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  • Apply to receive a grant for your nonprofit. Letter of intent deadline is Thursday, December 14, 2023.
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VNA Foundation
  • WHAT WE FUND
    • Funding Overview
    • Special Initiatives
    • Grants Infographics
    • New Grants
    • Grants Search
  • APPLY FOR A GRANT
    • Funding Guidelines
    • How to Apply
    • Outcome Measures
    • Model Proposals
    • Site Visits
    • FAQs
  • FOR GRANTEES
    • Current Grantee Resources
  • ABOUT US
    • Focus, History & Mission
    • 25th Anniversary
    • Board & Staff
    • Financials
    • Contact Us
  • NEWS
VNA Foundation
VNA Foundation
  • WHAT WE FUND
    • Funding Overview
    • Special Initiatives
    • Grants Infographics
    • New Grants
    • Grants Search
  • APPLY FOR A GRANT
    • Funding Guidelines
    • How to Apply
    • Outcome Measures
    • Model Proposals
    • Site Visits
    • FAQs
  • FOR GRANTEES
    • Current Grantee Resources
  • ABOUT US
    • Focus, History & Mission
    • 25th Anniversary
    • Board & Staff
    • Financials
    • Contact Us
  • NEWS
VNA Foundation

25th Anniversary

VNA_25_Horiz_RGB

25th Anniversary

2021 marked VNA Foundation’s 25th year as a grantmaker. During that time, over $53 million was granted to almost 300 different nonprofit agencies located throughout metropolitan Chicago, all providing charitable home- and community-based healthcare to the medically underserved.

2021 marked VNA Foundation’s 25th year as a grantmaker. During that time, over $53 million was granted to almost 300 different nonprofit agencies located throughout metropolitan Chicago, all providing charitable home- and community-based healthcare to the medically underserved.
Learn more about VNA Foundation’s 25 Years of Grantmaking

25th Anniversary Awardees

To honor VNA Foundation’s 25th year, we awarded special $100,000 anniversary grants to two grantee partners: Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the Illinois Association of Free & Charitable Clinics.

The grant to Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) supported the rebuild of Streetlight Chicago, the innovative smartphone app and companion website for homeless youth and the agencies that assist them. 

To learn more about CCH and its accomplishments, please watch VNA’s interview with Executive Director Doug Schenkelberg.

The grant to the Illinois Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (IAFCC) supported 1) its data collection and analysis project to enhance long-term sustainability of clinics through government funding, and 2) its strategic planning process to stabilize its current operations and improve future ones. 

To learn more about IAFCC and its accomplishments, please view VNA’s interview with Executive Director Melissa Maguire.

Grants & Special Initiatives

Representative examples, by category, from our first 25 years.

Grants Supporting Primary/Chronic Care

Some of the first grants made by VNA Foundation were in support of primary care and chronic care to the medically underserved—such as the care provided by free clinics. One free clinic we are pleased to have supported many times is CommunityHealth (CH), which started as a small outpost in the back of an optometrist’s office and grew into the largest free clinic in the nation.

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Grants Supporting Mental Health

VNA acknowledged early in it years as a foundation the importance of recognizing mental health as a critical component of overall health. Among the mental health programs VNA supported multiple times is the innovative Building Bridges to North Lawndale (BBNL) program of the Juvenile Protective Association.

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Grants Supporting Health Education/Promotion

Since its second year as a funder, VNA has provided periodic grants to Health & Medicine Policy Research Group to support Albert Schweitzer Nursing Fellows, post-baccalaureate nursing students who present limited-duration health education programs, of their own design, at community-based sites in underserved areas in Chicago.

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Grants Supporting Technical Assistance

One longtime grantee partner that provides technical assistance is the Illinois Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (IAFCC), which provides a variety of capacity building, educational and administrative services to its member health centers.

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Grants Supporting Violence Prevention

VNA has proudly supported several domestic violence and sexual assault service agencies over the past 25 years. Connections for Abused Women and their Children, for example, operates the Hospital Crisis Intervention Program (HCIP) at Cook County’s Stroger Hospital.

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Grants Supporting Maternal Child Health

VNA’s longstanding interest in supporting the unique needs of mothers and babies is exemplified through grantees like PCC Community Wellness Center. PCC offers community nursing services that provide intensive education, prevention, support and home-visiting designed to improve breastfeeding rates, neonatal care and postpartum care among high-risk mothers and infants.

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Grants Supporting Dental and Vision

Over the past 25 years, dental services have been the most commonly funded service in this category. For example, Dental Lifeline Network–Illinois’ volunteer dentists offer free comprehensive oral healthcare to people who are older, medically fragile and/or disabled.

Read More »
Special Initiatives

Not long after VNA Foundation awarded its first grants in 1996, we began to seek out opportunities to fund proactively, via innovative grants directed toward purposes or areas of particularly high need. These grants, termed Special Initiatives, usually involve multi-year, larger awards, which allow our grantee partners to make a more substantial impact in a shorter period of time.

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VNA Foundation

Supporting Home- and Community-based Health Services for Chicago’s Medically Underserved

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