Before You Apply

Types of Funding

An organization may submit no more than one application to the Foundation in a single calendar year. Ordinarily, the Foundation will not award multi-year grants.

Funds are most often distributed to organizations, programs and projects that foster the needs of the community and are defined within the Foundation’s five main areas of giving: Education, Arts & Arts Education, Health & Social Services, Civic Enhancement and Nonprofit Enhancement. Each of these areas are detailed on our Grants awarded pages.

Other types of support not generally available from the Foundation include:

  • Support for medical research (see below for updated Guidelines for Health Care Systems)
  • Funding for computer hardware and software and related equipment in schools 
  • Capital funding for churches or synagogues unless it is for the renovation or improvement of a building that is a cultural monument or the site of social welfare programs critical to the well-being of the surrounding community

The GAR Foundation adopted the following guidelines May 19, 2008 with respect to grant requests from Summit County health care systems:

The GAR Foundation is committed to the advancement of key Health and Social Service strategies, including the providing of health care to low-income people in effective ways and the support of programs and initiatives enabling low-income senior citizens to live independently in their homes. The Foundation understands that local health systems can serve as highly effective, credible partners in advancing these strategies.

The Foundation will consider grant requests from local health systems for programs that are designed to advance the Foundation’s strategic priorities. Proposals featuring collaboration across two or more health systems and/or cost efficiencies will be given preference. The Foundation will not generally favor requests from individual health systems for medical research, technology or equipment, other capital projects, or general operations. Health systems must use the same Letter of Inquiry screening process used by all prospective Foundation grantees.