The Community Foundation of Shelby County is a charitable organization whose mission is to cultivate, administer and distribute legacy gifts for the benefit of our community. It provides an entity to carry out the wishes of donors.

Formed in 1952, the Foundation serves Shelby County, Ohio and surrounding areas. Grant applications for our unrestricted and field of interest funds are reviewed by the Foundation’s Distribution committee and forwarded to the Board of Trustees for final decision. Grants from some of our restricted funds are limited to the preferences stated in a will or written agreement from the donor or establishing organization.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation makes grants in the following five areas:

Arts and Culture: To preserve and enhance arts and cultural heritage and institutions, expand access to arts and cultural offerings to new audiences, provide creative educational experiences for children and families, and encourage innovation and creativity.

Family and Community: To support those agencies that strengthen the quality of individual and family life by responding to personal and family emergencies, intervening early when individuals and families are at risk of serious problems, and providing for basic needs when individuals and families cannot provide for themselves. To support youth involvement in activities and for the basic needs of youth. To encourage more efficient use of community resources to coordinate, cooperate and share among organizations. To eliminate duplication of services and to build the capacity of organizations and communities to solve problems.

Education: To increase access to learning opportunities for very young and pre-school children, improve primary and secondary education outcomes, expand options for post-secondary education and training, and promote life-long learning.

Environment: To improve and preserve the quality of environmental conditions for current and future generations, preserve and beautify open spaces and gardens, conserve natural resources, and encourage citizen involvement in environmental protection activities.

Health: To improve access to and quality of treatment services, promote health and wellness, and promote the efficient use of healthcare resources. To provide treatment and equipment for individuals affected by blindness or serious vision impairment.

The Grantmaking Process

Nonprofit organizations designated 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service physically located in and serving Shelby County, Ohio and surrounding areas are eligible to apply for a grant.

To apply for a grant, please follow these steps:

1. Call the Executive Director of The Community Foundation to discuss your grant request idea and whether your project appears to fit within the Foundation’s guidelines. Preliminary Grant Proposals and full Proposals will not be accepted if they have not been requested by the Executive Director. (937) 497-7800.
   
2. Submit a completed Preliminary Grant Proposal form by March 15 or August 15.
   
3. If our Distribution Committee would like to learn more about your project, you will be asked to submit a proposal by May 15 or October 15.
   
4. The Distribution Committee may ask for additional information, an interview or a site visit, if necessary.
   
5. Final decisions will be made by the Board of Trustees at their June or December meeting.

Grant Terms and Evaluation

Grant awards will be paid as follows:

80% upon board approval of a grant request.

20% upon submission of a favorable grant evaluation report which follows the completion of the project or event or six months after the start up of a new program or organization. The Foundation may withhold any portion of the grant if the grantee organization deviates from the approved grant proposal or omits any requirements stipulated without prior written consent of the Community Foundation.

Nonprofits that reach the proposal stage (see item 3 above) may apply only once within any twelve-month period (exceptions may be made in cases where one nonprofit serves as fiscal agent for another).

In general, The Community Foundation of Shelby County awards grants for one year.

In selected instances, The Community Foundation will accept requests for multi-year grants up to a maximum of three years. An application seeking multi-year support must meet the following conditions:

• 1. Demonstrate that multi-year support is essential to the start-up of a new initiative.
• 2. Demonstrate that the effort will produce specific, measurable outcomes within the agreed-upon time period.
• 3. Agree to participate in a formal annual evaluation to document and measure the proposed outcomes.

Evaluation
The Community Foundation considers evaluation to be an important element of each grant it makes. The Foundation evaluates grants in order to be a good steward of the money given by many generous people.

Evaluations vary because of type of project and amount granted. The Executive Director will discuss the specific evaluation requirements with each nonprofit prior to the submission of a proposal.

The Board of Trustees has the right to make exceptions to the funding timelines or grant terms.

Limitations
There are restrictions on the scope of activities the Foundation is able to support. In general, The Community Foundation does not typically make grants from its unrestricted funds for:

• General operating expenses of existing organizations
• Individuals
• Religious organizations for religious purposes
• Political organizations or political action committees for political purposes
• Endowments
• Specific scientific, medical or academic research
• Annual fund raising campaigns from existing organizations

To discuss your grant request, contact Marian Spicer, Executive Director, Monday through Thursday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at (937) 497-7800.