Scripps Howard Foundation opens application process for $100,000 literacy grant

CINCINNATI – The Scripps Howard Foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and WCPO 9 On Your Side are continuing their shared efforts to address the cycle of poverty through literacy. The organizations will again leverage resources to provide a $100,000 grant to a nonprofit that supports childhood literacy in underserved neighborhoods in Greater Cincinnati.

The grant will be awarded to a single nonprofit that brings books and other literacy resources to tri-state neighborhoods in need – whether through programs that keep kids supplied with books during the summer, supplement literacy outreach throughout the school year or equip toddlers with their first books.

This is the fourth year of the foundations’ partnership in awarding $100,000 to a nonprofit that supports family literacy in underserved neighborhoods in Greater Cincinnati. The 2019 recipient of the grant was the “Prescription for Reading” program through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, which teaches parents and other caregivers how to foster young children’s literacy skills and ensures that children receive books mailed to their homes.

Brighton Center received the $100,000 grant in 2018 to further its national Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters home visitation program, and Princeton City School District received the grant in 2017 for its year-round mobile book center, which brings books, tutoring and technologies to district neighborhoods.

The 2020 selected program must provide ongoing support and serve families living in poverty. Additional consideration will be given to organizations that partner with other organizations in the community to provide additional resources to children and their families, as well as organizations that demonstrate a racial equity strategy.

In order to be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:

•  Focus on literacy skills of children from birth through third grade, or a subset of that age range.
• Understand the needs of families living in poverty and ensure access to programming by bringing resources to the community or offering transportation solutions.
• Provide quantitative and qualitative measurement outcomes.
• Illustrate prior program success or how new programs are based on successful models.
• Demonstrate the ability to sustain the program at the end of the grant period.
• Must be a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status that serves children (birth through third grade) and their families living in poverty in Hamilton, Clermont, Butler or Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Kenton or Campbell counties in Kentucky; or Dearborn county in Indiana.
• The nonprofit may not be a grant-making agency.

Applicants may submit grant requests for programs over one-year or two-year periods.

Eligible nonprofits can submit their letter of intent for grant consideration on the Scripps Howard Foundation’s website. The deadline to submit is Jan. 24 at noon.

The foundations will review all submitted letters and on Feb. 4 will invite no more than 10 nonprofits to complete a full application. Those applications will be due by Feb. 21. On March 12, no more than three semi-finalists will be announced and must be available for site visits the week of March 19-20.

The winner will be announced during the 67th Annual Scripps Howard Awards show at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati on April 16.

About the Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Foundation supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and the communities it serves, with a special emphasis on excellence in journalism. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Foundation is a leader in supporting journalism education, scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development, literacy and First Amendment causes. The Scripps Howard Awards stand as one of the industry’s top honors for outstanding journalism. The Foundation improves lives and helps build thriving communities. It partners with Scripps brands to create awareness of local issues and supports impactful organizations to drive solutions.

About Greater Cincinnati Foundation

As the region’s leading community foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation 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.

Media contacts:

Rebecca Cochran, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3023, Rebecca.cochran@scripps.com
Jaclyn Sablosky, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, 513-768-6131, jaclyn.sablosky@gcfdn.org