Resource Directory /

Financial Assistance and Grant Programs Resources

  • The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation

    The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation provides support and financial help to families in crisis due to pregnancy complications, premature birth/neonatal intensive care unit stay and loss. This financial assistance may help cover:

    • Childcare
    • Medical bills
    • Transportation costs
    • Rent/mortgage and utilities
    • Post-loss/funeral/burial expenses
    • Grief counseling (individual, couple and family)

    Visit the Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation website for more details.

  • The Community Resource Desk in Carbondale

    The Community Resource Desk at the Carbondale Public Library offers community residents information, referrals and help navigating and connecting with local programs and resources. Residents can get help with services such as utilities and housing assistance, employment support, transportation and obtaining essential documents.

    The Community Resource Desk at the Carbondale Public Library is open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    For more details, please see the Community Resource Desk flyer.

    The library also provides social work and community assistance resources online, including the Carbondale Area Resource Guide and FindHelp Southern Illinois.

  • The Dream Factory

    The Dream Factory is a volunteer-driven children’s wish-granting organization. Volunteers raise funds in their communities to grant dreams to local children ages 3 through 18 who have a life-threatening illness or are critically and chronically ill. Dreams are granted through local chapters. Referrals can be made by:

    • A parent or legal guardian of an ill child
    • A treating physician of an ill child
    • The ill child

    In Illinois, contact:

  • The Good Samaritan Inn in Decatur

    The Good Samaritan Inn provides meals to all those who need them, no questions asked. Meals are served seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Its programs also include Mercy Gardens and Mercy Market from June through October.

    Good Samaritan Inn is located at 920 North Union St. in Decatur.

    For more information, call (217) 429-1455.

  • The Guthrie-Koch Scholarship for Individuals with Certain Metabolic Disorders

    The Guthrie-Koch Scholarship from flok is for individuals with one of several metabolic disorders. The scholarship is for students who demonstrate character, academic achievement, and engagement with their community, and who are pursuing post-secondary educational or vocational opportunities. Students from any country can apply. Scholarship applications open by mid-December each year. Applications are due in mid-March.

    To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must have one of these metabolic disorders:

    • Classical HCU
    • Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD)
    • An Organic Acidemia
    • Phenylketonuria (PKU)
    • Tyrosinemia
    • Urea Cycle Disorder (UCD)

    For questions, please contact flok at (973) 619-9160 or email info@flok.org.

  • The HIKE Fund, Inc.

    The official site of the Hearing Improvement Kids Endowment Fund, Inc. (HIKE). The Hike Fund provides hearing devices for children with hearing loss aged newborn to 20 years whose parents are unable to meet this special need financially.

    See the Hike Fund application form for more details about eligibility requirements and how to apply. You can also email applications@thehikefund.org for more details about the application process.

  • The Humanitarian Foundation

    The Grottoes International Humanitarian Foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps cover the cost of dental treatment and anesthesia costs, whether done in a hospital setting or dental office, for children with special needs. The program does not cover the hospital costs.

    The Dental Care for Children with Special Needs Program is for children under 21 with one or more of the following conditions:

    • Cerebral palsy
    • Muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular disorders
    • Intellectual disabilities, including Down Syndrome
    • Dental care for organ transplant recipients (pre- and post-transplant)

    Learn more on the program’s eligibility and application page. For more information, fill out the program’s Contact Us form, email hf@hfgrotto.org or call (614) 933-0711.

  • The Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness (ISPB)

    The Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness (ISPB) promotes vision and eye health across Illinois. ISPB provides:

    • Eye care education programs and information
    • Youth replacement glasses and low-vision equipment reimbursement services
    • Research grant opportunities
    • Speakers and screening events

    For questions, please contact ISPB at efineman@preventblindness.org or (312) 363-6029.

  • The Neighbor Project

    The Neighbor Project (TNP) is a nonprofit, HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency dedicated to helping low to moderate-income families in Aurora reduce debt, build credit, save and ultimately buy their first homes.

  • The Parent Place in Springfield

    The Parent Place has been the local child abuse prevention organization teaching parents and local professionals positive parenting skills and techniques in Springfield.

    The Parent Place serves families through various specialized classes, workshops, support groups for parents, guardianship assistance, extended family services, walk-in services, telephone crisis management, family mediation, individual family coaching, a diaper pantry, supervised visits and through its court-mandated Positive Co-Parenting classes for couples going through a divorce or separation.

    The diaper pantry is open every Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.