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WHO WE ARE

The 815 Community Response Team (815CRT) was convened by the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence (NICNE) in March 2020 to help ensure nonprofits in Northern Illinois (Boone, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties) and the people they serve were supported during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. 815CRT is made up of public and private funders and other partners, working with the nonprofit sector to identify needs and to make funds available for both immediate, emergency needs, as well as needs that will emerge in the near and not-so-near future. 

Current Coalition partners: Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, Kjellstrom Family Foundation, Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Transform Rockford, United Way of Rock River Valley, The Workforce Connection. 

WHAT WE DO

The Coalition worked to respond to the pandemic in the following ways:

  1. Provided a centralized source for information and resources available to the nonprofit sector

  2. Communicated consistently and regularly with nonprofits to assess needs

  3. Raised funds to address the needs of nonprofits and the people they serve in Northern Illinois (Boone, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties)

  4. Administered a grant process to distribute funds that were raised

Should another community crisis arise, the Coalition is ready to reactivate its partnership in support of the communities of Northern Illinois.

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