SWISS BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF CHICAGO CULTURAL GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS

Our organization was founded in 1872, largely in response to the Great Chicago Fire and the desire of local Swiss to assist people of Swiss heritage in recovering from the conflagration. In the many years since its founding, our Society, thankfully, has continued in its benevolence mission while expanding its charter to include 1) substantial support of education, in the form of language immersion and merit scholarships, and 2) sponsorship of cultural events that enhance appreciation of Swiss culture in all its forms.

In the field of cultural matters in particular, many of you have been beneficiaries of grants from the Society to support such events, or have been fortunate to have attended and benefited from their presentation. In an effort to maintain the high quality of the cultural endeavors which we have supported, to ensure that those programs are particularly focused on the presentation and enhancement of Swiss culture, and to ensure that the opportunities for such cultural support are available to the public at large on an open and fully accessible basis, the Society has decided to undertake a number of modifications in its grant application process.

Consistent with the Society’s budget year and process, from now on applications for cultural grants for a given year should be received by the Society by November 1 of the prior year. In the event that the Society’s annual planned culture budget is not fully accounted for by the November 1 applications, a second application deadline of April 1 of the succeeding year will be available to submit applications for any remaining funds available for the budget year.

In the past, the application process has been very informal, and this will not change substantially. Applications may be received in letter form on letterhead of the organization making the request and should contain the following information:

  1. A brief explanation presenting the purpose of the request and the dollar amount requested
  2. A description of the nature of the proposed event ( i.e., a concert, theatrical presentation, art exhibit or the like)
  3. A line-item budget for the event
  4. An explanation of how the Society’s logo and other identifying information will be used to reflect the Society’s participation in the event
  5. The planned date(s) of the proposed event(s)
  6. An explanation of how the organization’s proposed event particularly enhances appreciation or support of Swiss culture
  7. The contact person’s name, title, telephone number, email address, and fax contact information
  8. Where the funds should be sent

A post-grant report will be required.

Applications received by November 1 will be acted upon by the Board in its November meeting, and applicants whose grants are approved will be notified by the end of November.

We are grateful for the many opportunities that the Society has had over the years to present first-rate Swiss related cultural events and, in many cases, to co-sponsor those events with you. We are also mindful of possible grantees and opportunities that may not have come to our attention in the past. Therefore, this statement regarding our application process is also posted on the Society’s website. We thank you for your great support of the Society’s cultural programming goals in the past and very much look forward to continuing to do all that we can jointly do to present Swiss culture to our community at large.