Search Through Dayton Grants for Nonprofits in Ohio

Making community possible

At U.S. Bank, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating lasting change in our communities. Through our Community Possible Grant Program, we are partnering with organizations that focus on economic and workforce advancement, safe and affordable housing and communities connected through arts and culture.

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners.

How we partner with nonprofits

We focus on collaborative grantmaking and sustainable, high-impact funding with 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners. We partner with organizations that support:

• Economic and workforce advancement
• Safe and affordable housing
• Community arts and culture

Our strategy

Our community affairs and foundation team work closely with U.S. Bank regional leadership, business resource groups and our National Community Advisory Committee to ensure that prevailing needs are addressed in all the communities we serve.

To make the most meaningful impact, we prioritize organizations that:

• Focus on economic development issues related to work, home and play
• Address more than one of the grant pillars (work, home and play)
• Are based in and serve designated U.S. Bank communities
• Advance diversity, equity and inclusion

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Global Impact Cash Grants

Cisco welcomes applications for Global Impact Cash Grants from community partners around the world who share our vision and offer an innovative approach to a critical social challenge.

We identify, incubate, and develop innovative solutions with the most impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We’re looking for programs that fit within our investment areas, serve the underserved, and leverage technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services. We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. An initial information form is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application.

Social Investment Areas

At Cisco, we make social investments in three areas where we believe our technology and our people can make the biggest impact—education, economic empowerment, and crisis response, the last of which incorporates shelter, water, food, and disaster relief. Together, these investment areas help people overcome barriers of poverty and inequality, and make a lasting difference by fostering strong global communities.

Education Investments

Our strategy is to inclusively invest in technology-based solutions that increase equitable access to education while improving student performance, engagement, and career exploration. We support K-12 solutions that emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as literacy. We also consider programs that teach environmental sustainability, eliminate barriers to accessing climate change education, and invite student engagement globally to positively affect the environment.

What we look for:

• Innovative early grade solutions using the internet and technology to bridge the barriers preventing access to education for underserved students globally.
• Solutions that positively affect student attendance, attitudes, and behavior while inspiring action by students to improve learning outcomes, whether they participate in person, online, or in blended learning environments. 
• Solutions with high potential to replicate and scale globally, thereby increasing the availability of evidence-based solutions that support student-centricity, teacher capacity in the classroom, and increased parental participation to help students learn and develop.

Economic Empowerment

Our strategy is to invest in early stage, tech-enabled solutions that provide equitable access to the knowledge, skills, and resources that people need to support themselves and their families toward resilience, independence, and economic security.

Our goal is to support solutions that benefit individuals and families, and that contribute to local community growth and economic development in a sustainable economy.

We target our support in three interconnected areas:

• Skills development to help job seekers secure dignified employment and long-term career pathways in technology or other sectors, including environmental sustainability/green jobs.
• Inclusive entrepreneurship with small businesses as engines of local growth as well as high growth potential start-ups as large-scale job creators nationally and internationally, in technology or other sectors, including environment sustainability/green businesses.
• Banking the unbanked through relevant and affordable financial products and capacity building services.

Cisco Crisis Response

We seek to help overcome the cycle of poverty and dependence and achieve a more sustainable future through strategic investments. We back organizations that successfully address critical needs of underserved communities, because those who have their basic needs met are better equipped to learn and thrive.

What we look for:

• Innovative solutions that increase the capacity of grantees to deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently
• Design and implementation of web-based tools that increase the availability of, or improve access to, products and services that are necessary for people to survive and thrive
• Programs that increase access to clean water, food, shelter, or disaster relief and promote a more sustainable future for all
  • By policy, relief campaigns respond to significant natural disaster and humanitarian crises as opposed to those caused by human conflict. Also by policy, our investments in this area do not include healthcare solutions.

Climate Impact

Our strategy is to invest US$100 million in Cisco Foundation funds over the next decade to help reverse the impact of climate change, working toward a sustainable and regenerative future for all.

The commitment includes both grant and impact investment funding for early-stage climate innovation. Both categories of support will be focused on bold climate solutions, and the grants side will also concentrate on community education and activation. Grants will go to exceptionally aligned nonprofit organizations, while impact investments will go to highly promising for-profit solutions through the private sector and climate impact funds.

