Kane County Fair

Kane County Fair is a private operating foundation (IRS Foundation Code 02) whose primary mission is running the annual county fair in St. Charles, Illinois — not grantmaking in the conventional sense. Unlike typical foundations, this organization's external funding activity is narrowly defined: it supports 4-H youth agricultural programming through the University of Illinois Extension and awards college scholarships to 4-H member high school seniors.

Organizations seeking general nonprofit grants will find this funder an extremely poor fit. There is no open grant competition, no RFP process, and no evidence of a formal application portal for institutional applicants. The giving philosophy centers entirely on youth development through agricultural education and the 4-H system. The University of Illinois Extension's Kane County office is the only institutional grantee on record — receiving $35,000 annually for multiple years for 4-H support — a relationship that functions as a standing program partnership rather than a competitive award.

For individual scholarship applicants, the eligibility criteria are clear and non-negotiable: you must be a current 4-H member, a high school senior, and plan to attend college. There is no multi-round review process, LOI stage, or site visit cycle. The scholarship form is downloadable from the fair's website, and the hard deadline is April 1 each year.

This funder is governed by a small, locally rooted leadership team that has remained stable for years. Chris Unger (Executive Manager, $108,338 compensation) is the operational decision-maker and the named contact for scholarship inquiries. Larry Breon serves as President ($30,000). Board directors each receive $12,000 annually, suggesting a community-volunteer governance model rather than a professional foundation staff.

First-time individual applicants should contact Chris Unger directly at 630-584-6926. For organizations with 4-H programming interests, the recommended path is to build a relationship with University of Illinois Extension Kane County (630-584-6166) before ever approaching the fair directly — Extension serves as the institutional bridge. Attempting to approach the fair as a general community grantmaker without an established 4-H connection will almost certainly fail.

Kane County Fair's external grantmaking is modest in dollar terms and highly concentrated in two categories. Across 17 tracked disbursements totaling $85,000, just two recipient types appear: a single institutional partner and individual college scholarship recipients.

The dominant commitment is the University of Illinois Extension, which received $70,000 across 2 documented grants (average $35,000 per grant) designated for 4-H support. This single relationship represents 82% of all tracked grant dollars — an extraordinary concentration that signals a deeply embedded institutional partnership, not a competitive allocation process.

Individual college scholarships account for the remaining $15,000 distributed to 8 named recipients: - Olivia Young: $6,750 total across 4 grants (apparent multi-year renewal) - Willem Van Der Meij: $2,250 total across 3 grants - Brooke Wackerlin, Elaina Studt, Noah Greenfeld: $1,500 each (2 grants each) - Nora Thompson, Max Miller: $750 each (1 grant each)

Historical financial filings reveal a major inflection point. From 2010 through 2020, annual grants paid held steady between $30,000 and $39,500 — reflecting the $35,000 annual 4-H commitment plus small scholarship awards. In 2021, reported grants paid collapsed to $3,750 and further to $3,000 in 2022. This likely reflects either a reclassification of the University of Illinois Extension relationship as a program expense rather than a grant, or a temporary suspension of institutional funding.

Total giving figures ($1.54M-$2.38M annually, 2010-2022) are overwhelmingly program service expenses for operating the fair itself, not external grants. This is a critical distinction: the IRS filing's 'total giving' line is not a proxy for grantmaking capacity.

Assets have been stable but declining: from $24.2M in 2011 to $20.0M in 2022. Revenue ($1.5M-$2.0M) tracks near operating expenses, implying minimal surplus for growing the external grant portfolio. The scholarship program has been upgraded — the website now advertises up to 3 awards at $5,000 each (total $15,000 potential) versus the historical per-recipient average of $750-$1,500 — suggesting intentional investment in the youth scholarship mission.

The five peer organizations identified by asset proximity ($19.9M-$26.7M) and NTEE classification (Human Services) are all structurally quite different from Kane County Fair, which is an operating agricultural fair organization rather than a traditional grantmaking foundation. This peer set was algorithmically matched on financials and NTEE code, not on mission alignment.

Kane County Fair's asset base ($20.0M) is comparable to its peers, but its grantmaking posture is fundamentally different. Where most similarly-sized foundations distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to external nonprofits, Kane County Fair's external grants are measured in thousands — with the vast majority of its budget consumed by fair operations. The NCHSAA Foundation is the closest structural analog (an athletics-focused operating nonprofit that also awards scholarships), though it operates at the statewide level in North Carolina. For grant seekers, none of these peer organizations provide useful transfer learning about how to approach Kane County Fair.

No formal press releases were found on the Kane County Fair's official website at the time of this research (June 2026). The press releases section of kanecountyfair.com appeared empty, and the organization does not maintain an active public communications cadence around its grant or scholarship programs.

The most notable external development in 2025 was the fair receiving a Compeer Financial Fairground Improvement Grant (up to $4,000) for replacing its show arena roof. This was part of Compeer's eighth consecutive year running the Fund for Rural America program, which distributed $242,000 to 61 county fairs across Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Kane County Fair was listed among the Illinois recipients. This is significant because it reveals the fair itself seeks and receives external grants for capital infrastructure — a common practice among county fair organizations.

The 2025 fair ran July 16-20 and the 2026 fair is scheduled for July 15-19 at 525 South Randall Road, St. Charles, IL. Programming has remained consistent: professional championship bullriders (Friday and Saturday grandstand), demolition derby (Sunday), Miller Lite Sound Stage free music, midway rides, and the 4-H livestock auction.

No leadership changes were identified. Chris Unger continues as Executive Manager (compensation $93,762-$108,338 across recent fiscal years). Larry Breon remains President ($29,600-$30,000). Board composition (Kaergard, Reynolds, B. Breon, Brummel, Gould, Schick, Hoge) appears unchanged across the most recent available IRS filings. The organization's scholarship upgrade — raising potential awards to 3 × $5,000 — is the primary program change of note, likely occurring between the most recent IRS filings (2022) and the current website.

Understand the access points before applying. Kane County Fair has exactly two external funding pathways: (1) the annual 4-H college scholarship for high school seniors, and (2) an implicit institutional channel for 4-H program partners via the University of Illinois Extension. If you do not fit one of these two categories, there is no application to submit.

For scholarship applicants — timing is everything. The April 1 deadline is hard. Given that the fair office is staffed by a small team running a large seasonal operation, late applications will almost certainly not be considered. Download the form from kanecountyfair.com/4H-Information as early as January and allow time for any questions to be resolved.

Make your 4-H record the centerpiece of your application. The scholarship exists specifically to reward active 4-H members. Emphasize years of membership, leadership roles (club officer, project champion, fair competition history), and how your college plans connect to agriculture, community, or youth service. Generic personal statements about academic achievement will not differentiate you.

Contact the right people. The 4-H Information page specifically instructs scholarship applicants to 'ask for Chris' when calling 630-584-6926. Chris Unger (Executive Manager) is the operational contact. For questions about 4-H membership eligibility, contact University of Illinois Extension Kane County at 630-584-6166 before contacting the fair.

For organizational applicants — do not cold-apply. There is no documented pathway for community nonprofits to apply for general support grants. The only known institutional grantee is University of Illinois Extension. If your organization delivers 4-H programming or agriculture education in Kane County, build a relationship with Extension first and explore whether a co-sponsored request to the fair board makes sense.

Align your language with their mission. Use terms like 'youth agricultural education,' '4-H member development,' 'Kane County community,' and 'fair programming' — not generic nonprofit language like 'capacity building,' 'systems change,' or 'equity.' This is a community institution with a specific and narrow civic identity.