Lumpkin Family Foundation – Land, Health, Community‑Chicago Program

Lumpkin Family Foundation – Land, Health, Community‑Chicago Program is sponsored by Lumpkin Family Foundation. Supports Chicago youth/environmental programs, mental health, food justice, leadership through small grants.

Land, Health, Community-Chicago Program | Lumpkin Family Foundation Land, Health, Community-Chicago Program The Land, Health, Community-Chicago (LHC-C) program has recently expanded its focus areas to reflect our commitment, as a Foundation, to supporting holistically healthy communities in the Chicagoland area.

We believe that a community’s health is rooted in its ability to access and obtain life sustaining resources for all its residents without undue burden, systemic barriers, and inequitable opportunity. The Land, Health, Community-Chicago Program has one grant cycle in the fall. There will be an informational session on the 2026 Land, Health, Community-Chicago program held virtually in August.

Below is the recorded session from last year’s program. Watch more videos on the LFF YouTube page .

Foundation Universal Letter of Inquiry Foundation Universal Application Letters of Inquiry Accepted: Applications and Renewals Invited: Applications and Post Grant Reports for Renewals Due: We look to fund projects and organizations that support the following: Our communities are physically active, values healthy eating, and prioritizes overall wellbeing. All communities can thrive.

Communities that have faced and continue to face inequitable and unjust policies, laws and practices will be equipped with the resources needed to realize their full potential. Opportunities for children in/out of school to engage physically with and to learn about the natural world, to eat well, and to care for the planet. A community and/or multigenerational approach to addressing the mental health and wellness of youth.

Efforts to increase access to healthy and sustainably produced food. Grassroots and community led initiatives centered on the pursuit of food justice. In addition to project-based funding, we also offer special funding for the following: Community Garden Grants: Community Gardens which are defined are small patches of land that are used to connect community members to nature.

These gardens are engaged in minimal food production (as opposed to larger urban farms). The maximum award for this type of grant is $5,000 per garden . Please see guidelines below for more details.

Inspiration Grants : Inspiring proposals that center a collaborative approach to the pursuit of equity, justice, and restoration ( please note that the maximum award for this type of grant is $10,000 ). Region: Priority will be given to organizations that are based within the boundaries of the City of Chicago.

We will also consider applications from organizations just outside the city boundaries but that serve communities within the City or that serve communities adversely impacted by unjust and inequitable economic policies.

Organizational Budget: Grassroots Organizations : If the mission of your organization aligns with our funding priorities, and your organizational budget is less than $500,000, and the leadership and/or a sizable number of members of the Board and staff are members of your targeted community you are eligible to apply for a general operating grant .

If you successfully receive a general operating grant for 2 consecutive years, you will then be eligible to apply for a multi-year grant of 3 years. Larger Organizations : Organizations with an operating budget of $500,000 or more are eligible to apply for project-based funding.

If you are funded by the Foundation for 3 consecutive years and your mission areas continue to align with our priorities, you may be considered for multi-year general operational support. Project-based multi-year requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but generally, this grant program provides one year of funding.

While we do not set limitations on our grant requests, the average size of a Land, Health, Community-Chicago grant award is $20,000. Funding levels can range between $2,500 – $50,000. We do not sponsor events or provide funding to individuals.

If you would like to discuss a specific idea or possible partnership with The Foundation, feel free to contact us. If your organization is invited to submit an application, you may be contacted by Foundation staff to arrange a site visit. Not all applicants will receive a site visit request.

Our site visits may be in person or conducted remotely via video conference, and staff will do their best to give two week’s scheduling notice. Site visits are a chance to discuss your application, your project, and your organization as a whole with Foundation staff and occasionally trustees. We will not provide a formal agenda, but you should be prepared to answer questions and are invited to ask questions of your own.

We aim for the site visit to be a conversational learning experience for both Foundation staff and your organization. A post grant report is a requirement of nearly all grants. It is an opportunity to share what worked well, and what did not, and to what degree the project accomplished its goals.

The date will vary, but the majority of reports are due 11 or 12 months from approval. This will be communicated to you when your grant is awarded. We believe that it is important to measure the success of our grantmaking strategy.

While we have our own internal strategy that we use to measure our own progress towards our programmatic goals, we allow our grantees to report metrics that are most relevant to their unique context. We recognize that the measurement of success (and failure) is only valuable when it is done based on the specific and context-based parameters established by our grantees.

We work in tandem with them to ensure that what is measured has meaning to both their work and our overall goals as a Foundation. This will allow evaluation flexibility while helping The Lumpkin Family Foundation learn about what Outcomes and Metrics are most useful to our grantees. Please contact staff with any questions about Outcomes and Metrics.

Your report template will be accessible through our Apply Here portal. Most post grant reports are similar to the following example for the Land, Health, Community program: Please feel free to contact Foundation staff with any questions about your reporting date or details.

Please Direct Inquiries To: Land, Health, Community-Chicago Information Session LFF Holds Grantee Listening Session Land, Health, Community-Chicago Awards 2024 Grantees Land, Health, Community-Chicago Fall Updates LFF Releases Community Landscape Scan Water People Theater Group NFP To launch the expanded version of the Noticias KIDS program: STUDIO Kids, a track for 20 Latinx immigrant children ages 6–11 using dialogue and theater to explore mental health, food justice, and cultural identity, culminating in a community play that sparks critical conversations.

Continued support for Growing Solutions Farm (GSF): providing fresh vegetables for their farm stand, participant families, and local food pantries, while also serving as a work-readiness training site specifically designed for young adults with autism and related neurodiverse conditions.

Refugee Education and Adventure Challenge (REACH) To deepen its Peer Mentor Leadership Project (PMLP), offering a vital pathway to connection, leadership, and belonging for refugee youth (ages 12–18) through mentoring, outdoor skills, and environmental learning.

To improve health outcomes for youth ages 3-21 by introducing basic concepts in nutrition, cooking, and gardening and connecting their dietary choices to the earth through Grow Getters Club activities. To support their Online Market and Home Delivery Programs’ innovative food, mental health, and social services hub and growing their partnership network, expanding their impact on the South and West Sides of Chicago.

To install new infrastructure at 5 garden sites in the NBSP network of 140+ community gardens and neighborhood farms in consultation with NBSP stewardship staff, who will assist with installation at the sites on Chicago’s South and West Sides. 1632 Broadway Avenue, Suite 201