The Dunham Foundation’s Board of Directors continues to learn directly from the organizations shaping our region’s future. This year, site visits and panel discussions covered early childhood and youth programs, workforce development, and mental health.
These conversations keep our board and staff grounded in our community’s evolving needs and help guide how we invest. You’ll see that approach throughout this issue: in responsible AI training that evolves based on feedback from nonprofit leaders, and in grants.
Strengthening Nonprofits Through Responsible AI
Local nonprofits are being asked to do more with limited staff and rapidly changing technology. The Dunham Foundation is supporting practical training that helps organizations work more efficiently, including the responsible use of AI in communications, operations, and grant processes.
Through its longstanding partnership with Aurora University, the Dunham Foundation funds Leading the Way: Nonprofit Leadership Program, which helps nonprofit professionals strengthen their leadership skills and build connections with other leaders.
New this year, the program’s six-session Leading Through Change course helps leaders evaluate AI tools, develop policies, address ethical and governance considerations, and plan for succession, including leadership transitions and preserving institutional knowledge. Open to anyone who has completed the program’s Foundations of Nonprofit Leadership course, it is offered at no cost to participating organizations through the Foundation’s support.
Through investments like this, the Dunham Foundation is helping ensure local nonprofits have the skills and support they need to serve their communities. Explore the Leading the Way program.
Grants at Work: Nourishing Our Community
Across the Greater Aurora Area, Dunham Foundation partners are turning grants into daily support for families and neighborhoods. This season, we’re highlighting two grantees working to make sure no one in our community goes without healthy food.
Fox Valley Food for Health
Believing good nutrition supports healing, this Kane County nonprofit prepares and delivers healthy meals to residents undergoing cancer treatment and their families.
This program takes one daily burden off their plates so they can focus on recovery and time together. This year, the Healthy Meals Program served more than 31,878 meals, up 21% over last year.
Its Teen Education Program lets teens work alongside a head chef to prepare customized, healthy meals for clients while earning service hours and building cooking and leadership skills. A partnership with LivingWell also helps generate program referrals.
Here’s a look at Fox Valley Food for Health’s impact this year:
Healthy Meals Program
Free meals for individuals fighting cancer and their families in Kane County.
- 8–12weeks of support
- 3–4complete dinners each week
- Recipesand nutrition education for healing
31,878+meals served to 332 participants through the free Healthy Meals Program
66teens earned 7,000+ volunteer hours
Teen volunteers learned cooking skills and leadership skills alongside a head chef for clients
125volunteers completed 13,000+ service hours
Northern Illinois Food Bank
Working with a network of local member pantries, the food bank gets nutritious food to neighbors facing hunger. In the Greater Aurora Area, the Dunham Foundation’s grant provides $20,000 for fresh produce and $30,000 toward shared maintenance fees for 11 local pantries.
Pantries normally pay a small per-pound fee to help cover the food bank’s handling costs. With that fee covered, they can order more food, including fresh produce, without the cost falling on their own budgets. That means more families can count on healthy meals this holiday season and beyond.
Here’s how the Dunham Foundation’s grant is being put to work:
Northern Illinois Food Bank
One grant supports 11 local food pantries in the Dunham Foundation service area in two key ways.
$20,000for fresh produce
25%or more of all the food Northern Illinois Food Bank distributes is fresh produce. This is available to member pantries at no cost.
$30,000toward shared maintenance fees
These fees, about 10¢ per pound, cover the cost of storing and delivering food. This grant supports all 11 pantries in our area, allowing each to order more at no additional cost.
With Gratitude
As the season of gratitude approaches, we’re thankful to all of our nonprofit partners and volunteers for the programs that strengthen our community every day. Their work reminds us that strong communities are built one conversation and one partnership at a time.
