The Coca-Cola Foundation is our company's primary international philanthropic arm.

Since its inception in 1984, The Foundation has awarded more than $1.4 billion in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world.

Giving Back to Communities

The Coca-Cola Foundation, the independent philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, is committed to a charitable giving strategy that makes a difference in communities around the world. In 2021, The Coca-Cola Foundation contributed $109.2 million to approximately 350 organizations globally.

Read more about our priorities in the 2021 Business & Environmental, Social and Governance Report.

NOTE: For nonprofit organizations new to U.S. Bank Foundation, a Letter of Interest is available. Community Affairs Managers will review Letter of Interest submissions periodically to learn about new and innovative programs and organizations in their regions and markets. After reviewing a Letter of Interest, a Community Affairs Manager may reach out with a request for a full application. You can access the Letter of Interest by clicking the “Submit a letter of interest” link at the bottom of this page. Letters of Interest may be submitted at any time during the year.

Community Possible Grant

Through U.S. Bank’s Community Possible® grant program, we invest in efforts to create stable jobs, safe homes and communities.

Funding Types

Within these general guidelines, we consider the following funding request types:

Operating grants

An operating grant is given to cover an organization’s day-to-day, ongoing expenses, such as salaries, utilities, office supplies and more. We consider operating support requests from organizations where the entire mission of the organization fits a Community Possible grant focus area.

Program or project grants

A program or project grant is given to support a specific, connected set of activities, with a beginning and an end, explicit objectives and a predetermined cost. We consider highly effective and innovative programs that meet our Community Possible grant focus areas.

Capital grants

A capital grant is given to finance fixed assets. The U.S. Bank Foundation considers a small number of requests for capital support from organizations that meet all other funding criteria, whose entire mission statement fits a Community Possible grant focus area, and with which the Foundation has a funding history. All organizations requesting capital funding must also have a U.S. Bank employee on the board of directors. U.S. Bank does not fund more than 1% of the non-endowment total capital campaign fundraising goal. All capital grant requests are reviewed and approved by the national U.S. Bank Foundation Board or by the U.S. Bank Foundation President.

Focus Area: PLAY

Creating vibrant communities through play.

Play brings joy, and it’s just as necessary for adults as it is for kids. But in low-income areas there are often limited spaces for play and fewer people attending arts and cultural events. That’s why we invest in community programming that supports ways for children and adults to play and create.

Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education

Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:

• Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
• Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
• Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers

Supporting learning through play.

Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:

• Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
• Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities

Focus Area: WORK

Supporting workforce education and prosperity.

We know that a strong small business environment and an educated workforce ensure the prosperity of our communities and reducing the expanding wealth gap for communities of color. We provide grant support to programs and organizations that help small businesses thrive, allow people to succeed in the workforce, provide pathways to higher education and gain greater financial literacy.

Investing in the workforce.

We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:

Small business technical assistance programs

Job-skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force

Providing pathways for educational success.

To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:

• Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
• Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students

Teaching financial well-being for work and life.

Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:

• K-12 and college student financial literacy
• Adult and workforce financial literacy
• Senior financial fraud prevention
• Military service member and veteran financial literacy

Focus Area: HOME

Working to revitalize communities one neighborhood at a time.

Children and families are better positioned to thrive and succeed in a home that is safe and permanent. Access to sustainable low-income housing is increasingly challenges for low-moderate income families. In response, our giving supports efforts that connect individuals and families with sustainable housing opportunities.

Access to safe, affordable housing

We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:

• Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
• Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct steppingstone to permanent housing
• Organizations that focus on Veterans housing and homeownership
• Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
• Energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments

Home ownership education

Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools, and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:

• Homebuyer education
• Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
• Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

ArtStart

General Project Support for Organizations

The ArtSTART program provides flexible, accessible funding to help organizations complete short-term projects addressing a wide variety of goals and objectives. Most awards support the programming of new or emerging organizations, including firsttime OAC applicants, as well as new or established organizations in areas not served by other arts providers.

Grant Awards: Applicants may request up to $5,000. All awards require a 1:1 cash match.

How the Program Works

ArtSTART grants are one-year awards for organizational project support. Funds may be used for a wide variety of expenses in an organization's overall operations, or in the execution of a given activity or suite of related activities. Many grantees use ArtSTART funds to support artistic or administrative expenses, but other allowable expenses include marketing, program planning, education, and evaluation. The budget section of the ArtSTART application provides a full list of allowable expense areas. 

