Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley

What Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley does

The Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley (CFKRV) is a 501(c)(3) public charity established in 1982 and headquartered in Kankakee, Illinois, that operates as a regional vehicle for organized philanthropy serving Kankakee and Iroquois Counties. The foundation builds and manages permanent endowment funds from donations made by individuals, families, corporations, and private foundations, then redistributes a portion of investment returns as grants to local nonprofits and scholarships to local students. It offers a comprehensive suite of charitable giving vehicles including Donor-Advised Funds, Designated Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Unrestricted Funds, Scholarship Funds, Agency Endowments, and Supporting Organizations, each carrying different administrative fee schedules ranging from 1.0% to 2.5%. Underlying technology is modest and third-party dependent: grant and scholarship applications run on Grant Interface, donations are processed through FC Suite, and donor/professional-advisor communications are handled via Mailchimp newsletters. The foundation's investment assets are managed by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, with investment fees averaging less than 1% of asset value deducted quarterly. CFKRV is governed by a 12-member Board of Directors and operates with a small professional staff of approximately seven employees under Executive Director Nicole Smolkovich.

Revenue mechanics are fee-based rather than donation-dependent: the foundation charges administrative fees on assets under management (typically 1.0% on endowed and donor-advised funds, 2.0% on scholarship funds, and 2.5% on pass-through funds) and benefits from investment management arrangements. Donations themselves are not revenue but flow into the endowment corpus, with investment returns partially redistributed as grants. The foundation has expanded beyond traditional grantmaking into a portfolio of community initiatives — Success By 6 (early childhood, jointly with United Way), Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (~1,300 enrolled children), Riverfront Trailways (7+ miles along the Kankakee River), Project SUN (children's mental health), Kan-I Help (information/referral network), Watseka Community Renewal (historic preservation), and the Kankakee County CEO entrepreneurship program — plus capacity-building programs such as Board Bootcamp, Lunch and Learn, and CEO Coffee Talk. Customer segments span individual/family donors, professional advisors (via the Navigator Society), corporate/foundation donors, nonprofit grant recipients, and student scholarship recipients. Strategic positioning is reinforced by National Standards Accreditation, Illinois qualified community foundation status (enabling the IL Gives Act 25% state tax credit as of January 1, 2025), and Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations membership.

Name

Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley

Legal name

Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley

Website

https://cfkrv.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley is a 501(c)(3) public charity established in 1982 that builds endowment funds from donations across Kankakee and Iroquois Counties, Illinois, and redistributes returns as grants to local nonprofits and scholarships to students, operating with a seven-person staff and a 12-member board.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable fund management
• Donor advised funds
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Kankakee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Gifts: The foundation receives monetary and other gifts from donors which are invested. Interest earnings are redistributed throughout their service area to charitable, educational, civic and philanthropic organizations. Principal remains invested in perpetuity.
2. Administrative Fees: Administrative fees charged on fund types: Endowed Funds 1.0%, Donor-Advised Funds 1.0%, Scholarship Funds 2.0%, Pass-through Funds 2.5%. These fees support foundation operations.
3. Investment Management: Funds invested with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Investment fees are deducted quarterly from each fund, averaging less than 1% of asset value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation that manages charitable endowments and donor-advised funds for individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in Kankakee and Iroquois Counties. The foundation pools charitable assets, invests them through Morgan Stanley, and distributes grants and scholarships to qualified nonprofits, students, and community initiatives. It also provides professional advisor support, planned giving services, and operates community programs such as Success By 6 and Riverfront Trailways.

Product overview

Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley operates as a multi-product philanthropic services organization offering a comprehensive suite of charitable giving products. The core offerings include various types of endowed funds (Donor-Advised, Unrestricted, Field of Interest, Designated, Scholarship, Agency Endowments) and grant programs (Communityworks, Robert K. Dunn Perpetual Charitable Trust, Fine Arts, Rosie Fund, Community Stewardship, Emergency Response Fund). The foundation also manages multiple digital platforms including the Grants Portal and Scholarship Portal for online applications, operates donor recognition programs like the Legacy Society, and coordinates community initiatives including Success By 6, Riverfront Trailways, Project SUN, Kan-I Help, and Kankakee County CEO Program. The foundation charges administrative fees ranging from 1.0% to 2.5% depending on fund type and invests funds through Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. All operations are conducted in accordance with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Donor-Advised Funds
• Designated Funds
• Field of Interest Funds
• Unrestricted Funds
• Scholarship Funds
• Agency Endowments
• Supporting Organizations
• Competitive Grants Program
• Scholarship Programs
• Legacy Society
• Professional Advisor Services
• Emergency Response Fund
• Communityworks Program
• River Valley Helping Hearts Card

