The Illinois Arts Council has partnered with the Capital Development Board’s Art-in-Architecture Program (CDB/AIA) to promote an opportunity for Illinois artists. The Illinois Art-in-Architecture Program promotes and preserves Illinois art and enriches communities by commissioning original artwork for public buildings constructed with state funds.

The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is pleased to announce the release of the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF) guidelines. CAF awards individual artists with flat $10,000 awards to invest in their own practice and professional growth.

Applications are available August 31 through September 30, 2026 and can be submitted by any non-profit organization with a mission that includes empowering women and children to lead their best lives.

The Streator Chamber of Commerce held a 50/50 drawing July 17 during its annual golf outing at the Eastwood, electing to donate its proceeds, $183, to Streator’s Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

Starved Rock Country Community Foundation’s The Arts of Starved Rock Country Fund awarded Festival 56 a grant of $1,500 for their summer youth camp. Festival 56 was founded in 2003 and is a volunteer driven, non-profit arts organization dedicated to developing Princeton and the surrounding region as a home for professional theatre and theatre arts education.

The first annual LEGACY Gala for the Ottawa Center for the Arts will be held at the Great Hall and the Abbey, across from Washington Park

Getting a jump on year-end: valuing stock gifts, “bunching”, articles worth a read, and pending legislation.

The Arts of Starved Rock Country Fund grant application process is underway for art programs, performances and projects scheduled between January 1 and June 30, 2027.

On June 11, 2026 Streator, Illinois and its surrounding areas were struck by a devastating tornado. The storm damaged at least 79 homes, with 44 homes having severe or complete destruction. Other significant damages occurred, some yet to be determined.

Responsive. Broad-based. Philanthropic. Those are three of the “purposes” or characteristics outlined in the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation by-laws—guidelines we live by. Since 2015, SRCCF has championed the arts, education, entrepreneurship, preservation, the environment, physical and mental health, humanities, human services, and disaster relief.

We protect your confidentiality. The SRCCF does not share donor names, gift amounts, or fund-specific giving information to partner organizations, or any outside party, Donors may choose to share their own giving information directly with those organizations, but such disclosures will never come from SRCCF. Anonymous giving is always supported and respected.

We may share donor information with the specific fundholder upon request. If you do not want your gift information shared, please select the Opt Out option on when making a donation.

Don’t miss our new YouTube channel to enable donors, nonprofit partners, and community members to stay informed, inspired, and connected.

Far beyond the scope of mainstream philanthropy, ELEV̅ATE is a collaborative participatory giving circle approach to philanthropy established to bring together members of our community to collectively support the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation.

Are you curious about how Community Foundations compare to Commercial and Private Foundations? Check out these comparison graphics!

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill

Recipients of grants, scholarships, or disaster funds from the SRCCF to date