About Us
The Service Club of Chicago is an all-volunteer, women-led charitable organization dedicated to awarding high-impact grants to nonprofits in the greater Chicagoland community.
The Service Club of Chicago
- Established in 1890 – over 133 years of compassionate service
- Is all-volunteer, all-women, always
- Gives high-impact grants for tangible items to 501(c)(3)’s to improve or initiate social service, health, educational and cultural programs
- Each grant applicant is fully vetted by our Philanthropic Committee, including on-site visits throughout Chicagoland
- We pay vendors directly for the items being granted, rather than giving cash directly to grantees
- We maintain relationships with our grantees and the communities they impact
The Service Club of Chicago is an all-volunteer, women-led charitable organization which has continually served the needs of Chicago and its surrounding communities since 1890. Our mission is to award grants to Chicagoland’s 501(c)(3) organizations that will expand their facilities, improve their equipment and initiate new programs, thereby uplifting the community as a whole.
The Service Club of Chicago is an all-volunteer organization, which helps keep our overall operating costs low, so that your dollars can help more people. Our members raise all the funds that directly support our Philanthropic Grant Fund. Our Philanthropic Committee then begins the process of reviewing grant applications from 501(c)(3)’s to determine where those Philanthropic funds can make the biggest impact. This committee, also staffed entirely by our experienced, volunteer members, vets every single grant request to ensure that only stable, viable organizations receive necessary support. Once an organization is fully vetted and is awarded a grant, cash payments are not directly distributed to the grantee. Instead, payment is made directly to the vendor for the allocated item, and the item is sent to the organization to fulfill the specific, requested need. Our donor dollars are protected, never wasted or misused.
We are unique in that we give grants for items not covered by an agency’s current operating budget. We invest in new, innovative projects such as pilot programs, and work to improve well-established projects. We provide support for tangible items often not covered by government, corporate or charitable support. Sometimes we are asked to step in to support agencies in critical times for unplanned or overlooked items. For many of these organizations, we help to bridge these gaps because there is nowhere else to turn.
What else makes us different? We don’t focus on a single cause, but rather many causes. This allows us to impact a variety of social service, health, education and cultural organizations and institutions. Because of this, our high-impact grants are able to reach the greatest number of people possible throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, touching over 1 million lives a year!
Join Us
Serving Chicagoland’s communities has been Service Club’s duty and honor for over 130 years, and never before has there been a greater need for our efforts. Please join us in our philanthropic mission.
