin, or age. Data shows that domestic violence disproportionately impacts people of color, low-income community members, and members of the immigrant community. Serving these populations are a top priority for Courage Connection. The vast majority of those we serve live at or below the poverty line. Our service area includes Champaign, Douglas, Piatt, and Ford Counties.
We are committed to connecting the most marginalized members of our society with the resources they need to break the perpetual cycle of abuse. Domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children. Courage Connection’s goal is to help them identify permanent housing so that they are not forced into homelessness or to return to an abuser when they leave our shelter.
Sadly, abusers often destroy or refuse to relinquish household items and furniture. Once we help our clients acquire permanent housing, furnishing the home becomes essential for stability, comfort, and emotional healing. Without proper furniture, bedding, kitchenware, and appliances, the client faces significant challenges in maintaining a safe and sustainable living space, which is crucial for their recovery from domestic violence. Assistance in obtaining these essential household items will help them establish a secure and functional home, which is a vital step in easing their path towards independence and rebuilding their life free from violence.
With support from Common Ground Food Co-op, our Housing and Stabilization Service will provide domestic violence survivors who are transitioning into permanent housing with basic furniture and supplies needed to create safe, functional, and dignified homes.
We are seeking $4,000 from the 2026 Round Up for Good Grant to support five households, allocating $800 per household to purchase essential items such as:
• Beds and Bedding – mattresses, bed frames, pillows, and linens
• Seating and Dining Essentials – a small kitchen table, chairs, and/or comfortable seating
• Towels and Bathroom Supplies – bath towels, shower curtain, and hygiene items
• Kitchenware – pots, pans, utensils, and basic cooking equipment
Each $800 package is customized to meet the unique needs of the individual or family, based on household size, age of children, and space available. These funds will be spent directly on purchasing new or gently used items and arranging for delivery, ensuring that each household can begin their new chapter with comfort and dignity.
Funding from Common Ground Food Co-op will directly improve the quality of life for five survivors and their families over the next fiscal year. The immediate impacts of this initiative include:
• Increased stability in housing retention, as a well-furnished home contributes to emotional well-being and reduces the likelihood of returning to unsafe environments.
• Improved mental health outcomes by creating a sense of normalcy, ownership, and comfort.
• Enhanced safety and health by providing essential goods, reducing the need to rely on unsafe or makeshift solutions.
By helping survivors establish homes that are not just places to live, but places to heal, this initiative supports long-term recovery from trauma and the rebuilding of lives marked by independence, empowerment, and hope.
Mission: Crisis Nursery creates an "Island of Safety" dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect by providing 24-hour emergency care for children and support to strengthen families in crisis. Crisis Nursery is the only emergency-based child care facility in Champaign County that is open 24 hours, 365 days a year for the entire community to access with no fees or income eligibility.
Project Proposal: In June of 2025, Crisis Nursery wrapped up our 40th year. This was a monumental celebration as it marked 40 years of providing families in Champaign County an “Island of Safety” for their children. This occasion not only celebrates the impact Crisis Nursery has had on families, but also the unwavering support we’ve received from our community. Through organizations like Common Ground, we’ve been able to continue to support vulnerable families in Champaign County. The funding we receive is not just funding; it is a symbol of hope and stability for the families we serve.. With a renewed Round Up For Good grant for our Safe Children program from Common Ground, Crisis Nursery will be able to continue to impact children’s and families lives in our community.
Last year, Crisis Nursery received $5,335.40 from Common Ground’s Round Up for Good program, aiding us in our ability to provide essential care to families experiencing a crisis. We are incredibly grateful to Common Ground for this funding and the many years of support we’ve had through the Round Up For Good program. Each year, the Nursery has been able to receive the funds needed to provide over 300 hours of care. The average stay at Crisis Nursery is about 8 hours, during which children have access to everything they need. Funding for our Safe Children program helps us provide children safe shelter, nourishing meals, clothing, and invaluable care and attention from our dedicated staff. It also enables us to serve as a safeguard for children and provide stabilizing services to their families. When Crisis Nursery provides job related care, a single father who is on a wait list for stable daycare has the opportunity to show up for work and earn a paycheck to support his children. When medical related care is provided, a mother is able to focus on her health with peace of mind that her children are being taken care of in a safe environment. When Crisis Nursery provides care to a family experiencing homelessness, siblings have shelter overnight with a full day of carefree play the next day. Crisis Nursery walks alongside families during their most challenging times, supporting them and lifting them up, so that they can receive the crucial services they need.
By investing in our Safe Children program, Common Ground will be a catalyst for profound positive change in the lives of those who need it most. With this grant, we will provide emergency childcare to families experiencing crisis, guiding them toward a brighter future and a stronger community.
Mission: CU Able was founded by 4 moms in 2015. Each one of our children had a disability and we realized the local area was lacking a support group to help families navigate taking care of a loved one with a disability. Our mission is to assist individuals with disabilities and their caregivers with advice, support, resources, networking and finding friendship. We are an inclusive group to any disability. Our members range in age from infancy to over 80 years old. Our group focuses not only on advocacy, education and awareness, but also encourages its members to incorporate self-care into their routine by organizing and participating in local events such as mom’s retreats, family dinners, family activities, community events, giveaways and CU Able Parent Network Meetings.
Project Proposal: CU Able's Round Up For Good project proposal is: Dignity & Comfort: Free Incontinence Supplies for Those in Need. This project would secure funds to source and distribute incontinence supplies—such as adult briefs, pads, and undergarments—to individuals with disabilities and chronic needs. These essential health items will be made available through our giveaway program that we are already running successfully for the past 5 years and also targeted drives that CU Able would host. We serve over 30 families during each of our regularly scheduled (biweekly to monthly depending on donation volume) giveaways by taking in donations from Fedex packages that cannot be delivered and Amazon returns and distribute them within the community. Frequently received and distributed items are diapers, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, etc and we often get requests for the incontinence supplies, but do not see them regularly in the donations which is why we see the need in the community.
Often times these incontinence supplies we are looking to raise money for are only covered minimally under insurance or the brand/item an individual may need may not be covered under insurance at all. Supplying the incontinence supplies to the community allows us to lesson the financial burden to Champaign county families which allows them to be able to use that money out in the community or on other medical needs. 100% of the money donated would do directly to incontinence supplies since CU Able is completely volunteer ran and the project would have no overhead administrative costs.
Mission: We will positively impact the lives of select CU students by pairing them with adult mentors to provide support, encouragement and guidance.
We Believe that all young people have skills and assets to share, cultural backgrounds are sources of strength, no student needs to "saved", mentors assist students in seeing their own strengths, mentors model consistency and commitment, listening is more important than talking, mentor relationships are student led, students should set their own goals
Project Proposal: Each school in the Urbana District #116 provide games, art supplies, sports equipment, and other one on one activities for the mentor pairs while they are meeting each week. We are also opening a new school this year, the Sixth Grade Center (SGC), we are needing to supplies for this new school as well.
These games, etc need to be replaced yearly due to pieces going missing or just having the wear and tear of them being used so much, they should be replaced. We also have to supply colored/blk ink for our printers, and other comfortable fun space materials for our pairs. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated, as we try to make our spaces intimate and comfortable for table talk and game playing.
Mission: The mission of the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen is to feed the hungry of our community regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity. We welcome all volunteers to this service who share an unconditional positive regard for every human being. We provide a safe, respectful, and inviting environment in an atmosphere of hope and dignity.
Project Proposal: Currently, we are serving approximately 400 to 450 hot meals daily, accompanied by a sack lunch. Our expenses continue to increase as the need grows among people who are suffering from inadequate access to food. The vast majority of our guests are from the Champaign-Urbana area. We work closely with Strides and other shelters to provide a substantial daily meal for the homeless in our area. Since we are centrally located at 116 N. First St in Champaign, walking distance from the MTD terminal, we are noticing an increase in the number of people coming for other communities outside of the Champaign Urbana area: Rantoul and Danville.
Our major expense, estimated at $7,000 a month, is the purchase of protein: meat, cheese, peanut butter. Any funding we would receive from the Round Up For Good Grant would be use to purchase these items.
Mission: Mission: DSC supports people (with intellectual and developmental disabilities) in living a rich and meaningful life.
Vision: Striving to assure that every person lives a full life in the community.
Project Proposal: DSC’s Community Access Project supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities by providing opportunities to engage with the community in meaningful, inclusive ways. With support from the Round Up For Good Grant, we would be able to expand access to enriching community-based experiences such as volunteering, attending local events, visiting businesses, participating in recreational activities, and practicing daily living skills. This funding would help provide the materials and resources needed to facilitate these community engagement opportunities. These experiences help individuals build confidence and foster independence, while strengthening social, communication, and life skills—empowering them to take active roles in their community.
Mission: Eastern Illinois Foodbank has been alleviating hunger and nourishing stronger communities since 1983.
Project Proposal: Each year, Eastern Illinois Foodbank (EIF) serves more than 1.5 million neighbors in our 21-county service area. Last fiscal year, we provided 11.1 million meals to those communities, including 3.4 million pounds of fresh produce. Food insecurity has reached a historic high, with our pantries serving twice as many people today as in 2022. With expected SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) cuts in coming months, community support is more vital than ever to make our mission of alleviating hunger possible.
Support from this grant would provide more nutritious grocery items on our Foodmobile program. Our Foodmobile visits rural and underserved areas to bring food to our neighbors with less access to grocery stores and food pantries. Last fiscal year, our Foodmobile completed nearly 1,000 distributions in east-central Illinois.
We're truly grateful for Common Ground's continued partnership, which empowers us to continue providing fresh, nutritious groceries to the children, families, seniors, students, and veterans we call our neighbors.
Mission: We enable individuals to access essential healthcare through private and commercial aviation. Our network of volunteer pilots are matched with and provide transportation for passengers and resources to aid people in need of reproductive or gender-affirming care. We do this through careful coordination with organizational partners and logistical coordinators.
Project Proposal: Our volunteer pilots utilize their own aircraft at their own expense to get people where they need to go. While weather, maintenance, or illness can cancel a volunteer pilot's plan to perform a specific flight, many people are also needing to travel 1,000 miles to get to care. We purchase airline tickets for those last minute changes and for longer distances to make sure no one is left behind.
In 2025, we have spent more than $200,000 on airline tickets for nearly 600 passengers so far. We would ask for $5,000 to help support this part of our program.
Mission: Family Service of Champaign County is a private, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization. Founded in 1911, Family Service of Champaign County is the oldest private social service agency in Champaign County and has provided continuous service to families and individuals for more than 112 years. The Mission of Family Service is to support people across the generations by providing quality human services.
