Grants

Grant Program Description: 2012-2016

According to the Illinois Childhood Trauma Coalition, childhood trauma can "disrupt a child's normal development and lead to emotional, cognitive, behavioral and social problems." Experiences such as abuse, neglect, poverty and other stressful situations can lead to a lifetime of physical and emotional problems as well as the likelihood of the individual to exhibit negative behaviors.  In response, BPF will introduce its grant program, Promoting Resilience in Children Experiencing or Exposed to Trauma: Creating a Trauma-Informed Culture to Help Children Thrive.  The ultimate goal of the program is that  children who have experienced trauma throughout Illinois will feel safe, be able to express themselves, and grow and develop with the same potential as non-traumatized children. More information about the grant program will be posted soon.

Grant Program Description: 2008-2012

Childhood obesity, which leads to a whole slew of related health problems, is a national epidemic that has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. Contributing factors are the lack of availability of fresh foods, not enough physical activity, the high availability and low cost of junk food, and a lack of education about health and nutrition. (Source: Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children.) In 2008, the Bright Promises Foundation initiated a grant program called Healthy Children/Healthy Adults: Promoting Health through Better Nutritional Choices. The program responds to the escalating problem of childhood obesity in the state of Illinois. Now in its final year, the Foundation has successfully enabled community-based multi-purpose agencies to promote better health among low-income and other at-risk children between the ages of 8-12.

Grantmaking Process

Grant applications are considered annually from a pool of invited applicants. Proposals are evaluated based on criteria including measurable goals and objectives, and sustainability after Bright Promises Foundation funding ends. Grantees are required to report at least twice each year on their measurable objectives, and project coordinators from the Bright Promises Foundation board of directors conduct site visits with staff during the application process and during the grant year.

Current Grantees for Healthy Children/Healthy Adults

*Centers for New Horizons, “Healthy Children/Healthy Adults” project, serving children in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Program includes nutrition classes delivered to children, parents and staff as well as menu planning, budgeting, food preparation and cooking, developing a working community garden and a peer education program where students will learn to be leaders in their school and to promote health and nutrition school-wide. webpage

*Children's Home + Aid, "Community Schools Student Health Fitness Project", serving 125 children at Howe Elementary School in Austin.  The goal is to provide children the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating and exercise habits.  The program consists of hands-on food activities, weekly nutrition and wellness education for children, parent activities, gardening, increased physical activity opportunities and more.  All programming is socio-economically and culturally sensitive.  webpage

*Erie Neighborhood House, “Super H – Healthy Kids Make Happy Kids” project, serving 200 children in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. Changing attitudes toward health and nutrition, they are making a healthy lifestyle “cool.” The bi-monthly club for children and their parents includes education about the nutritional value of chosen “super foods” and how to prepare them, field trips, staff training and hands-on activities. webpage

 *Family Matters, "FEEL Fit +" project serves 150 children in Rogers Park.  This unique program is led by teen girls who have already received two years training as "health activists".  The program, overseen by Family Matters staff and graduate students from the Adler School of Psychology, consists of experiential and interactive nutrition and fitness-focused programming including cooking, gardening and other engaging activities.  The initiative combines several research-based nutrition and "green"-focused curricula. webpage

*Harold Colbert Jones Memorial Community Center, “Promoting Health Through Better Nutritional Choices” project, serving 60 children in the South suburb of Chicago Heights. Nutrition, cooking and physical fitness classes are offered, parents are engaged through meetings where they learn the same concepts as children, and a dietician has been hired to assess the food offered to the children as well as through their food pantry. webpage

*Howard Area Community Center, “SHARP Kids” Program serving 105 children in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Goal is to cultivate healthy eating and physical fitness among children and their families, at three locations, and includes publishing a healthy cookbook as a collaboration between staff, families, and the community. webpage

*Northwestern University Settlement, “Healthy Behavior Initiative,” serving 157 children in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. Activities include cooking classes for children and adults, field trips, physical education activities, staff training in healthy behavior, creating a cookbook with healthy meal recipes, and development of an agency-wide Wellness Policy. webpage