This grant from the Dunham Foundation supports Mercy Housing Lakefront’s expansion of its Kane County Mental Health Services program—a partnership with NAMI Kane-South, DeKalb, and Kendall Counties (KDK) and AID. The program provides on-site, peer-led mental health support groups and services to low-income residents at two affordable housing communities: Constitution House in Aurora and the Batavia Apartments.

Through this Dunham Foundation grant, O.L.I. Gardens addresses food insecurity by collaborating with area food pantries and churches to construct garden beds. All produce grown in these beds is donated to partner organizations for distribution to those they serve. O.L.I. provides ongoing garden maintenance, coordinates food delivery partnerships, and supplies necessary materials. Grant funding will support the construction of eight single beds at Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry and three double beds at Wesley United Methodist Church. The project also includes an artistic component: six artists and one instructor from Aurora Christian High School will create artwork to beautify the garden beds while paying tribute to local fallen heroes.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation supports Project Canvas. Project Canvas launched a program called Society Sessions: Where Curiosity Converges—a series of diverse educational and cultural workshops for Aurora adults designed to reduce social isolation, boost cultural engagement, and strengthen community bonds. Funding from the Dunham Foundation supports the continuation of Society Sessions in 2026. All revenue from workshop fees helps over 30 nonprofits in the Aurora community by providing discounted venue rentals for fundraising events.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation allows Alive Center Aurora to contract with shuttle services to provide daily pick-up from Washington, Jefferson, and Jewel Middle Schools, and West Aurora High School to Alive 5 days a week. This transportation program ensures that more than 150 middle and high school students each week have access to after-school programming.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation supports the Association for Individual Development’s (AID) “Technology First Initiative” – a pilot program that teaches individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities how to use, maintain, and care for personal technology devices (smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, voice assistants) to enhance their independence, safety, communication, and daily functioning.

Aurora Christian Healthcare delivers no-cost dental and chiropractic care to marginalized populations in the greater Aurora area. This grant from the Dunham Foundation enables Aurora Christian Healthcare to engage a professional marketing specialist with nonprofit expertise to develop strategic messaging and promotional materials to recruit dental hygienists and chiropractors to provide volunteer services.

This grant supports the Aurora Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy Alumni Law Enforcement Youth Academy.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation provides a matching opportunity for CFFRV’s Youth Engagement in Philanthropy program’s grantmaking program.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation funds Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley’s Mental Health Program, delivering enrichment activities to more than 250 children with developmental challenges and disabilities. The program emphasizes both academic advancement and social-emotional skills development.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation allows GiGi’s Playhouse Fox Valley to acquire program materials for nutrition, exercise, and art activities, as well as purchase a SMARTBOARD to enhance lifelong learning programs and individual tutoring sessions. The funding also supports enhanced volunteer recruitment—critical for an organization that operates with 99% volunteer leadership—and enables targeted marketing and outreach initiatives aimed at parents and caregivers of adults with disabilities.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation supports the complete animation and editing of El Campo, A History of Railroad Boxcar Communities, Aurora and its Adjacent Counties. This film tells the story tells the untold story of Mexican immigrant families who lived in railroad boxcar camps near Aurora, Illinois, for nearly a century. The film chronicles how these families built vibrant communities and raised children who embodied the American Dream through education, military service, and civic leadership.

The Dunham Foundation grant enables Lutheran Child and Family Services (LCFS) to continue partnering with East Aurora School District’s Resilience Center to expand its All Youth Leadership Project. Launched in 2024 through the Dunham Foundation’s Ready for the Future initiative, this program is delivered through a partnership between LCFS’s Best Start for Families Program, Creating Space, and Talented Tenth Social Services. The program provides students with social-emotional learning opportunities, community service experiences, and academic support to help meet both their educational and emotional development needs.

This grant allowed Northern IL Food Bank to provide food, at no cost, to food pantries in the Dunham Foundation Service Area.

This grant from the Dunham Foundation supports Voluntary Action Center’s transit program, meeting critical mobility needs for clients within the Dunham Foundation Service Area, providing access to healthcare, employment, shopping, and various social, recreational, and treatment opportunities.

This grant supports 360 Youth Services’ Mental Health Juvenile Justice program.