Community Reinvestment: Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund Applications Now Available
The Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment announced Tuesday that applications for 2016 Grand Victoria Riverboat funds are now available.
The Kane County Board has budgeted $897,239 for the initiative, which supports projects that help strengthen Kane County communities and improve the quality of life for area residents.
Every year, the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund provides gap funding for activities that address local needs in the areas of education, the environment and economic development.
Non-profit organizations and units of local government are eligible to apply for funding. Applications must be prepared and submitted using the county’s web-based application portal, hosted by ZoomGrants. The submission deadline is midnight Tuesday, March 1, 2016.
Projects will be evaluated for their effectiveness at meeting the needs of area residents, leveraging other funding, readiness to proceed, and overall community impact and urgency. The staff of the Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment is available to answer questions regarding application procedures, project eligibility requirements, and the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund in general.
Since its inception in 1997, Kane County has received a total of $137,429,488 from the Grand Victoria Casino. At its height in 2002, the county’s annual share was more than $12 million. This year, the county projects its share will be $3,076,396.
The County Board has a long history of distributing a portion of its annual share of revenue from the Grand Victoria Casino to local non-profits and units of local government. Last year, the board selected a total of 43 “external” projects and awarded those projects a combined $847,403.
The reason there is actually a larger amount available this year for external projects is because the board decided not to award the full amount budgeted last year for external projects and instead rolled $70,597 forward into this year’s budget.
3 Examples of Grand Casino Riverboat Fund Projects
Volunteers work to rehab a home in Rebuilding Together Aurora’s annual Community Block Build Event, a venture partially funded by the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund. CREDIT: Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment
The city of Aurora recently dedicated its new war memorial to veterans who served post WWII, a project that received funds from the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund. CREDIT: Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment
Northern Illinois Food bank prepares for a ribbon cutting at their facility’s new Recycling Center – a project partially funded by the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund. CREDIT: Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment
About the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund
The Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund was established by the Kane County Board in 1997 under an agreement with the Elgin Riverboat Resort (Grand Victoria Riverboat). The agreement provides for an annual contribution to the county equal to 7.5 percent of the casino’s annual net operating income. Since its inception, the county has received more than $137 million from the Grand Victoria Riverboat, which it has used for a wide array of worthwhile projects and programs sponsored by non-profits, municipalities and the county itself.
About the Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment
