The Grace Bersted Foundation, managed by Bank of America’s Philanthropic Solutions, was established in 1986 to support high-quality programming in education, health care, and human services for underserved communities. The Foundation places a particular emphasis on initiatives that benefit children and individuals with disabilities. Its philanthropic efforts are concentrated geographically within four counties in Illinois: DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry.
Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations with an operational presence, specifically an office, located within one of the aforementioned counties. Grants awarded by the Foundation are primarily one-year in duration and are designed to address the needs of disadvantaged populations in a variety of programmatic areas. Given the regional scope and the Foundation’s mission, supported programs typically aim to improve access to essential services, enhance educational outcomes, or increase health equity for vulnerable groups.
Each organization may only submit one application per calendar year to one of several affiliated foundations administered by Bank of America, including the Grace Bersted Foundation, Alfred Bersted Foundation, Henrietta Lange Burke Fund, Carl R. Hendrickson Family Foundation, and Colonel R. Stanley McNeil Foundation. This policy is intended to equitably distribute limited grant resources across a wide range of applicants.
The application deadline for the Grace Bersted Foundation is June 1, with notifications generally issued by September 30 of the same year. Applications are submitted online, and the process is facilitated through the Illinois office of Bank of America’s Philanthropic Solutions. Supporting documents, such as application procedures and help guides, are available in PDF and Word formats for applicant convenience.
For additional information or assistance with the application process, organizations are encouraged to contact the Illinois grantmaking office via email at ilgrantmaking@bofa.com. Applicants are reminded to include the foundation name in the subject line of their email correspondence to ensure proper routing of inquiries.
