Kentucky Private Grants

This program provides financial support to rural nonprofit and governmental organizations in select Southern states for presenting touring artists across various disciplines, including film, performing arts, and visual arts.

CJI’s Leadership Circle is soliciting proposals from grassroots organizations led by formerly incarcerated and directly impacted individuals. The program aims to transform and reimagine the U.S. criminal legal system by building alternative community-based solutions and organizing to prevent the criminalization of marginalized identities and communities. This initiative directly aligns with CJI's mission to support meaningful, transformative, and systemic change within the criminal legal system, empowering future leaders who have often experienced incarceration themselves. The foundation's strategic priority is to support movement-building organizing that creates a new world, a "world they demand NOW." The target beneficiaries are formerly incarcerated individuals and directly impacted people, including primary family members, as well as marginalized groups within their communities (e.g., poor, houseless, young, elders, queer, trans, people with mental illness, people with disabilities). The program's impact goals include ending mass criminalization and incarceration, creating safe and healthy communities that do not rely on arrest and incarceration, and re-establishing rights and access for those formerly incarcerated or newly criminalized. The Leadership Circle's theory of change emphasizes shared authority among donors and community organizers, many of whom have lived experience with incarceration, to drive systemic change. The program prioritizes several key areas. This includes building alternatives to traditional carceral systems, investing in approaches that end mass criminalization, creating policies to reform and dismantle repressive legal systems, and uplifting the leadership and experience of those affected by the criminal legal system. Other focuses include re-establishing rights for formerly incarcerated individuals, promoting transformative and restorative justice, and supporting culturally appropriate healing programs connected to the criminal justice movement. CJI also has specific funding preferences for organizations led by formerly incarcerated individuals, groups operating in difficult political environments, those developing new leaders from marginalized backgrounds, and work addressing discrimination against incarcerated or detained people, particularly in the South, Indian country, and other rural areas. Expected outcomes and measurable results include the development of community-based interventions, changes in policies and institutions (like parole and probation), and a demonstrable commitment to systems change through organizing. The program seeks to empower new leaders, particularly from marginalized communities, and foster innovative collaborations among diverse organizations. While specific quantitative metrics are not provided in the description, the emphasis on "movement-building organizing" and "achieving systems change" suggests that the success will be measured by the demonstrable impact on criminal legal system reform and the empowerment of affected communities. CJI is particularly committed to supporting smaller, emerging organizations with budgets of $1 million or less, indicating a focus on grassroots impact and capacity building.

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) offers the Environmental Sustainability Grant Program to support and enhance the environmental sustainability of the Greater Cincinnati region. This aligns with GCF's mission to increase accessibility and quality of greenspaces, conservation, horticulture, and nature education, with a strong emphasis on inclusivity for historically marginalized groups. The program aims to address environmental disparities and promote equitable access to nature's benefits. The primary beneficiaries of this program are organizations whose efforts are based in the Greater Cincinnati region, specifically within the counties of Hamilton, Butler, Warren, and Clermont in Ohio; Boone, Kenton, and Campbell in Kentucky; and Dearborn in Indiana. The program targets historically marginalized groups by prioritizing requests that connect them to the benefits of nature, including fresh food access and nature education, particularly for children and youth. The overarching impact goal is to foster a more environmentally sustainable and equitable region. The program prioritizes proposals that develop solutions with a racial equity lens, recognizing that environmental issues often disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Key focus areas include beautifying, creating, conserving, and restoring greenspaces, with a preference for those benefiting historically marginalized groups. Additionally, the program seeks to connect these groups to nature's benefits through various initiatives, such as increased fresh food access and nature education programming. Collaboration between well-aligned organizations is highly favored, as is an asset-based approach to the work. Expected outcomes include expanded or strengthened existing programs, successful capital improvements, the launch of new initiatives, and enhanced organizational capacity among grantee organizations. Proposals are expected to articulate clear and measurable outcomes, demonstrating how their efforts will contribute to the program's goals. While specific measurable results are not explicitly detailed beyond the general intent to increase accessibility and quality of greenspaces and nature education, the emphasis on "clear and measurable outcomes" suggests a commitment to tracking the tangible impact of funded projects. The foundation's strategic priorities are evident in its preference for organizations demonstrating partnerships, community alignment, insights from past results, and an asset-based approach, all contributing to a theory of change that values collaborative, data-informed, and community-centric environmental solutions with a strong equity focus.

This grant provides financial support and mentorship to early-stage cleantech entrepreneurs in the Midwest who are developing innovative solutions to promote economic growth and environmental sustainability.

This funding initiative provides financial support to graduate students conducting herpetological research focused on the conservation and management of reptiles and amphibians in the southeastern United States.

This program provides financial support to individual craft, folk, and traditional artists across the U.S. to purchase essential tools and equipment that enhance their artistic practices.

This funding opportunity supports nonprofit organizations, local governments, and public schools in selected states to implement sustainability initiatives, workforce development, and community resilience programs that enhance the quality of life and economic vitality in their communities.

This grant provides financial support and professional development opportunities to exceptional scriptwriters residing in the Southern United States, celebrating their contributions to the region's cultural landscape.

This mini-grant program provides financial support to local nonprofits, churches, schools, and government organizations within 25 miles of Parsons, Kansas, to implement community-enhancing projects.

This program provides funding to K-12 teachers and administrators in specific Kentucky and Indiana counties to enhance classroom instruction through arts-integrated programming.

This program provides funding to nonprofit organizations and schools in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods for improving local football fields, ensuring safe and accessible play spaces for community youth.

This grant provides financial support to nonprofit arts organizations in the Cincinnati-Middletown area to create or enhance programs that engage young professionals and foster community involvement through the arts.

This grant provides financial support to nonprofit organizations focused on educational initiatives in communities where Donaldson Company operates, helping to enhance access to education and address local educational needs.

This scholarship provides financial assistance to high-achieving graduating high school seniors from specific counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky who plan to pursue higher education.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations in Lexington, Kentucky, that are working to improve housing access and prevent homelessness in the community.

This funding opportunity supports collaborative projects between arts organizations and non-arts entities in the Southern U.S. to creatively address health and wellness challenges in their communities.

This funding opportunity supports nonprofits, government agencies, and educational institutions in the southeastern U.S. to improve aquatic habitats and water quality, particularly for endangered species and key river basins.

This funding opportunity supports projects that restore and enhance forests, wetlands, and aquatic habitats in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, benefiting wildlife and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

This grant provides financial support to Southern writers and independent publishers for literary projects that celebrate the region's unique traditions and voices.

This funding opportunity supports nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions in the Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachians to restore ecosystems, improve habitats, and promote sustainable agricultural practices.