Budgets and Funding
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Budgets
and Funding
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Toolkit Community Project Budgets
The community projects carried out as part of the Chicago Community Climate Action Toolkit—in Forest Glen, South Chicago, Pilsen, and Bronzeville—were funded and supported through a variety of sources. Project budgets ranged from $8,000 to $17,000. The vast majority of the funds were provided through a grant from Boeing to The Field Museum, which included budget lines for community project stipends.
Field Museum staff and community partners also secured additional funds and assistance through a variety of creative ways, such as:
Enlisting volunteers:
- Pilsen partners enlisted significant help in the garden from seasoned gardeners who live in the neighborhood. They also recruited a lot of local volunteers to help clean up the vacant lot and then plant the garden—including residents who live close to the garden.
- Forest Glen partners had a strong volunteer base of parents and friends of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, who helped plant the two gardens and install the bat boxes and rain barrels.
Fundraising locally:
- Pilsen partners collaborated with Simone’s, a local bar, to hold a fundraiser. Simone’s donated 40% of the proceeds from one night to the garden.
Leveraging other grants and connections:
- Bronzeville partners used funds from another grant to construct a mosaic art piece in the community garden.
- Forest Glen partners leveraged community connections to receive discounts on materials, including plants and rain barrels.
- For the South Chicago project, we combined Field Museum funds with funds from the South Chicago Retrofit Project, a City-funded initiative being run by Claretian Associates that included a budget line for seed grants to support community participation.
Seeking technical assistance:
- For the Pilsen vacant lot garden project, we consulted with well-known environmental partners such as the Chicago Conservation Corps, Delta Institute, and NeighborSpace to figure out how to best deal with contaminated soil. We also worked with a few private firms that provided consulting services on contaminated soil and garden design, at a very reasonable cost.
Funding Resources for Local Climate Action Projects
Below is a list of funding sources for local climate action, sustainability, or environmental projects. Browse through some of these websites to see if these sources might be a good fit for your work. Remember to think creatively when it comes to funding and other resources: because climate action projects can serve so many purposes at once, you may find a grant in a non-environmental category (such as community or economic development) that could fund your project. Start with the Chicago Conservation Corps, which provides an extensive list of programs and funding sources for sustainability initiatives:
Government AgenciesCity of Chicago’s Sustainable Backyard Program U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) The EPA also offers a guidebook for funding environmental protection initiatives. And a guide to funding stormwater management projects using green infrastructure. Illinois EPA Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Illinois State Treasurer’s Office Green Energy Program Sustain Our Great Lakes Grants.gov Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) Other Lists & DatabasesIllinois Grant Watch Great Lakes Information Network Chicago Wilderness |
FoundationsGaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Grand Victoria Foundation Chicago Community Trust Tasting Cultures Foundation Native Energy OrganizationsChicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Whole Kids Foundation The Walmart Foundation |
