Area nonprofits vie for Gannett grants
Several central Ohio nonprofits are participating in A Community Thrives, a nationwide crowdfunding and grantmaking program sponsored by the Gannett Foundation.
The initiative will award about $2 million in funding to organizations that focus on community-building and meet certain fundraising goals through the foundation's A Community Thrives web pages by noon on Oct. 16. Recipients will be announced in early December.
Project grants of $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 will be distributed, as will smaller, local operating grants. In addition, incentive grants are available for top fundraisers and winners of weekly “bonus” fundraising challenges.
“It’s an amazingly generous set of opportunities,” said Roxanne Amidon, executive director of Boardman Arts Park in downtown Delaware, which is seeking a $100,000 grant for an extension called Imagination Park. The project would include more green space, “whimsical” art pieces and a unique play structure.
“(A Community Thrives) is a good way to get the community involved," Amidon said. "Your vote of $5 or more is a vote for this park and the community.”
Donald Washington III is applying for a $75,000 grant to help with programming for Smooth Transition, an East Side organization he founded to provide mentoring and other resources for underserved youths.
“Smooth Transition is about interacting with young men who feel they don’t really have any hope, and teaching them that the circumstance that they’re in isn’t who they are,” said Washington, a former football player at Ohio State University and in the NFL who had a rough upbringing in Indianapolis.
“The timing of A Community Thrives is perfect,” Washington said. “When you think about where we’re at in society — a lot of people need a shoulder … a lot of things are up in the air.”
Learn more about the organizations in central Ohio and nearby counties that are seeking funding by going to acommunitythrives.mightycause.com. They include:
• Boardman Arts Park, to build Imagination Park in downtown Delaware.
• Cultivate CDC, to develop 365 Produce, a year-round, indoor, hydroponic farm in the Milo-grogan neighborhood.
• Deaf Services Center Inc. in
Worthington, to host OYO Camp for kids with hearing loss.
• First Wesleyan Church in Chillicothe, to host Reaching Out Life Group to build relationships with God and people.
• Neighborhood Services Inc. in the University District, to provide food and utility assistance.
• Smooth Transition on the East Side, to offer the EMBRACE Program for at-risk youth.
• United Way of Central Ohio, to provide racial equity training and engagement.
• United Way of Fairfield County, to support the Feeding our Future program, which provides food to students. ethompson@dispatch.com @miss_ethompson