Village Board Approves Nonprofit Grants, Says Changes May Be Coming

Nonprofits who seek funding from the received a stern warning Monday night. The funding you receive today, may not be available tomorrow.

During its meeting, the Board of Trustees approved granting $30,000 in funding to 12 area nonprofits, but next year the same funding may not be given out to the organizations.

“We are talking about $30,000 of taxpayer revenue that could be used for government programs,” said Trustee Diane McGinley. “We are basically making the decision for our residents to use your money to fund these charitable organizations. I do not feel this is an appropriate use of the funds.”

McGinley said she felt it would be a better use of funding to put the money toward things like sidewalk repair or other village needs.

A total of 18 organizations applied for funding, but only 12 were identified to receive monetary grants for the 2013 fiscal year, said Kristen Schrader, assistant to the village manager.

The organizations receiving funding include:

• NAMI of DuPage County
• Western DuPage Special Recreation District
• Peoples Resource Center
• Fourth of July Committee
• DuPage PADS
• Family Shelter Service
• Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center
• Supplies for Success
• DuPage Senior Citizens
• Glen Ellyn Lion’s Club

The Glen Ellyn Community Grant Program was created to set aside funding to help nonprofit organizations that benefit residents of the community, Schrader said.

Village President Mark Pfefferman said that in April the board discussed taking a different approach to funding evaluation. Moving forward, before it approves its upcoming budget, it would consider program funding.

The board voted unanimously to approve funding for the 2013 fiscal year.

A lack of representatives from the organizations requesting funding from the village did not go unnoticed by the trustees, particularly McGinley. “I wish they were here because we may not be granting the funding in the future.”

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