IceHogs Community Fund Awards $100,000 in Grants to Rockford Area Organizations

The Rockford IceHogs Community Fund will award $100,000 in grants to support nine Rockford area organizations and 10 unique programs for the 2025-26 grant cycle. Five of this year’s grants are renewals supported by the IceHogs Community Fund last year, while five are new recipients.

Supporting youth sports programs with an emphasis on growing the game of hockey continues to be an area of focus for the IceHogs Community Fund as four of this year’s grants support hockey programs in the Rockford region. Three of the hockey-related grants are renewals and include $10,000 to Rockford Park District Street Hockey (Junior StreetHogs) to support outreach to over 10,000 youth via community events and after school programs, $5,000 to Rockford Park District Buddy Hockey to support RPD’s floor hockey program for persons with disabilities, and $20,000 to Rockford Hockey Club to reduce fees for 8U players and to help RHC continue outreach for a girls’ hockey program, while subsidizing fees for female participants.

One of the five new grants this year is a $15,000 award to the Good Shepherd YMCA to support the launch of an NHL Street Hockey program that will introduce youth from underserved neighborhoods to hockey in a fun, safe, and cost-free environment.

This year’s additional recipients and award amounts include:

• Discovery Center ($10,000) to provide no-cost access to up to five Discovery Center Family Nights for underserved children and their families to experience the museum and engage in playful learning
• Fatherhood Encouragement Project ($5,000) to provide no-cost access to participants in the organization’s Future Collegiate Stars Youth Basketball League
• Nikolas Ritschel Foundation (Nik’s Wish) ($10,000) to fund a wish to one 18-24 year-old from Winnebago or Boone County who is battling cancer and has met all criteria and applied for a wish through Nik’s Wish
• Rockford Area Arts Council ($15,000) to provide no-cost access to students attending the Arts Council’s Spark! summer arts programs
• Rockford Phoenix Cheerleading ($5,000) to fund equipment and uniform costs and bring costs down for athletes participating in competitive cheerleading

One additional grant award is pending approval and will be announced at a later date.

Over the last four years, the IceHogs Community Fund has awarded $412,000 in grants to Rockford area nonprofit organizations.

About the IceHogs Community Fund

The IceHogs Community Fund is invested in making a positive social impact by supporting initiatives that will help make the Rockford region a better place to work, live, and play. Through partnerships with local organizations, the IceHogs Community Fund is dedicated to growing the game of hockey by working to broaden exposure and reduce barriers to the sport.

The IceHogs Community Fund raises funds throughout the year in a variety of ways, including specialty jersey auctions as well as sales of 50/50 raffle tickets and other game day activities.