The new Cincinnati Human Services Fund (HSF) grant cycle is now open. Organizations providing services to residents of the City of Cincinnati are invited to submit proposals seeking financial support. The request for proposal (RFP) is available to download below. The process opened in e-CImpact on Feb. 14, 2025.
Since 1981, Cincinnati City Council has allocated a portion of the General Fund to support human services programs and initiatives that are important to the City’s health and vitality. The intent of the HSF is to leverage, develop and scale proven strategies to accelerate progress toward community goals.
With this current 2026 funding cycle, Council aims to impact specific City-wide issues with the HSF. In this partnership with local organizations, the City can use data and analytics to address these insights to better understand and solve for disparities as they relate to the City’s funding of Human Services, and the delivery of those services, to implement effective programs and generate better outcomes for residents.
Through all of these priority initiatives, the City seeks to partner with local organizations to collaboratively use their data to better understand the problems facing Cincinnati residents.
By introducing specific, measurable priorities and leveraging City leadership and departmental resources, we can build a stronger and healthier City, together.
The Service Categories include the following:
The Impact Award is an innovative funding opportunity that represents 10% of the City of Cincinnati’s Human Services funding budget. Administered by United Way of Greater Cincinnati on behalf of the City, this award supports one large-scale social innovation project featuring multiple partners with a diverse array of strategies. This competitive opportunity seeks transformative collaborations that demonstrate innovative approaches to addressing community needs.
For fiscal year 2026, the exact award amount will be determined following City Council’s budget approval in June 2025. For reference, the fiscal year 2025 Human Services funding budget was $8.5 million.
United Way will contract directly with the lead agency, which will then issue subcontracts to partner organizations. The lead agency must submit the application and include a letter of intent from each of the partner organizations. All funding must benefit Cincinnati residents exclusively.
The fiscal year 2026 Impact Award is for: Food insecurity as a part of the broader gun violence prevention strategies. This award provides an opportunity to pursue an innovative, collaborative, bold strategy to address food insecurity as part of the City’s overall gun violence prevention strategy that will promote thriving neighborhoods and improve physical and mental health for families.
If you’re a nonprofit seeking funding, visit uwgc.org/grants for a full listing of available applications.
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