FAQs

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General FAQs


  1. Is Grand Victoria Foundation a corporate foundation?
    We are a private foundation incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization to grant money to charitable causes in Illinois. Funding for private foundations typically come from a single individual, a family, or a corporation, which in our case is Grand Victoria Casino.

  2. How is Grand Victoria Foundation affiliated with Grand Victoria Casino?
    The Foundation was established in 1996 under an agreement with Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois. The agreement provides for an annual contribution to the Foundation equal to 12.5% of the Casino’s annual net operating income.  

  3. Who do I contact for more information?
    • For information on a specific program area, please contact our program staff member listed on each grant program page
    • For information on grant funding, application process, or assistance with the Grant Portal, please contact Jeanna Rathell at (312) 609-0200 or jeanna@grandvictoriafdn.org
    • For general information about the Foundation, please contact us at (312) 609-0200 or info@grandvictoriafdn.org
    • Visit our Team page to reach out to individual staff members

Grant Funding & Application FAQs


  1. What does Grand Victoria Foundation typically support?
    Through our funding, we aim to change and improve conditions that persistently hold problems in place. This includes work to improve policies or practices, ensure fair access to resources in our areas of interest; change old narratives to promote new ideas; and shift power dynamics to achieve equitable outcomes that reduce disparities among groups and communities.

    General operating, project and multi-year grants are available for organizations that meet our eligibility requirements and are engaged in activities consistent with the Foundation’s priorities.

    The Foundation does not provide grants for the following:
    • Individuals
    • Direct Services (with the exception of the Elgin Program)
    • Political campaigns
    • Religious purposes
    • Governmental entities

  2. What geographic areas does the Foundation fund?
    The Foundation funds organizations throughout the state of Illinois.  We look for efforts that have impact at county, regional or statewide levels. We do not support organizations that solely serve or impact the city of Chicago.

  3. We are a new organization. Can we apply for funding?
    We welcome requests from 501(c)(3) organizations that meet our eligibility requirements and are engaged in activities consistent with our priorities. In general, we give priority to organizations with an established track record. This includes organizations that act as fiscal agents or sponsors for other organizations or projects.

  4. I submitted a Letter of Inquiry (LOI). When do I find out if my application was approved?
    Once submitted, please allow our staff up to 30 days to respond to your LOI request. If you do not receive a response within that time, please contact Jeanna Rathell, Manager of Grants and Program Administration at (312) 609-0200 to confirm that your application was received.

  5. Does the Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
    Unfortunately, we do not accept unsolicited proposals and only consider proposals that have been invited.

Technical FAQs


  1. How do I begin the application process?
    If you have read the guidelines and think there is a good fit, please complete our online application which includes a Letter of Inquiry in which you summarize what you plan to accomplish. LOIs can be submitted by completing an application in our grant portal. If your organization does not have an account, please click Create an Account. You will be prompted to create an account by submitting your email address, and then an activation link will be sent to you. 
  2. If I am having trouble completing my application online, what should I do?
    You are able to save your application and come back to it later. To continue working on an in-progress application, please login to the Grant Portal using the username and password you used to create your account.

    The application will not submit if required questions are not answered. Required questions are noted by a red asterisk before the question. Please check that you are using Internet Explorer to access your account and submit your application. Other browsers are not supported and you may experience issues with the portal.

    Please contact us if your problem persists. We encourage you to begin your application in the online system as early as possible so we have time to offer you full support.

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