Foundation awards more than $20 million year-to-date in grants and scholarships
The Board of Trustees of Greater Toledo Community Foundation approved $1,117,119 from various grant funds at its December Board of Trustees meeting. Primarily supporting northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, the Foundation and its donors have disbursed more than $20 million in grants and scholarships in the community year-to-date.
With assets of $412 million invested, Greater Toledo Community Foundation distributes grants of approximately $18-$20 million annually to causes important to the Toledo region.
The following grants were recently approved from competitive grant and field of interest funds:
Community Funds Impact Grants – a total of $247,672 was awarded to four organizations. The Community Funds Impact Grants program provides seed money for new, innovative programming that addresses unmet community needs.
• Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee & Hillsdale Counties – $50,000 was awarded to support trauma assessment services for children in Lenawee County.
• Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio – $89,650 was awarded to support the Regional Advance Care Planning project.
• Partners for Clean Streams – $51,452 was awarded to support the Community Water Action Project, a multi-agency collaboration that engages citizen volunteers to collect information and monitor water quality in the Lake Erie basin.
• Toledo Zoological Society – $56,570 was awarded to support the Diversity in Field Conservation career exploration program that will offer high school students and recent graduates hands-on paid field experiences in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics.
The next deadline for Community Funds Impact Grant proposals is January 15, 2022.
First Solar Community Giving Fund – a total of $60,000 was awarded to four organizations. Grants from the First Solar Community Giving Fund are made to nonprofit organizations that support “green” education initiatives, support access to clean energy and water in underserved areas, and support furthering development of innovative and sustainable technologies.
• Cleveland Water Alliance – $20,000 to support Toledo-related expenses of Erie Hack, a think-tank to address technology-based water quality issues.
• VProject – $20,000 to support Covid-19 vaccination outreach awareness efforts for northwest Ohio.
• RE-volv – $15,000 to support the collegiate Solar Ambassador Fellowship program.
• The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges – $5,000 to support the First Solar Corporation Scholarship Program.
The next deadline for First Solar grant proposals is February 1, 2022.
Fund for the Elderly – a total of $153,400 was awarded to nine organizations. The Fund for the Elderly supports programs assisting senior citizens, with a priority for projects that enable the elderly to live as independently as possible.
• The Ability Center of Greater Toledo – $25,000 was awarded to provide assistive technology to elderly persons with disabilities living in rural counties.
• Habitat for Humanity, Maumee Valley – $15,000 was awarded to support the home repair program.
• Hospice of Northwest Ohio – $25,000 was awarded to support Sincera Palliative Care.
• MemoryLane Care Services – $25,000 was awarded to support services for older adults diagnosed with dementia, their families and caregivers.
• Mobile Meals of Toledo, Inc. – $25,000 was awarded to support the Meal Client Assistance Program.
• Ohio Living Foundation – $12,400 was awarded to support the Virtual Reality Initiative which offers new avenues for individuals to connect with family and friends, increase their mobility and engage in the arts.
• Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center, Inc. – $8,000 was awarded to recruit and match volunteer companions to assist seniors in maintaining their independence.
• The Sight Center of Northwest Ohio – $10,000 was awarded to support low vision services for seniors.
• VOICEcorps Reading Service – $8,000 was awarded to support over-the-air reading services.
The Sisters of St. Francis (Sylvania) Foundation Donor Advised Fund – a total of $505,350 was awarded to 17 organizations. Grants from the Sisters of St. Francis (Sylvania) Foundation Donor Advised Fund support programs which aid in the fight against human trafficking and/or offer support to its victims; offer support to immigrants and refugees; advance social justice and equal access to opportunity through other programs and strategies; and sustain and renew efforts related to creation and its gifts (ecology, environment, preservation and earth science, etc.).
• Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. – $50,000 was awarded to support the Immigration Advocacy Project.
• Beach House dba Leading Families Home – $50,000 was awarded to support the PAST project for survivors of human trafficking.
• Bittersweet Farms – $20,000 was awarded to support the Creative Arts program.
• Cherry Street Mission Ministries – $10,000 was awarded to provide shelter care services to women escaping human trafficking.
• Habitat for Humanity-Maumee Valley – $25,000 was awarded to support the home repair program.
• Heartbeat of Toledo – $40,000 was awarded to support the Your First Look program.
• La Conexion – $30,000 was awarded to support the Immigrant Rights project.
• Lourdes University – $50,000 was awarded to support the Like Me program, which is dedicated to diversifying the local educator workforce by recruiting, preparing and supporting students of color for careers in teaching.
• Lutheran Social Services of Northwest Ohio – $11,322 was awarded to support the re-entry program that helps ex-offenders successfully transition back into society.
• Partners for Clean Streams – $17,535 was awarded to support the Clean Your Streams program.
• SewHope – $9,000 was awarded to support the SewHope Academic Enrichment Program in Santa Ana, Guatemala.
• Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin – $55,693 was awarded to support Project Hope-Proyecto Esperanza.
• Social Services for the Arab Community – $15,000 was awarded to support the Ahlan Wa Sahlan (Welcome) program.
• The Sight Center of Northwest Ohio – $21,800 was awarded to support the Blind Ambition program that helps visually-impaired individuals to secure employment.
• Toledo GROWS – $20,000 was awarded to support community garden programming.
• Water for Ishmael – $30,000 was awarded to support the American School for Women program.
• Zepf Center – $50,000 was awarded to support the Safety Net Emergency Shelter program for youth at-risk of human trafficking exploitation.
In addition to the grants approved, the Board of Directors authorized significant funds to continue the Equity & Access Initiative started two years ago. This Initiative will continue for an additional three years with funding in the amount of $100,000 per year, bringing the Foundation’s investment in Equity & Access to over $600,000 in five years. The Foundation created the Equity & Access Initiative Fund to proactively address the concerns raised by communities that are disproportionately impacted by inequity and lack of access in the Greater Toledo area. Local nonprofit organizations that are addressing these issues are encouraged to apply for funding.
The next deadline for Equity & Access Initiative Fund grant proposals is August 21, 2022.
Details and applications for all of the Foundation’s funding opportunities, and more, can be found here: https://www.toledocf.org/grants-2/.