About Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
To improve energy efficiency, advance the development and use of renewable energy resources, and protect natural areas and wildlife habitat in communities across Illinois.
Focus Areas
energy efficiencyrenewable energynatural areasland acquisitionwildlife habitatK-12 education (solar installations)capacity building for conservation organizations
Who They Fund
migratory and native wildlife (including pollinators and amphibians like Illinois chorus frog)local and regional publics using parks, preserves and recreation centersK–12 schools and students (net-positive energy schools, environmental education)higher education institutions (community college agriculture complex)
About Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation’s final grantmaking pivoted around a single $47.1 million grant to Prairie State Conservation Coalition, which was designed to create an ongoing Natural Areas Grant Program after the foundation began winding down operations in December 2024. That last legacy commitment fits a longer pattern of funding land protection, habitat restoration, and nature-based climate solutions across Illinois. Earlier grants show the same orientation at smaller scales: Citizens For Conservation received $4,795,500 to acquire Hill 'N Dale Preserve for wetlands conservation, and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County received $2,474,000 to acquire the Old Sutton Parcel and link Spring Lake and Horizon Farm Forest Preserves. The foundation also backed conservation easements, preserve expansions, and habitat-linked land purchases, including work in prairie, oak woods, wetlands, and refuge corridors. Beyond land conservation, its portfolio included renewable-energy and efficiency projects for schools, park facilities, and public infrastructure, plus support for pollinator habitat and nature centers. Its program design favored capital projects and conservation organizations working across Illinois, rather than individuals or operating support for people.
What Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation Funds
Land protection appears in several forms across the portfolio. The Foundation gave $2,917,378 to Macon County Conservation District for the Fort Daniel Conservation Area Acquisition, and $1,240,000 to The Nature Conservancy for acquisition of Cox at Chauncey Marsh. Habitat connectivity also mattered: Openlands received $1,529,452 for acquisition to connect cores and corridors in Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge. Conservation projects were not limited to large preserves. Rock Island County Forest Preserve District received $982,800 for Pollinator Bluff Acquisition, showing attention to pollinator habitat alongside wetlands, oak woods, and prairie conservation. A related strand supported public-facing environmental facilities. Severson Dells Educational Foundation received $833,035 to acquire Elliot Golf Course for a new nature preserve and nature center, linking land protection with nature education infrastructure.
How Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation Gives
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$76.7M
Total Assets
$0
Total Revenue
$1.8M
Total Expenses
$70.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $6K and $134K, with a median of $16K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$16K
75th Percentile
$134K
Geographic Reach
Local2 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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