Project Proposal: Food pantries are essential, but what if you can't get to the food pantry because of age related challenges? Family Service and the Helen Stevick Foundation have the answer: FOOD FOR SENIORS, the food pantry that delivers.
Food for Seniors addresses food insecurity for older adults in Champaign. Our trained, vetted volunteers deliver groceries to almost 200 seniors in
the Champaign-Urbana area twice a month. These delivery trips guarantee that our less-mobile at-risk seniors have the food they need, some social interaction, and an in-person verification that they are doing well in their own homes.
Keeping this program running is essential; over 3,000 adults aged 60+ live in poverty in Champaign County. For these neighbors of ours, the challenges of poverty are compounded by the challenges of aging.
Fixed incomes aren't up with rising prices of groceries, utilities, and rent. Ballooning gas, insurance, and car repair costs, plus the difficulties of driving with certain diagnoses or with eye problems, make trips to the grocery store nearly impossible for some of our older neighbors. Cuts to some federal and state programs exacerbate these issues.
Food for Seniors deliveries see to it that despite all their other challenges, seniors enrolled in the program never have to worry about having a variety of nutritious food.
In terms of nutrition, many food pantries rely on shelf-stable, carb-laden goods. We make sure that seniors enrolled in Food for Seniors have access to high-quality proteins and fats, as well as selections that meet their individual needs
(e.g., easy-to-chew or diabetic-friendly).
Food for Seniors is sponsored by and housed at Family Service; it is an initiative
of the Helen Stevick Foundation, which was established to provide services to
seniors. The Helen Stevick Foundation is one of Family Service’s strongest alliances in Champaign. We work together to raise funds to support
and expand the program.
Volunteers are trained and managed by the Family Service Volunteer Program (FSVP), and case work is also done by the Senior Resource Center at Family Service.
Funding received from the Round Up for Good grant program at Common Ground will be spent on food purchases. We are able to stretch our dollars by making economical purchases from partners like the East Central Illinois Food Bank and Ruler Foods. Almost all of our funding goes directly to our clients in the form of groceries. Other expenses are mileage for our volunteers and small administrative costs.
Overall, this is a lean program that gives seniors comfort in the form of calories. Nourishment for Champaign-area residents, especially our aging neighbors, is a priority we are proud to share with Common Ground.
IN SUMMARY: Every dime received from this grant program will be used to buy food that will be delivered to food-insecure seniors in the Champaign-Urbana area.
Mission: Feeding Our Kids provides nourishing food to food-insecure school children in Champaign County on weekends and school holidays throughout the year.
Project Proposal: Feeding Our Kids exists to ensure that children in Champaign County don't go hungry over the weekend. During the school week, many children receive free or reduced-price lunches, but weekends can leave a gap that puts children at risk of hunger. Our program steps in to provide a consistent source of weekend nutrition for these kids.
We serve children at 47 schools and community-based programs across Champaign County, and in the 2025–2026 school year, we anticipate serving nearly 1,300 children every week. Each child receives a bag of kid-friendly, shelf-stable food, designed to be nutritious and easy to prepare.
Food insecurity not only affects a child’s physical health but also their ability to learn, concentrate, and grow emotionally and socially. By meeting this basic need, we can help reduce stress for families and ensure children come to school Monday morning ready to learn.
Our program is powered by a small staff and a large, dedicated volunteer base. However, our biggest cost is food. In the past year alone, Feeding Our Kids spent over $170,000 solely on food purchases. Rising food prices continue to challenge our ability to meet growing needs.
A Round Up for Good Grant would go toward the cost of one full week of food for all children in our program (approximately $5,600)—ensuring that for one critical week, nearly 1,300 kids are fed, supported, and cared for.
We would appreciate your vote to help continue this essential work.
Mission: To build strong and peaceful communities by providing support, guidance, and hope to formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones through peer mentorship.
Project Proposal: FirstFollowers provides support to people coming back to the community after prison. In addition to providing services to these individuals (housing access, employment opportunities, educational access, family reunification), we contribute to peace and prosperity in the community through work with youth and in health and wellness. In 2018 we began a small community garden in the back yard of a house we rented for office space. The garden developed at a slow pace until 2023 when Pierre Willhite was released from prison after serving 29 years. He landed in our transition house, FirstSteps. He had learned some horticulture while incarcerated and he brought that knowledge and a zeal for gardening to our organization. Since that time, Pierre has grown our gardening efforts, which he named Top Soil, with help from other members of FirstFollowers and the community. By the end of 2023 we had six boxes in the backyard of our house and we were growing vegetables (bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, egg plant, tomatoes, lettuce, greens, onions, beans) and herbs and spices (garlic, coriander, parsley, mint, cilantro) and giving them to community members. In 2024, we formed a partnership with Sola Gratia and they provided us with more gardening space plus seedlings to grow our produce. At the end of 2024, they granted us a garden space on their premises of 30' X 30' and provided us with some tutoring to improve our productivity. In June of 2025 alone we gave away over 60 lbs of collard greens, 40 lbs of pickling cucumbers, 40 lbs of turnip greens, 15 lbs of beets, plus a number of herbs and other produce. Our goal is to mobilize youth and adults to grow their own food and to cook healthy dishes. We have the skill set to do this and Pierre Willhite's enthusiasm has sparked people across the cities. PBS was so struck by our Top Soil project that they devoted an entire episode on June 19th, 2025 of the MidAmerican Gardener TV program to our Top Soil Project. The program included lengthy interviews with Pierre Willhite, FirstFollowers Executive Director Dr. Marlon Mitchell and video footage of our garden. We believe access to healthy food is an important component of addressing problems of poverty. The creation of food deserts in C-U, especially in the areas where a concentration of Black people live, is a contributing factor to the instability and violence in our community. Top Soil can be a key component of building peace and wellness.
We will expand this gardening project in FY26 through a new partnership with the Martens Center.
With the Round Up for Good Grant money we will grow produce on their premises and make use of their institutional kitchen to cook for our team members and the community at large. Our program at Martens Center will also include cooking and nutrition workshops. To do this we will need more equipment, more inputs, and more people to expand this Top Soil project. We will increase our garden venues, do more instruction of young people on gardening and healthy cooking, and hold events at the Martens Center and other venues where people can not only share food but share the company of each other in the service of our mission to build strong and peaceful communities. We will spend the funds from this grant on:
Part-time Supervisor wages= 4 hours per week for 30 weeks @$20/hour=2400
Timber to build more planter boxes- 800
Garden tools: rakes, shovels, hoes-250
Attire for staff and volunteers X5: Overalls, hats, gloves, boots-300
Wheelbarrows X3=180
Hoses and sprinklers x3=150
Irrigations pipes-150
Food for volunteers: 300
Gas for distributing the produce-X200 mi X .60/mile= 120
Plastic bags for storing and moving produce-200
t-shirts and hoodies for volunteers- $60 per person X 10=600
caps for volunteers $15 X 10= 150
Total-5600
Mission: To preserve and enhance our natural and cultural resources by supporting and fostering conservation, education, and recreational programs for the benefit of Champaign County.
Project Proposal: The Forest Preserve Friends Foundation is raising funds for the renovation and expansion of the Nature Center at Homer Lake Forest Preserve, a hub for hands-on environmental education in Champaign County. The Round Up For Good Grant will help support tangible needs within this project, such as interpretive educational exhibits, nature play installations, and welcoming indoor gathering spaces that connect visitors of all ages to our local ecosystems.
This revitalized Nature Center will directly advance our mission by fostering deeper community engagement with conservation, education, and outdoor recreation. The project is designed to inspire lifelong curiosity and stewardship of our natural world, serving thousands of visitors, school children, and families each year.
Mission: The Garden for Humanity, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County, is dedicated to bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to strengthen neighborhood participation, create collaborative community building, increase the education of good health and nutrition through growing one’s own food, and to help alleviate the burdens of food deserts by providing a source of fresh produce.
Project Proposal: Habitat’s Garden for Humanity is located in a designated food desert, where access to fresh, affordable produce is severely limited. With a grant of $3,500–$5,000, we will expand our growing capacity and deepen our impact on local food access. We plan to add 8–12 new raised beds, increasing planting space by up to 60% and enabling us to grow an estimated 300–500 additional pounds of produce annually, including tomatoes, beans, squash, and leafy greens. By installing trellises, we’ll support vertical crops like cucumbers, pole beans, and peas, optimizing space and boosting harvest volume. Companion planting strategies will be introduced to improve pest control and soil health. Comprehensive soil testing will guide amendments to ensure safe, nutrient-rich conditions, while composting and mulching will reduce waste and enhance long-term fertility. The expansion will also create more opportunities for volunteers, students, and families to engage in planting, harvesting, and educational workshops. With increased output, we aim to support additional households through produce distribution and donation programs as well as the direct neighborhood that volunteers and utilized the garden. Diversifying planting zones and crop types will help mitigate risks from pests, drought, and supply chain disruptions, ultimately strengthening local food security and community resilience. This project reflects our commitment to cultivating not just food, but empowerment, education, and equity - growing a healthier future from the ground up.
Mission: To provide emergency food assistance to families in Champaign County to help the most vulnerable in our local communities.
Project Proposal: The Grace Lutheran Church Food Pantry has been in operation for 40 years. At its inception the Grace Pantry staff delivered food to 3 families per week. Unfortunately, food insecurity and the need for food have been increasing in recent years. In 2024 we served a total of 3370 families (around 70 per week) and 12,467 individuals.
Our Pantry serves clients from Champaign County every Thursday morning in drive-through and walk-up distributions. We provide emergency food items such as canned and packaged non-perishable food, fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, cheese or yogurt, bread and meat. Many of our products are purchased through the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, but when they do not have sufficient stock available, we often fill in the gaps with the purchase of eggs, soup, cereal, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, and other staples from local supermarkets. Members of our small but committed congregation were very generous in donating fresh produce to the Pantry as a special 40th Pantry Anniversary project this spring, and some members have provided vegetables from their own gardens. Our Pantry clients also regularly request personal care items and cleaning products that we have been unable to provide on a reliable basis.
We have about 30 church volunteers that assist with a variety of activities (shopping, pickup, stocking, sorting, packaging, boxing, and loading) in support of our weekly Pantries. Funds for the purchase of products are strictly through memorial donations and donations from members of the congregation to the Pantry.
If we are selected to receive a Common Ground Round Up For Good Grant, we will use the funds to purchase shelf-stable food items and much-desired personal care and cleaning items for our grateful Pantry clients.
Mission: Grand Prairie Friends serves as a not-for-profit, conservation land trust whose mission is to preserve and restore natural communities in east-central Illinois and promote an understanding and appreciation of natural resources.
