Granville Community Foundation awards over $100K to 22 local organizations in 2024

Special to Granville Sentinel
USA TODAY NETWORK
2024 GCF grant recipients, representing 22 different organizations, gathered at Otterbein Senior Living Center Nov.13 to accept $100,466 in awards.

The Granville Community Foundation (GCF) recently celebrated distributing a record-breaking total of $100,466 in grants to the Granville community in 2024. A total of 22 local projects, community events and initiatives received funding, including new and innovative programs as well as time-honored traditions and community favorites.

“This year we received an unprecedented $166,845 in requests, and as an organization we feel very proud that we were able to fund over 60% of those requests,” Cindy Buxton, GCF Vice President and chair of the grants committee, reported. “This year our team prioritized funding projects that build community here in Granville and projects that will touch the lives of as many citizens as possible.”

This year’s grants ranged from $350 to $15,000. Jill Young, Director of Operations for the Foundation, explained that grant applicants apply for funds in either the spring or fall cycle. Spring applicants are notified of their awards in May, while fall cycle applicants receive notification in November. “Both our 2024 spring and fall grant recipients joined together with GCF donors and board members at an awards celebration at Otterbein Senior Living Community last month,” Young said. “It was an inspirational night highlighting how much our community is capable of when we work together.”

Some of this year’s grants provide funds for traditions that define Granville’s special and unique character. These grants include funds for the Fourth of July Fireworks, the Granville Turkey Trot, Concerts on the Green, the Hotlicks Bluesfest, Vintage Voices traveling holiday music program and Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra’s chamber music concert series at the Robbins Hunter Museum. Additionally, funds were provided for programs that Granville citizens have come to love and rely on such as the Granville Public Library’s Power Up to Kindergarten program, Licking County Community Center for 60+ Adults summertime congregate meal and music program, The Reporting Project and Granville Meals on Wheels.

Director of Operations, Jill Young, congratulates Granville Public Library’s children’s librarians Betsy Wernert and Sara Teich on their grant for the Power Up to Kindergarten program.

Other 2024 grants will help maintain the places and services that make Granville a comfortable and desirable place to live. These grants include funds for the operation of the free Granville Green Line bus service, ADA-compliant resurfacing of the Granville Intermediate School playground, facility and public access improvements for the Granville Historical Society Museum and Welsh Hills School, and startup funds for the Granville Area Community Improvement Corporation, which will help guide economic development in Granville in the near future.

“In addition to the time-honored traditions our community knows and loves, GCF also prioritized new grants this year that seek to improve life in Granville and enhance citizen access to arts, culture, education and recreation,” Buxton explained. Those grants included the Granville Athletics Mental Performance Initiative which supports student athletes, coaches and families in the area of mental health; Camp Kesem, which serves Granville children who have a parent with cancer; Community Campus Compact’s poverty and homelessness awareness event, which brought the New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Land to Granville; Granville Historical Society’s women’s history educational and art programming; and the Ohio’s Indigenous Voices exhibit, which highlights the history and culture of local Native Americans with the Great Circle Alliance.

Finally, GCF also provides funds to Granville citizens experiencing financial hardships through the Carl Frazier Fund. The fund, which was named for one of the organization’s founders, provides financial support to neighbors in need through a partnership with the Licking County Coalition for Housing.

Young indicated that this year’s tremendous work is a steppingstone to bigger goals the Foundation has for the future. “It is our hope in 2025 that we can continue to fund more grants that positively impact the lives of the citizens of Granville as well as begin looking into funding larger projects that benefit the entire community,” she said. “Of course, those goals are contingent on the continued support of our generous donors who make our work possible.”

Granville Citizens interested in supporting the Foundation through a donation can do so online at www.granvillecommunityfoundation.org/donate. Spring 2025 grant applications are due Feb. 27. Potential applicants should consult the Foundation’s website at www.granvillecommunityfoundation.org/applications for more information.

Information submitted by the Granville Community Foundation.