For hundreds in DuPage County, the bitter cold is more than just an inconvenience— it’s a dangerous challenge. That’s why DuPage Foundation and the DuPage County Board stepped up with local donors and partners to provide nearly $400,000 in emergency funding to DuPagePads, helping our most vulnerable residents get the shelter and support services they needed this past winter.
The Power of Responsive Philanthropy
Recognizing an impending homelessness crisis this past winter, DuPagePads reached out to the DuPage County Board for emergency assistance which, in turn, asked us to join them in collectively providing support. We quickly mobilized our Emergency Fund and network of donors, fund holders, and funding partners to contribute $190,000 alongside the DuPage County Board’s $200,000 allocation.
“This is the power of collective impact at work,” said Mike Sitrick, Foundation president & CEO. “Through public-private partnerships between donors, businesses, foundations, local government, and nonprofits, we can create real change. In this case, we were able to respond quickly to a crisis, ensuring that people had a warm place to stay when they needed it most.”
Engaging Donors to Make a Difference
The rapid response to DuPagePads’ urgent need was made possible by our strong relationships with our donors and funding partners. We do more than serve as a grantmaker—we actively engage donors and partners in meaningful ways to match their passions and resources with pressing community needs and opportunities for impact. The result is both highly effective and personally fulfilling.
“This wasn’t just about writing a check,” said Barb Szczepaniak, Foundation vice president for programs. “This was about mobilizing our community to respond quickly with purpose. We were calling and emailing with donors and funding partners, telling them exactly what was at stake—people’s lives. And they stepped up.”
Building a Stable, Sustainable Future Through Collective Impact
We have a long-term vision for the future: strengthening the DuPage Funders’ Collaborative. This initiative brings together local funding partners to create a united approach to philanthropy, ensuring that resources are available not just for urgent crises, but for sustainable, systemic change.
“We don’t just want to be reactive,” said Sitrick. “We want to build our resources up to a point where we have the capacity to be able to deploy critical support when it’s needed. And when the need is greater than our capacity, we want to be able to call on our donors and partners to close the gap.”
Through the DuPage Funders’ Collaborative, we are mobilizing local and regional funders to come together to share common areas of philanthropic interest, discuss community challenges and opportunities, and explore the potential for collaborative funding. The goal is to build a community-wide network that can address emergencies while also tackling root causes behind critical issues such as access to mental health services, housing instability, food insecurity, and more.
A Call to Action
The collaboration between the Foundation and DuPage County Board saved more than 100 lives, but the work isn’t done. We are actively seeking new partners to expand our long-term impact efforts. “If we’re all working together, we’ll be able to really address some of these problems and pool resources,” said Szczepaniak. “In the end, we’ll have a better chance at getting to the core of community challenges and can ultimately have a greater impact.”
Make an Impact
To learn more about how you can support collective impact within our community, contact Barb Szczepaniak, vice president for programs, at barb@dupagefoundation.org or 630.598.5280.
Read more stories like this in our spring newsletter.
