The Lumpkin Family Foundation, created in 1953, is a private foundation that provides grants to meritorious nonprofit organizations for the betterment of the community, the nation and the world. We are dedicated to supporting education, preserving and protecting the environment and fostering opportunities for leadership, with special consideration to our heritage in Central Illinois.

What's New?

• PLAN TO ATTEND!  The 2009 Downstate Illinois Nonprofit Conference Connecting People & Practices That Create Impact will be August 27 and held at the I-Hotel in Champaign, Illinois.  The Downstate Illinois Nonprofit Conference is a unique opportunity for nonprofit board and staff leaders to connect with national and regional thought leaders about challenges and opportunities ahead. Come share strategies and stories and connect with your peers on ways to build your organization and strengthen the sector. The conference will feature Heather McLeod Grant co-author of Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits and Jan Masaoka Director and Editor-in-Chief of Blue Avocado and past Executive Director of CompassPoint. Click HERE for more information and HERE to register.  Visit the website for payment options.
• Now accepting Micro-Grant applications on-line- the next deadline July 15, 2009. Click here for more information about Micro Grants and here (https://www.grantinterface.com/lumpkin/Common/LogOn.aspx) to apply.
• The Foundation is working with partners in the region to support Nonprofit Community Convenings.  Nonprofit Community Convenings are free monthly gatherings open to nonprofit board and staff leaders to connect, learn and share on different topics affecting the sector. Each session, located in a different area of East Central Illinois, focuses on a topic identified in a survey of nonprofit leaders completed at the end of 2008.  Attendees should bring their thoughts and opinions to add to the conversation. Drinks and light refreshments will be provided and participants should expect a relaxed and conversational tone. Teams of staff and board are encouraged.  Click here to see the list of upcoming sessions and to register.
• A message from the president and the executive director of The Lumpkin Family Foundation issued May 11, 2009.  The Lumpkin Family Foundation (LFF) issues a detailed report to the community approximately every second year.  As we began preparing our 2008/09 report in the last part of 2008 and the beginning of this year, global markets entered their largest single decline since the great Depression.  The endowment on which all our programs depend declined by about a third.  In response to reductions of our financial capacity, as well as the economic challenges we know organizations in our communities are facing, the LFF Board of Trustees began a thoughtful discussion about how to make the best, most effective distribution of available funds.  These significant events will no doubt change our path in ways we cannot now predict.  Amid such uncertainty it felt odd to provide our normal report, heavy on past accomplishments.  Instead, we have elected to publish this simple message outlining – to the best of our ability – where we are today and where we think we are heading beyond this year.  Please click here to read this message.
• As a part of the The Foundation's intent to be transparent and accountable, every third year we ask applicants to evaluate how Foundation staff and members comported themselves in their relationships with applicants. The survey is conducted by an independent consultant to ensure the confidentiality of the responses and the integrity of the information. Click here for a summary of the most recent independent report. Click here to see the response to the 2008 Grant-Seeker Perception Survey.
  
• The Lumpkin Family Foundation is excited to begin the process of moving all of our grant application and reporting processes on-line.  Click here (https://www.grantinterface.com/lumpkin/Common/LogOn.aspx) to register with the system. You will only have to do this once and your user name and password is good for all future grant programs. If you are unable to use the online system please contact Mary at mary.weber@consolidated.com or 217-235-3361.
• The Lumpkin Family Foundation is pleased to begin work on the next phase of the Nonprofit Excellence Program.  Click here to see the Steering Committee members leading the creation of a nonprofit network and a virtual center.
• In an effort to develop our mailing list and communicate more regularly with grantees and nonprofits in the area, we have started a monthly e-blast. These are brief emails with Lumpkin Family Foundation updates as well as links to local trainings or offerings. To add your name and e-mail address to our list, simply send this information to annie.hernandez@consolidated.com.