Project Proposal: Nature As Wellness Program
Through a series of hands-on public events, this program will illustrate nature's healing powers for people; and people's ability to heal nature.
A three-part series, GPF will offer a 3-part training series through (6) different events, at no cost for the general public to explore the relationship between nature and people's mental, spiritual and physical health. These events include both education as well as training in these practices to bring nature into participants everyday life
(1) Mental Health: Guided by a facilitator, participants will experience a forest bathing workshop to learn self-regulation and meditative practices in the solace of the woods. Exercises will also include a sound bath ceremony to connect to the natural sounds of nature.
(2) Leave No Trace: This training will serve as an introduction to living lightly on the land. This full national program will be offered by GPF later in 2026. This introductory course hosted by nationally-certified trainer, will give an overview of the program, basic principles of how to practice LNT and invite persons interested in the full course a benefit to enroll first. https://lnt.org/
(3) Guided Walks: GPF will host three guided walks (spring, summer, fall) in which our land stewardship team will train participants in hands-on identification and removal of invasive species to improve the health of our native plants. Native insect, birds and mammals depend on native vegetation as habitat and food sources.
Through these experiences, we hope to provide tools for participants to reduce mental and physical strife. As well as awaken an awareness for a greater appreciation for nature and the bond we share.
Grand Prairie Friends owns and manages more than 1,200 acres of nature preserves, including Shortline and Edna Burnett preserves in Champaign area.
As a non-profit Conservation Land Trust sicne 1984, Grand Prairie Friends owns, protects and manages more than 1,200 acres of public nature preserve sites including Shortline Prairie and Edna Burnett Land & Water Reserve in the County. To fulfill our mission of inclusive nature access, GPF preserves are open to the public and provide no-cost programming to connect the communities we serve to the natural world. In 2025, GPF earned national land trust accreditation, only one of nine accredited land trusts in Illinois.
Mission: Healthy Champaign County's mission is to provide and promote 1) a safe, sustainable, and accessible food environment, 2) inclusive, accessible, and equitable active living opportunities, and 3) other health and wellness initiatives for the people of Champaign County. We achieve this through strong coalition building with dozens of like-minded stakeholder organizations and community leaders.
Project Proposal: Funds realized from the Round Up For Good Grant would be directed to the 2026 Feeding Champaign County Food Summit, which Healthy Champaign County will be hosting this coming March for the fourth time.
The Food Summit was created in response to the need for better coordination of food access and security throughout Champaign County. The 2025 Food Summit brought together nearly 100 community leaders at the I-Hotel for dialog to sustain and build upon the essential work of ensuring that the residents of Champaign County have affordable access to the nutritious foods essential to a healthy, active life.
Together we have explored the many different causes and challenges embedded in food security issues. These difficult conversations, have inspired new partnerships and strategies to overcome barriers and bridge gaps in meeting the food security needs of the residents of Champaign County.
The Champaign County Food Summits have been, and will continue to be, organized by volunteers representing community organizations and residents. Partners, including the University of Illinois, Sola Gratia Farm, C-U Public Health District, Common Ground Food Co-op, The Land Connection, OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center, and the Cities of Champaign and Urbana have helped us financially to secure facilities, meeting materials and supplies, meals, and stipends for keynote speakers.
Additional financial support would enable the planning team to explore at least two avenues of interest. First, we would like to invite a plenary speaker to share perspectives, strategies, and insights that might inform our work. Dr. Bobby J. Smith II, was our 2025 keynote speaker. Dr. Smith trained as a sociologist, with a background in agricultural economics, his research, teaching, and service creates a public interdisciplinary space to explore how Black people’s historical and contemporary relationships to food and agriculture have shaped both their lives and the world. Dr. Smith is an expert in food justice, food systems analysis, food equity, agricultural history, agricultural industry issues, and equitable policy design. His first book, Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement won the 2024 First Book Prize from the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) and was named a 2024 James Beard Book Award Finalist. His talk was very well received, the follow-up Q&A was lively, and post-event participant feedback was very favorable on the idea of a keynote speaker.
A second avenue we would like to explore, with additional support, would make the event available to folks unable to attend in person and to capture highlights throughout the Summit. Our setting makes live and video recording technically feasible, but the undertaking has been beyond our means. Our post-event participant feedback has strongly supported this idea, but we have struggled to find the resources to make it happen. Support from the Common Ground Round Up for Good grant would go a long way to helping us expand access and to archive the best of the Summit.
Mission: Illini Media is committed to providing an unsurpassed educational opportunity for its student employees and keeping this mission at the forefront of all our internal decision-making.
Our company offers a professional, hands-on, student-run learning environment and provides high-quality communication channels for readers, listeners and viewers throughout our campus, local community and the world. By offering comprehensive training with current tools and resources in a challenging, fast-paced environment, Illini Media helps create talented new media, marketing and sales professionals.
As leaders of our operations, they learn the responsibility of making independent decisions and gain understanding and respect for cherished principles of freedom of expression and ethical business practices.
Project Proposal: We are looking to the Round Up For Good Grant program to fund an RF study for a potential upgrade for our transmitter for WPGU 107.1 FM. WPGU has been the independent, nonprofit student-run radio station for the Champaign-Urbana area and its surrounding towns since the mid-1950s. Initially starting as a carrier-current AM radio station on the University of Illinois campus, in subsequent years, the station received FCC licensing to broadcast on FM frequencies. Since that initial license was granted, the station was granted the ability to increase its power output, which would expand the coverage area for the station into the Decatur area and other surrounding communities. It would also improve the quality of coverage in the Champaign-Urbana community. To do this, WPGU must conduct an RF Exposure Study at the site of its current transmitter in Champaign to find out whether or not increasing the power would be harmful or not to any surrounding residents. This is an essential step in furthering our support of the community by providing free access to music, news and entertainment for anyone within the listening area. If the RF Exposure study shows that a power increase is possible, WPGU will immediately kick off its "Free Music" and "Free News" campaign that will donate FM radios to low-or-no-income residents in the listening area. In a world that's dominated by streaming services that require ever-increasing subscription fees, our community deserves access to information, news and entertainment for no investment. This project is the first step to ensuring that for our community.
Mission: TIP secures access to justice alongside our immigrant communities in downstate Illinois. Recognizing that access to accurate, complete information regarding immigration law is geographically and economically restricted for underserved immigrant populations in downstate Illinois, the Immigration Project endeavors to provide access to justice for immigrants and their families through immigration-related legal and educational services to immigrants, refugees, their families and others in downstate Illinois, in a manner and context which recognizes the full dignity of each individual.
Project Proposal: TIP’s mental health peer support program (1) gives immigrant women access to linguistically and culturally appropriate mental health resources, (2) creates new US-based peer support networks to replace those they lost from relocation, (3) reduces stigma in the Latinx community surrounding mental health services (4) trains mentors for sustainability.
Although they come for different reasons, women face similar migration challenges, including the lack of a support network. The survey relied upon by Congress in passing the Violence Against Women Act found a lifetime prevalence of domestic violence of 49.8% among immigrant women, compared to 22.1% in the US general population. Isolation leaves women vulnerable to not only domestic violence, but also housing scams, human trafficking, fraud in labor contracting, and others that take advantage of women who don’t have access to accurate information and services.
There are extremely limited resources for mental health and emotional support in central Illinois. The Immigration Project creates new support networks to replace those that women left behind. Licensed clinical counselor(s) meet with small groups of immigrant and refugee clients who identify as women. The contracted counselor(s) lead peer support groups, each meeting regularly over a period of approximately two months. The counselor(s) use techniques to teach coping skills and develop self-regulation in the participants while facilitating conversation and sharing, understanding and navigating the cultural stigmas against mental health services.
Women are guided through discussions including:
Coping with migration trauma, loneliness, fear, and anxiety;
Rediscovering identity in a new environment;
Gender roles including adapting to US societal expectations or maintaining values of the home culture;
Parenting child survivors of trauma and parenting children adapting to a new country;
It is okay to ask for help - when and how to get help;
and more topics as needed by the group.
Some women from the first meeting groups emerge as leaders and will be selected to take on leadership roles in the later groups. They will receive training on an ongoing basis to identify crises that require referral to professionals, and to use trauma-informed techniques. These permanent peer mentors will continue to lead the peer support groups in their native languages after the grant period.
These funds will support this peer support program, including the salaries of program staff, contracted licensed counselor(s), and barrier reduction and incentives. Barrier-reduction includes childcare and food/snacks during the peer support groups, bus passes or other transit vouchers, and a perfect attendance award for those that attend every session. These methods reduce barriers preventing attendance and to encourage women and peer mentors to attend regularly.
Success for goal 1 (give immigrant women access to linguistically and culturally appropriate mental health resources) would be met if women participate in the peer support sessions. Specifically our goal is for at least 6 women to have perfect attendance in each 2-month session, or 24 perfect attendance awards for the year.
Success for goal 2 (create new US-based peer support networks to replace those they lost from relocation) would be met if women exchange phone numbers and continue to meet and support each other after the formal sessions have ended. Immigration Project caseworkers will complete a 6-month follow up single-question survey with each of the participants: Do you still talk to any of the women from the group? We would also survey the participants immediately following the group to determine if they feel the group had positive outcomes on their mental health and outlook. To determine if a mental health intervention is perceived by a patient to have positive impact, we will use the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale (Psychosom Med. 2016 Jul-Aug; 78(6): 716–727. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927366). Success means that women report feeling support and community belonging.
Success for goal 3 (reduce stigma in the Latinx community surrounding mental health services) would be measured using a survey called the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS) (Griffiths, K.M., Christensen, H. & Jorm, A.F. Predictors of depression stigma. BMC Psychiatry 8, 25 (2008). https://nceph.anu.edu.au/research/tools-resources/depression-stigma-scale-dss). Participants would be asked to complete the survey to determine if they feel less stigma towards those that seek mental health services than others matching their demographics.
Success for goal 4 (train mentors to sustain the program) means that peer mentors continue the program after the training period with the licensed counselor is completed.
By building connection and providing support, this program bolsters the safety and mental health of our immigrant communities.
Mission: The mission of ISCU is to create a welcoming, inclusive, and equitable community for immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, in Champaign County to ensure that immigrants can thrive and participate as independent members of our community.
Project Proposal: As with last year, ISCU's Round Up for Good project will fund emergency food assistance for immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. Last year ISCU was able to provide over $8,000 in emergency food to vulnerable immigrants, due in large part to the almost $5,000 that we received from the Round Up for Good program. This year our immigrant neighbors are more vulnerable than ever, so we hope that the Coop members support for emergency food assistance will continue. Our food assistance is culturally sensitive, providing food that our clients feel comfortable with, and this year the emergency food program has expanded to include a food pantry.
