Kentucky Science and Technology Grants

This grant provides funding to support a collaborative workforce development program aimed at equipping middle and high school students, particularly young men of color in Fayette County, Kentucky, with essential skills and experiences for high-wage career opportunities.

Main Street Ventures offers Launch Funding to emerging, pre-revenue businesses that have a prototype or product. This grant program aims to support the growth and scaling of businesses within the Greater Cincinnati region, aligning with the foundation's mission to foster economic development and innovation in the area. The funding is specifically designed to cover key direct costs associated with growth projects, rather than general operating expenses, reflecting a strategic priority to provide tangible support for business acceleration. The primary target beneficiaries are business entities (C-Corp, S-Corp, or LLC) with a Federal Tax ID (EIN) located in the Greater Cincinnati region, which includes specific counties in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Businesses must demonstrate customer demand and strong progression since their founding. The program focuses on specific growth projects that will accelerate business growth, with examples of suitable direct expenses including key equipment, packaging support, and technology product development. This targeted approach ensures that the grant funds directly contribute to measurable business expansion. Special consideration is given to women and minority-owned businesses, as well as businesses that can show matching funds from other sources. This reflects the foundation's strategic priorities to promote inclusivity and leverage additional investment, thereby maximizing the overall impact on the regional economy. The expected outcomes include the scaling of businesses, job creation, and increased economic vitality within the Greater Cincinnati region, with successful applicants demonstrating a clear impact of the grant funds on their business or the region. The Main Street Ventures' theory of change is rooted in providing early-stage, direct financial assistance to promising businesses to help them overcome critical growth hurdles. By focusing on direct costs and specific growth projects, the program aims to create a ripple effect, enabling these businesses to achieve significant milestones that would otherwise be out of reach. The emphasis on local businesses and underrepresented founders further amplifies the foundation's commitment to building a robust and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Greater Cincinnati area. The grant duration of three years allows for sustained support and monitoring of the businesses' progress.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions for initiatives that improve earthquake safety and awareness across multiple states or nationally.

This grant provides a $6,000 honorarium to a Kentucky writer selected as poet laureate, supporting their efforts to promote the literary arts in the state over a two-year term.

The Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) Fiscal Year 2025 Art Bank Program is a grant initiative designed to support local visual artists, District art galleries, and art nonprofit organizations by acquiring fine art. This ongoing annual acquisition program contributes to the Art Bank Collection, which began in 1986 and currently holds nearly 3,000 artworks. The mission of this program aligns with CAH's overall goal to foster artistic and cultural development within the District of Columbia and its metropolitan region. The acquired artwork is then loaned to District Government agencies for public display, thereby enhancing public spaces and offices within government buildings. The primary target beneficiaries of this program are qualified artists and District nonprofit art galleries or organizations representing metropolitan artists. The impact goals are multi-faceted: to grow the District's art collection to reflect the diverse artistic history and communities of the region, to provide support, exposure, and professional benefits for visual artists, and to enhance the aesthetic experience for District employees and visitors in government buildings. CAH seeks to achieve these goals through the acquisition of original two- and three-dimensional artwork, including ceramics, drawings, fabric arts, mixed media works, paintings, photographs, prints, and sculptures. The program's priorities and focuses are clearly defined. For individual artists, eligibility requires being aged 18 or older, a legal resident of Washington, DC, or within a 50-mile radius for at least one year, maintaining primary residency during the funding period (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025), having a permanent DC, MD, or VA address, and being in good standing with CAH. Nonprofit galleries and organizations must be 501(c)(3) incorporated, represent metropolitan artists, have a principal business office in DC, be registered to do business in the District, ensure at least 51% of activities occur in DC, have an active Board of Directors, obtain "Citywide Clean Hands" certification, and also be in good standing with CAH. Expected outcomes and measurable results include the expansion of the Art Bank Collection with diverse artworks, an increase in professional opportunities and visibility for local artists, and an improved aesthetic environment in District government buildings and public spaces. Award amounts vary, with individual applicants potentially receiving up to $15,000 and nonprofit art galleries or organizations up to $20,000, for a grant duration of one year. This structured funding approach, combined with stringent eligibility, is central to CAH's strategic priorities of enriching the District's cultural landscape and supporting its artistic community, operating under a theory of change that direct investment in art acquisition and artist support will yield significant cultural and public benefits.

