Boone County Community Foundation

What Boone County Community Foundation does

The Boone County Community Foundation (BCCF) is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit philanthropic organization established in 2005 and headquartered at 600 South State Street in Belvidere, Illinois. The foundation operates as the sole community foundation serving Boone County, IL, with a mission to improve quality of life by building a culture of giving and connecting donors to local charitable causes. It is governed by a Foundation Board and led by Executive Director Melissa Erickson, operating from a single office with a lean staff structure.

The foundation's core offerings comprise four programmatic pillars: (1) a Community Grants Program that awarded over $51,000 to 26 local nonprofits in 2025; (2) a Scholarship Programs portfolio that distributed over $184,000 to 54 graduating seniors across four high schools (Belvidere, Belvidere North, North Boone, and Everest) in 2025; (3) Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Boone County, launched in 2025 to provide free books to children from birth to age five; and (4) the Boone County Disaster Fund for declared disaster recovery. The foundation also manages multiple permanent endowment fund types (donor-advised, field-of-interest, designated, scholarship, and agency/organizational endowment funds) and accepts diverse asset contributions including cash, appreciated securities, life insurance, real estate, and estate gifts.

The revenue model is dual-stream: charitable donations from individuals, families, and businesses, plus managed services revenue from endowment fund administration and investment management for affiliated nonprofit organizations. Distribution occurs through annual community grant cycles, scholarship disbursements coordinated via high school guidance departments, and direct disaster fund deployments. Technology infrastructure is minimal, comprising a WordPress website, PayPal donation integration, and a third-party grant application portal, with no proprietary technology or AI capabilities.

Name

Boone County Community Foundation

Legal name

Boone County Community Foundation

Website

https://boonecountycommunityfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Boone County Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) community foundation in Belvidere, Illinois, that manages permanent endowment funds, awards community grants to local nonprofits, distributes scholarships to county students, and operates Dolly Parton's Imagination Library across Boone County.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation and Philanthropy Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable grantmaking
• Scholarship administration
• Donor-advised funds
• Endowment management

Headquarters

HQ city

Belvidere

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The foundation accepts cash donations, appreciated securities, life insurance, real estate, and estate planning gifts. Donors receive tax deductions for contributions to the 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation directs donations to designated funds or general community needs.
2. Endowment Fund Management: The foundation manages permanent endowment funds including undesignated funds, field-of-interest funds, donor-advised funds, scholarship funds, designated funds, and agency endowment funds. Administrative and investment management services are provided to nonprofit organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Boone County Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation that pools charitable donations, manages endowment funds, and redistributes resources to the Boone County, Illinois community through competitive grant cycles, scholarship awards, and targeted programs. It offers multiple fund types (donor-advised, field-of-interest, agency, scholarship, and unrestricted) and operates signature programs including Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and a Disaster Fund.

Product overview

The Boone County Community Foundation operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit philanthropic organization offering multiple interconnected programs. Its core offerings include the Community Grants Program (awarding over $51,000 annually to 26+ organizations), a Scholarship Programs portfolio (distributing over $184,000 to 54+ students), and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (providing free books to children birth to age five). The Foundation also manages donor-advised funds, field-of-interest funds, designated funds, scholarship funds, and agency endowment funds. Additional programs include the Boone County Disaster Fund for tornado and disaster recovery. The Foundation facilitates charitable giving through PayPal for online donations and maintains a grant application portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Grants Program

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Belvidere School District 100coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal school district partnership for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program and scholarship distribution. District 100 includes Belvidere High School and Belvidere North High School.
• North Boone School District 200coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal school district partnership for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program and scholarship distribution. District 200 includes North Boone High School.
• Hamblock FordsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal business supporter of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Boone County initiative.
• Build-a-bikesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity supporter of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Boone County initiative.
• Belvidere RotarysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal service organization supporter of the Imagination Library program.
• Zonta Club of BelvideresupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal service organization supporter of the Imagination Library program.
• Poplar Grove LionssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerService organization supporter of the Imagination Library program. Founded in 1961, one of the oldest Lions chapters in Illinois.
• Boone County Conservation DistrictsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation manages an endowment fund for the Boone County Conservation District, which owns and manages 3,500 acres of conservation lands.
• Boone County Historical SocietysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation manages donations and endowment funds for the Boone County Historical Society and its museum established in 1968.
• Boone County Council on Aging (Senior Connections)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation manages an endowment fund for the Council on Aging, which provides programs and services for mature individuals and caregivers.
• Regional Access & Mobilization Project (RAMP)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation manages an endowment fund for RAMP, which empowers individuals with disabilities to live independently.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Council on Foundations: National membership association for community foundations and grantmakers. Not a direct competitor but a peer in the same ecosystem, providing industry standards, training, and peer benchmarking that BCCF would reference.
• United Way of Boone County: Local nonprofit in the same geography serving Boone County residents through community fundraising and grantmaking. Operates a different model (campaign-based giving) but competes for the same donor base and corporate sponsors.

Direct peers

• Winnebago County Community Foundation: Community foundation serving Winnebago County (Rockford area), directly adjacent to Boone County. Comparable mission, fund types, and grantee mix of local nonprofits and students.
• Kane County Community Foundation: County-level community foundation in northern Illinois (Aurora/Elgin area). Same 501(c)(3) community-foundation model with grants, scholarships, and donor-advised funds targeting local nonprofits and students.
• McHenry County Community Foundation: County-level community foundation in nearby McHenry County, IL. Provides grants, scholarships, and donor-advised funds through a 501(c)(3) structure serving a similar rural/small-city Illinois community.
• DeKalb County Community Foundation: County-level community foundation serving adjacent DeKalb County, IL. Operates scholarship, grant, and endowment programs for local nonprofits using the same community-foundation model as BCCF. Comparable scale and program mix.
• Community Foundation of Northern Illinois: Regional community foundation serving northern Illinois counties (including Boone, DeKalb, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago). Directly comparable model: 501(c)(3) grantmaking, scholarships, donor-advised funds, and field-of-interest funds. Closest geographic and functional peer to BCCF.

Broad incumbents

• The Chicago Community Trust: Large, established regional community foundation serving the broader Chicago metropolitan area. Offers overlapping grant, scholarship, and donor-advised fund capabilities but at significantly greater scale and geographic breadth than BCCF.
• National Philanthropic Trust: Large national donor-advised fund sponsor. Competes with BCCF for the same donor dollars by offering similar tax advantages but with a broader, non-geographically-restricted grantmaking universe.
• Fidelity Charitable: One of the largest national donor-advised fund sponsors. Competes for charitable contributions that could otherwise flow to community foundations like BCCF by offering strong tax benefits and easy digital giving.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BCCFIllinois
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boone-county-community-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Boone County Community Foundation