Mission: Jubilee Cafe provides a free, weekly, made from scratch meal served restaurant style to anyone in need without question, from food insecure college students to community members without permanent housing. We meet people where they are at in life, providing dignity and offering menu choices to folks who frequently have little choice about anything in their daily lives.
Project Proposal: The number of guests Jubilee Cafe serves has steadily increased since May, and will only continue to grow as federal budget cuts kick in. To help meet this need, we have increased our community partnerships to acquire more food. We plan to use the Round Up funds to improve and expand our pantry to accommodate these additional donations.
The proposed improvements include adding more metro shelving units ($400), venting the door of the pantry ($150 plus installation), and installing heat deflecting exterior shutters to the pantry's windows to assist with maintaining optimum storage temperatures during increasingly hot summers ($2,000 plus installation).
Mission: McKinley Church Food Pantry at Garden Hills:
We feed our neighbors in North Champaign!
McKinley Presbyterian has been operating the food pantry at Garden Hills Elementary School since 2012. From 1-6pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, volunteers from the church, University of Illinois, Centennial High School Key Club, and the greater CU community work together to offer food to 60-70 families - about 150-200 persons.
Our food pantry also prepares 50-75 weekly backpacks for the students of one adopted grade at Garden Hills Elementary School. These backpacks provide food for the weekend when meals are not served at school. Most often the Centennial HS Key Club students take the lead in the backpack effort.
Project Proposal: 100% of any grant funds are used for food, toiletries, and operational supplies.
This grant will help us buy food staples not always available at the Eastern Illinois Fook Bank. We strive to offer Items such as peanut butter, fresh bread, frozen meats, and fresh produce in our regular food distribution. Bar soap, sanitary supplies, and other hygiene/toiletry products, not covered by SNAP benefits are much appreciated.
Distributing healthy food items in our backpacks can be challenging. Additional funds augment what we offer so nutritious yet easy to prepare foods can be included.
After 12 years of operation, our food pantry's portable shelves and carts are in need of replacement. Shelving helps us make the most of our storage space. Carts enable our volunteers to deliver boxes of food from the school loading dock to those waiting.
Mission: To combat the incidence and impact of drugs and alcohol abuse among men; to empower them to make informed choices about their future and the future of their dependent children.
Project Proposal: Home Improvements:
1. Kitchen - new cabinets, sink, refrigerator,
2. Bathrooms - new sinks, toilet, vanities
3. New soundproof door for the office
3. Exterior of the home - new screen door, gutters, new garage door
4. Lawn equipment, tool organizers
Mission: The New American Welcome Center at the University Y helps immigrants fully integrate into American society and prepares receiving communities around Champaign County to be welcoming and inclusive. By engaging local institutions and mobilizing community resources, we help make our community a place where newcomers and immigrants can thrive and flourish.
Project Proposal: The New American Welcome Center has been a steadfast pillar of support for immigrants since its inception in 2017. Over the years, we have weathered numerous challenges, yet our commitment to providing high-quality services has never wavered. Despite the tumultuous landscape that immigrants often face, we have grown, expanded, and adapted our approach to ensure we can meet the evolving needs of our community. Our comprehensive wrap-around services are designed to offer holistic support, addressing not only immediate legal challenges but also the broader needs of individuals and families adjusting to life in the United States.
In line with this mission, our specific project aims to continue assisting immigrants through their legal journeys, focusing on two crucial aspects:
Transitioning Immigration Court Hearings from In-Person to Online: As the world moves toward greater digital accessibility, one of the most pressing issues we seek to address is the transition of immigration court proceedings from in-person hearings to virtual platforms. This change would significantly reduce barriers for immigrants, including time off work, travel costs, and the logistical challenges of attending court in person, especially for those living in rural areas or far from their court venues. This would also aid with lowering the client’s risk of unfair and unlawful detention by Immigration Custom Enforcement (ICE). The funds would allow us to complete the change of venue corresponding documentation and would pay for the priority mail fees to ensure proper mailing.
Financial Support for Representation During Citizenship Interviews in St. Louis: We are also committed to ensuring that immigrants can receive the legal representation they need during their citizenship interviews. Unfortunately, we currently do not have sufficient funding to cover the full scope of expenses associated with this, including car rentals, parking fees, and gas for travel. These additional costs often prevent individuals from accessing the support they need during interviews. The funds would help our legal team off set this cost especially now when we have
Our goal is to secure the necessary funds to provide comprehensive representation and financial support for these crucial steps in the immigration process. By doing so, we can ensure that immigrants are not only informed and empowered but also able to navigate their legal journey with the support they deserve.
We are calling on community partners, donors, and advocates to help us sustain this vital work, so that every immigrant has the opportunity to build a better future in the United States.
Mission: Persons Assuming Control of their Environment, Inc. (PACE, Inc.) offers services which assists persons with disabilities in achieving and/or maintaining independence. Our goal is the full participation of persons with disabilities in the rights and responsibilities of society.
Project Proposal: PACE, Inc. is a Center for Independent Living located in Urbana, Illinois, committed to empowering individuals with disabilities in Champaign County to live independently and with dignity. One of the most pressing challenges our consumers face is the lack of affordable, stable housing. Many individuals with disabilities live on fixed or limited incomes and are disproportionately affected by rising housing costs. Despite their best efforts, financial hardships - such as sudden medical expenses, job loss, or personal emergencies - can make it nearly impossible to cover rent or housing-related costs. Unfortunately, there are few local resources available to offer timely rent assistance, putting individuals at risk of eviction and homelessness.
In response, PACE proposes a one-time assistance up to $200 per consumer. This project will provide direct financial support to individuals in crisis, allowing them to stay housed while they stabilize their situation. By addressing these short-term needs, we aim to prevent long-term consequences, including housing insecurity and loss of independence. This targeted assistance will not only help individuals retain their housing, but also offer peace of mind and the opportunity to focus on personal growth, employment, and community participation - core values that align with PACE's mission of fostering self-sufficiency and inclusion.
Mission: Planned Parenthood of Illinois is the leader in providing and promoting compassionate, comprehensive reproductive health care, education, and rights.
Project Proposal: The Round Up For Good Grant will be used to support health care provision at Planned Parenthood of Illinois’ Champaign health center. PPIL Champaign provides vital sexual and reproductive healthcare to the community, including STI testing, contraceptive counseling, youth education, gender affirming care services, and medication and procedural abortion care. In addition to providing medical services, PPIL supports community education and programming with Champaign residents and students at UIUC, providing a valuable space in which individuals can learn more about reproductive health and advocacy, organize, and find community at a time when our reproductive rights are increasingly uncertain.
Since January, the U.S. has seen attempts to eliminate federal funding for critical health care programs, attacks on gender-affirming care and transgender youth, cancellation of crucial sex education programming, removal of public health data and care information from government websites, and the sweeping elimination of programs and research initiatives designed to address health equity and barriers to care. Despite these challenges, PPIL has remained committed to our community in Champaign. Last year, PPIL Champaign served 5,042 patients, providing 5,552 STI screenings, 118 cancer screenings, 1,129 gender affirming care appointments, and 1,575 contraceptive counseling sessions.
Mission: Accessible. Responsible. Responsive. Diverse.
Since being incorporated as a non-profit organization on October 20, 1975; Prairie Air, Incorporated, has had the mission statement to be accessible, responsible, responsive, and diverse.
WEFT gives East Central Illinois an outlet of expression by providing volunteer hosts a forum to share views through a wide spectrum of information, news, and unique musical entertainment.
The WEFT call letters were granted to the radio station by the Federal Communications Commission on April 28, 1980. Weft is a word used in weaving to describe the cross threads that bind all the various strands together.
From early broadcasts as "background music" on cablevision systems in the area and then the first historic broadcast on 90.1 FM on September 25, 1981...WEFT was established as a radio station that would bind the various people of our community together - through talk, discussion, music, and entertainment - into an inclusive, vibrant, and solid fabric that shows the richness and diversity of Champaign-Urbana.
Providing a "voice for the voiceless" in the community, WEFT exists for those under-served and under-represented by mainstream, corporate, for-profit radio stations.
Project Proposal: Teach. Mentor. Provide more access.
While WEFT has been and will continue to be a community resource that provides a platform and access to radio airwaves for community members who want to share music, information, or opinions that are unique (and often under-represented) to the area, WEFT's goal is to expand that mission to include teaching, mentoring, and providing even more access to a wider population.
As one of only two full-power community radio stations in Illinois, WEFT is positioned to provide media access for people and organizations who would better reflect and support a thriving and vibrant Urbana-Champaign.
But in 2026, WEFT wants to do more, provide more for the community members here in East Central Illinois - including musicians and artists in the local area. The goal is to provide workshops, instructional classes, and mentoring sessions within the WEFT building on North Market Street as well as other venues throughout Champaign and Urbana.
This project would include topics such as recording basics, podcasting, engineering, social media and content creation, musical instruction, and marketing/promotion.
The only radio station in the area to play a wide variety of local singers and bands, WEFT is posed to be a better partner, resource, and mentor.
Funds from Common Ground's Round Up for Good would be used to contract with experts in digital recording, editing, technology, social media, content creation, marketing, and promotion to help community members interested in these areas - including many musicians and artists.
WEFT wants to make available the resources that the radio station is known for, in conjunction with these monthly workshops, to enable more community members (individuals and organizations) to learn and grow - whether it be as a hobby or as a potential career.
Funds would also provide these workshops and training sessions for no charge - making it even more accessible for all members of the community.
Mission: At Prairie Rivers Network, we protect water, heal land, and inspire change.
Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other.
Project Proposal: Prairie Rivers Network x Nurtured in Nature - Addressing Illinois’ “Nature Gap”
Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) works to protect water, heal land and inspire change. Our work addresses local and systemic injustices impacting Illinois’ environment and the communities that rely on it. PRN seeks support from the Common Ground community to help scale our new collaboration with Nurtured in Nature – a transformative outdoor wellness program designed to to close the “nature gap” in Illinois by fostering connection, healing, and empowerment for BIPOC communities. Through this expanded initiative now supported by PRN, Nurtured in Nature seeks to dismantle systemic barriers that have historically and intentionally excluded communities of color from outdoor spaces. Our work helps to create a safe and supportive environment where everyone feels welcome in nature.
Our partners at the Center for American Progress (CAP) define the nature gap as the unequal access that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income communities have to green spaces and natural environments. In Illinois, CAP’s research shows that 77% of communities of color are considered nature-deprived, compared to just 21% of white communities. PRN is committed to addressing this disparity and further inspiring a deeper culture of public access to Illinois’ natural wonders.
Tomas Delgado launched Nurtured in Nature in 2023 through Healthy Champaign County with the intention of closing the nature gap identified in local research within our county. To do this work, Tomas creates welcoming, low-pressure outdoor experiences designed specifically for BIPOC communities. Rooted in community and belonging, the program offers an inclusive space to share stories, build relationships, and create meaningful memories in the outdoors. These gatherings aren’t just about hiking – they’re about connection, reflection, and finding joy in nature.
The nature gap goes beyond access to natural spaces like parks and rivers; it has tangible consequences on public health, community and in building climate resilience – something that’s more important than ever before. This disparity is rooted in systemic inequities ranging from land use to urban planning to even environmental policy – many of which have historically excluded the BIPOC community from seats at the decision making table and even to the mental health benefits of nature.
Current programming includes seasonal outdoor gatherings that are inclusive and centered around BIPOC communities and their experience in nature. Each gathering is focused on a guided nature walk and supplementary activities such as kayaking and river sports, guided meditation, sound baths, history of the land, speakers and so much more. Now through dedicated PRN’s staffing and financial support in 2025, the Nurtured in Nature program expanded outreach for the seasonal gatherings by taking C-U participants outside of the county, and brought in new partners like the Center for American Progress and hip hop artists like Mother Nature into our programming.
With support from the Common Ground community, PRN seeks to launch this work into its next phase. We will deepen our reach into communities in Champaign County and beyond central Illinois through creative promotion and collaboration with BIPOC artists and influencers, reduce transportation barriers for participants with consistent and safe rideshares and van rentals, and secure more outdoor gear and supplies for new hikers.
Currently, most of the Nurtured in Nature promotion and activities are centralized around the Champaign-Urbana area. With your support, we hope to expand these opportunities by bringing BIPOC communities from outside of central Illinois into the region to explore and make new connections right here.
To engage new audiences we will collaborate with partners and commission local BIPOC artists to generate authentic, creative materials to widen our reach and recruit new hikers, while also supporting local creatives working to build a more inclusive community.
Additionally, support from the Round Up For Good Grant would help PRN increase access by providing rideshares and van rentals for our events as needed. By providing transportation options for participants, we are reducing another barrier that may further prevent people from building their own connection with nature.
The remainder of the grant funds would be used to secure guest speakers and program supplies such as a larger first aid kit, rain ponchos, and facilitation materials that will ensure Nurtured in Nature is able to accommodate the larger groups that are expected.
Most importantly, we believe that the more people have access to nature, the more they will work to protect and celebrate all it offers. Expanding Nurtured in Nature programming will strengthen PRN’s network of advocates fighting for a better Illinois.
Mission: We provide compassionate, comprehensive support to those affected by sexual trauma. We care for our communities through prevention education programs that promote consent.
Project Proposal: In service to our vision of a world free of sexual violence, Rape Advocacy, Counseling & Education (RACES) provides free, age-appropriate, and evidence-informed prevention education programming to students of all ages. During the 2024-2025 school year, RACES staff provided programming to around 5,000 students in Champaign County, thanks in part to the support from a Round Up for Good Grant. RACES has been fortunate to receive these grants for multiple years, and this has allowed us to increase our staff capacity to be able to reach more students in our community. If selected, funds will continue to be used to cover staff compensation and related expenses, which will allow RACES to maintain its current, high level of service provision at no cost to local schools or organizations.
Mission: Our mission: Our primary aim is to provide a structured and stable environment for men recovering from alcohol and substance use disorder. We strive to provide a safe, caring, and compassionate atmosphere that fosters lifelong recovery for our participants to enable personal growth while helping improve their quality of life.
Project Proposal: Recovery Happens is applying for the Roundup for Good grant to support essential needs for men coming out of treatment centers/homelessness for substance/Alcohol use disorder. These funds will help provide vital resources that promote stability, independence, and long-term recovery. We are applying for the following projects:
1. Food Starter kits-$1500.00 each man will receive a food starter kit Valued at $250. Each kit will include essential pantry items non-perishable goods and basic cooking supplies to help them establish a stable and self-reliant living environment the kits are designed to ease the financial burden of starting over and ensure that no one goes hungry during their first steps towards independence.
2. Technology Access-$1000.00. We seek to purchase computers and desks to create a small Tech center. This will allow our clients to apply for jobs, access educational and recovery resources, and complete the required online training or recovery curriculum.
3. Clothing assistance-$1000.00 This funding will provide Essential clothing for men entering our program, including work-appropriate attire, everyday clothing, and seasonal items like coats and boots. Many clients arrive with little to no belongings, and having Access to clean, well-fitting clothes helps restore dignity, boosts confidence, and prepares them for job interviews, community involvement, and daily life.
4. Transportation assistance-$1440 Will purchase monthly bus passes at $20 each to provide for six months of reliable transportation for twelve men in our program. Access to public transit is essential for attending job interviews, work recovery meetings, and other critical appointments. This support removes a major barrier to independence and helps participants stay engaged and consistent in their progress.
Mission: Helping people and communities maximize opportunities for a better quality of life through education, planning, and support services.
Project Proposal:
I. Project Summary
The Regional Planning Commission (RPC) mission is "Helping people and communities maximize opportunities for a better quality of life through education, planning, and support services." Growing Children's Futures is a collaborative garden project designed to establish edible learning gardens at four early childhood centers operated by RPCs Early Childhood Education Program. The goal is to introduce children ages 0-5 to nature-based learning, healthy eating, and environmental stewardship. With support from the 2026 Round Up Good Grant, each site will develop a garden space tailored to young learners, supported by age-appropriate curriculum, staff training, and family engagement.
II. Organizational Background
RPC Early Childhood Education Program has been serving families and children in Champaign County for over 30 years, providing quality early childhood education, family support services, and community partnerships. Our four early childhood centers in Champaign County currently serve over 300 children from diverse backgrounds.
III. Project Goals
1. Create Garden Spaces at each of the five early childhood centers.
2. Enhance Early Learning through hands-on garden activities aligned with early childhood education standards.
3. Promote Healthy Eating Habits by growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs children can taste and help grow.
4. Engage Families and Community through family engagement nights.
IV. Project Activities
Phase 1 - Planning (January/February):
Phase 2 - Installation (April/May):
Phase 3 - Programming (May/June/July/August/September):
V. Expected Outcomes
VI. Evaluation Plan
We will evaluate the program through:
VII. Budget Summary
Item Cost Estimate
Raised beds & soil (4 sites) $2500
Tools & supplies (child-safe) $1500
Plants, seeds, and compost $1000
Total Request $5000
Note: A detailed budget with quotes can be attached
VIII. Sustainability
To ensure long-term success:
XI. Conclusion
The Growing Children's Futures garden initiative provides more than just a place to grow vegetables - it will cultivate curiosity, cooperation, and community in our four early childhood centers. With your support, we can build a greener, healthier, and more connected future for our youngest learners and their families.
Mission: Solidarity Gardens is a community-driven initiative dedicated to increasing equitable access to fresh, healthy, and organic food for our most vulnerable neighbors in Urbana-Champaign. Founded in 2020 in response to the surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Solidarity Gardens was established through the collaborative efforts of Cunningham Township Supervisor’s Office, Sola Gratia Farm, Urbana Park District, Channing Murray Foundation, and Urbana Free Library. This partnership aimed to empower residents to grow food for themselves and their neighbors, fostering a resilient, community-based food system.
Since its inception and thanks to amazing community support, Solidarity Gardens has expanded its network to include 77 gardens—including 17 community gardens which donate fresh vegetables to local food pantries, and 60 free garden plots for low income, SNAP eligible, and immigrant families—as well as 4 produce donation sites, a shared tool library, educational workshops, and a free seed library, all to not only grow and distribute thousands of pounds of fresh produce annually but to also foster strong community connections and resiliency in the face of food insecurity. We support the most vulnerable in our community, including low-income and immigrant families, offering the opportunity for everyone to cultivate their own food and strengthen community ties. During recent years, we have also seen the increased need for access to gardening through a growing demand of our Free Garden Program, and we continue to work to expand our programming throughout Urbana-Champaign in response to this. Through these efforts, Solidarity Gardens continues to build a culture of mutual aid, food justice, and sustainability in Urbana-Champaign.
Project Proposal: Solidarity Gardens supports community gardens throughout Urbana-Champaign where food is grown organically for and by neighbors in need. Food insecurity continues to rise sharply, driven by a combination of economic instability, inflation, and disruptions in food assistance. Families are facing increased difficulty accessing affordable, nutritious food, with many forced to rely on limited or less healthy options. We have seen an increased demand for our free garden plots and a hopeful enthusiasm among the community to expand local gardening spaces, share knowledge and skills, and connect neighbors with our own fresh homegrown food.
You can help us to create and expand community garden spaces that are accessible to everyone—especially the most vulnerable members of our community—connecting them with the skills, resources, and space to grow their own food. By empowering residents with education, gardening experience, and the necessary materials and by fostering a resilient and supportive local food network, Solidarity Gardens strengthens community bonds and nurtures food justice.
Last year alone, our network donated more than 5,000 pounds of fresh produce, directly addressing local food insecurity and promoting health and wellness. In addition to thousands of pounds of organic vegetables, our gardens also provided dozens of community events and work days that engaged more than a hundred people in creating strong social connections and support networks. This impact is only possible thanks to the dedication of our generous volunteers and community partners whose collaboration and support have been essential to building and sustaining this growing network. The Round Up For Good grant would provide our gardens with essential upkeep materials such as:
• materials to build more raised beds and expand in-ground gardening space,
• tools to weed, plant, and harvest,
• compost to amend soils,
• plant starts to increase food production,
• irrigation to keep our gardens well watered,
• fencing to keep our plants safe from animals,
• trellising to support healthy growing,
• signage to make our gardens more visible,
• and packaging and processing materials to get every harvested vegetable safely to those in need.
You can help us keep our gardens producing, our soils healthy, our gardeners supported, our gardens visible, and every member of our community feeling welcomed to benefit from the gardens and join in the effort of creating local food security. This grant would ensure our gardens remain vibrant, productive, and accessible community spaces where food grows and neighbors connect.