This program provides funding to universities in eligible states to enhance their research capabilities in science and engineering that support the needs of the Department of Defense.

This grant provides financial support ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to small businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans in Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties in Northern Kentucky, helping them with various business improvement expenses.

The 501vc® Investment Fund is seeking to invest $200,000 to $300,000 in early-stage climate tech startups in the Greater Midwest region, focusing on sectors like advanced materials, renewable energy, and agriculture technologies.

CJI’s Leadership Circle is soliciting proposals from grassroots organizations led by formerly incarcerated and directly impacted individuals. The program aims to transform and reimagine the U.S. criminal legal system by building alternative community-based solutions and organizing to prevent the criminalization of marginalized identities and communities. This initiative directly aligns with CJI's mission to support meaningful, transformative, and systemic change within the criminal legal system, empowering future leaders who have often experienced incarceration themselves. The foundation's strategic priority is to support movement-building organizing that creates a new world, a "world they demand NOW." The target beneficiaries are formerly incarcerated individuals and directly impacted people, including primary family members, as well as marginalized groups within their communities (e.g., poor, houseless, young, elders, queer, trans, people with mental illness, people with disabilities). The program's impact goals include ending mass criminalization and incarceration, creating safe and healthy communities that do not rely on arrest and incarceration, and re-establishing rights and access for those formerly incarcerated or newly criminalized. The Leadership Circle's theory of change emphasizes shared authority among donors and community organizers, many of whom have lived experience with incarceration, to drive systemic change. The program prioritizes several key areas. This includes building alternatives to traditional carceral systems, investing in approaches that end mass criminalization, creating policies to reform and dismantle repressive legal systems, and uplifting the leadership and experience of those affected by the criminal legal system. Other focuses include re-establishing rights for formerly incarcerated individuals, promoting transformative and restorative justice, and supporting culturally appropriate healing programs connected to the criminal justice movement. CJI also has specific funding preferences for organizations led by formerly incarcerated individuals, groups operating in difficult political environments, those developing new leaders from marginalized backgrounds, and work addressing discrimination against incarcerated or detained people, particularly in the South, Indian country, and other rural areas. Expected outcomes and measurable results include the development of community-based interventions, changes in policies and institutions (like parole and probation), and a demonstrable commitment to systems change through organizing. The program seeks to empower new leaders, particularly from marginalized communities, and foster innovative collaborations among diverse organizations. While specific quantitative metrics are not provided in the description, the emphasis on "movement-building organizing" and "achieving systems change" suggests that the success will be measured by the demonstrable impact on criminal legal system reform and the empowerment of affected communities. CJI is particularly committed to supporting smaller, emerging organizations with budgets of $1 million or less, indicating a focus on grassroots impact and capacity building.

This grant provides financial support and mentorship to early-stage cleantech entrepreneurs in the Midwest who are developing innovative solutions to promote economic growth and environmental sustainability.

This funding initiative provides financial support to graduate students conducting herpetological research focused on the conservation and management of reptiles and amphibians in the southeastern United States.

This program provides funding to nonprofit organizations and schools in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods for improving local football fields, ensuring safe and accessible play spaces for community youth.

This funding opportunity supports projects that restore and enhance forests, wetlands, and aquatic habitats in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, benefiting wildlife and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

This funding opportunity supports nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions in the Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachians to restore ecosystems, improve habitats, and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

This scholarship provides financial support to high school seniors in the Greater Cincinnati area, helping them pursue higher education at accredited institutions while fostering community contributions.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to schools and organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area for summer programs that enrich children's learning and development through engaging activities.

This program provides financial support to individual Black, Indigenous, and People of Color artists in Greater Cincinnati to create and showcase projects that explore themes of truth and innovation related to social justice and equity in July 2025.

This funding opportunity supports educational programs and events for children aged birth to 18 in the Greater Cincinnati area, aimed at enhancing their academic success and social-emotional skills.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area to support programs focused on education, health, community development, and cultural enrichment.

This funding program provides equity-free grants to local entrepreneurs in the Greater Cincinnati Region, supporting early-stage and revenue-generating businesses in sectors like Retail, Manufacturing, and Tech, with a focus on innovation and community impact.