Grants

Every year billions of dollars are available from foundations, the state, and the federal government in the form of a grant. A grant is money that an organization receives that does not have to be repaid. While this sounds great, applying for a grant can take months of work to gather all the information needed for the proposal and application. Also, several organizations can apply for the same grant opportunity and sometimes there are more applicants than funding available. This makes applying for a grant very competitive.

Although grant money does not have to be paid back, the money received must be used responsibly and as described in the approved application. Any changes from the original plan must be approved by the granting agency’s program officer who is overseeing your project. In addition, each grant has its own reporting requirements and grantee obligations that must be followed.

The City of Mt. Vernon looks for grant opportunities to help fund projects throughout the city. Previous grant awards have gone to funding water projects, sewer projects, road projects and recreational projects. Below is a current list of grant opportunities the city has been awarded or are applying for.

2024 Housing Rehabilitation Grant

*January 2024 Update*

Crosswalk has submitted the application on behalf of the City of Mt. Vernon. Funding will not be announced until later this year. Applications for improvements will not be accepted until funding is approved and all grant conditions have been met.

On behalf of the City of Mt. Vernon, Crosswalk Community Action Agency is requesting homeowners complete the Community Development Block Grant Income Survey for use in applying for Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Community Development Assistance Program 2024 grant funding. These surveys are part of the City’s application for grant funding and do not guarantee assistance.

If grant funding is awarded to the City, Crosswalk will be taking applications from homeowners in the Summer/Fall of 2024. Applicants will be able to apply for assistance in repairing roofs, plumbing, electrical, foundations and other home repairs.

To be considered for grant funding, we need a minimum of 33 qualifying households to complete this survey. The more surveys completed, the better the chance of receiving grant funding. Please complete the quick survey and return to the water billing department at City Hall, 1100 Main Street, Mt. Vernon, IL.

EPA Community Project Funding Grant

The city has applied for the EPA Community Project Funding Grant to help cover the cost of investigating, repair, replacement and lining of approximately 67,770 feet of sanitary sewer mains. These lines are all located in an area in the southeast part of the city.

ITEP Grant

The city is working on an application that is due in the spring for downtown streetscape improvements. These improvements includes the downtown areas of Broadway, 10th Street, 11th Street, 12th Street, Jordan Street and Main Street.

FY24 Brownfields Assessment Grant

On behalf of the City of Mt. Vernon, Terracon wrote and applied for a Brownfields Assessment Grant with up to $500,000.00 of funding to pay for phase 1 and phase 2 environmental studies of brownfields sites. (Brownfields sites are pieces of land that are abandoned due to concerns of possible pollution or contamination from industrial use.)

The sites included in the grant application have been empty for years and are located in the area around south 10th street.

1100 Main Street
Mount Vernon IL 62864
(618) 242-5000
cityhall@mtvernon.com