Solidarity Gardens relies on community engagement and support. Our volunteers generously give their time and energy throughout the growing season and ensure every harvest reaches neighbors in need. We deeply appreciate the garden leaders whose commitment to managing plots, organizing workdays, and nurturing plants all season long creates a thriving and welcoming space for all. We are also grateful to our core steering organizations— the Urbana and Champaign Park Districts, Cunningham Township Supervisor’s Office, and Sola Gratia Farm— who provide essential resources for garden spaces, and for our many partners hosting gardens—including Wesley Food Pantry, Champaign Urbana Public Health District, Habitat for Humanity, Ujima Retreat Center, Channing Murray Foundation, Dr. Williams School, Yankee Ridge, Mrs. Mitchell’s Garden, Greenhouse Cooperative, Aspen Court, and Grow2Give. Finally, we celebrate the countless community members who lend a hand in the garden and support us in endless other ways, advocating for increased access to gardening spaces and fresh food for all. Your voices, enthusiasm, and participation empower Solidarity Gardens to build a resilient, inclusive, and supportive local food system. We are growing not just food, but stronger community roots, as we are neighbors feeding neighbors, cultivating community.
Beyond the Round Up For Good program, we warmly invite community members to join us as volunteers, gardeners, and advocates. Whether you have a green thumb, time to lend, or enthusiasm to share, your involvement is vital to sustaining this work and ensuring that no neighbor goes hungry. Together, we cultivate more than food—we cultivate hope, connection, and a healthier, more equitable community.
To learn more and volunteer, check out our website at: www.solidarity-gardens-cu.org
Mission: The Idea Store is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization dedicated to employing and encouraging "Creative Reuse" in support of education, the arts, conservation, and environmental stewardship.
Project Proposal: Round Up For Good Grant Proposal: Creative Reuse Education
Project Title Read, Reuse, Repeat: Teaching children about creative reuse and sustainability.
Project Summary: The goal of this project is to teach children about sustainability and creative reuse through picture books and hands on activities
This educational program will provide a hands-on activity specifically designed for Pre-Kindergarten through 5th-grade students. This project will use specific picture books as a springboard for interactive discussions and creative activities centered around the principles of creative reuse, waste reduction, and upcycling. The Round Up For Good Grant will directly fund the development and implementation of this program, including the acquisition of picture books, the creation of "Creative Reuse Kits" for classrooms, and the costs associated with program delivery.
Specific Project(s) Supported by the Grant:
The Round Up For Good Grant (estimated $3,500 - $5,000) will directly support the following tangible components of the "Read, Reuse, Repeat" program:
1. Picture Book Collection Development ($800):
Tangible Output: Purchase of approximately 12 picture books that illustrate themes of creative reuse, recycling, sustainability, and innovative problem-solving. Examples include books like Scraps by Lois Ehlert, The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires, Rainbow Weaver, by Linda Marshall. One set of books will stay at the store to be used for events. Each classroom presentation will be based on a specific book and a copy of that book will be given to the classroom.
Direct Impact: Provides essential literary resources that serve as the foundation for discussions and activities, making abstract environmental concepts accessible and engaging for young learners.
2. Creation of "Creative Reuse Kits" for Classrooms ($1,200):
Production of "Creative Reuse Kits," for each classroom visit each containing: The picture book that the activity is based on.
Supplies for each child in the classroom to complete an art activity inspired by the picture book.
An assortment of basic, reusable art and craft materials to kickstart creative reuse projects after the presentation.
Storage containers for easy transport and organization within classrooms.
Direct Impact: Students will be able to immediately implement the concepts of creative reuse after hearing a story and talking about sustainability. They will also benefit by having an assortment of creative reuse materials in their classrooms without requiring schools to purchase additional materials. Each kit represents a resource that can be utilized repeatedly.
3. Program Delivery and Educational Material Refinement ($1000):
Tangible Output: This portion of the grant will cover the direct, project-specific costs
Time spent by a dedicated program coordinator on curriculum finalization, ensuring activities are practical and impactful.
Costs associated with assembling the "Creative Reuse Kits" (materials, packaging, and labor for assembly).
Direct costs for the program coordinator's time to facilitate initial interactive read-a-louds and activity sessions in 5-7 local Pre-K to 5th-grade classrooms, the first year.
Direct Impact: Ensures the program is effectively launched and demonstrated, providing direct support to educators and students in the initial phase and gathering feedback for future scalability. This is not general payroll, but rather project-specific compensation for the direct execution of the grant's objectives.
Community Support and Impact:
This program has the potential to deliver the following outcomes
• Fostering Environmental Literacy: Educating many young students (estimated 100 - 125 students in the first year) about the importance of reducing waste and the value of materials, instilling sustainable habits from an early age.
• Sparking Creativity and Innovation: Providing hands-on opportunities for children to transform discarded items into new creations, enhancing critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and artistic expression.
• Supporting Local Schools: Offering high-quality, free educational resources to local schools, supplementing their curricula and enriching learning experiences, especially for schools with limited art or environmental education budgets.
• Promoting Resourcefulness: Encouraging families to look at "trash" differently, promoting a culture of resourcefulness and reducing household waste.
Sustainability:
Upon successful completion of the initial grant period, our organization plans to sustain the program through:
• Engaging volunteers to assist with kit assembly and program delivery.
• Developing a fee-for-service model for schools outside the initial grant scope, while maintaining free access for underserved communities.
• Encouraging schools to integrate the "Creative Reuse Kits" into their ongoing curriculum.
Conclusion:
The Read, Reuse, Repeat program is a tangible, impactful project that directly aligns with the Round Up For Good Grant's mission to support community initiatives. By investing in this program, the grant will enable us to equip young learners with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration to become creative environmental stewards, fostering a more sustainable and resourceful community for years to come.
Mission: The Land Connection trains farmers in resilient, restorative farming techniques; informs the public about the sources of our food and why that matters; and works to protect and enhance farmland so that we, and generations to come, will have clean air and water, fertile soil, and healthy, delicious food.
Project Proposal: The Land Connection intends to use the Round Up for Good Grant to help support our food access work in Champaign-Urbana. Specifically, The Land Connection operates three programs through Champaign-Urbana farmers markets to provide additional food dollars to our neighbors in need. We offer a match to double the value of SNAP benefits at farmers markets, a match to double the value of WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks, and a program to support folks experiencing food insecurity that are ineligible for federal nutrition assistance programs.
In 2024, through these programs, we provided nearly $70,000 in additional funds to folks.
Beyond being able to ensure our community has access to healthy, nutritious food, we offer these programs to grow our local economy. We know that when we invest in our local food and farming economy, nearly 70% of the funds we spend on local businesses stay in our community. These farmers market programs provide folks with funds they spend at local food and farm businesses, furthering this initiative to grow our local economy.
Funding from the Round Up for Good Grant will specifically cover costs associated with operating these programs such as printing, advertising, additional dollars to our community, and staffing.
Mission: The Nest Postpartum is a local nonprofit based in Champaign, Illinois, committed to ensuring that no NICU parent feels alone.
Having a baby in the NICU is one of the most stressful and isolating experiences a family can face. It is a world filled with machines, monitors, medical jargon, and uncertainty. Parents often feel powerless. They are torn between spending time with their hospitalized newborn, working to pay bills, caring for other children at home, and managing their own emotional health.
For many families in our community, this crisis happens with little or no support. That is where The Nest steps in.
We walk alongside NICU families from the moment they reach out, providing both emotional and practical care. Every family is paired with a dedicated care coordinator who checks in regularly, listens without judgment, answers questions, and offers calm guidance during a chaotic time.
But our support doesn’t stop there. We meet real, everyday needs that are often overlooked. That includes gas cards for families commuting to the hospital, grocery and restaurant gift cards to ease the burden of daily life, prepared meals so parents don’t have to cook after exhausting NICU visits, hotel lodging for families traveling from outside the area, and help with therapy co-pays and transportation.
Our goal is simple: to lift the burdens that weigh NICU families down so they can focus on what matters most, being present for their baby.
What makes The Nest unique is our focus on compassionate continuity. We are not just a one-time service. We stay connected with families throughout their NICU stay and often beyond, because recovery doesn’t end when a baby leaves the hospital. Many parents carry trauma and exhaustion long after the hospital discharge, and we are here to support healing for the whole family.
We are a small, local organization with a big heart and a growing impact. In the last year, we have served families from across East Central Illinois, including rural areas where NICU care isn’t easily accessible. Our support is offered at no cost to families, regardless of income, and is made possible through community partners, individual donors, and grants like this one.
Most people don’t think about the NICU until they are in it. And when they are, it is life-changing. The Nest exists to make sure no family goes through that life-changing time in the dark or alone.
We hope the Common Ground community will join us in surrounding NICU families with love, care, and practical support — right here in Champaign County.
Project Proposal: The Nest Postpartum requests the Common Ground Round Up For Good Grant to support our NICU Family Support Fund, which provides essential resources directly to Champaign-area families with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This funding will help us address urgent, concrete needs that make a meaningful difference in parents’ ability to be present and cared for during an overwhelming and isolating experience.
Having a baby in the NICU presents families with enormous challenges — emotional, financial, and logistical. Many parents must travel long distances daily to the hospital, balance work and childcare, and navigate unfamiliar medical systems, all while facing intense worry for their newborn. For families without reliable transportation or financial resources, the burden can feel impossible.
This grant will fund:
1. Gas Gift Cards
Many families commute significant distances every day to visit their baby in the NICU. Fuel costs quickly add up, especially for parents who cannot carpool or use public transit. Gas gift cards relieve this financial strain and ensure parents can maintain consistent hospital visits, which are critical for bonding and emotional wellbeing.
2. Hotel Stays for Out-of-Town Families
Some families travel to Champaign from rural or neighboring counties to access NICU care. When daily travel is not feasible due to distance, expense, or fatigue, hotel lodging provides a safe, affordable place for parents to rest and stay close to their baby. This support is vital for families who would otherwise have no option but to endure long, exhausting commutes or be separated during a critical time.
3. Restaurant and Grocery Gift Cards
Eating well and having access to food during long hospital stays is often overlooked but essential. Providing restaurant and grocery gift cards ensures parents can nourish themselves without added stress or expense, allowing them to focus their energy on caring for their child and family.
4. Transportation Assistance
Some families lack access to a car or reliable public transit. Transportation assistance enables parents to get to the hospital and other necessary appointments safely and on time. Whether it’s bus fare, ride-share vouchers, or taxi rides, this help eliminates a major barrier to consistent NICU presence.
The Nest Postpartum’s mission is to ensure that no NICU parent feels alone. Our belief is that tangible support reduces stress and empowers parents to focus on their baby’s care and bonding.
This project directly addresses barriers that often prevent families from visiting and caring for their newborns, such as transportation costs and logistical challenges. By easing these burdens, we help parents be physically and emotionally present during a critical window that affects long-term family health and wellbeing.
Every dollar spent is a lifeline—helping a mother get to her baby’s bedside, a father rest after a long day, or a family eat a warm meal together. These are not abstract interventions; they are real, immediate support that changes lives.
