Commissioners Announce New Funding for Nonprofits

Grants Range from $25K to $250k to Eligible Nonprofits That Provide a Safety Net for Hamilton County Residents

Hamilton County Commissioners are helping area nonprofits continue to provide essential services to the community with a $6.3 million grant program. The County teamed up with the United Way of Greater Cincinnati to administer the grants in order to stabilize those human services organizations from the ongoing financial and service impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qualifying Hamilton County nonprofits that experienced an impact due to the pandemic can apply for grants from the County's allocation of American Rescue Plan Act dollars in the amount of $25,000 to $250,000. Eligible nonprofits must be: organized as a 501(c)3; located in Hamilton County; established before March 2019; and provide essential social and family services in Hamilton County including job training, food access, behavioral healthcare, health disparities and foreclosure prevention.

The County contracted with the United Way to administer the nonprofit grants in two phases. The first phase includes nonprofits that can demonstrate a revenue loss due to the pandemic. Those application go live on December 30 and are due by January 16. The second phase includes those nonprofits that can demonstrate an increased need for services due to pandemic. Those applications go live on January 10 are due by January 30. The Nonprofit Grant website is set to go live on December 15 at https://www.uwgc.org/for-nonprofits with details of the program. Organizations can visit the website to register to receive updates, register to attend an informational webinar, and take a self-assessment to determine eligibility. In 2020, Hamilton County awarded 59 nonprofits $4.5million to help keep services flowing into the community using federal CARES Act funding. Additionally, the County provided 24 Youth Services Grants totaling $1 million and 3 Domestic Violence reduction grants totaling $200,000.

(Pictured from left to right: Commission President Stephanie Summerow Dumas; Deborah Allsop, Executive Director / CEO of Families Forward; H.A. Musser, President / CEO of Santa Maria Community Services; Commissioner Denise Driehaus; Bill Bresser, Chief Executive Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati; Commission Vice President Alicia Reece; Moira Weir, President/CEO at United Way of Greater Cincinnati; and Kurt Reiber, President/CEO at Freestore Foodbank)