Charles D. Berry Foundation Grant Program

The Charles D. Berry Foundation is a private philanthropic organization focused on enhancing the quality of life for residents within the Greater Dayton Region. With a commitment to community well-being and growth, the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that align with its mission to enrich arts, education, health, and human services. The Foundation collaborates with partner organizations to ensure meaningful impact across its focus areas and encourages strategic initiatives that serve vulnerable and underserved populations in the Dayton area. The Foundation provides financial support through several types of grant requests, including program or project funding, operating support, and capital campaign contributions. Notably, multi-year grants are considered exclusively for capital campaigns. Applicants are required to submit a final report for any active grant within four weeks of program completion before they may apply again, ensuring proper accountability and project closure. Funding is not available to individuals, for-profit entities, school districts, or religious institutions, and grants are limited to organizations that have 501(c)(3) public charity status and are not classified as private foundations. Funding requests must align with the Foundation’s defined focus areas: Arts (including performing, visual, and educational programming), Community Enrichment (such as public broadcasting, museums, parks, and recreation), Education (spanning early childhood through post-secondary and community-based initiatives), and Health & Human Services (including programs for individuals with disabilities, food insecurity, improved health outcomes, animal welfare, and poverty reduction). Applications that fall outside these focus areas may be considered ineligible, and applicants uncertain of their fit are encouraged to contact the Foundation directly for guidance. The application process requires applicants to create an account and submit their materials through the Foundation’s online grant portal. The Foundation holds two grant submission cycles annually, with deadlines on March 17, 2026, and August 18, 2026. All application materials must be submitted online before the posted deadline. No pre-application components such as letters of intent or concept papers are required as gating criteria. Each organization is permitted to submit one grant application within a twelve-month period. Evaluation of applications is based on alignment with focus areas, project feasibility, community impact, and organizational capacity. The Foundation does not publicly disclose scoring rubrics or detailed selection criteria, but encourages applicants to ensure clarity, accountability, and measurable impact in their proposals. The Foundation does not support requests related to political causes or campaigns, sponsorships, sports organizations, or general mass funding appeals. Contact information for inquiries is available via email at [email protected]. The Foundation's office is located at 3055 Kettering Boulevard, Suite 416, Dayton, OH 45439. Although a specific award notification timeline is not provided, applicants should anticipate follow-up communication post-deadline. The Foundation operates with a recurring grant cycle, enabling future opportunities for eligible organizations whose applications may not be successful in the current round.