Best Grants for Small Nonprofits in Ohio

About the Foundation

There is no health without mental health. The APA Foundation is working in your community to provide the support and resources we all need to prioritize mental wellbeing where you live, learn, work, worship, and play.

Our Mission

Promote the mental health and well-being of individuals and communities.

Our Vision

A mentally healthy nation for all – where we live, learn, work, worship, and play.

Psychiatric Research Fellowship

The Psychiatric Research Fellowship provides funding for an early research career psychiatrist to design and conduct a health services/policy-related research study using national data housed at the APA. The Fellow's research activities will be carried out under the supervision and guidance of a mentor at his/her institution in collaboration with his/her mentor(s) at the APA Division of Research. This vital program will enable the APA and APA Foundation to actively participate in sustaining and strengthening the clinical investigators workforce specifically in psychiatry.

Program Benefits

• Receive funding (up to $45,000 per year) towards a research study that will address a major research topic impacting psychiatric practice.
• Receive mentorship from established researchers in the field of psychiatry in the design and implementation of his/her research study.
• Access to secondary national data (e.g., CMS Claims data; APA Registry data) to carry out his/her research study.
• Present his/her research at one or more APA meetings.
• Opportunity to attend additional meetings that provide further mentorship in psychiatric research (e.g., Early Research Career Breakfast).
• Have access to a lifetime network of APA member experts working in the field of psychiatric research.
• Establish relationships and peer-mentorship with a diverse group of residents and fellows with similar career interests and goals.
• Participate on an assigned APA Council or APAF initiative where organizational decisions are made.
• Gain an understanding of APA Governance through service on an APA Council, Committee or APAF initiative.
• Appear in the APA Convocation of Distinguished Fellows Program Book listings.

McCullough-Hyde Foundation

The McCullough-Hyde Foundation supports McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital/TriHealth, located in the heart of Oxford, Ohio. Through strategic partnerships with community organizations, the McCullough-Hyde Foundation addresses significant health needs of local communities throughout Butler and Preble counties in Ohio and Franklin and Union counties in Indiana. With a rich history dating back to 1937, the Foundation operates as a 501(c)3 charitable organization and is a self-funded entity which means 100 percent of all donations support the program or service designated by the donor.

Mock Family Award for Excellence in Nursing

The Mock Family Award for Excellence in Nursing recognizes nurses who model superior work in delivering on the patient experience. Nominees for the Mock Family Award are assessed by a volunteer committee based on patient experience, care delivery, clinical skills, acts of kindness and safety.

The William Emberton Scholarship, established in memory of Bill Emberton, awards $1,000 to students in Eastern Connecticut who demonstrate a strong interest in literature and poetry. Since 1983, the Community Foundation has distributed over $11.9 million in scholarships. This scholarship honors Bill's legacy as a passionate literary advocate and civic volunteer, supporting local students in their educational pursuits and fostering a love for literature.

The Viola A. and Henry W. Turner Memorial Scholarship, established by the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, supports high school seniors from Southeastern CT pursuing a four-year degree, particularly in education. Since 1983, over $11.9 million in scholarships have been awarded. The scholarship provides approximately $500, with awards sent to colleges by August 1, and is primarily need-based.

The St. Mary Catholic Community School Scholarship, established in 1989 by Dr. John Birdzell and the Crown Point Rotary, aims to enrich the quality of life in South Lake County. This non-renewable scholarship is available to graduating high school seniors who are alumni of St. Mary's Catholic Community School and actively involved in religious activities. Award recipients are invited to a special Scholarship Awards Night on May 7, 2026.

The Tri Kappa Scholarship, established by the Crown Point Community Foundation, aims to enrich the quality of life in South Lake County by providing financial assistance to graduating high school seniors who are residents of Crown Point, IN, and involved in community service. This non-renewable scholarship invites awardees to a special Scholarship Awards Night on May 7, 2026, at the Halls of St. George.

The Walter J. Bernacki Memorial Scholarship, established by the Crown Point Community Foundation, aims to support graduating high school seniors from Lake Central, Portage, or Crown Point High Schools. Eligible applicants must be senior football players with a minimum GPA of 3.25 and are encouraged to have work experience during high school. This non-renewable scholarship promotes community engagement and academic achievement, culminating in an awards ceremony on May 7, 2026.

The Marge Christensen Gould Memorial Scholarship, valued at $1,500 annually, honors the legacy of Marge Gould, a dedicated educator at Catalina High School. It aims to support students from Southern Arizona, especially those graduating from specific local high schools. Eligible applicants must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 and can re-apply for up to four years. This initiative emphasizes the importance of education in fostering future leaders within the community.

The CFSA General Scholarship aims to empower future leaders by providing essential financial support for education. Offered by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, this renewable scholarship is available for up to four years, rewarding students with increasing amounts from $2,000 in their first year to $4,000 in subsequent years. Eligible applicants must maintain a 2.5 GPA and be a graduate from a Southern Arizona high school, ensuring they have the opportunity to pursue their academic dreams.

