The Illinois Nurses Foundation is accepting applications for its 2026 October Grant Program, a redesigned License Plate Grant Program supporting nurse led projects across Illinois. The program offers three funding tiers: Seed Grants up to $500 for early stage pilots and preliminary work; Small Grants up to $1,500 for nursing practice, quality improvement, clinical or educational programs, leadership, work environment, and patient care initiatives; and Large Grants up to $5,000 for broader nursing research, quality improvement, education, leadership, care delivery, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and multi institution projects.
The lead applicant, principal investigator, or project manager must be an Illinois resident. Organizations represented in an application must have a participating presence in Illinois. Portal4Nurses states that the program is for registered professional nurses and nursing students. For Large Grant teams, at least 50 percent of team members must be RNs or APRNs and the project leader or co leader must be an RN or APRN. Applications are submitted electronically through Portal4Nurses. Large Grant applicants must upload the Illinois Nurses Foundation Biosketch Form for each applicant or key project team member. Human subjects projects may apply before IRB approval, but funds are released only after written IRB approval.
Applications for the October funding cycle are accepted through October 20, 2026. The official materials do not publish a closing clock time or time zone, so Atlas does not infer one. Supplemental funding is permitted when the same expense is not funded twice. The published requirements do not state a mandatory match or cost share requirement. Small Grant budgets may not include indirect costs.
Atlas Opportunity Score: 76/100. N9+ Fit Score: 35/100 conditional. The program expressly supports clinical, educational, quality improvement, and patient care projects, but the current official materials do not specifically establish equipment or device allowability, and the $5,000 maximum award limits a plausible Nonagon N9+ device and platform pathway. Applicant specific fit should therefore be confirmed before any outreach or project positioning.