Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Cincinnati Black Giving Circle Award $115,000 in Grants to Drive Racial Equity

CINCINNATI (March 10, 2021) – Greater Cincinnati Foundation, in partnership with the Cincinnati Black Giving Circle, a coalition of African Americans pooling their dollars to accelerate social change, awarded $115,000 to six Black-led or Black-serving nonprofits.

The 2021 award grantees are Found Village, Rosemary’s Babies, The D.A.D Initiative, Cincinnati Preschool Promise, Ohio Justice Policy Center (OJPC) and Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME).

The Cincinnati Black Giving Circle, which awarded its first grants in 2020, allows donors with shared cultural roots to direct their giving more purposefully.

Through lived experiences, cultural connections and proximity to the local African American community, the Cincinnati Black Giving Circle is intensifying the collective influence of its donors.

In September, African Americans began contributing to the 2021 Cincinnati Black Giving Circle Fund, housed at Greater Cincinnati Foundation. The steering committee, led by Beverly Grant, raised $115,000 – a 15 percent increase from the inaugural year.

The 2021 Cincinnati Black Giving Circle Awardees are as follows:

• Found Village, a welcoming place that connects teens who have faced traumas to audacious and intentional resources, received a $25,000 grant to support staff who coordinates volunteers as well as coach and mentor youth.
• Rosemary’s Babies, a safe space that provides educational and financial support for pre-teen and teen parents and their families, received a $20,000 grant to support staff salaries and operational overhead.
• The D.A.D. Initiative, which readies children of color for a successful future by teaching essential skills not traditionally offered in schools, received a $20,000 grant to support staff contracts.
• Cincinnati Preschool Promise, which works to ensure equitable access to high-quality preschools and better prepared for future schooling, received a $20,000 grant to provide business services to the owners of mostly Black-owned, in-home childcare providers.
• Ohio Justice Policy Center (OJPC), a nonprofit law firm that relentlessly advocates for fair and equal justice by offering free legal services, received a $15,000 grant to provide legal services for single mothers pursuing their secondary education.
• Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), which advocates and enforces housing regulations, received a $15,000 grant to provide families with legal support to maintain stable and healthy housing amidst heightened economic instability.

For more information about the Cincinnati Black Giving Circle and grant award opportunities, contact Robert Killins at robert.killins@gcfdn.org.

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About the Cincinnati Black Giving Circle

Black philanthropy in Cincinnati is real but goes unnoticed as mainstream narratives tend to paint philanthropists as wealthy whites. Almost $10 million black philanthropic dollars in Cincinnati are held at foundations and other charitable institutions as assets under management.

Launched on the heels of the 2018 Giving Black Report, the Cincinnati Black Giving Circle provides strategic, sometimes niche, support for organizations routinely neglected by traditional philanthropy.

About Greater Cincinnati Foundation

As the region’s leading community foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) connects people with purpose in an eight-county region in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. GCF is leading the charge toward a more vibrant Greater Cincinnati for everyone — now, and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.gcfdn.org