Funding comes from the Cisco Foundation and will focus on:

• Identifying bold and innovative solutions that:
  • Draw down the carbon already in the atmosphere
  • Regenerate depleted ecosystems and broadly support the transition to a regenerative future
• Developing curricular initiatives to spur community engagement that can lead to measurable behavioral change and collective action

We will prioritize organizations that can achieve, measure, and report outcomes such as:

• Reduction, capture, and/or sequestering of greenhouse gas and carbon emissions
• Increased energy efficiency and improved mapping and management of natural resources, such as ecosystem restoration, forest treatments, reforestation, and afforestation that also will help repair our water cycles
• Transition to inclusive, just, coliberatory, and regenerative operating models, ways of being, and ways of organizing economies
• Creation of, and increase in, access to green jobs and job training
• Changes in community and individual behavior that lead to carbon footprint reduction, community climate resilience, and localized roadmaps to a sustainable shared climate future for all

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

There are a number of funds established at The Dayton Foundation that not-for-profit organizations may apply to for grants.

The Dayton Legal Heritage Foundation Fund

This fund seeks to improve the practice of law within the Greater Dayton area for the betterment of its citizens through a process of awarding grants for the management of programs and initiatives of such organizations and governmental entities which benefit and advance legal knowledge and service, and which effect and elevate the awareness of the legal and justice systems.

Background

The Brighter Tomorrow Foundation (BTF), a nonprofit foundation, and Committee Advised Fund under The Dayton Foundation, was established in 1989 for the benefit of children and adults with developmental disabilities living in Montgomery County.

The Brighter Tomorrow Foundation is pleased to offer a Request for Proposal for FY 2025 for competitive grants that address the needs of organizations that serve persons with Developmental Disabilities.

Consideration will be given to proposals addressing needs in the following priority areas,  specified in rank order:

Housing

• Assistance ranging from emergency or permanent shelter to enhancement of day-to-day living conditions by providing safe living environments, improving personal care options, or fulfilling requests for specialized equipment.

Lasting Equipment

• Adaptive and other equipment that makes daily life easier and safer such as accessible vans for local transportation, battery powered lifts, kids car seats, exercise and therapy equipment, and special tools.

Education

• Items such as, computers, software, cameras, projection and recording equipment, art supplies, etc. which encourage and make possible new learning and working options.

Recreation

• Socialization and physical fitness activities for persons with developmental disabilities, including programs that teach families how to incorporate physical exercise for their family member into their daily routines. Also includes funding for field trips, music and dance exploration and artistic creativity.

The Brighter Tomorrow Foundation can award grants up to a maximum of $10,000. The grant projects may focus on one or more of our four priority areas.

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education
• entrepreneurship
• enrichment of community
• environment

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

Who We Are

The Mathile Family Foundation is a multi-generational philanthropic foundation established by MaryAnn and Clayton Mathile.

The Foundation serves children and families in need throughout the Miami Valley by providing grants to organizations whose programs align with the Foundation’s mission and focus.

Mission: Transforming the lives of those in need through meaningful collaborations that create hope and opportunity.

Vision: A Family Foundation forever committed to learning and growing together by sharing God's blessings in service of those most in need.

Guiding Principles

• Our philanthropic investments are guided by the passion and direction of the Mathile Family.
• Education is the greatest social and economic equalizer.
• Children in our community thrive when their basic needs are met and their values strengthened.
• Transformational change is possible when we invest in high-performing organizations that align with our mission.
• To apply resources for the highest impact requires diligent practice of professional management principles

We Believe

The number-one challenge is access to high-quality and affordable educational opportunities. Further, we believe that the greatest social and economic equalizer is education, which is why we invest toward finding solutions for children and families in need.

Commitment to Education

Many of Dayton’s young students are motivated to learn and succeed. However, a growing number lack access to educational opportunities that will help them to fulfill their potential.

At the Mathile Family Foundation, we believe that the greatest social and economic equalizer is education. So, the support of quality educational opportunities for our area’s at-risk children has grown even more important for more than 25 years of service. With this in mind, the Mathile Family Foundation has established a goal to increase the number of low-income post-secondary graduates from our most-vulnerable neighborhoods. Naturally, providing tuition assistance and scholarships to increase college access and success is an integral part of our strategic equation.

Throughout our history, The Foundation’s support of PreK – 12 education has had a focus on Catholic schools in the Dayton area. In addition to high academic expectations, we believe Catholic schools develop the solid moral and community values that prepare students to be lifelong models of strong character and compassion.

Our support of these important institutions touches many different aspects of the school community and includes an evidence based student support program called City Connects which was developed by Boston College; a leadership program for Catholic school administrators focused on professional management; and an elementary-high school alliance which not only strengthens the schools – but addresses many of the challenges students face transitioning into high school.

Our Focus

The Mathile Family Foundation invests in opportunities for educational, social-emotional, and physical development for children and their families. We are committed to the greater Dayton community, and as needs arise, we will rise to meet them.

Responsive Grantmaking

Mathile Family Foundation Responsive Grantmaking supports nonprofit organizations in providing opportunities for educational, social-emotional, and physical development for children and their families in the Greater Dayton Area.

The Mathile Family Foundation’s Responsive Grantmaking embodies this sentiment by helping nonprofits accomplish a meaningful and lasting change in the lives of those most vulnerable – each and every day. As another core strategy of the Foundation, responsive grantmaking reaches across the Greater Dayton community to invest in.

The Dayton Foundation

Since 1921, individuals, families, organizations and others have partnered with The Dayton Foundation to transform lives and make a lasting, positive change in Greater Dayton. We help you help others.

As a tax-exempt, charitable nonprofit organization, we steward more than 4,100 funds created by people who care about a variety of charitable causes and interests in our region and beyond. We offer short- and long-term fund options that meet your giving and financial needs now and in the future. We also:

• award grants through competitive grants programs to regional nonprofits;
• award scholarships to aspiring students;
• partner with financial advisors and estate planners to help them help their clients' charitable giving needs; and
• convene and collaborate with others to move the needle on critical community needs and initiatives.

Together We Thrive: Del Mar Grants for Older Adults

Together We Thrive: Del Mar Grants for Older Adults, offered by The Dayton Foundation, are awarded to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that focus on addressing the needs of older adults in Greater Dayton. The size and number of grant awards are directly related to the amount of money available.

Basic Human Needs Grants

Basic Human Needs Grants help your organization help people in need of basic necessities in Greater Dayton. Grants are awarded quarterly to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that focus on basic human needs, such as food, shelter, healthcare and clothing.

What We Generally Fund

The Basic Human Needs Grants support nonprofit organizations that focus on the following, but not limited to:

• food
• clothing
• housing and/or rental assistance
• utilities assistance
• transportation assistance
• medical and/or prescription assistance
• domestic violence support
• basic toiletries and hygiene products
• basic educational assistance (for example, GED)

The Basic Human Needs Grants also support nonprofit organizations that need funding for:

• appliances or equipment (necessary to provide direct services for your clients)
• facility or infrastructure improvements
• general operating expenses (under special, extraordinary, and emergency situations, and when an unforeseen issue arises, organizations can apply for general operating support

Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank

The Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank is committed to creating a greater impact on programs and initiatives that create strong, vibrant communities and provide pathways to opportunity.  Grants for programming in education, the arts, community development, and health and human services in the Greater Cincinnati area are considered, in addition to the specific funding interests originally identified by each of the individual benefactors. 

Cincinnati, OH - (Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky) Foundations 

• Charles Moerlein Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes.
• Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports initiatives that empower and assist women and girls in achieving self–sufficiency
• Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports charitable and educational purposes for the City of Cincinnati, with a focus on the arts.
• H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports mainly environmental and historical preservation, and educational and arts organizations in the greater Cincinnati area, as well as named preferred organizations named in the trust document.
• Helen G., Henry F., & Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports nature and the conservation of nature’s beauty, as well as organizations that are beneficial to children, with a preference to organizations that Miss Dornette identified during her lifetime
• Louis & Melba Schott Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports assistance to youth, with emphasis on youth of primary school through junior high school age, who are disadvantaged because of medical conditions, economic status, family background or for other similar reasons. 
• Patricia Kisker Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports organizations that benefit or serve children and educational, musical or arts organizations, as well as organizations which Patricia Kisker supported during her lifetime.
• Jacob G. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports charitable or educational purposes; for relief in sickness, suffering and distress; for the care of young children, the aged or the helpless or afflicted; for the promotion of education and to improve living conditions.
• Stillson Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Helps children and provides assistance to those charities the Stillsons supported during their lifetime.
• Ohio Valley Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Agent: Funds small equipment, technology and capital improvement projects in the Ohio Valley.
• Frank J. Kloenne & Jacqueline Dawson Kloenne Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Promote, encourage or aid religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational activities.
• Mary Martha McGee Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: To support community outreach activities of non–profit, religious organizations and churches that serve the low–income population in Greater Cincinnati
• Harold Schilling Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: To support organizations, preferably located in Hamilton County, that aid persons who are hearing or visually impaired or who are developmentally disabled. 
• Lawrence J. Mayer Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee: Supports Catholic or religious order of men or women, which serves or caters to the poor in Greater Cincinnati.

Grantmaking Policy

The Dayton Foundation awards grants to help your organization help others in Greater Dayton. Grants for public charitable purposes are awarded to a full spectrum of 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organizations - from social services and the arts, to health and the environment - based upon worthy community efforts and the greatest community need. The programs we consider for support are located primarily in Montgomery, Miami, Greene, Darke, Preble and Warren (north) counties.

Greenlight Grants

Greenlight Grants are small, quick grants awarded to local, nonprofit organizations in need of funding for projects, program expansions, capital improvements or capacity building. They assist time-sensitive projects that make a significant difference in the outcome of a project. Greenlight Grants are not for ongoing operations.

• This competitive grant opportunity is designed to fund qualified grant requests from $500 - $7,500.
• The size and number of grant awards are directly related to the amount of money available each year and the restrictions donors have placed upon the uses of certain funds.

What We FundCapacity-Building Grants

The Dayton Foundation’s discretionary grants support projects that provide for more efficient use of community resources; promote coordination, cooperation and sharing among organizations; and reduce the duplication of services in our community. Through this process, we aim to strengthen not-for-profit agencies and institutions by reducing operating costs, increasing public financial support and/or improving internal management. Our goal is to help build organizational capacity so that the charity can work more efficiently and effectively and raise more dollars.

Examples of Funded Grants:

• Strategic marketing studies
• Community needs assessments
• Impact studies
• Software for development/fundraising programs

Capital Campaign or Capital Improvement Grants

To help organizations expand services and capacity.

Examples of Capital Campaign or Improvement Grants:

• Capital campaign projects, including the purchase of real estate, construction, renovation and furnishings (Please note: A feasibility study for the capital campaign must have been completed for a nonprofit organization to be eligible to receive a discretionary grant.)
• Hard goods, such as special equipment, a bus or a walk-in cooler (Please note: There is a special van/bus policy that must be reviewed by the applicant. The policy can be found here).
• Office relocation expenses
• Technology upgrades (Discretionary grants do not fund computer hardware, such as desktop computers or printers.)

Special Projects or Program Expansion Grants

Grants may be awarded to fund new projects or initiatives, or provide seed funding for strategic growth or an expansion of an existing project or initiative to help an organization test or demonstrate new approaches and techniques for solving important community problems. They also may be awarded to help established organizations launch new projects for special purposes that could be representing a unique and unduplicated opportunity and meeting a significant community need, or to promote volunteer participation and citizen involvement in community affairs. 

Examples of Special Projects or Program Expansion Grants:

• Opening of an additional adult literacy education site
• New afterschool reading program for children and parents
• Strategic growth plan and implementation
• Urban redevelopment of community and education garden
• New nature preschool programming
• Creation of health education and services for at-risk populations

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Non-Profit Grants

The Disability Foundation, a supporting organization of The Dayton Foundation, is pleased to offer a Request for Proposal for FY 2025 seeking competitive grants for organizations that provide direct services to people living with disabilities.

Grants will be awarded to vetted community-based nonprofits and 501(c)(3) charitable organizations governmental non-profit agencies, and academic institutions serving individuals living with disabilities that are focused on:

• Direct services to individual living with disabilities
• Expansion of Services
• Purchase of equipment for accessibility
• Housing
• Remodeling to enhance accessibility
• Lasting Equipment
• Other needs directly related to services

An organization may only submit one grant request in a 12-month period for a maximum of $10,000.

