CFLL Historic Preservation Fund Grants

The CFLL Historic Preservation Fund was established to assist nonprofit organizations or other charities in funding preservation projects in Springfield, Illinois. The fund may also be used for the benefit of historic preservation projects undertaken by private individuals, businesses and other entities that meet certain charitable criteria.

Grant Recipients

Year	Organization	Grant Amount	Purpose
2024	Eta Psi Sigma Foundation	$4,000	Historical Marker Project of Springfield's oldest black churches, including St. Paul AME, St. Johns AME, and Grace United Methodist.
2024	Hoogland Center for the Arts	$2,000	Installation of a safety rail to the balcony in the Peggy Ryder Theatre.
2023	Dana-Thomas House Foundation	$3,000	Replace 30+ year old carpets in the historic Dana-Thomas House.
2023	Eta Psi Sigma Foundation	$3,000	To erect historical markers on the original sites of three Black churches - Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Union Baptist Church and Pleasant Grove Baptist Church - as well as their present locations.
2021	Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association	$2,000	Digitization of research of residential properties in the historic Enos Park neighborhood.
2021	Springfield Art Association of Edwards Place	$3,000	Tuckpointing and repair of the basement stair entry on the north side of historic Edwards Place.
2020	Central 3 Community First Project, Inc.	$2,500	For the “Shine a Light” project, which offers organized tours and informational materials for three historic African American sites on Springfield’s near east side.
2020	Springfield & Central Illinois African American History Museum	$2,500	To support the museum’s general operations, as well as programs and projects on African American history.
2019	Oak Ridge Cemetery Foundation	$5,500	For reinstalling Oak Ridge Cemetery’s 1900s-era iron archway sign, originally located at the cemetery entrance on First Street, to in front of the existing bell tower and east of the Lincoln Receiving Vault.
2019	The James Project	$2,000	For restoring a wooden door and entryway to a 100-plus year old home in Hawthorne Place.
2018	Central 3 Community First Project, Inc.	$6,500	For preservation efforts of the main floor for the First Black Firehouse at 1310 E. Adams Street.
2018	Kidzeum of Health and Science	$1,000	For restoring an interior wall, and that would hold signage highlighting the significance of the building.
2017	Vachel Lindsay Association	$7,500	For preservation efforts for the Vachel Lindsay Home at 603 South Fifth Street.
2016	Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association	$7,500	For exterior preservation efforts, including tuckpointing, a new door and new front window at 711 E. Enos in Springfield.
2015	Elijah Iles House Foundation	$6,000	To construct a porch on the north side of the east west extension to complete the historic restoration of the Strawbridge Shepherd House and allow for inclusion of handicapped accessible access to the house.
2014	Springfield Art Association	$4,000	For reproduction of 1850s wallpaper discovered during the interior restoration of Edwards Place, the Abraham Lincoln era historic house museum owned and operated by the Springfield Art Association.
2013	The Greater Springfield Chamber Foundation	$4,000	To develop renderings for the Jackson Street Corridor.
2012	Downtown Springfield, Inc.	$4,000	To create uniform signage and development of a smart phone application to help tourists navigate downtown Springfield area's historic sites and properties.