Quantifiable outcome

• $680,000+ distributed for COVID-19 emergency relief (2020-2021)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Way of Kankakee & Iroquois CountiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint activation of Emergency Response Fund for disaster relief (tornadoes March 2025, COVID-19 2020-2021). Partnership raised $680,000+ during pandemic with seven rounds of relief funding. Co-funds Success By 6 early childhood initiative. Partnership enables shared grants process and coordinated community response during crises.
• Kankakee County Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative partner for Board Bootcamp program, supporting nonprofit board training in Kankakee and Iroquois Counties. Co-hosts CEO Coffee Talks quarterly for nonprofit leaders with presenting sponsor Ascension Saint Mary.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched Imagination Library program in Kankakee and Iroquois Counties delivering free age-appropriate books monthly to children from birth to age five. Approximately 1,300 children enrolled.
• Erikson Institute of ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to bring Early Development Instrument (EDI) to Kankakee County, providing neighborhood-level data on child development through holistic assessment.
• Bourbonnais School District 53minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Success By 6 Family Support Bus initiative, offering family support bus as mobile site for developmental screenings of children ages 0-5.
• EastersealsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Success By 6 Family Support Bus providing screeners for developmental screenings and home visiting program support.
• Kankakee Valley Construction CompanyminorOthersContractor for Phase I Riverfront Trail construction, completed ahead of schedule.
• Morgan Stanley Wealth ManagementcoreOthersCurrent investment manager for all foundation funds. Investment fees deducted quarterly, averaging less than 1% of asset value.
• Midland InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in bringing Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) program to Kankakee County, launching in four high schools August 2023.
• Local Government Partners (City of Kankakee, Kankakee County, Kankakee Valley Park District)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partners in Riverfront Trailways project with local funding commitments ($300,000 local matching). City of Kankakee serves as fiscal agent for federal grants.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Chicago Community Trust: The largest community foundation in the Chicago metropolitan area, with similar fund types, donor services, and grantmaking programs but vastly greater AUM, headcount, and geographic reach. Sets the benchmark CFKRV is benchmarked against regionally.
• The Cleveland Foundation: One of the largest and oldest community foundations in the U.S., offering the same core products (donor-advised funds, scholarships, competitive grants, agency endowments) but at much greater scale, with broader geographic reach and institutional program staff.

Direct peers

• Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo: Regional community foundation with similar product suite (donor-advised funds, scholarship funds, competitive grants) operating in a mid-sized Rust Belt region - structurally analogous to CFKRV and useful as a comparable governance/operating model.
• Community Foundation for McHenry County: Suburban Chicago-area community foundation offering comparable fund types, scholarship programs, and competitive grant cycles. Peer within the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations with a similar donor-advised and endowment mix.
• DeKalb County Community Foundation: Illinois single-county community foundation operating endowment, donor-advised, and scholarship funds with comparable small-staff operating model. Strong structural peer given similar scale and governance approach.
• Community Foundation of the Quad Cities: Serves the Quad Cities region (Illinois/Iowa border) with endowment funds, scholarships, and competitive grants. Directly comparable multi-county regional community foundation model with similar rural/small-metro mix.
• Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley: Illinois-based community foundation serving the Aurora/Fox River Valley region with endowment funds, donor-advised funds, scholarships, and competitive grant programs - structurally and operationally almost identical to CFKRV, just in a larger metro area.
• Community Foundation of Northern Illinois: Rockford-area community foundation administering endowment, donor-advised, scholarship, and agency funds across multiple Illinois counties. Closely matches CFKRV's regional, multi-county service model.
• DuPage Community Foundation: Illinois community foundation offering donor-advised funds, scholarship funds, agency endowments, and competitive grants in DuPage County. Closely comparable in scale and product mix to CFKRV and a fellow Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations member.

Others

• United Way of Kankakee & Iroquois Counties: CFKRV's most active co-funder and convening partner (joint Emergency Response Fund, Success By 6); not a foundation but a tightly intertwined peer in the local philanthropic ecosystem that competes for some of the same donor dollars.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-foundation-of-kankakee-river-valley

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley