Grants received. Thank you!

Throughout the year we are constantly researching to find corporate and foundation donors who will support Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. When we find a potential match, we write a letter of inquiry, and if that is approved, we write a proposal.

Then we wait.

We've done this every year since 1993 when we became an IRS approved charity. We've found more than 150 donors who would give gifts of $1,000 or more. Each year there have been new donors.

Then why are we always just a few months from being out of money? Because each year a few of the donors from the previous year are no longer able to give. The reasons are seldom related to the quality of the work we do. It's more that the donor has guidelines that keep it from funding a single non profit for more than one to three years. It can also be that business conditions change for a company. For instance, our primary benefactor in the 1990s, was Montgomery Ward. They went out of business in 2000, meaning we lost donated space, a source of volunteers and business support, and $40,000 per year in funding.;

In total, we lose almost 1/3 of our grant money each year, meaning we need to find new donors just to break even. Thus, since costs for rent, insurance, energy and staff keep going up, we're always struggling to get ahead.

So when we write grant requests to donors from the previous year, or to new donors, we keep our fingers crossed to see who will give.

I'm pleased to say that these donors have given to us in November.

Bank of America Foundation, $10,000
JPMorgan Chase Foundation, $10,000
The Farney R. Wurlitzer Foundation, $5,000

In addition, we have received confirmations that the following foundations will provide grant funds in December:

The Dr. Scholl Foundation, $5,000
BlueCross, Blue Shield of Illinois, $5,000

You can see the list of corporate and foundation donors from the past two years here. We're still waiting with much hope from the requests we've sent to people who gave in December 2008 but who have not yet made 2009 decisions. We're also hoping that others whom we've sent proposals to will respond.

Thank you to all of our donors, and to those who help introduce us to people who make decisions on where to send their funding.