Highland Park Community Foundation 2019 Grant Recipients
The Highland Park Community Foundation is pleased to announce the following organizations received grants at HPCF’s 2019 Grant Awards Reception.
HPCF Board members, staff, and family members assemble COVID Care Kits for distribution to Highwood families by the Highwood Public Library. Project funded by a COVID-19 Emergency Relief grant from the HPCF and additional support from Craig & Monette Leva.So many Highland Park and Highwood residents have experienced job losses, hunger, mental health issues, isolation, and more. Your donation will ensure that the needs of neighbors are addressed in what continues to be an unprecedented time of uncertainty.
As we take steps to protect our own families, workplaces, and neighborhoods from the effects of the virus, let’s not forget the impact COVID-19 has had on our neighbors. Missing paychecks, the inability to pay rent, and a lack of access to food and essential supplies are realities many residents still face.
Please join us in addressing their needs.
Donations made in support of the HPCF COVID-19 Response & Recovery Appeal will be used to fund requests the HPCF continues to receive from our grant recipients and other agencies that serve Highland Park and Highwood residents. To date, we have distributed 106 emergency grants, totaling close to $240,000, to support the important work of these organizations. Click here to see the full list of COVID-19 Emergency Grant Recipients and the types of needs we gave addressed through our grants.
100% of all donations will go directly to support services and supplies for those in need, with the exception of a small credit card processing fee that online donors may choose to cover.
DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR COVID-19 APPEAL
DONATE TO SUPPORT THE HPCF’S ONGOING EFFORTS
Donations can also be mailed to P.O. Box 398, Highland Park, IL 60035
In an effort to assist the nonprofit community, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) has raised the charitable deduction limit from 60% to 100% of adjusted gross income for itemizers, and allows deductions up to $300 in charitable giving for non-itemizers. C-Corporations can also deduct 25% of their taxable income, raised from 10%. Click here to read more.
Please click here to see a list of contributors to our Appeal.
We are so grateful to everyone for their generosity.
We are all in this together!
Highland Park, IL – September 30, 2020: The Highland Park Community Foundation (HPCF) has recognized three well-deserving Highland Park High School teachers with 2020 HPCF Golden Apple Awards. This year’s honorees are Josh Chodoroff, HPHS Band Director; Nairy Hagopian, Spanish Teacher; and Katrina Tolemy, Special Education Essentials Teacher.
“The Highland Park Community Foundation is privileged to honor Josh, Nairy, and Katrina as the HPCF’s 2020 Golden Apple Recipients,” said Sara Sher, HPCF Golden Apple selection committee chair. “We want to recognize these exemplary teachers for the valuable work they do every day on behalf of the children in our community. The Highland Park Community Foundation celebrates these extraordinary individuals for their positive impact and their teaching in both the classroom and the virtual world.”
To recognize outstanding teachers in the Highland Park School systems, in 2010, the Highland Park Community Foundation worked with a local family foundation to launch the annual HPCF Golden Apple Award. The HPCF is forever grateful to past-Chairman and Board member Andy Livingston for initiating the Award. He passionately brought the idea of an honorary award to the HPCF Board to celebrate outstanding teachers in the Highland Park community. Under his leadership, the HPCF Golden Apple Award became a signature program of the Foundation.
A longtime supporter of the Foundation, Mr. Livingston first joined the HPCF Board in 2004. He served as Vice-Chairman from 2006-2009 and then led the Foundation as Chairman for three years. He remained a Board member until 2015 and then served as a vibrant member of the HPCF Advisory Board member until his passing. Mr. Livingston’s wife Anne was a special guest in attendance at this year’s 2020 Golden Apple Award presentation.
HPCF Golden Apple Award nominations are made in a rotating cycle: K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. A selection committee composed of exemplary current and retired educators and administrators and former Award recipients, evaluates the extensive applications, and completes a full day of observation. A final recipient of the Award is then chosen based on instruction, content knowledge, student and staff interaction, and contribution to school and community.
When the 2019-2020 school year was disrupted by the Coronavirus outbreak, the committee was unable to complete the full-day observations and select a final recipient. Given the outstanding applications and recommendations each finalist had received, the committee and HPCF Board decided to honor all three finalists. They did so on September 30th at a socially distanced and masked presentation on the front steps of Highland Park High School. By honoring these exceptional educators, the Foundation hopes to demonstrate the strength and importance of excellent teaching in helping young people reach their potential.
(Not difficult, expensive, or time-consuming!)
