The City of Columbus is launching Elevate! 2.0, its second $5 million general revenue grant opportunity for health and human services nonprofits to strengthen their organizational capacity, stabilize their organizations, and further their work. 

Eligibility: Please note that any agency which received Elevate! 1.0 funds is not eligible to apply for this grant. 

Description of Grant Opportunity: 

The City of Columbus, Department of Development is pleased to announce the availability of $5 million in general revenue grant funding. Elevate! 2.0 is intended to connect 501(c)(3) nonprofit, human service organizations with resources to strengthen their organizational capacity, stabilize their organizations, and further their work. Elevate! 2.0 closely aligns with Mayor Andrew J. Ginther’s Opportunity Rising initiative which names 21 aspirations that the Mayor has for every Columbus resident. 

Elevate! 2.0 will focus on nine of the twenty-one Opportunity Rising aspirations: 

• Homelessness, 
• Housing stability, 
• Financial security, 
• Workforce development, 
• Infant vitality, 
• Chronic disease prevention, 
• Violence elimination, 
• Re-entry, and 
• Neighborhood building.

The City has partnered with the United Way of Central Ohio (UWCO) to provide an online proposal submission process. All documents must be submitted through UWCO’s, e-CImpact. The application, which can be viewed in its entirety here, can be completed here. (Sign-in required.) 

Important Dates

• The application will be available from October 17, 2022 to November 4, 2022.
• The deadline for Elevate! 2.0 proposal submission is November 4, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. Only one (1) proposal per organization will be accepted. Late submissions will not be accepted. 
• Elevate! 2.0 will provide funding from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023 with the possibility of two (2) additional years.

Informational Webinar

HSC co-hosted an informational webinar about Elevate! 2.0 on October 19th, 2022. It can be watched in its entirety here:

Questions & Answers from The City of Columbus

• Is the Elevate 2.0 funded from a federal source? No. Unlike Elevate!, Elevate ! 2.0 is funded through the City of Columbus’ General Fund.
• Are some applications more competitive than others? For example, HR, Tech, Finance or Legal? No. We want Elevate! funding to be used by the applicant organization in the ways they deem most helpful. We are most interested in the work your organization is currently doing in one of the 9 focus areas: homelessness, housing stability, financial security, workforce development, infant vitality, chronic disease prevention, violence elimination, re-entry, and neighborhood building.
• Is it OK to target services to low-income clients? We are not supporting services or programs. Rather, we are supporting the organization. As long as your organization does not discriminate in service provision, targeting services to low-income clients is not a problem.
• How is 2022 budget defined? Your budget should contain information about revenue and expenses. You may submit your agency budget in its current format.
• Is it OK if your 501(c) (3) is pending approval? Your organization must be recognized as a 501(c)(3) by the IRS by the time we enter into contract.
• When are decisions on funding made and communicated? All applicants will be notified of their application status by the end of December.
• Does the program year align with the calendar year? The agreement will likely begin with the Purchase Order date and end in one year.
• Which focus area would Behavioral Health fall under? Chronic Disease Prevention.
• How long does it take to get a DUNS number? We are not using DUNS numbers. We are asking organizations register to do business with the government on SAM.gov. and receive a Unique Entity ID.
• Is the City prioritizing any focus areas? No. The application must align with one of the 9 identified rays from Opportunity Rising.
• Is there a possibility for Elevate 3.0 to include more rays from Opportunity Rising? We do not have any information about future funding opportunities at this time.
• Can we touch 2-3 focus areas in our application? No. Please focus on one (1) area.
• Can funds be used to pay stipends for youth attending programs? That will depend on how your organization proposes to pay for stipends. We may ask you to use City funding in a different line item.
• Is the Health and Well-Being pillar only for Chronic Disease Prevention? The Opportunity Rising webpage shows Behavioral Health and Trauma as a ray. You must choose from one of the 9 identified aspirational rays/focus areas identified in the Elevate 2.0 application: homelessness, housing stability, financial security, workforce development, infant vitality, chronic disease prevention, violence elimination, re-entry, and neighborhood building.

More Questions?

For questions related to Elevate! 2.0, please contact Dayna McCrary at 614.645.0663 or DRMcCrary@Columbus.gov.