Sample activities might include:

• dance performances at a community arts festival
• exhibition costs for a seasonal visual arts show
• printing costs for a community theatre's large print programs and sign language interpreter
• a weekly summer concert series
• production of a new literary journal
• an annual theatre production featuring local performers
• the yearlong suite of arts programming of a non-arts organization

NOTE: The Joyce Foundation accepts grant inquiries online throughout the year. Proposals are considered at meetings of the Foundation’s Board of Directors in April, July, and December. Applicants are strongly encouraged to plan their application and proposal submission process for the April or July meetings, since most grant funds will be distributed at those times.

About

Through its grantmaking and other policy-focused efforts, the Foundation seeks to:

• Racial Equity: Incorporate the voices of, and achieve more equitable outcomes for, Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities in the Great Lakes region.
• Economic Mobility: Improve the ability of individuals in the Great Lakes region to move up the economic ladder within a lifetime or from one generation to the next.
• Next Generation: Incorporate the voices of, and improve outcomes for, the next generation of Great Lakes residents, defined as young people born after 2000.

Education & Economic Mobility Grants

The Education & Economic Mobility Program, through the focus areas below, works to increase the number of historically underserved young people who move up the economic ladder by ensuring equitable access to high-quality education and jobs. We invest in local, state and federal policies that ensure historically underserved young people have effective educators, graduate high school with academic and career momentum, and attain college credentials with economic value. We also support policies that help ensure low-wage workers achieve economic stability, dignity, and mobility. In the short term, we will invest in research, policy development, and advocacy to help the education systems recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effective Educators

Advance federal, state and district policies to ensure historically underserved students in the Great Lakes region have highly effective, diverse teachers and principals. Efforts include research, policy development, advocacy, and technical assistance to reform teacher preparation, diversify the educator pipeline, build strong pathways from high school into teaching, and overhaul school staffing models to support principals and spread the reach of great teachers. Our investments here are focused on Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota and on national efforts.

College and Career Readiness

Support federal, state and school district policies that ensure historically underserved young people in the Great Lakes region graduate high school ready for college and career success. Efforts include research, policy development, and advocacy to reform dual-credit and remediation policies, expand access to quality work-based learning opportunities, and align K-12, post-secondary and workforce systems.

Post-Secondary Success

Support federal and state policies to close race- and family income-based gaps in college attainment. Efforts include scaling up proven student support models to improve community college outcomes; preserving access for students of color and rural students to affordable, high- quality public college options and to labor markets that require college degrees; seeking racial and family income representativeness at selective public universities; and supporting advocacy, litigation, and policy development to narrow gaps in post-graduate financial outcomes for students of color and low-income students.

Future of Work

Support state and federal policies to help low-wage workers achieve greater economic stability, dignity, and mobility, with a special focus on technology’s role in the workplace and labor market. Specifically, we will support state policy to ensure employees can access public benefits, refundable tax credit policies, and nascent policy development on issues of technology and the labor market.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Grant Funding Gets Non-Profit Projects Underway

Finance Fund works with non-profit community-based organizations that need seed funding to determine project feasibility or to move projects forward. Grants are made to eligible organizations that work to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income communities in Ohio.

Grant Programs

Our grants are designed to create a better quality of life for people living in economically distressed urban and rural communities.

Predevelopment Grant

These grants provide funding for projects with an affordable housing aspect to them. Grants up to $30,000 are available for eligible uses such as feasibility studies, market studies, business plans, architectural drawings, appraisals, engineering, environmental studies, and professional fees.

What does this program do?

This program is designed to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses. Small means that the business has fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue.

What kind of funding is available?

There is no maximum grant amount; however, smaller requests are given higher priority. There is no cost sharing requirement. Opportunity grants are limited to up to 10 percent of the total Rural Business Development Grant annual funding.

How may funds be used?

Enterprise grants must be used on projects to benefit small and emerging businesses in rural areas as specified in the grant application. Uses may include:

• Training and technical assistance, such as project planning, business counseling and training, market research, feasibility studies, professional or/technical reports or producer service improvements.
• Acquisition or development of land, easements, or rights of way; construction, conversion, renovation of buildings; plants, machinery, equipment, access for streets and roads; parking areas and utilities.
• Pollution control and abatement.
• The capitalization of revolving loan funds, including funds that will make loans for start-ups and working capital.
• Distance adult learning for job training and advancement.
• Rural transportation improvement.
• Community economic development.
• Technology-based economic development.
• Feasibility studies and business plans.
• Leadership and entrepreneur training.
• Rural business incubators.
• Long-term business strategic planning.

Opportunity grants can be used for:

• Community economic development.
• Technology-based economic development.
• Feasibility studies and business plans.
• Leadership and entrepreneur training.
• Rural business incubators.
• Long-term business strategic planning.

ArtsNEXT

Funding for Bold, Ground-Breaking Projects

The ArtsNEXT program provides competitive funding for innovative and experimental projects. Awards support big ideas that push boundaries, engage participants in unexpected ways, pilot new solutions to challenging problems, improve program design with calculated risk-taking, or result in the creation of new work. These forward-looking projects help define Ohio as an exciting, cutting-edge place to make, consume, and experience the arts.

Grant Awards: Applicants may generally request between $5,000 and $20,000, though larger awards are possible in unique circumstances. All awards require a 1:1 cash match.

How the Program Works

ArtsNEXT grants are one-year awards for organizational project support. This program supports projects that allow an organization's programming to evolve creatively. Priority is given to projects designed to improve the accessibility, affordability, and/or diversity of arts experiences, as well as those demonstrating an appropriate amount of risk with a strong potential for success. Funds may be used for a wide variety of expenses, including artist fees, production expenses, marketing, planning, education, and program evaluation. The budget section of the ArtsNEXT application provides a full list of allowable expense areas.

NOTE: ArtsNEXT is not designed to fund routine updates or minor embellishments of long-running programs. Organizations considering applying should be fully invested in the hard work of innovating through research, experimentation, and focus, with the goal of breaking patterns, testing ideas, and arriving at new results. The most successful ArtsNEXT projects, whether big or small in scope, will be those that address a specific challenge in a novel way, turn an existing idea or practice on its head, and achieve benefits impossible under the prior approach.

ArtsNEXT applicants must identify which one of these three types of innovation best describes their proposed project. When possible, panels will review applications from each type of innovation together. Types include:

Incremental Innovation. Projects exhibiting incremental innovation make small changes or improvements over time that nonetheless go above and beyond the routine course corrections required of all successful programs, and can be thought of as "variations on a theme." Examples might include trying a new marketing strategy, hosting an event in a new type of venue, or building on existing programming in a sequential, logical way. Incremental innovations involve minimal risk.

Transferable Innovation. Projects that borrow, replicate, or adapt a proven practice from another industry, organization, or community are employing transferable innovation. Projects improve the design of an existing program or service by applying ideas that have been successful in another setting. Examples include producing a new activity that has been well-received elsewhere, modifying an idea from the private sector for use in a nonprofit setting, or experimenting with programming that has flourished in a different arts genre. Transferable innovation typically involves moderate risk.

Disruptive Innovation. These are the big ideas that often come to mind when the concept of innovation is discussed. Disruptive innovation interrupts current behavior rendering existing practices obsolete. These projects are rare, unproven, and revolutionary. Examples might include radically changing the delivery of an arts experience, upending expectations about participation in a particular genre or type of arts activity, or creating something entirely new in the arts and cultural field. Disruptive innovation is inherently an unusual and high-risk proposition.

Sample activities might include:

• exploring the intersection of the arts and healing with activities produced in partnership with a healthcare institution
• implementing a pilot program or activity based on a promising practice from another industry
• executing a partnership that brings local artistic assets together to activate a nontraditional space
• adapting an arts event successful in a suburban setting to a new urban or rural community or region
• developing and evaluating specialized programming to serve as a model for other organizations
• expanding a longtime activity to include an entirely new creative element
• revamping the way a successful arts activity is marketed to attract new and more diverse participants
• launching a locally-driven and authentic creative place-making initiative
• developing a technology to deliver arts experiences in new and more accessible ways
• using partnerships to change the delivery of an arts experience, making it more affordable

SUSTAINABILITY

General Operating Support for Large and Mid-Sized Organizations

The Sustainability program supports ongoing arts and cultural activities in all genres. Awards support the largest and most administratively sophisticated organizations in the state's arts and cultural ecosystem. This flexible and reliable funding supports a wide range of the state's arts providers as they make high-quality artistic experiences available to residents and visitors, positioning Ohio as a national leader in creativity, artistry, and cultural wealth.

Grant Awards: Grants vary in size and are determined by a formula that takes into account panel evaluation of each application and the applying organization’s operating income. All awards require a 1:1 cash match.

NOTE: College and university applicants must demonstrate broad financial support including a non-university-based cash match.

How the Program Works

Sustainability grants are four-year awards for organizational operating support. Funds may be used for a wide variety of expenses in the general operation of an organization. Many grantees use Sustainability funds to support general artistic or administrative expenses, and other allowable expenses include marketing, program planning, education, and evaluation.