Grant Guidelines & Procedures

STANDARD GRANT - $5,001 AND ABOVE

Who May Apply: All non-profit organizations within Ashtabula County that have been granted 501(c)(3) tax status from the Internal Revenue Service are eligible to apply for a grant from the Ashtabula Foundation.  All grant funds received from the Ashtabula Foundation must be used for the benefit of Ashtabula County citizens.

 

A Letter of Intent is required prior to completing a grant application.  The Letter of Intent is filed through the grant portal on the Ashtabula Foundation’s website and shall include the following information.

 

• A brief description of the reason for the request;

• The dollar amount of the request;

• A list of other sources of funding, if applicable;              

• Rate the project with respect to its priority to the organization from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest priority;

• Indicate if this project is something that must be done immediately or if it may be postponed;

• Indicate or estimate how many people will be affected by this grant funding;

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 Please refer to our current year Grant Schedule for submission deadlines.

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 Grant applications are divided into seven (7) categories. Please refer to our current year Grant Schedule on our website for a list of categories. Applications from each category will be reviewed once per year.

An organization can submit only one application per year with the exception of grants under the categories of Youth Enrichment and Youth Philanthropy grants.  Applications are limited to one project or program.  Multiple projects will not be considered. However, the Ashtabula Foundation reserves the right to accept a deserving grant outside of the prescribed schedule or category provided prior approval is obtained by the grantee.

 

 While grants may be considered for the start-up of new endeavors, grants for ongoing operating funds will be considered based on extenuating circumstances.  Decisions of the Ashtabula Foundation Board of Directors are final and not appealable.

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To submit a grant application: Click the button below to enter the grant portal. You will be required to create an account with a User ID and Password.  After completing the required information, the application will be submitted electronically.

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GRANTS $5,000 OR LESS

The Foundation accepts requests for grants within all seven (7) grant categories (other than Youth Enrichment) in the amount of $5,000 or less from January 1st through November 15th.  The requests are reviewed by a committee, and a decision is rendered in a timely manner.  A letter of intent is not required for these grants; only an application is necessary.  

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GRANTS UP TO $3,000 FOR YOUTH ENRICHMENT

The Foundation accepts requests for Youth Enrichment up to the amount of $3,000 from January 1st through November 15th.  The requests are reviewed by a committee, and a decision is rendered in a timely manner.  A letter of intent is not required for these grants; only an application is necessary.

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Purpose & Eligibility for a Youth Enrichment Grant:  To support and guide youth (ages 6-18) with ongoing initiatives and programs that inspire personal development, leadership, and educational interests, explore occupational career paths, and the well-being, improvement, and enhancement of our youth living in Ashtabula County. Grants may be for the benefit of individual youths (grant amounts not to exceed $500 per youth) or for groups (grants amounts of $100 - $3,000), that may include but are not limited to 4-H, camps, special school projects, and general registration/entry fees for extracurricular events. Grants are made with the purpose of offering youths in Ashtabula County real-life experiences that improve or enhance their individual skills and talents.

 

Grants under the Youth Enrichment Grant category are not made for purposes of educational scholarships.

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 Note: Grants approved under the category of Youth Enrichment are not subject to the one grant per year/per organization rule, as noted above. Organizations approved for a grant for Youth Enrichment purposes may, within the same calendar year, submit another grant request to the Ashtabula Foundation under another category in addition to grant opportunities through our Youth Philanthropy program.   

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 PROCEDURES FOR ALL GRANTS:

GRANT APPROVAL:

When a grant is awarded, the organization is assigned a Grant Agreement and will receive an email with directions on submitting the Agreement. Upon acceptance of the grant, the organization is assigned a grant completion form, which is due at the conclusion of the organization’s grant program/ project or within the one-year timeframe as described below. Assigned forms are accessed through the online grant portal.  

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RECEIVING GRANT FUNDS:

Grant funds are issued in a timely manner after submission of the Grant Agreement. Grant funds expire one year from the date the Grant is awarded. If there are contingencies attached to the funding of a Grant, an organization has one year from the date of acceptance of the Grant to satisfy such contingencies in order to receive and use the grant funds. 

   

Grant Categories: Human Services, Arts, Culture, Historical, Education, Recreation, Conservation, Community Development, Religion, and Youth Enrichment. 

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The category should be selected based on the purpose of the organization and not the program or project.  
 

How to Apply:

By clicking the link below, you will be directed to the online grant portal.  It is recommended that you use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome to access the program.  “Bookmark” the login page for easier access in the future. Please note that grant applications and letters of intent are not accepted via U.S. Mail or Email. Please refer to our online grant portal.

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New applicants are required to register by clicking “Create New Account” on the login page. A preview of the application is available for you to view the requirements within the application.

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Returning applicants log on to the system using your e-mail address and Password.  Please do not create a second, new user account.  There is a prompt to assist if you need a password reminder.

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If you have any questions during the process, please contact the Associate Director, Kelley Katon with questions at (440) 992-6818 or ashtabulafdn@gmail.com.