The Crown Point Youth Baseball Scholarship, administered by the Crown Point Community Foundation, supports graduating high school students from Crown Point who have a minimum GPA of 2.75 and have participated in Crown Point Cal Ripken Baseball for at least three years. This scholarship aims to provide financial assistance to enhance educational opportunities for local youth, fostering community engagement and growth through sports participation and academic achievement.

The Crown Point Community Foundation Scholarships support graduating high school seniors, college students, and adult learners from Crown Point, Winfield, Cedar Lake, or Lowell. With over 80 scholarship funds established by local donors, the foundation ensures financial assistance is tailored to community needs. Eligible applicants may attend colleges, universities, or vocational schools, but the scholarships are non-renewable. This initiative enriches the quality of life in South Lake County by maximizing charitable giving.

Marion Community Foundation

Since 1998, area residents have been turning to Marion Community Foundation to make their philanthropic giving as effective as possible. We are a public charity serving thousands of people who share a common concern … improving the quality of life in Marion County. We use distributions from the more than 500 charitable funds — created by generous, local donors — to award more than $2.5 million in grants and scholarships each year to many of the humanitarian, educational and cultural organizations in this remarkable community we call home.

Marion Community Foundation is the area’s leading philanthropic organization, providing charitable donors the opportunity to easily create endowment funds to benefit and support our community through grants and scholarships. We serve communities throughout Marion County through philanthropy, leadership, and civic engagement.

A.B. & Hazel Augenstein Scholarship

The A.B. & Hazel Augenstein Scholarship Fund is Marion Community Foundation’s first multi-year scholarship.

Created in 2009 by a gift from the Hazel & A.B. Augenstein Scholarship Foundation Trust, it supports students from River Valley. The trust was created by the Claridon Alumni Association to honor and memorialize the significance of A.B. Augenstein’s role in the Claridon School community. The Claridon Alumni Association continues to be the main supporter of this endowment fund.

The NIH Common Fund is launching the RNomics program to advance RNA research through innovative technologies. This initiative focuses on developing tools for comprehensive analysis of RNA molecules, addressing current methodological limitations. Key priorities include sequencing RNA, detecting modifications, and studying RNA function across various biological contexts. The program encourages high-risk, early-stage projects that demonstrate potential for significant impact. Successful Phase 1 projects may transition to Phase 2, aimed at delivering validated resources for the research community.

The ACUMEN Scholarship, provided by the East Bay Community Foundation, aims to support financially challenged students from Youth Spirit Artworks, Oakland Tech High School, and McClymonds High School. Each year, up to three scholarships are awarded, with amounts of $5,000 for 2-year colleges and $8,000 for 4-year colleges. This initiative is designed to assist students with educational costs, encouraging their commitment to higher education.

The TFEC Aspire to Rise Scholarship Fund, managed by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, offers financial support to non-traditional students aged 22 and older who have faced challenges in their educational journey. This scholarship is aimed at those pursuing higher education or vocational training, with special consideration for applicants without a post-secondary degree. Additionally, it supports individuals preparing for the GED, fostering opportunities for personal and professional growth in South Central Pennsylvania.

The TFEC Student Emergency Assistance Fund provides crucial financial support for students facing unexpected hardships that threaten their continuation in post-secondary education. Grants of up to $500 per application are available, with a total funding limit of $1,500 for re-applications. This initiative is part of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities' mission to bolster local educational opportunities and foster community resilience, ensuring that students can overcome financial barriers and achieve their academic goals.

The York Rotary Foundation, supported by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, offers scholarships to assist York County students in pursuing higher education. These scholarships reward academic excellence and community involvement, with a focus on graduating seniors and adult learners. There are 11 specific scholarships available, each with unique criteria. This initiative aims to enhance educational opportunities and foster community growth.

The WGPF: National Register Signage Grant Program, administered by the William G Pomeroy Foundation, aims to support public properties and historic districts in the U.S. that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By providing grants for signage, the program helps these sites commemorate their historic significance and share their achievements with the community, fostering awareness and appreciation for the nation's heritage.

The Bill Cox Memorial Scholarship offers a $1,750 award to graduating seniors from Spokane High School, aimed at supporting their educational aspirations. Applicants must maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher, demonstrate financial need through FAFSA-SAI, and submit a transcript along with an essay detailing community service and school activities. A letter of recommendation is also required. The scholarship application period will reopen on January 1, 2026 for the 2026–27 academic year.

The H. Lyman Mooney Music Scholarship, offered by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, provides a $450 scholarship to a graduating senior from Marshfield High School pursuing music studies. Applicants must submit their transcripts, demonstrate financial need through FAFSA-SAI, and provide a letter of recommendation from their music teacher. The scholarship application period will reopen on January 1, 2026, for the 2026–27 academic year, aiming to support students in achieving their educational goals.

Project Lead the Way inc.

School and district leaders need a solution that cultivates confidence and career readiness—and PLTW checks all the boxes. As a nonprofit organization founded by educators and driven by education leaders, we've spent more than 28 years equipping students with the technical knowledge, transferable skills, and career confidence they need to thrive—through programs that integrate real-world industry partnerships, best-in-class teacher training, and our proven activity-, project-, problem-based (APB) instructional model. At PLTW, we're on a mission to create a transformative learning environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in an evolving world. 

