Columbus secures funding for second cohort of Getting Grant Ready Academy after first cohort wins nearly $579,000 in grants

Council member Nancy Day, chair of the Neighborhoods, Recreation and Parks Committee, reported results from the first Getting Grant Ready Academy and announced that the city had funded a second cohort through the 2025 operating budget at a public hearing Thursday.

The nine-month program, created with private consultants and the Franklin County Human Service Chamber, targets small, community-rooted nonprofits in health and human services and youth programming and aims to teach grant-seeking, organizational strategy and data practices. "Small scrappy nonprofits, you are the safety net of our communities," Council member Nancy Day said in opening remarks.

Why it matters: Council member Day said the academy helps smaller grassroots nonprofits compete for structured funding by translating lived experience into fundable proposals. Organizers and participants told the committee the program produced measurable fundraising outcomes and increased organizational capacity, and the city has committed…