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

Background

At The Levin Family Foundation, we use our variety of experience from all aspects of life to provide assistance to a wide range of nonprofits, and even sponsor nonprofit initiatives of our own, such as the Celebrating Life and Health Fair and Propolis Projects.

When we were founded in 1996, the Levin family had no idea the potential impact of what Sam Levin probably just considered another simple business decision. Since then, we have invested over $12 million in communities around the world through collaboration with our amazing nonprofit partners.

Our Mission

Our mission is to:

• Identify areas of need in Montgomery County, Ohio
• Provide funding to address these problems

Program Areas

The Levin Family Foundation has narrowed its funding direction. The Levin Family Foundation is focusing on these areas due to the intrinsic need to our community. 

• Opiate Epidemic 
• Human Trafficking
• Anti-bullying
• Suicide Prevention
• Pollinators

Our Mission

We help you help others through philanthropy and community leadership.

Our Values

Together, we value all individuals and are committed to the following values.

• Collaboration – work together as a staff and Governing Board with our community for collective good
• Equity – eliminate barriers and create opportunities for all
• Commitment – challenge disparities, foster inclusion and advance equity in the communities we serve
• Aspiration – accelerate and influence change
• Excellence – ensure the highest level of service, provide exemplary fiscal stewardship, preserve donor intent and exceed expectations
• Integrity – be transparent, accountable, honest and respectful

Greater Dayton Conservation Fund

This fund supports conservation initiatives and programs that work to preserve Greater Dayton’s natural resources. The Fund’s Advisory Committee has launched a strategic initiative to pursue new funding opportunities. In future grant cycles, the Greater Dayton Conservation Fund distribution will be used to identify new, untapped sources of revenue to achieve positive outcomes for the collaborative work in our community.

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Discretionary Grants

The Dayton Foundation awards discretionary grants to a full spectrum of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations – from social service to the arts to health and the environment – based upon worthy community efforts and the greatest community need. Generally, grants are awarded to help launch new projects not addressed by existing organizations or to support special efforts of already-established, not-for-profit organizations in the Dayton Region. 

The size and number of grants awarded varies for each grant cycle. This is directly related to the amount of money available and the restrictions our donors place upon the use of certain funds. Additionally, requested grant amounts must be more than $7,500 and up to $75,000 and no more than 25 percent of the overall cost for projects below $300,000.

What We Fund

Capacity-Building Grants

To strengthen not-for-profit agencies and institutions and provide for more efficient use of community resources, promote coordination, cooperation and sharing among organizations while reducing the duplication of services in our community.

Examples

• Technical support to explore significant collaborations or mergers with other not-for-profit organizations
• Community needs assessments
• Impact studies
• Marketing studies and surveys

Capital Campaign or Capital Improvement Grants

To help organizations expand services and capacity.

Examples

• Capital campaign projects, including the purchase of real estate, construction, renovation and furnishings
• Software for development/fundraising programs
• Hard goods, such as special equipment, a bus, or a walk-in cooler (Find the policy here.)
• Office relocation expenses
• Technology upgrades (Discretionary grants do not fund computer hardware, such as desktop computers or printers.)

Special Projects or Program Expansion Grants

For new projects or initiatives, to seed funding for strategic growth, or for an expansion of an existing project or initiative. Additionally these grants help an organization test or demonstrate new approaches and techniques for solving important community problems.

Examples

• Educational efforts
• Computer literacy programs
• Artistic residencies
• Urban redevelopment projects
• Youth mentoring expansion
• Diversity projects

Grant Priorities

When awarding a discretionary grant, The Dayton Foundation gives priority to projects that meet one or more of the following criteria.

• Provide for more efficient use of community resources, promote coordination, cooperation and sharing among organizations, and reduce the duplication of services in our community
• Test or demonstrate new approaches and techniques for solving important community problems
• Promote volunteer participation and citizen involvement in community affairs
• Strengthen not-for-profit agencies and institutions by reducing operating costs, increasing public financial support and/or improving internal management

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More