The Lake County Community Crisis Relief Fund serves as a permanent countywide funding resource in times of emergencies. Originally established in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fund provides our Lake County nonprofit providers and other community groups with quick and well-coordinated funding to alleviate unanticipated financial hardship due to community crises.

In recent weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity has increased across Lake County. While these actions are described as targeting individuals who cause harm, their impact is far broader, affecting families, workplaces and entire neighborhoods.

• Families are afraid to leave their homes, go to work or send their children to school.

• Individuals are pausing immigration cases as laws shift rapidly within an already complex legal system.

• Local businesses and economies are experiencing strain.

• Nonprofits, municipalities, attorneys and justice partners are working around the clock to ensure families know their rights and that constitutional protections are upheld.

This is not solely an immigration issue, it is a community stability and safety issue. The effects ripple across education, workforce participation, small business vitality and mental health.

Lake County has faced difficult moments before and each time our community has responded with compassion and collaboration. The Crisis Relief Fund is activated to support organizations on the front lines of this response, ensuring they have the flexibility and resources to meet urgent needs as they arise. 100% of donations will go directly toward providing immediate assistance to the nonprofits leading this response.

To date, we have raised and granted $2.2 million into the community through the Crisis Relief Fund. Your generous donation ensures that our health and human service partners have the resources they need to quickly respond to urgent needs our Lake County neighbors are facing.

Past Recipients of Lake County Community Crisis Relief Fund Grants

Donations may be made:

• By Credit Card.
  To make a credit card contribution to the Crisis Relief Fund online  click here, or use one of the "Donate Today" buttons.

• By Check.
  If you wish to make a gift by check to support the fund, please make your check payable to: "The Lake County Community Foundation" and reference “The Lake County Community Crisis Relief Fund” in the memo line.

  Mail your check to
  1200 University Center Drive, Suite 333
  Grayslake, IL 60030

• By Other.
  Please contact Wendy Richter, Director of Donor Services & Operations, at [email protected] to request the Foundation’s gift instructions should you wish to make a wire transfer or gift of stock.

Contact Information

For general questions about the Lake County Community Crisis Relief Fund, please contact Maggie Morales, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 847-377-0520.

For media inquiries, please contact Emily Weber, Director of Programs & Community Investment, at [email protected] or 847-377-0520.

For donor inquiries or to donate by stock or wire transfer, please contact Wendy Richter, Director of Donor Services & Operations, at [email protected] or 847-377-0520.

Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you to our funding partners

Julian Grace Foundation and Horizon Therapeutics, for their leadership in helping to launch the fund.