PLTW Gateway

PLTW Gateway (6-8) opens paths that create meaningful futures. It connects students to careers in areas they can, and can't, imagine. Through explorations of skilled trades, coding and robotics, flight and space, human body systems, and more, PLTW Gateway fuels students’ passion for discovery. As they engage in hands-on, collaborative problem solving focused on real-world challenges, students use and stretch their imaginations in brand-new ways that connect their learning to life. All the while, students step into roles spanning the career landscape—a crucial experience during this transitional time in their lives, long before they enter their degreed or skilled trade professions. 

PLTW Gateway - Program Expansion (3M)

3M forms lasting partnerships with communities and provides resources to help them succeed and grow – ensuring a more interconnected and thriving world. 3M inspires the next generation of science leaders through the following goals:

• Increasing STEM exposure in K-12 classrooms
• Supporting experiential learning opportunities
• Enhancing the quality of STEM teaching
• Providing professional development opportunities for students

3M has partnered with PLTW to ensure students and teachers have the tools, resources and knowledge they need to succeed in STEM.

The Domestic Violence Prevention (DVP) grant from the IHS aims to enhance the capacity of Tribes and Urban Indian Organizations to combat domestic and sexual violence. This initiative promotes culturally appropriate, trauma-informed services, focusing on victim advocacy and collaboration across sectors. It addresses critical issues like human trafficking and child maltreatment, ensuring long-term sustainability through evidence-based practices and data sharing, ultimately improving community health and safety for AI/AN populations.

The Council of Independent Colleges

Founded in 1956, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils, and higher education affiliates that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society.

CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility.

NetVUE Grant Programs

NetVUE offers a variety of grants to member institutions, supporting programming for students and professional development for faculty members and staff. Grants support projects ranging from one to four years in length. Grant programs are tailored to differing circumstances among member institutions, including their particular areas of interest, their bandwidth and capacity for administering projects, and the depth of their previous engagement with vocational exploration and discernment. NetVUE grants are administered by the Council of Independent Colleges, with generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc.

NetVUE Professional Development Awards

Colleges and universities that are members of NetVUE are committed to campus activities that encourage vocational exploration by students. Many NetVUE campus leaders have observed, however, that supplemental funding at even modest levels to support opportunities for the professional development of staff and faculty members would enable their institutions to strengthen vocational exploration programming. In an era of careful institutional budgeting, institutional operating funds are not always available for such professional development opportunities. NetVUE Professional Development Awards seek to address this need.

NetVUE Professional Development Awards may be requested for use over one year for professional development activities that enhance the knowledge, skills, and expertise of faculty and staff members who play important roles in undergraduate vocational initiatives. The purpose of this grant is to develop campus conversations about vocation and to deepen the capacity of those who lead vocational exploration efforts at NetVUE member institutions. A special initiative within this grant, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion, allows for proposals of up to $25,000.

Funds may be used for a range of purposes, but not to substitute for faculty and staff costs that the institution is presently providing for its vocational exploration activities. Grant funds could, for example, support reading groups, faculty/staff retreats, or bringing speakers to campus; funds may be used to provide materials, pay expenses for travel and/or meals, and offer modest stipends.

The VFW Student Fellowship, hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Student Veterans of America, empowers student veterans to advocate for their community on Capitol Hill. Running from October 2025 to March 2026, this program offers selected fellows the chance to collaborate on policy priorities, attend leadership training, and participate in significant conferences, ensuring their voices are heard among 500 advocates at the VFW Washington Conference. Travel expenses are fully covered.

The Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program enhances rural healthcare access by establishing sustainable residency programs for physicians. Focused on training in accredited rural settings, the program addresses physician shortages by providing start-up funding for various medical specialties, including family medicine and psychiatry. This initiative aims to ensure long-term sustainability through stable funding sources like Medicare and Medicaid, ultimately preparing physicians to serve rural communities effectively.

The Read Across America State Affiliate Event Grant supports NEA state affiliates in enhancing coordinated events that celebrate diverse reading. This grant encourages proposals aimed at providing students with access to diverse books, addressing challenges such as curriculum bans. Activities may include guest readings, establishing diverse book clubs, and promoting literacy through community engagement. Applications are open only to state affiliates, with a strong emphasis on year-round reading awareness.

Founded in 2016, this program supports nonfiction filmmakers or filmmaking teams working on their first or second feature-length documentary.

In this year-long program, 9 filmmakers will receive:

• $40,000 USD in grant funding for the production of their feature-length film
• Mentorship with Chicken & Egg Films team members
• Two creative retreats focused on career building and creative development
• Travel stipend for director and producer upon acceptance to a forum or market during program year
• Tailored industry meetings and funder connections
• Peer support from their cohort

You do not need a fiscal sponsor to apply for the (Egg)celerator Lab. However, if you are selected for the Lab, you must secure a US fiscal sponsor, or be a 501(c)(3), to receive the funds. If granted, we can help advise on finding a fiscal sponsor.