The word “community” implies fellowship and sharing. A community foundation is a tax-exempt public charity built on the concept of people helping people to improve the quality of life in a particular geographic area. More than 700 community foundations nationwide serve their individual regions.
Individuals, through gifts and bequests, establish permanent endowment funds and other types of funds with their community foundation to help respond to emerging community issues and opportunities.
Our Philosophy
The Centerville-Washington Foundation exists to be a community partner for corporate and individual charitable giving, functioning in the formation and preservation of charitable donations, providing services to donors and non-profit organizations, and serving as a source of funds for community groups.
Categories of Support
- Arts and humanities
- Civic affairs
- Conservation and the environment
- Education and Health
- Social services
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Grant Criteria
The Foundation supports projects that:
- Encourage more efficient use of community resources and promote coordination, cooperation and sharing among organizations, and the elimination of duplicated services.
- Test or demonstrate new approaches and techniques in the solution of important community problems.
- Could not be accomplished with other sources of support.
- Promote volunteer participation and citizen involvement in community affairs.
- Strengthen non-profit agencies and institutions by reducing operating costs, increasing public financial support, and/or improving internal management.
- Promote diverse and welcoming establishments via candid dialogue and relationship building events, educational programs, arts and culture projects, and other activities that will play a meaningful role in improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in schools, businesses, local government, places of worship and other community spaces.
The Foundation does not support grants from the discretionary funds to:
- Provide the principal source of support to an organization or activity.
- Organizations located outside the community.
- Establish or add to endowment funds.
- Individuals, except for scholarship purposes.
- Fund specific scientific, medical, or academic research.
- Sectarian activities of religious organization.
- For profit organizations.
Grant Process
- There are three grant cycles.
- Applications for multiple, smaller Community Support Grants must be submitted to Foundation by March 1st each year. The next deadline is March 1, 2025. You can apply online by clicking here.
- The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Grant (DEI) application must be submitted by July 1st each year. The next deadline is July 1, 2025. You can apply online by clicking here.
- The $10,000 Community "Impact" Grant submittal must be submitted by September 1st. The next deadline is September 1, 2025. You can apply online by clicking here .
- The Board reviews applications / requests and may request a presentation by the grant seeker.
- If a grant seeker wants to make a presentation, the Board president must approve.
- The Board uses the above criteria to assess the strength of the application. The Board reserves the right to approve requests based on availability of discretionary funds.
- An organization that is awarded a grant is asked to acknowledge the foundation’s support in any publicity or recognition, submit a picture if appropriate and provide a narrative report briefly describing the outcome of the grantee within 90 days of receipt of the grant. The Board responds to all applications within 90 days of the request.
For additional GRANT information contact:
Centerville-Washington Foundation
P. O. Box 41125
Centerville, Ohio 45441
Scott Colwell: scott.colwell@gmail.com (Grant Committee Chair)
