Support for Neighbors Grants

2025:

This program year, Leadership UA was introduced to our UA nonprofits about their work, prioirities, and reach. As informed and educated grantmakers, the class reviewed numerous community grant requests for funding.

2025: $3,150 Cultivating Belonging for LGBTQ+ Youth Fall 2025 training series

In collaboration with Kaleidescope Youth Center, this training provided community members with an opportunity to connect and network with one another, learn how to promote belonging for LGBTQ+ youth, and engage in service.

2025: The Bob Crane Community Center opens its doors

In partnership with the City of Upper Arlington, $8.1 million in private support helped deliver a transformational center for health, recreation, and community connection, marking a milestone for generations to come.

2024: $3,000, Foundation Grant

Equal UA aims to embrace diversity, advocate for equity, and nurture a community where everyone can belong. A Foundation grant was given as seed funding for the Equal UA initiative “Kindness Close to Home: UA Porch Parties.” The goals of the program are to help more people in the Upper Arlington community feel that they belong by encouraging, supporting, and celebrating small neighborhood gatherings. Kindness Close to Home: UA Porch Parties was implemented in collaboration with The Columbus Foundation’s Center for HumanKINDNESS in Summer 2024.

2024: Leadership UA welcomed into the Foundation

The mission expanded to include community leadership development, strengthening civic engagement, and the pipeline of philanthropy.

2024: $1,000, Foundation Grant

Northwest Kiwanis is an organization of volunteers dedicated to improving their community, and it is one of 8,000 Kiwanis clubs worldwide. A Foundation grant was awarded to support the Northwest Kiwanis’ establishment of a Tri-Village Aktion Club. The Aktion Club provides opportunities for adults with disabilities to take an active role in improving their community.

2024: Neighborhood connection initiatives seeded across Upper Arlington

Support included Neighbors Night Out, UAPD National Night Out, and Equal UA’s Porch Parties, strengthening community bonds block by block.

2024: Quinn Buttermore, UAHS #11, The Ohio State University
2023: Ceylone Brooks, UAHS #2, DME Academy
2022: Alyssa Gest, UAHS #21, Kenyon College

Sue Knell was a life-long UA resident. A UAHS graduate, she later played collegiate basketball at Colorado Women’s College, an all-women's college now associated with Denver University. Her legacy is remembered in celebration of one annual UAHS Girls Basketball Senior.

2023: Grant by Good Neighbor Fund and Overmyer Hall Associates Fund

The Tri-Village Packers, comprising of volunteer community members, pack and distribute food during Thanksgiving and Spring Breaks to Upper Arlington and Grandview Schools children that receive free or reduced school lunch. The project is led by local service groups, including the Tri-Village Lions Club, Northwest Kiwanis Club, the City of Upper Arlington, the City of Grandview, Upper Arlington Schools, and Grandview Schools. A grant by the Good Neighbor Fund and the Overmyer Hall Associates Fund supplied food distributed to students during Thanksgiving Break 2023 and Spring Break 2024. To support this initiative, donations can be made to the Tri-Village Packers Fund through the Foundation.

2023: $10,000, Foundation Grant

The Upper Arlington Civic Association is a non-profit organization focused on creating authentic community events for the residents of Upper Arlington. A Foundation grant was awarded as seed funding for the Upper Arlington Civic Association’s inaugural Neighbors Night Out event, held on September 30, 2023. The event encouraged interaction among previously unfamiliar neighbors and offered a special welcome to new residents.

2023: Grant by Good Neighbor Fund and George F. Renkert Fund

A grant by the Good Neighbor Fund and the George F. Renkert Fund supplied a car to an Upper Arlington family displaced from their home in Maui. The car provided stability for the family as they rebuilt their lives in Upper Arlington.

2023: $5,000, Foundation Grant

Foundation funds supported a collaboration between the Tri-Village Chamber Partnership and Rainbow UA to provide cultural competency training about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) for UA businesses who aim to serve the community as inclusive and supportive local organizations. The Tri-Village Chamber Partnership helps small businesses in the Tri-Village area develop, grow, and succeed. Rainbow UA creates community, provides support, and shares resources for LGBTQ+ families and individuals in Upper Arlington.

2023: $500, Foundation Grant

Tri-Village Lions Club members partnered with local UA school-aged children to prepare 200 Easter baskets for the Central Ohio Community. Supplies were provided by a Foundation grant, and the baskets were gifted to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio, Jordan’s Crossing Resource Center, and the YMCA Family Center. The Tri-Village Lions Club is a local service organization dedicated to improving access to quality education, youth development, and more.

2023: Grant by Fitzpatrick Family Fund

The Fitzpatrick Family believes sports should be accessible to all who wish to participate. In this spirit, the Fitzpatrick Family Fund granted scholarship support for the Upper Arlington Ice Hockey Association, ensuring local UA athletes have an equal opportunity to play.

2023:

Led by UAHS students, Fostering a Conversation launched as a speaker series in collaboration with UA Schools, UA Education Foundation + Alumni Association, and the UA Community Foundation. Dr. Laurie Santos, an internationally known authority on happiness, shared research-backed tips for students and community alike.

2023:

Foundation seed funding launched the Tri-Village Packers Fund to ensure no student goes hungry. Community support provides meals to local students over school breaks. This community-wide initiative is led by the Tri-Village Lions and Northwest Kiwanis, in collaboration with the City of Upper Arlington, City of Grandview Heights, UA and Grandview Heights Schools, and numerous community volunteers.

2022-2023:

A community-wide effort secured $8.1M in private support to bring the Bob Crane Community Center to life.

2022: Grant by UA Fund for Veterans

When the sister of a fallen Veteran inherited her nephews, her family quickly doubled overnight. A grant from the UA Fund for Veterans helped this family in mourning thrive with financial assistance for a downpayment for a new vehicle, accommodating the entire blended family.

2017: The Good Neighbor Fund established, now providing $200,000+ in emergency support

This fund supports our Upper Arlington residents with emergency financial assistance for housing, food, living expenses, internet access, and mobility needs.

2007: A permanent home for philanthropy in Upper Arlington was established

Born from community dollars originally intended for a community center, the Foundation launched as a nonprofit to connect the community around big ideas and to ensure Upper Arlington always has the resources to respond to its greatest needs and opportunities.