Call for Applications for America 250-Ohio Grants Program 

Applicants are invited to apply for the America 250-Ohio Grant Program.

Donor Name: America 250-Ohio

State: Ohio

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 11/17/2023

Size of the Grant:

• Buckeye Impact Grants: up to $50,000
• Trillium Local Activity Grants: up to $5,000

Grant Duration:

Details:

The Ohio Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial (also known as America 250-Ohio or AM250-OH) will make funds available for grants to non-profit, educational, and local governmental organizations to support educational and commemorative programming about the two-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the independence and founding of the United States. The purpose of this grant program is to draw attention to the achievements, struggles, honors, innovations, and significance of all people in Ohio since before its founding to the present day as described in Ohio Revised Code 149.309 and Resolution 2023 – 09 adopted by the Ohio Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.

Types of Grants

• The grants are available for projects, programming, and non-capital physical investments.
• A project grant supports a specific set of activities that has a clear beginning and end point and a specific set of pre-established outputs and outcomes.
• Physical plant investments must align with the purpose of the grant program (to celebrate or commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence or draw attention to the history and culture of Ohio from before its founding to the present day).
  • Regular maintenance costs are not eligible.

Grant Funding Levels

• Buckeye Impact Grants 
  • Grant amounts up to $50,000
    • The grant request should be appropriate to the scope of the project. Program Officers will advise on a suitable request.
  • Projects should have a statewide, regional, or significant local impact. The larger the grant request the more the project should aim for statewide impact.
  • Project types may include significant exhibitions, regional commemorative activities, substantial digital and documentary media projects, and signature public events.
  • Grants will be scored by a panel selected by AM250-OH with recommendations from Ohio Humanities and approved by AM250-0H.
  • Grants over $25,000 will submit an interim report after half of the grant period has elapsed.
  • A final report will be required of all grantees along with a full accounting of how the grant and project funds were spent.
• Trillium Local Activity Grants 
  • Grant amounts up to $5,000
    • The grant request should be appropriate to the scope of the project. Program Officers will advise on a suitable request.
  • Projects should have a local or community-wide impact.
  • Project types may include exhibitions, exhibits, interpretative panels, local commemorative programs or activities, local public events, educational, public programs, and smaller digital and documentary media projects.
  • Grants will be adjudicated by AM250-0H staff with recommendations from Ohio Humanities
  • A final report will be required of all grantees along with a full accounting of how the grant and project funds were spent.

Eligibility Criteria

• Non-profit organizations registered with the State of Ohio and located in Ohio.
  • This includes non-profit organizations beyond those with 501(c)3 status, such as membership organizations and chambers of commerce/convention and visitors’ bureaus. State agencies may not directly seek support. They may use a fiscal agent/sponsor or friends’ group to seek support for eligible activities.
• The following organizations or institutions are eligible so long as the funds are used for the celebration and/or commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the United States’ independence and draw attention to the history and culture of Ohio from before its founding to the present day.
  • School Districts and other K-12 educational institutions (Educational Service Centers, private/parochial schools, etc.)
  • Local and Regional Governmental entities (libraries, park districts, cultural arts centers, local government bodies, etc.)
  • Institutions of Higher Education
  • Faith-based organizations (provided they do not advocate for religious beliefs)
  • Fiscal Agents/Sponsors are only eligible when providing their services to an individual or state agency.
  • Individual artists, authors, or performers must apply through a fiscal agent/sponsor.
  • If an individual has a special case, please contact a Program Officer.
• Types of Institutional Missions and/or Project Goals Eligible for Support:
  • Organizations with a primary mission to provide education about the history, culture, and peoples of Ohio and the United States.
  • Organizations with a primary mission to commemorate the history and culture of Ohio and its residents.
  • Organizations or projects that are dedicated to the ongoing process of communicating the stories that relate to or arise out of the history of Ohio and the United States.
  • Organizations that foster tourism, civic engagement, or economic development.
    • Economic development organizations such as Chambers of Commerce and Main Street organizations are eligible if the project is closely connected to the AM250-0H mission and goals.

For more information, visit America 250-Ohio.