Community Foundation of East Central Illinois

The Community Foundation of East Central Illinois was established in 1972 to encourage and receive gifts and bequests from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations for the purpose of responding to the charitable needs of the residents of east central Illinois. The Foundation’s mission is to promote philanthropy in an impartial, unbiased, ethical way, with a commitment to inclusiveness, and bring together people and resources to identify and address present and emerging community needs.

the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois (CFECI) has distributed more than $20 million in charitable grants to more than 450 nonprofits working to improve the quality of life in its nine-county service area. These distributions include designated and undesignated gifts from endowments, field-of-interest funds, Donor-Advised funds and scholarships.

Last year, through a collaboration with United Way of Champaign County, CFECI distributed $1.2 million in COVID relief funding to local nonprofits helping those most affected by the pandemic. CFECI also distributed an additional $1.2 million last year to local nonprofits through its annual grants and scholarships. As a result of these distributions, more than 180 nonprofit organizations and causes were able to improve, expand or enhance the vital services they provide residents of east central Illinois.

In addition to the monetary support, last year CFECI staff also provided nearly 300 hours of support to area nonprofit leaders through its Building Better Boards program, Executive Director Support Groups, its Community Solutions Incubator initiative and through direct contact with nonprofits to assess and address community needs. 

CFECI stewards more than 160 funds. Its total assets have grown from $1,300 in 1972 to nearly $30 million today. For more information, visit CFECI’s website at www.cfeci.org or find CFECI on Facebook (@CFECI), Instagram (communityfoundation_eci_), Twitter (@CFECI) and LinkedIn (Community Foundation of East Central Illinois.