1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) Application for Local Innovation Projects is sponsored by Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity. This program aims to expand employment opportunities, growth, and satisfaction for people with disabilities.
It supports local innovation projects focusing on expanded interagency partnerships, integrated resource teams, financial literacy and asset development, and employment and training services.
Get alerted about grants like this
Save a search for “Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity” or related topics and get emailed when new opportunities appear.
Search similar grants →Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
Workforce and Education Partners We apologize, but this website won't display or function properly in Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, or 9. These versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported by Microsoft.
Please update your browser to the latest version of Internet Explorer , or use one of the following browsers (Windows XP users will need to use one of these, since Internet Explorer 9 and above are not supported in Windows XP): Disability Employment Initiative Request For Applications Disability Employment Initiative Request For Applications Back to Workforce & Education Partner Resources .
The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity announces the release of the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) Application for Local Innovation Projects. The goal of this program is to expand employment opportunities, growth, and satisfaction for people with disabilities.
Illinois and the local partners will implement DEI program components specified by the US Department of Labor as ways to increase education and employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities.
Expanded Interagency Partnerships Integrated Resource Teams Financial Literacy and Asset Development Employment and Training services These strategies are not mutually exclusive and complement each other in the context of Illinois’ overall implementation approach to providing individuals with disabilities with employment opportunities.
Applicants should include how their proposal addresses one or all of these core components as specified in each Request for Application (RFA). The Commerce Office of Employment and Training (OET) will provide up to $950,000 in Disability Employment Initiative funds to support local projects. The estimated maximum award will be $100,000 per project.
Grant funds may be used for projects that expand employment opportunities and employment growth for individuals with disabilities.
Commerce will accept proposals from social service agencies, private-sector for profit and non-profit employers, educational institutions, and private sector for profit and non-profit training providers or other entities, such as sector employer associations with the ability to engage employers to facilitate training placements.
The DEI is experimental in nature, and each DEI grant is targeted to pilot services for specific age groups, in specific geographic areas. See below for the focus of each funding stream. ILLINOIS DEI ROUND 4 - Projects serving adults in Local Workforce Areas 1 (Lake County), and 25 (Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, and Williamson Counties) will be funded.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are depleted. ILLINOIS DEI ROUND 5 - Projects serving youth in Local Workforce Area 6 (DuPage County) and North/Northwest suburban Cook County will be funded.
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Social service agencies, private-sector for-profit and non-profit employers, educational institutions, and private sector for-profit and non-profit training providers or other entities, such as sector employer associations with the ability to engage employers to facilitate training placements in specific Illinois Local Workforce Areas. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows up to $100,000 per project. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) Application for Local Innovation Projects is funded by Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity. Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This opportunity targets applicants in Illinois. If your organization operates elsewhere, check the official notice for location requirements.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
Farm to School Implementation Grant is sponsored by USDA Food and Nutrition Service. This program aims to increase the availability of local foods in schools and connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for school meals. Projects should incorporate both local sourcing and agricultural education efforts.
The Homeless Youth Program is a grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services that funds services for homeless and at-risk youth across Illinois. Administered through the Office of Community and Positive Youth Development, it supports nonprofit organizations delivering shelter, outreach, and support services to young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Eligible applicants are Illinois-based nonprofits with demonstrated capacity to serve youth. Awards range from $100,000 to $800,000 per year under CSFA number 444-80-0711. This is a FY 2026 funding opportunity with an application deadline of May 21, 2025.
Community Investment Tax Credit Program (CITC) is a grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development that provides state tax credit allocations to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, enabling them to attract private donations from individuals and businesses. Donors contributing $500 or more to approved projects receive tax credits equal to 50% of their contribution. The program has leveraged nearly $27 million in charitable contributions to approximately 700 projects statewide. Eligible project areas include education, housing, job training, arts and culture, economic development, and services for at-risk populations. Projects must be located in or serve residents of Maryland's Priority Funding Areas. The application period is typically held annually.
The Department of Education quietly published the FY2026 RPED competition in the May 29 Federal Register: $45M total, awards of $1.5M-$2.5M each over 48 months, applications due June 23 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The program funds rural community colleges and regional universities to build career pathways into high-wage industries. With FIPSE under structural review by the second Trump administration, this may be the last cycle under the existing rubric. Here's the eligibility math, the partner architecture that wins, the NCES locale codes that gate the absolute priority, and the 25-day sprint that determines who gets funded.
Read articleOpen Society Foundations' May 20 announcement of a $300M U.S. initiative pairs civil liberties defense with economic opportunity. The pillar architecture matters more than the dollar figure for organizations deciding whether to position now.
Read articleArbor Rising's June 9 LOI deadline opens a national grantmaking cycle for second-stage economic-mobility nonprofits. The four-stage selection process and 200-300 hours of annual consulting make this a developmental relationship, not a check.
Read article