Best Grants for Community Service Projects in Ohio

Enhearten Micro Grant supports unseen leaders by providing funding for community-driven projects that embody values of humility, integrity, and love. Grants range from $500 to $1,000 and are awarded after a thorough review process. Enhearten aims to empower these leaders, who often lack access to traditional funding sources, by fostering reparative networks that prioritize equality and justice. This initiative seeks to create opportunities for transformative community engagement and support.

The Do it Best Foundation Grant supports nonprofit organizations focused on community needs, particularly in health and wellness, youth enrichment, the arts, and community development. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $20,000, with no strict limits based on quarterly applications. Eligible organizations must have 501(c)(3) status and be located near specific areas. This initiative aims to enhance community resources and foster connections among residents.

The Thriving Community Impact Fund offers grants up to $2,499 to support local programs that enhance community health and well-being. This initiative by Gundersen Health emphasizes collaboration, focusing on areas such as physical and mental health, poverty alleviation, and neighborhood improvements. Organizations like non-profits and government agencies can apply for funding during a rolling application period, with decisions made monthly. The fund aims to empower communities and address health inequities through impactful partnerships.

Delaney Family Foundation 

The Delaney Family Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support Wildlife and Land Conservation, Education, Healthcare and Community Betterment.

The Delaney Family Foundation was established in 2013. We make both program and operating grants and do not have geographical restrictions.  

Grant Information

Grants are awarded annually. The following criteria will be used in confirming that grant requests match the goals of The Delaney Family Foundation.

• Clarity of Purpose – the request should be clearly defined with a specific description of how goals/tasks will be achieved and how funds will be spent.
• Potential for Success – the organization must demonstrate that they have funding sources, manpower, and community support as well as the time to achieve their goals. Projects must be realistic.
• Leadership – stability in the organization is a requirement, as well as a well-deserved reputation for results.
• Site Visits – While not always possible, site visits by board members prior to gifting, during gifting or following may be considered.

 We may consider multi-year grants.

Scioto Foundation

The Scioto Foundation is a community foundation serving the people of the Scioto County area. Since 1975, SF has awarded approximately $30 million in grants and distributions to local non-profit organizations, schools, and local governments. 

Regular Grant 

Typically, the Foundation funds projects in the following areas: education, healthcare, community development, economic development, arts and culture, social services, and civic benefit.

• The Foundation is interested in those organizations that can demonstrate they have planned their projects in light of overall community needs. Similar projects by other organizations should not duplicate the proposed services.

• The Foundation will look favorably at those projects that promise to affect a broad segment of the population of the Scioto County area or that tend to help a segment of the citizenry not being adequately served by other resources in the community.

• The Scioto Foundation is especially interested in supplying the “seed money” for new and dynamic projects. Grants will be made to existing groups moving in new directions or to new organizations.

• As a rule, the Scioto Foundation prefers projects that occur in a one-year time frame.

The board will review applications for the regular grant rounds quarterly.

The National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) program, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, aims to enhance library services across the nation. By supporting projects that promote adult reading, health and financial literacy, and effective use of new technologies, this initiative fosters community prosperity and builds partnerships among libraries, archives, and museums. The grants ensure that libraries can respond effectively to public needs and enhance their contributions to education and information access.

The Native American Library Services Enhancement Grants program, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, aids Native Communities in enhancing library services. It empowers Tribal libraries to adapt to evolving information needs and serve as vital resource centers. By addressing the unique priorities of each community, this initiative fosters knowledge sharing and supports the overall wellness of Tribal members, ensuring they have access to essential information and resources.

The National Leadership Grants for Museums, offered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, support innovative projects addressing critical needs in the museum sector. These grants aim to enhance museum services for the public by fostering the development and replication of effective practices, tools, and collaborations, particularly leveraging new technologies. Eligible projects can significantly advance the professional field, ensuring museums remain vital community resources.

Cambridge Charitable Foundation

The Foundation’s primary goal is to use the power of philanthropy to change people’s lives and to improve our communities. The Foundation hopes to educate individuals that through their charitable giving they can make a profound difference on other individual’s lives and on their local and regional community, both today and, importantly, into the future.

Grant Request

• In general, the Trustees of the Foundation will only consider a grant application if it is submitted on The Cambridge Charitable Foundation’s Grant Application. 

• Please note that grant applications seeking funds for specific projects will generally be given higher consideration than grant applications seeking general operating funds.

• Should you receive funds from The Cambridge Charitable Foundation, you will be required to use the funds only for those purposes for which the grant was made. In addition, you will be required to file a final written report with the Cambridge Charitable Foundation of how the funds were used or disbursed.

The Scioto Foundation

The Scioto Foundation is a collection of hundreds of endowment funds created by people, businesses, families, and nonprofit organizations in our community. These funds are linked together by our mission to improve and enrich the quality of life for the community by:

• Promoting philanthropy,
• Providing a continuous stream of income to meet community need and the intent of our donors,
• Demonstrating leadership through collaborative partnerships with community organizations,
• Maximizing the outcomes of grant making, and
• Practicing wise and careful investment of assets.

We are a tax-exempt public charity governed by a board of volunteer civic and business leaders. We use professionals to invest and manage our assets in a cost-effective way. Our staff researches and understands the charitable needs of our community, and our board awards grants that advance the good work of our local nonprofit sector. We identify current and emerging issues, stimulate resources to address those needs, and help our community prepare for the future.

Scioto Foundation Grant

The Scioto Foundation is a community foundation serving the people of the Scioto County area. Since 1975, the Scioto Foundation has awarded approximately $30 million in grants and distributions to local non-profit organizations, schools, and local governments. 

Typically, the Foundation funds projects in the following areas: education, healthcare, community development, economic development, arts and culture, social services, and civic benefit.

The Catholic Foundation

The Foundation of the Catholic Diocese of Columbus was founded in 1984. It was the inspiration of John Sauter, Richard Stedman, and Robert Morosky, who approached Bishop James A. Griffin with the concept of establishing an independent corporation to manage perpetual endowments for the parishes, schools, and other ministries within the diocese of Columbus.

The Catholic Foundation exists to connect Catholics with the profound joy that comes with Christ-inspired generosity. We meet our donors wherever they are in their charitable journey and turn their gifts into real-world impact. As experts in philanthropy, we help our donors support their favorite causes through Catholic-aligned investments. Our Mission in Christ is to transform generosity into real-world impact by investing in the future of parishes, education, vocations, and ministries in our Catholic community

Catholic Foundation: Responsive Grants for Parishes

Since our inception in 1984, The Catholic Foundation has granted over $250 million and counting. The Catholic Foundation awards grants annually within the 23-county diocese of Columbus through responsive grants, scholarships, endowment distributions, and special granting opportunities.

Through Responsive Grants for Parishes, we partner with the faithful to multiply inspired generosity through the strategic investment of parish endowment funds and assist in meeting the needs of the local community of Catholic believers.

This grant pertains to the capital and infrastructure needs of diocesan parishes.

The Catholic Foundation

The Foundation of the Catholic Diocese of Columbus was founded in 1984. It was the inspiration of John Sauter, Richard Stedman, and Robert Morosky, who approached Bishop James A. Griffin with the concept of establishing an independent corporation to manage perpetual endowments for the parishes, schools, and other ministries within the diocese of Columbus.

The Catholic Foundation exists to connect Catholics with the profound joy that comes with Christ-inspired generosity. We meet our donors wherever they are in their charitable journey and turn their gifts into real-world impact. As experts in philanthropy, we help our donors support their favorite causes through Catholic-aligned investments. Our Mission in Christ is to transform generosity into real-world impact by investing in the future of parishes, education, vocations, and ministries in our Catholic community

Catholic Foundation: Responsive Grants for Ministries

Since our inception in 1984, The Catholic Foundation has granted over $250 million and counting. The Catholic Foundation awards grants annually within the 23-county diocese of Columbus through responsive grants, scholarships, endowment distributions, and special granting opportunities.

For the front-line ministries acting as the hands and feet of Christ, we provide funding, support, and strategic counsel to help meet their needs and advance their mission.

This grant pertains to the needs of the marginalized in our diocese. Invited non-profit organizations within the diocese of Columbus may apply to Ministries pillar.

Wind Creek Hospitality Community Support

Our communities are like family. That’s why Wind Creek is dedicated to giving back and helping others thrive in the places we call home (and beyond). We’re always looking for creative ways to lift up our neighborhoods and make life better for us all.

Sponsorships, Donations and Giveaways

Wind Creek Hospitality Community Relations actively builds partnerships with service organizations, non-profits, educational organizations and more. If you’d like to partner with us, please submit an application at least 90 days before your event or donation is needed.

About Boeing

A leading global aerospace company and top U.S. exporter, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. Our U.S. and global workforce and supplier base drive innovation, economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing is committed to fostering a culture based on our core values of safety, quality and integrity.

The Employees Community Fund (ECF) of The Boeing Company

One of the largest employee-managed funds of its kind in the world, the Employees Community Fund (ECF) of The Boeing Company has empowered employees to make a greater impact by pooling their tax-deductible donations for more than 60 years. Employee-led grantmaking committees at 20 Boeing sites provide combined employee donations to nonprofits in their communities through ECF grants.

Charitable or educational organizations can apply for grants from the Employees Community Fund (ECF) of The Boeing Company.

Puget Sound Chapter

The Employees Community Fund (ECF) of Boeing Puget Sound is a pooled fund consisting of recurring payroll contributions from generous Boeing employees. It funds local nonprofits that help thousands of families and individuals in the Puget Sound region where Boeing employees live and work.

ECF focus areas

ECF makes grants to 501(c)(3) Health & Human Service nonprofits such as food banks, job-training programs, shelters, transitional housing, mental health services, and low-income medical clinics. ECF seeks the direct client benefit of each grant to ensure that our employees’ contributions directly help those in need.

ECF funding criteria

ECF has two distinct grant categories – Supporting Grants and Capital Campaign Grants.

ECF of Boeing Company: Puget Sound Chapter Supporting Grants

Consideration is given to nonprofits/agencies that are performing well and are seeking to upgrade, replace or modify elements of their infrastructure.

• Supporting grants cannot exceed $50,000. The requested amount cannot be more than 10% of an agency’s gross annual revenue.
• Supporting grants will be considered only for agencies benefiting residents in the Puget Sound Region.
• Supporting grants help agencies continue to effectively provide services through enhanced direct client benefit by aiding them in procuring and/or paying for items such as:
  • Equipment (ex. office, kitchen, industrial, furniture, etc.)
  • Vehicles used to support clients and/or transport food and/or goods (cost of vehicle and accommodations, tax, and licensing only; operating expenses, such as insurance, fuel, etc. is not allowed)
  • Phone systems
  • Cell phones for direct client use
  • Remodels and/or renovations (must hold at least a 10-year lease or own the building)
  • Purchase or construction of new buildings
  • Computers or tablets for direct client benefit and/or use
  • Software for direct client benefit and/or use (ex. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device)
  • Information Technology expenses, without which procured tools would not work
  • External improvements for client safety (i.e. security system, exterior lighting, improved ADA accessibility, new or refinished pavement or concrete)
• Supporting grants which are accepted must be spent as approved within nine (9) months.

About RWJF

At the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we take bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. We take our responsibilities seriously, and pledge to work in ways that reflect our values.

Connecting Champions for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Health Professions

RWJF seeks to fund one lead organization or consortium to serve as a national network-weaver for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in the health professions. The selected grantee will connect and support leaders, organizations, and institutions across the ecosystem, strengthening relationships, aligning strategy and communications, and facilitating shared learning and collective action. By building the connections and infrastructure needed for collaboration, the grantee will help advance belonging, accountability, and systems change across health professions education and healthcare institutions.

Achieving a healthcare system grounded in equity requires both a diverse health professions workforce and institutions committed to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). While diverse teams improve quality of care and health outcomes, RWJF has learned that increasing representation alone is insufficient without addressing structural and institutional barriers that shape belonging, leadership, advancement, and accountability. Structural racism and other forms of systemic inequity continue to limit opportunity across the health professions education and healthcare institutions.

Lasting change requires not only supporting diverse leaders, but also strengthening connections among educational institutions, healthcare organizations, professional associations, accrediting and credentialing bodies, students, advocates, community actors, and others within the health professions ecosystem, whose relationships, actions, practices, and mindsets shape health outcomes for the communities they serve. These relationships create the support, trust, shared learning, and coordinated action necessary to advance DEIB and build a more equitable healthcare system. 

The Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants Program aims to enhance the educational capabilities of HSIs through innovative teaching and community development initiatives. Funded projects will not only serve the Hispanic population but will benefit the entire student body, promoting inclusivity. This program encourages applications that integrate applied research with community outreach, fostering experiential learning opportunities for students. The initiative aspires to set benchmarks for educational excellence at regional and national levels.

Melton Foundation

The Melton Foundation is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the USA, and a leading proponent of Global Citizenship education and practice worldwide. Established nearly thirty years ago with the credence that collaborations across boundaries can forge sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges, today, our programs reach millions of young leaders, having crystallized into a network of over 750 life-long Melton Fellows spread across 40+ countries. Our primary operations are in Chile, China, Germany, Ghana, India, and the United States of America, with legal subsidiaries in Bangalore, India; Jena, Germany; Temuco, Chile; and Accra, Ghana. 

Through our fellowship and collaborative programs we promote and enable global citizenship as a way for individuals and organizations to work together across boundaries of place and identity to solve challenges in an interconnected world.

Melton Foundation Action Grants

The Melton Foundation offers grants year-round to support Melton Fellows in developing skills, perspective and wider networks to further their capacity as global citizens and contribute towards building an equitable, sustainable, and peaceful world.

In almost 10 years of granting, more than 100 Fellows’ initiatives have been awarded with a Melton Foundation grant to

• Build awareness and/or further awareness raising around global issues and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
• Develop individual and collective responsibility for sustained, collaborative action,
• Grow capacity to collaboratively drive and sustain social impact at the local and/or global level,
• Further the design, implementation and evaluation of collaborative actions that embody the spirit of global citizenship practice and further social impact, or
• Support coordinated social-impact efforts in a particular or across (emerging) Melton Foundation Hub regions to promote global citizenship practice (s) and the organization’s mission.

Investing in Libraries as Community Builders grants

A total of $250,000 will be invested to support Appalachian Ohio’s libraries in work that advances civic health by bringing residents together in meaningful ways, including through projects that forge deeper connections among community members and provide opportunities for residents to collaborate in solving challenges and creating new opportunities. In partnership with the Trust for Civic Life, FAO invites libraries in the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio to apply for up to $20,000 to support “civic experiments,” activities that:

• Introduce entrepreneurial approaches to removing barriers that keep people from participating in their community;
• Repeatedly bring together a group of community members who have not been engaged with one another, the library or the community around a shared interest, goal or unmet need; or
• Integrate volunteer or community members as program leaders to expand capacity beyond staff.

Ross Community Foundation

The RCF officially became the first affiliate of the Hamilton Community Foundation in 2022, giving it access to collective investments, administrative support, and decades of philanthropic expertise. 

Since its inception, the Ross Community Foundation has returned over $90,000 in total to local organizations serving the Ross community. These grants have been able to support a wide variety of needs in our community. Additionally, the Foundation has been able to serve our local nonprofits with continuing education opportunities and other essential needs.

Each year, our board continues to grow the Community Impact Fund through the Community Harvest Campaign, an annual fundraising effort dedicated to ensuring the Foundation can address the changing needs of the community.

Grants for Nonprofits Serving Ross

Purpose: To enhance the quality of life within the Ross Local School District community

The Ross Community Foundation (RCF) supports nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life within Ross Local School District communities including Ross Township, Morgan Township, Hanover Township, St. Clair Township, Fairfield Township, and Millville. The Foundation addresses a broad spectrum of community needs, empowering nonprofits to implement impactful programs and services.

Grants are made possible through generous community members who contributed to the Ross Community Foundation Fund. Established in March 2022, the fund has grown significantly, thanks to the support of individuals and businesses dedicated to the betterment of the Ross community.

Funding Priorities

The RCF grant committee awards grants based on need, impact, and merit and prioritizes projects related to education, food availability, and neighborhood needs. Applicants are encouraged to thoroughly demonstrate a need for funding, potentially filling an existing gap in services in the community. Widespread community impact is desired. Self-sustaining projects are preferred.

Geographic Area: Ross Local School District communities including Ross Township, Morgan Township, Hanover Township, St. Clair Township, Fairfield Township, and Millville.

Grant Review Note: RCF may ask applicants to attend a board meeting, conduct a site visit, or conduct a telephone call to obtain additional information. Site visits will be conducted in a group setting, and the applicant will be notified prior to any visit.

The Distressed Cities Technical Assistance (DCTA) Program provides competitive funding for eligible applicants to deliver technical assistance to local governments serving economically distressed communities of 50,000 or fewer residents. Selected awardees collaborate closely with HUD to enhance the capabilities of UGLG officials and staff, ensuring they effectively address community needs. Applicants may focus on broad HUD jurisdictions or specific areas as specified in the program's NOFO.

The Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury aims to enhance social service effectiveness through innovative funding strategies. Established in 2018, SIPPRA encourages state and local governments to apply for awards that redirect funds from ineffective programs to those that yield measurable outcomes. By promoting public-private partnerships and performance-based funding, SIPPRA seeks to address critical social issues and improve the lives of families and individuals in need.

The Community Development Block Grant Program for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages aims to foster the development of viable communities by providing funding for housing, living environments, and economic opportunities, primarily benefiting low- and moderate-income individuals. The program is competitive, offering both single-purpose and imminent threat grants to address urgent public health and safety issues, ensuring that tribes can improve their community welfare effectively.

The Advancing State Implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers grant aims to support state-level projects that align with the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. Grantees will form cross-agency partnerships to implement the Strategy's recommendations, focusing on sustainability through planning phases. The initiative encourages innovative solutions to enhance caregiver support while ensuring that project outcomes are maintained beyond federal funding.

The Fiscal Year 2026 Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program offers federal funds aimed at reducing flood risks for buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. This initiative supports states, U.S. territories, and local governments in implementing various flood mitigation activities, thereby lessening the financial burden on the NFIP. FEMA prioritizes applications that enhance multistate or regional capabilities, contributing to a safer infrastructure and community resilience against flooding.

The Ochylski Family Foundation supports registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations through grants aimed at enhancing their operational capacity. With an application deadline of October 1, organizations must submit a detailed request outlining their initiatives. The foundation's mission aligns with its commitment to foster community development and nonprofit effectiveness in Iowa, ensuring that resources are allocated to impactful projects that serve the public good.