Grant Opportunities
The Greater Freeport Partnership receives notice of open grants opportunities for various business types and projects. Continue to review this page periodically as grants are posted when they become available.
Small business grants provide financial aid without the burden of repayment, but obtaining them may be competitive. Federal and state agencies, corporations and industry-specific organizations may offer grant funding. For more information, click here.
The Greater Freeport Partnership does it’s best to update information on grant opportunities as they become available.
FEDERAL & STATE GRANT PROGRAMS
AARP Community Challenge
Grant Program
Deadline: Mar 4, 2026
ROSS Rapid Response Program
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Deadline: Jan 25, 2027
Pilot and feasibility Studies in Preparation for Substance Use and HIV Prevention Intervention and Services Research Trials
National Institutes of Health
Forecasted Opportunity
Estimated Deadline: Oct 2, 2026
Natural Resources Conservation Service
USDA
State Programs and Initiatives
40101(d) Grid Resilience
Illinois Climate Bank
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Stretch Building Code Adoption Support
Illinois Climate Bank
Deadline: Apr 20, 2026
Small Utility Clean Energy Planning
Illinois Climate Bank
Deadline: Apr 17, 2026
Rebuild Illinois Capital Program
Illinois Capital Development Board
Community Health Center Construction Grant
Deadline: Mar 31, 2026
Regional Site Readiness Program
Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Applications for the Planning and Capital Ready programs are still being accepted on a rolling basis through March 31, 2026, or until funds are exhausted
Regional Site Readiness Program Round 2 – Planning
Regional Site Readiness Program Capital Ready – Round 2
Route 66 Grant Program
Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Deadline: Rolling
International Tourism Grant Program
Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Deadline: Rolling
Manufacturing Training Academies Funding Opportunity
Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Deadline: Apr 30, 2026
Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings
EPA
Deadline: Apr 15, 2026
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Center for Disease Control – NCIPC
Deadline: Apr 28, 2026
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C Capacity Development Program
Health Resources and Services Administration
Forecasted Opportunity
PRIA 5 Training Development
EPA
Eligibility: Non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, land-grant colleges and universities, and 1994 Institutions
Deadline: Mar 31, 2026
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Strengthening Agricultural Systems
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Eligibility: Colleges and Universities
Deadline: Mar 26, 2026
Domestic Violence Shelter Grants
Mary Kay Ash Foundation
Deadline: Apr 30, 2026
National Community Care Corps Program
Request for Proposals: Organizations are encouraged to apply for funding to develop and scale innovative nonmedical assistance volunteer programs to support family caregivers, older adults, and adults with disabilities
Deadline: Feb 26, 2026
The Home Depot
Veteran Housing Grants
Rural Health Funding & Opportunities
Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program, Incarcerated Veterans’ Transition Program, and the Homeless Women Veterans’ and Homeless Veterans’ with Children Reintegration Grant Program
Department of Labor
Deadline: Mar 6, 2026
National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) National Prisoner Statistics Program, Reference Years 2025–2029
Department of Justice
Deadline: Feb 24, 2026
NIH Research Education Program – Research Experiences
National Institutes of Health
Forecasted Opportunity
Consolidated National Criminal History Improvement Program
Department of Justice
Eligibility: State Governments
Deadline: Feb 24, 2026
Value-Added Producer Grant
USDA
Deadline: Apr 15, 2026
Veterinary Services Grant Program
USDA
Deadline: Apr 16, 2026
NIH Research Educational Program -Mentoring Activities & Networks
National Institutes of Health
Forecasted Opportunity
International Religious Freedom Fund Emergency Assistance
Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor
Deadline: Mar 16, 2026
2026 National Geological & Geophysical Data Preservation Program
Eligibility: State Governments
Deadline: Feb 17, 2026
Museums Empowered (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
National Leadership Grants for Museums (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
National Leadership Grants for Libraries (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Museums for America (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Museum Grants for American Latino History and Culture (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
The Kevin and Avonte Program: Reducing Injury and Death of Missing Individuals with Dementia and Developmental Disabilities
Bureau of Justice Assistance
Deadline: Feb 20, 2026
21st Century Museum Professionals Program (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Inspire Grants for Small Museums (2026)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deadline: Mar 13, 2026
Energy Efficiency Trust Fund Grant Program
Illinois EPA
Deadline: Rolling; Applications will be accepted until all funds are depleted or until June 30, 2026
CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service
U.S. National Science Foundation
Deadline: Apr 3, 2026
FY 2026 AmeriCorps State and National Competitive Grants
AmeriCorps
Deadline: Mar 31, 2026
Illinois Local Food Infrastructure Grant
Illinois Department of Agriculture
Deadline: Mar 27, 2026
General Operating Support Grants
Illinois Arts Council
Deadline: Mar 18, 2026
USDA Rural Development
Financial Assistance Programs
Otto P. Berdach Trust
Wells Fargo Foundation
States Served: California, Illinois
Annual application deadline: April 1
The Hambrick Foundation
Grant Opportunities
The Hambrick Foundation offers grants, scholarships, tools and recognition to individuals called to care for the special needs community
Deadline: Feb 28, 2026
Impact Funding Solutions
Winter Grant Cycle for Business
Winter Grant Cycle for Non Profit
Deadline: Mar 31, 2026
Resource-Related Research Projects Cooperative Agreements in Aging and/or Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias Research
National Institutes of Health
Deadline: Apr 25, 2026
Department of the Interior, Office of Wildland Fire – Slip-On Tanker Units
Interior Business Center
Deadline: Mar 23, 2026
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program Education and Workforce Development
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Deadline: Dec 31, 2026
FY26 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act FAA Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program
Airport Improvement Program
Deadline: Feb 17, 2026
SERVICE DELIVERY C4 R3 Reentry | Economic Development | Civil Legal Aid
Description: “Program funds will be used to reduce gun violence through intervention and prevention, improve re-entry and diversion services for people involved with the criminal justice system, provide access to legal representation and advice, encourage investment and economic growth, and support programs that improve the social determinants of health.” Open to organizations who provide services in R3 designated areas.