The families served come from Champaign County and surrounding rural communities, where transportation options are limited, and poverty rates are higher. Many NICU parents face compounded challenges of economic hardship, mental health stress, and lack of community resources.
The Nest prioritizes serving all families equitably, regardless of income or insurance status. Our partnerships with local hospitals, social workers, and community organizations ensure that support reaches those most in need quickly and respectfully.
The Nest maintains strict tracking of all grant funds, with clear documentation of how each dollar is used. Our board oversees the project budget and receives quarterly reports on spending and outcomes. We also gather feedback from families to continually improve the effectiveness of our support.
Budget Summary:
Gas Gift Cards: $1,500
Hotel Lodging Support: $1,500
Restaurant and Grocery Gift Cards: $1,250
Transportation Assistance (bus fares, ride-shares): $500
Total: $4,750
This budget is scalable to the final grant award amount, with priority given to fuel and lodging support as the most critical and costly needs.
With this project, The Nest Postpartum will provide concrete, essential support to families at their most vulnerable. The Common Ground community’s investment will ensure that NICU parents are not burdened by distance, hunger, or lack of transportation — but instead can focus on the love and care their babies need.
Mission: Since 1980, the mission of The Refugee Center has been to provide services essential to refugee and immigrant resettlement in East Central Illinois, including orientation, translation, referral, liaison, public benefits assistance, social service counseling, advocacy, job placement, and supportive employment services.
The Refugee Center also aids in the exchange and preservation of the respective cultures of our clients. As an organization, we believe in the inherent worth of all human beings, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, or cultural heritage.
The Refugee Center was created by Vietnamese refugees as a way to help other newly arrived refugees acclimate to American culture, and to provide services commonly needed by this population. Since then, The Refugee Center has expanded its scope to assist all refugees, immigrants, and asylees.
Project Proposal: The Refugee Center would use the Round Up for Good Grant as a crisis fund intended to support approximately 50 families with $100 of crisis support. In the past, The Refugee Center has used Common Ground Round Up For Good funds to purchase essential items for newly arrived refugees. The 2024 award allowed The Refugee Center to provide home supplies and furnishings for 70 new arrivals to the Champaign-Urbana community. Co-op members’ generosity ensured that refugees from Afghanistan, Venezuela, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti were welcomed to a safe, clean, and well-stocked home when they began their new lives in the CU community.
This year has seen some major changes to refugee resettlement, and due to federal policy changes, we believe it is unlikely that we will see new refugee arrivals in Champaign-Urbana over the next fiscal year. The Refugee Center, however, continues to serve our existing refugee clients, as well as a much larger number of immigrants who arrived through other pathways. Both groups face considerable hardships but are not always earmarked for grant funding.
Moving forward, The Refugee Center will use Common Ground funds to be more adaptable to a rapidly-changing legal landscape for immigrants and refugees presently in our community. We are looking for funds that can fill in the gaps for clients not eligible for existing direct assistance grants, or who have been affected by rapid-fire changes to public benefits, such as recent changes to SNAP that may make some current SNAP recipients ineligible. Just $100 per family can be an essential safety net for clients experiencing emergencies, allowing TRC caseworkers to support clients’ immediate needs while they work to connect them to resources. Although we already receive some housing assistance funds, these sources have strict eligibility criteria and a long wait time. A fund designated for crisis management will allow The Refugee Center to purchase emergency appliances such as air conditioning window units during heat waves and space heaters during cold spells, as well as limited relief for clients experiencing food, housing, and utility insecurity or who have other immediate financial crises who are not covered by existing grants.
Round Up For Good funds will be used to provide a sense of support and solidarity to our immigrant and refugee community members during a trying time, helping them achieve dignity, security, and comfort.
Mission: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
Project Proposal: The Salvation Army of Champaign County respectfully requests funding to support our vital food pantry program, which serves as a lifeline for individuals and families facing food insecurity in our community. On average, we serve 95 individuals daily, representing approximately 243 family members—many of whom are children, seniors, and working adults struggling to make ends meet.
Our food pantry provides nutritious groceries, including fresh produce, dairy, protein, and shelf-stable items, ensuring that families have access to balanced meals. We operate five days a week, offering compassionate service in a dignified setting. The need in Champaign County continues to grow due to rising living costs, inflation, and economic instability. Many of our clients are experiencing food insecurity for the first time, and our pantry has seen a significant increase in demand over the past year.
Funding from this grant will directly support the purchase of canned goods (canned proteins, beans, pasta, vegetables) specifically- something that we frequently run short on. With your support, we can continue to provide essential nourishment to hundreds of families each week, reduce hunger in our community, and offer hope to those in crisis.
Mission: The Station Theatre is committed to producing innovative, thought-provoking, and inclusive live theatre experiences. As a volunteer-run nonprofit organization, we aim to foster a welcoming space for artists and audiences alike, while enriching the cultural life of our community through bold storytelling, education, and creative collaboration.
Project Proposal: We are launching a Green Storage Initiative to improve sustainability at The Station Theatre. If awarded the Round Up For Good Grant, we will use the funds to:
- Upgrade and expand our weatherproof storage facilities to protect lumber, platforms, flats, and other reusable scenic materials from rain, snow, and environmental damage.
- Implement an organized inventory system that will help us reuse more materials across productions, reducing waste and minimizing the need for new purchases.
As a small theatre with a big creative output, we build dozens of unique set pieces each year. By investing in better storage infrastructure, we can significantly reduce the amount of wood, metal, and paint that ends up in landfills, while lowering our environmental footprint. This project also supports our commitment to fiscal responsibility and resourcefulness as a volunteer-powered nonprofit.
The improvements will be completed within 12 months of funding, and we'll track our progress through materials saved, cost reduction, and the increased lifespan of our scenic inventory.
Mission: The Urbana Free Library Foundation’s mission is to promote and sustain The Urbana Free Library's role as a vibrant community resource by providing financial support, fostering innovation, and supporting access to the Library's diverse programs and services. We are dedicated to ensuring that the Library remains a welcoming space for learning, growth, and connection for all members of the community.
Project Proposal: The Urbana Free Library’s Teen Open Lab (TOL) program is a weekly teen-directed makerspace and community hub that runs year-round. Designed and shaped by the teens themselves, this safe after-school space fosters an atmosphere of creativity and collaboration. In partnership with Champaign‑Urbana Community Fab Lab and Street College, TOL offers rotating themed activities where teens can work with tools and technology in a supportive, leadership-oriented environment.
While TOL strives to provide ample resources for teens to be creative, socialize, and learn, it can be challenging for those experiencing food insecurity to participate fully. According to No Kid Hungry.org, nearly 80% of teachers observe that hunger undermines students’ focus, over 75% see a drop in academic performance, and more than 60% note increased behavioral issues (No Kid Hungry, 2023).
With 95.83% of Urbana School District students eligible for free or reduced lunch (including 100% eligibility at Urbana Middle School), food insecurity is a serious barrier to participation in school and after-school programs (Illinois State Board of Education, 2025). Champaign County's child food insecurity rate of 16.3% exceeds the state average of 15.5% (Feeding America, 2023), and Urbana’s poverty rate—24.8% overall, 18% for those under 18—is significantly higher than statewide levels (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024).
Offering snacks during TOL directly addresses this need. When snacks were previously funded, attendance rose 22.15% to 2,295 visits in fiscal year 2025. This data demonstrates that hunger relief directly supports engagement. Providing snacks ensures that teens experiencing economic hardship can have the energy and focus needed to participate meaningfully. Food offered in a stigma‑free space further reinforces wellness, inclusion, and resilience, advancing The Urbana Free Library and Common Ground’s shared goal of enriching our local community through cooperation, education, and equity.
References:
Feeding America. (2023). Hunger & Poverty in Illinois | Map the meal gap. FeedingAmerica.org. https://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2023/overall/illinois
Illinois State Board of Education. (2025). Child nutrition data analytics and mapping tools. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Nutrition-Data-Analytics-Maps.aspx
No Kid Hungry. (2023, September 28). How does hunger affect learning? https://www.nokidhungry.org/blog/how-does-hunger-affect-learning
U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). U.S. Census Bureau: Income and poverty. Census.gov. https://data.census.gov/profile/Urbana_city,_Illinois?g=160XX00US1777005#income-and-poverty
Mission: We empower marginalized families, women, and youth to reach their full potential through healing-centered care, enrichment, and equity-driven advocacy, advancing opportunity and hope.
Project Proposal: PROJECT TITLE: Community Kitchen Compliance & Healthy Meals at The Well Experience
The Well Experience seeks Round Up For Good funds to purchase and install NSF-certified commercial sinks and a commercial hot-holding food warmer, plus stainless steel pans and serving utensils. These tangible upgrades will bring our kitchen up to public health standards so we can legally cook, hold, and serve healthy food year-round, run hands-on nutrition classes, and host budget-smart shopping/cooking workshops for families in Champaign County. This project directly advances Common Ground’s Ends by expanding food education, strengthening an inclusive, vibrant community, and making the local food movement more equitable.
COMMUNITY NEED & ALLIGNMENT:
Many of the families we serve face food insecurity and limited access to fresh, affordable, culturally relevant meals. We already receive produce from local gardens; however, without compliant equipment, we must buy prepared foods or limit service. Installing the required sinks and hot-holding unit allows us to prepare donated produce safely, teach families how to cook on a budget, and serve meals after school and in the summer. This is squarely in line with Common Ground’s community-funded Round Up program, which channels shopper change into practical tools for local impact, and with their Ends around education and an equitable local food system.
WHAT THE PROJECT BUYS (Tangible, Compliance-Driven):
- Commercial, NSF three-compartment sink with drainboards (warewashing), plus dedicated handwashing sink (public health requirement in most facilities; hot water ≥110°F).
- Commercial hot-holding food warmer / steam table to keep cooked foods safely at ≥135°F for service.
- Stainless steel hotel pans, lids, ladles, tongs, and thermometers for safe, durable service.
- Plumbing/backflow and installation to pass plan review; we’ll submit equipment changes to CUPHD before work begins, per local plan-review rules.
ACTIVITIES UNLOCKED IN 2026:
Monthly “Healthy on a Budget” classes (12): shop smart, read labels, batch cook, and stretch garden produce.
Weekly youth snack/meal service during after-school programming (school year) and summer meal days (summer).
Family pop-up suppers using donated/local produce with simple take-home recipes and budgeting tips.
Food safety skill-building (handwashing, temps, cross-contamination) woven into every session.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES (2026):
- Licensing milestone: CUPHD plan review submitted within 30 days of award; final approval within 90 days of installation.