In recognition of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, the Highland Park Community Foundation is creating a Tribute video to celebrate, honor, and thank the essential workers who have made heroic efforts to keep our community safe, healthy, and operational during the pandemic.
To see the full Newsletter:
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That is likely to be the case for some time. Indeed, our latest round of funding requests exceeded all previous rounds in both number and dollar amount.
To address continuing urgent needs the HPCF Board just approved a 5th round of emergency grants.
We have now provided nearly $170,000 to help our community. There is more we need to do, however, to address COVID-related needs, including:
To see the full Newsletter:
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Living first in Highland Park and now in Highwood, Tonia has been a member of our community for 14 years.
“I come from a family which focuses on service. To have the opportunity to expand my support of Highland Park and Highwood is an important goal of mine.” Tonia Arrington
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Nancy Mills, Chairman of the Highland Park Community Foundation 4:01 am CST January 6, 2019
2018 was an outstanding year for the Highland Park Community Foundation (HPCF). Our team was thrilled to award a record-breaking $200,000 in grants to 40 nonprofit agencies and programs within the Highland Park and Highwood communities, an increase of 11% over 2017’s gifts. We are honored to provide grants to so many worthy organizations who tirelessly serve those in need and provide necessary programs to help local residents.
In addition to addressing needs, the Foundation is dedicated to recognizing community members for their exemplary contributions.
Each year the Foundation presents special awards for outstanding community service including the annual Jack Blane Community Service Award, presented this year to Highland Park City Councilman Alyssa Knobel, and the HPCF Golden Apple Award was awarded to Jon Mall, Northwood Junior High School 7th grade Social Studies and Academic Exploration teacher. We also presented the inaugural Personal Achievement Award to Highland Park High School student Jason Estrada. This special award was created to recognize a student who overcomes obstacles to achieve personal goals.
In September, we hosted Gather for Good, our first major fundraiser. The event was a spectacular success raising over $100,000 including in-kind donations. With over 300 attendees, fantastic support from the community, and the generosity of numerous sponsors, we raised both funds and awareness for HPCF’s efforts.
To further share our mission with the community, our board participated in a number of Highland Park and Highwood events including the City of Highland Park’s July 4th Parade, Highwood’s Evening Gourmet Market and Highland Park’s National Night Out.
It was also our pleasure to be the primary sponsor of the music at Food Truck Thursdays this summer in Jens Jensen Park. In addition, the Foundation was honored to be featured on the First Bank of Highland Park’s Ruth Fell Wander Community Art Wall during the month of October.
Closing out this year, we’re thrilled to announce that the City Council of Highland Park has approved a grant agreement through which we will allocate $300,000 of City grant funds designated for nonprofit organizations. The Council’s action is a strong testament to the work we have done over the past 26 years to address the needs of our community now and in perpetuity.
As we enter the new year, one fact stands out. Many more needs exist than we can meet through our endowment fund. Though, in 2018, we provided $200,000 in grants to help fund 40 programs and services, we received funding requests for $145,000 more than we were able to provide.
The needs are real, and the needs are great. Our goal for 2019, therefore, is to have a signature year of fundraising in which current and new donors will remember that when you “Give Where You Live,” we all benefit. Donations to the Foundation help nurture children, strengthen families, assist older adults, support individuals with disabilities, develop leadership and academic confidence in teens, enhance artistic experiences, and more. For more information about the Foundation and to jumpstart our year with an online donation, visit hpcfil.org, or contact our Executive Director, Terri Olian, at terri@hpcfil.org.
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hplandmark.com
We are very excited to share with you that the City Council of Highland Park has approved a grant agreement with the Highland Park Community Foundation through which we will allocate City funds designated for local nonprofit organizations!
The Council’s action is a strong testament to the work we have done over many years to help address the needs of our community now and in perpetuity.
“We are pleased to partner with the Highland Park Community Foundation. This partnership brings operational efficiencies to the City and eases the grant seeking burden on local agencies that provide critical services to residents,” stated Mayor Nancy Rotering. “The Highland Park Community Foundation has proven itself to be financially solvent, strategically sound, a valued partner for the organizations who receive funds, and an effective administrator of grant making funds. We look forward to working together as we fill the gaps in funding and make sure that residents’ needs are met.”
Read more here:
Grant Agreement Approved with Highland Park Community Foundation See The Full Email
Dear Friend of the Highland Park Community Foundation,
In October, we awarded the most money and distributed the largest number of grants in our history: $200,000 to fund 40 different programs and services that address the unmet needs in our community and enhance the quality of life for all Highland Park and Highwood residents! With these grants, we continue to change lives.
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