HPCF Announces July 4th Highland Park Shooting Response Fund Process

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The mass shooting on July 4, 2022, and the tragic loss of life and many injuries prompted an outpouring of financial support for victims. The Highland Park Community Foundation (HPCF) immediately established a July 4th Highland Park Shooting Response Fund to accept donations, and the City of Highland Park urged all those wishing to show their financial support to send donations to the Foundation, a longtime local organization deeply embedded in the community. Today, the HPCF announced the formation of a community committee – Together Highland Park Unidos – which will manage the donation distribution process for victims and local nonprofit organizations supporting victims and the broader community as a result of the shooting. The Committee, made up of local community leaders, is committed to an open, transparent, and expedient process to help victims of the July 4th mass shooting and the community as a whole.

Together Highland Park Unidos includes Foundation representatives and community members:

• Betsy Brint, Chairman, Highland Park Community Foundation
• Pablo Alvarez, School Counselor, Highland Park High School, Moraine Township Trustee
• Jaime Barraza, Board Member, District 113
• Hania Fuschetto, Community Relations Manager, Highland Park Hospital
• Michelle Holleman, Councilmember, City of Highland Park
• Laurie Levin, Vice Chairman, Highland Park Community Foundation
• Terri Olian, Executive Director, Highland Park Community Foundation
• David L. Reich, Immediate Past Chairman, Highland Park Community Foundation
• Nancy Sawle-Knobloch, Executive Director, Family Service of Lake County

“As our community grieves this unthinkable tragedy, we have also come together with an outpouring of community support,” remarked Betsy Brint, Chairman of the HPCF. “The Foundation has established Together Highland Park Unidos to develop a transparent and open process through which 100% of the funds will be distributed primarily to victims, and secondarily to organizations that support victims and residents from Highland Park, Highwood, and other local communities, stemming from the shooting. We are grateful to the community leaders who have volunteered to assist with this important work.”

“We appreciate the Highland Park Community Foundation’s partnership to accept donations intended to help victims of the mass shooting,” said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering. “The Highland Park Community Foundation has proven itself to be a trusted local resource which has been a valued partner and effective administrator of grant-making funds. We know they will distribute the funds in a fair, transparent, and straightforward process that will focus on helping victims, their families, and our community.”

The Committee’s primary goals for the process of administering the Fund include:

• Providing financial support as soon as possible to the victims of the July 4th shooting and their families as well as nonprofit organizations that are helping victims, their families, and the broader community as a result of the shooting
• Providing transparency around the process for all stakeholders

The Committee has committed to using best practices and has sought the assistance of nationally recognized experts in the administration of similar victim funds, local community and nonprofit leaders, as well as the City of Highland Park, and receives pro bono legal counsel from the firm Latham & Watkins. Through this support, The HPCF and Committee are able to commit that 100% of the donated funds will be distributed and none of the donations received will be used for administrative or similar expenses.

Based on these discussions, the following timeline has been established. This week, the Committee plans to publish, in English and Spanish, a Draft Protocol for claims. Using best practices as a guide, Together Highland Park Unidos has proposed a Protocol that sets forth the process the Committee will follow for allocating funds, the planned appointment of independent Administrator(s) to process claims and make payments, and other procedural matters. In the following days, meetings with victims and their families will be held to review the Draft Protocol and the public will have an opportunity to provide written comments. Meetings will be offered in English and Spanish.

Mid-August: The Committee plans to publish its Final Protocol, incorporating feedback from the victims, their families, and the public. Claim forms will be published in English and Spanish, and assistance will be available for anyone who needs help completing them.

Claim forms will need to be submitted by September 7. Victims and their families will then have the opportunity to meet with the Fund Administrators about their claim. The Committee anticipates all victim funds will be distributed in October. When the Fund closes, a third-party audit will be conducted and made public.

A dedicated public website will be created to provide information, access to claims forms, and collect additional donations.

“We know this is one of many steps in a long process of moving forward together,” remarked Terri Olian, Executive Director of the HPCF. “We are honored and humbled by this important task. We are committed to distributing the donations we have received primarily to the victims and their families. We also appreciate and want to honor the intent of donors to support the nonprofit organizations that victims and community members already are and will continue to turn to for help following the shooting. To that extent, we are most grateful for the assistance of volunteers and the pro bono support of professional service firms which will make this possible.”

Pro bono professional services are being provided by several organizations, including Latham & Watkins LLP (legal), RubinBrown LLP (Audit), Eileen Noren Design (Graphic Design), and Elevate Creative Group (Web design and management).

“The senseless gun violence that struck our community impacts residents of other communities as well, including the numerous residents killed and injured over the same 4th of July weekend in the City of Chicago," said Betsy Brint. “The resources of the Fund are focused on victims impacted by the violence at our parade, but that focus does not diminish our understanding that what Highland Park experienced in the span of a few minutes pervades the lives of countless residents in Chicago and across our country.”

The July 4 Response Fund continues to be open for donations by individuals and families, private foundations, businesses, and corporations, as well as groups organizing fundraising efforts. Donations can be made at the HPCF website, www.hpcfil.org/july-4-fund. Contact Executive Director Terri Olian at 847-433-4100 or terri@hpcfil.org with questions.

This news release was produced by the Highland Park Community Foundation. The views expressed here are the author's own.