- Education: 12 classes; 150+ caregivers/youth complete at least one session; ≥30% average gain on pre/post food-literacy & budgeting quiz.
- Food Access: 1,200 healthy servings prepared/served on-site (avg. 100/month) held ≥135°F and tracked with temp logs.
-Cost Shift: ≥25% reduction in outside prepared-food purchases, keeping more dollars in programming.
-Local Food Use: 500+ lbs of community-garden produce processed/served safely on-site.
BUDGET:
Three-compartment sink (NSF) + drainboards ………………… $1,800
Handwashing sink (NSF) + splash guards ………………………… $450
Commercial hot-holding cabinet/steam table …………………… $1,500
Plumbing, backflow, installation & permits ……………………… $900
Stainless pans/lids, utensils, calibrated thermometers ……… $300
Food safety signage & temperature log materials ……………… $100
TOTAL: $5,050 (If funding is lower, we prioritize sinks + install first, then hot-holding, then smallwares.)
TIMELINE:
- Month 1: CUPHD plan review submission; order equipment.
- Month 2: Plumbing & installation; staff food-safety refresh; temperature-log setup.
- Month 3: Final inspection; launch classes and meal service.
EQUITY, INCLUSION, & SUSTAINABILITY:
- Classes are free for low-income families; childcare provided during evening sessions when possible.
- The equipment is durable and reusable for years; we’ll maintain compliance, track temps, and reduce reliance on restaurant purchases (lower cost, lower waste).
- We’ll feature culturally relevant recipes and partner with local gardens to highlight seasonal produce, keeping the local food loop strong.
CO-OP VISIBILITY & PARTNERSHIP:
_ “Funded by Common Ground Round Up For Good” signage posted in the kitchen and areas where equipment will be used.
- Mid-year photo update + end-of-year impact summary for CGFC newsletter/social.
- Invite CGFC owners to volunteer during family pop-ups and visit classes.
Round Up funds will purchase a commercial three-compartment sink + hand sink, a commercial hot-holding unit, and stainless pans/utensils—the tangible equipment our nonprofit needs to meet public health standards and serve healthy meals year-round. With these upgrades, we can turn donated garden produce into free, culturally relevant meals, launch monthly “Healthy on a Budget” classes, and serve after-school and summer meals to local youth. Your change equips a neighborhood kitchen for safe food handling (≥135°F hot holding) and hands-on food education, advancing the Co-op’s Ends of an inclusive, vibrant community, food literacy, and an equitable local food movement right here in Champaign County.
Thank you for your consideration.
Mission: The mission of Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners is to provide books to people incarcerated in Illinois and to promote education about incarceration and prisons.
UC Books to Prisoners is a working group of the UC Independent Media Center. We provide free books (preponderantly donated used books) to incarcerated individuals in Illinois. Our work also includes operating the library in the Champaign County Jail and maintaining the library in the County's Juvenile Detention Center. We also work with local student, religious, civic and community groups to recruit short-term volunteers to engage directly in the work as this is an extremely effective way to educate people about the realities of incarceration.
Project Proposal: Each year UC Books to Prisoners receives 2,000 individual requests for books. Prisoners seek books to further their education, prepare for life after release, and to provide intellectual stimulation, spiritual guidance or simply a temporary escape. Prisoner requests may be for specific books, authors or topics.
After volunteers carefully vet donated books for compliance with prison rules, they select titles that best match a given request. Books are then shipped by mail.
Shipping is our largest program expense. Between 2020 and 2024 the average cost of shipping a book increased from 72¢ to $1.13; an increase of 58%. Last year UC Books to Prisoners shipped 6,175 books to 1,999 prisoners. The cost for shipping those books came to slightly more than $7,000. The Round Up For Good grant will be used to offset this large and ever-growing expense, covering the cost for 8 or 9 months.
Mission: The Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center (UNCC) "Where our youth will grow, our parents will help, and our community will share." Envisions a healthy, compassionate, progressive community where all children and families have access to services and supports that empower successful development. To bring that vision into reality, UNCC provides quality educational, social-emotional, spiritual and recreational enrichments to youth and their families within the context of a safe, structured, and nurturing environment.
Project Proposal: The Round Up For Good Grant will help fund our College & Career Readiness Program expenses no longer covered by other grants, including: laptops, two in-state college tours, grades incentive gift cards, and dorm items for our graduating high school seniors.
Mission: Our Mission: Build community. Seek inspiration. Promote justice. Find peace.
Our Vision. We dedicate ourselves to:
Expanding religious, educational, and social activities that serve our congregation and the larger community.
Acting on our individual and collective commitment to promote social justice.
Enhancing the diversity of our liberal religious community.
Improving the accessibility and functionality of our facilities and ensuring that they are an asset to our community.
Project Proposal: We would love to use this grant award to sustain our Little Food Pantry. Since the 2020 pandemic our church has run a little food pantry that we keep stocked with shelf stable items, toiletries and occasionally clothes and blankets. Our church can only afford a budget of $250 a year for the pantry therefore, we rely heavily on both monetary and non-perishable donations. Many people in the neighborhood depend on our pantry. It's not only for our unhoused neighbors, it is for anyone who is human and hungry.
Being part of the Round Up for Good Grant would allow us to keep the pantry generously stocked as well as complete some needed repairs. Unfortunately, our pantry gets knock over a few times a year and we would love to be able to cement the legs into the ground.
Conveniently located on the northwest corner of our property the pantry sits directly across from a bus stop and on one of the busiest walking routes to campus. Feel free to stop by the Green St. entrance of our church and check out the pantry.
Mission: United Way of Champaign County brings people and resources together to create positive change and lasting impact in our community.
Project Proposal: United Way runs the Bottom Line Diaper Bank out of our building. This initiative distributes 14,000=15,000 diapers A MONTH to 12 community partners who work with babies, toddlers and their families through schools and in-home visiting programs. The cost of this effort is approximately $4,000/month, and al funds raised from the Round Up For Good Grant would be used for this effort.
Mission: Uniting Pride leads in the creation of a community where all who hold historically and actively marginalized gender and sexual identities can live fulfilling, joyful, healthy, and vibrant lives.
Project Proposal: The Round Up For Good Grant will support our annual Teen Queer Prom — the only event of its kind in our region — which brings together LGBTQ+ teens from across Champaign County and beyond for a safe, affirming, and joy-filled dance space. For many of these young people, this is the first time they’ve been able to attend a dance as their authentic selves — wearing what they want, bringing the date they choose, and being surrounded by people who celebrate them exactly as they are.
This spring celebration is more than a dance; it is an act of love, community, and resistance. LGBTQ+ youth in our area regularly tell us they feel unsafe, unseen, or unwelcome in their schools and hometowns. Teen Queer Prom flips that script — offering a night where their identities are not only accepted, but celebrated. The event removes all barriers to participation: we provide hair and makeup services, a wide selection of clothing, food and drinks, transportation for those who don't have any, and additional activities so every teen can attend, regardless of financial circumstances.
We have heard from youth that Teen Queer Prom is a life-changing experience. One student told us, “This was the first time I felt like I belonged anywhere.” Volunteers also describe it as one of the most rewarding nights of their year, seeing the joy, relief, and confidence bloom on young faces throughout the evening.
With LGBTQ+ youth increasingly under attack through harmful legislation, public rhetoric, and rising rates of bullying, safe and affirming spaces like Teen Queer Prom are more vital than ever. This event sends a clear and powerful message: you are not alone, you are worthy of celebration, and your community stands with you.
Funding from the Round Up For Good Grant would directly cover tangible expenses such as venue rental, decorations, catering, entertainment, and supplies. Every dollar would go toward creating an unforgettable night where hundreds of young people can experience the freedom, affirmation, and joy they deserve — without fear, judgment, or cost barriers.
Mission: UCRJ (ucrj.org) is dedicated to lifting up and solidifying the Urbana-Champaign area's commitment to achieving reproductive justice in all its forms for our community.
UCRJ is a volunteer-led, grassroots organization that has accomplished a great deal since it was founded in early 2023. During its third UCRJ Week (April 2025), it engaged 40+ organizations and reached over 500 participants with events throughout our community, including a RJ wellness fair. UCRJ's work is guided by researchers and practitioners from partner organizations working across the spectrum of reproductive justice issues, including BIPOC for Better Birth, Planned Parenthood, Uniting Pride, Elevated Access, Cunningham Township, CU Public Health Dept., and the U of I School of Social Work. We engage in actions that directly help people, such as distribution of free "Plan B" contraceptives, creating abortion after-care packages for local abortion clinics, and the CUB Fund. We would be honored to utilize funds from the Round Up For Good program to further reproductive justice in our community.
Project Proposal: UCRJ will use Round Up For Good Grant monies would be used to support the CU Birth (CUB) Fund (cubirthfund.org). The CUB Fund will provide direct financial grants towards doula and homebirth midwife services for expecting pregnant people of color in Champaign County. By supporting wrap-around guidance and support throughout the pregnancy and birthing process, the fund will improve care for pregnant and birthing people and help reduce BIPOC perinatal mortality in our community.
A primary principle of the Reproductive Justice framework emphasizes the right raise children in environments free from harm, making Birth Justice a necessary and urgent corollary to the reproductive justice vision. In Illinois, Black birthing people are three times more likely to die from pregnancy or birth-related complications than their white counterparts. Birth justice activists therefore advocate for the creation of more support systems for pregnant and birthing families, including birth doulas and community midwives.
Mission: Our Mission is to alleviate food insecurity in our community one family at a time by providing them with one week's worth of nutritious groceries at one of our three weekly client-choice pantry locations.
Project Proposal: A Round Up For Good Grant would be used toward our "Eat A Rainbow" initiative. Many of our guests are trying to eat a healthy diet but are discouraged by the cost and lack familiarity with different fruits, veggies, and legume choices. We see it as our responsibility to provide food that doesn't simply fill an empty stomach, but is fuel for healthy bodies and brains. Our pantry distributes over 20,000 pounds of produce annually as we encourage our patrons to eat a more plant-forward diet. Funds would be used to further this program with bundled recipes, education and display materials, and signage to build a fun and encouraging pantry environment.
Mission: YWCA's mission is to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
Project Proposal: This grant will provide essential funding for our Empowering Black and Brown Women Project (EBBW). By focusing on the unique experiences of BIPOC women and facilitating their healing journeys from the impacts of racism, we aim to create a transformative space for growth and empowerment. Addressing the deep-rooted effects of racism is crucial to our mission of fostering equality and uplifting women, and we believe that by empowering these individuals, we can take meaningful strides towards eliminating racial injustice and promoting social change.