Award Range: $25,000 – $1,000,000
Deadline: March 6, 2026 at 2:00pm
SERVICE DELIVERY C4 R3 Youth Development | Violence Prevention
Description: “Program funds will be used to reduce gun violence through intervention and prevention and support programs that improve the social determinants of health.” Open to organizations who provide services in R3 designated areas.
Award Range: $25,000 – $1,000,000
Deadline: March 6, 2026 at 2:00pm
Illinois Humanities – Project Grants
Description: “Individuals and nonprofit organizations pursuing innovative programming in the digital humanities, for audience engagement, or audience growth and diversification are candidates for this project-based grant.” Open to all eligible entities in Illinois.
Award Range: Up to $4,000
Deadline: February 13, 2026 at 5:00pm
Total Spark – Grants for Nonprofits supporting Working Students
Description: “Total Spark brings the support working students need directly into local Total Wireless stores by opening pathways to new careers, offering upskilling resources, and strengthening digital connectivity.” Open to select cities including Chicago (Back of the Yards). Must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit to apply.
Award Range: $100,000
Deadline: February 13, 2026 (interest form due)
Intuit Quickbooks & Mailchimp: Small Business Hero Program
Description: “Celebrate a small business in your community. Nominate a small business who has shown courage, perseverance and integrity…”. Open nationwide to entities (for profit business or nonprofit – 501(c)3) who have been established for at least one year.
Award Range: $20,000
Deadline: February 14, 2026 at 10:59pm
Description: “…supports organizations that have been directly impacted by recent shifts in the national political landscape”. Prioritizing organizations who have less than $2 million budget, Black & Latine led organizations serving Black and/or Latine neighborhoods in Chicago.
Award Range: $10,000
Deadline: February 16, 2026
Citi Foundation: Request for Proposals: Community Finance Initiative
Description: “Citi Foundation (“the Foundation”) seeks to provide financial support to community organizations implementing programs that empower low-income households to better manage their financial lives to build greater financial stability and resilience across the United States” Open to nonprofits, 501(c)3, and in Illinois target areas are: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will counties.
Award Range: $500,000
Deadline: February 18, 2026 at 11:00am
National Grassroots Organizing Program from Ben & Jerry’s Foundation
Description: “The National Grassroots Organizing Program (NGO) offers unrestricted, general operating support grants…throughout the United States…”. Open nationwide to 501(c)3 nonprofits with an annual budget under $350,000, and who “use grassroots, collective-action organizing campaigns as the primary strategy for creating social change”.
Award Range: up to $30,000
Deadline: February 18, 2026 at 3:00pm
Description: “McKinsey and A4CB will provide a $10,000 grant to four organizations whose founders show significant promise for impact.” Open to nonprofits and businesses in Chicago.
Award Range: $10,000 and “…access to McKinsey expertise/support to help refine and scale their organizations over a six-month period (May through November 2026)”
Deadline: February 18, 2026 at 5:00 pm
Description: “The Coleman Foundation seeks to reduce health disparities and promote well-being for everyone in the Greater Chicago region.” Open to nonprofits, 501(c)3, must be based in Cook County and serve residents in the county, etc.
Award Range: not stated
Deadline: February 27, 2026 (letter of inquiry due)
Local Data for Equitable Communities
Description: “This call for proposals (CFP) invites eligible nonprofit organizations in the U.S. to apply for a grant to collect, analyze, and use data to address inequities in the physical, economic, and social conditions of a place. Improving these conditions is key to achieving health equity…”
Award Range: $50,000
Deadline: March 3, 2026 2:00 p.m. CT
2026 The Arts Mean Business Fund Grant
Description: “The Arts Mean Business Fund was established to support the generation of economic growth in the Peoria region through arts tourism, increased successful arts businesses, greater community participation in the arts, and financial support of the arts from local governments and economic development councils.”
Award Range: “See application for amount available to award”
Deadline: March 4, 2026 at 5:00pm
Description: “Available to organizations that offer art programs aligned with their mission. Art programs must fall into one of the following categories: arts education, performing arts, musical and cultural activities, sculpture/visual fine arts for display, or art therapy initiatives.” Open to … organizations with programs serving individuals within a 50-mile radius of the city of Peoria, IL, excluding Knox and McLean County.”
Award Range: up to $10,000
Deadline: March 4, 2026 at 5:00pm
ComEd Powering Safe Communities Grant Program
Description: Grants for “…for local public safety and clean transportation projects…” Open to ComEd service areas. Must be a nonprofit, municipality township, county, and other local government in ComEd service area.
Award Range: up to $10,000
Deadline: March 13, 2026 at 5:00pm
ComEd Powering the Arts Program
Description: “Through this program, ComEd and the League of Chicago Theatres look to reach audiences that have otherwise been unable to access the richness of cultural offerings throughout the ComEd service area.” “Eligible applicants are nonprofit arts and cultural institutions that are located within ComEd’s service territory and must be in good standing with ComEd related to provision of utilities.”
Award Range: $20,000 – $10,000
Deadline: March 13, 2026 at 5:00pm
NFL Foundation Grassroots Program
Description: “…provides non-profit, neighborhood-based organizations with financial and technical assistance with the goal of improving the quality, safety, and accessibility of local football fields.” Open nationwide to eligible entities.
Award Range: up to $250,000
Deadline: March 30, 2026
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Key Industries
