An $850,000 grant to address food insecurity and gun violence is part of the recommendations for grants to outside organizations in Cincinnati's next city budget.
"This is one of our proudest parts of our budget, I believe," said Council member Meeka Owens. "This is the city's commitment to nonprofit organizations who are doing amazing work."
The city budget has two mechanisms for funding third-party organizations: the Human Services Fund (administered by the United Way), and "leveraged support" funding. Owens has led efforts to update both processes over the past few years.
The city manager has recommended funding for leveraged support, with some additions recommended by Mayor Aftab Pureval.
Human Services Fund
The Human Services Fund equals about 1.5% of the city’s General Fund. For fiscal year 2026, that’s $8,550,700.
The Human Services Fund is administered by the United Way. Organizations submit an application for a specific project or program that fits within priority categories set forth by City Council:
- Youth gun violence prevention and reduction: 26%
- Comprehensive workforce development: 26%
- Supporting, securing, and stabilizing housing for high-risk populations: 26%
- Project LIFT: 10%
- Impact Award: 10%
- Overhead: 2%
Grants are awarded every two years as part of the city’s biennial budget process. The Human Services Advisory Committee, or HSAC, reviews all applications and decides which ones to fund; their recommendations go to Council for a final vote.
For this cycle, HSAC recommends funding 73 programs at 68 organizations. You can see the full list of recommendations for each service category in the presentation slides below (article continues after):
Impact award
This is the second biennial budget with the relatively new Impact Award, intended to focus a large amount of money on a project that aims to make systemic changes. The first award was focused on preventing homelessness.
The Impact Award recommendation for this budget cycle is addressing food insecurity in neighborhoods most affected by gun violence. The grant would be awarded to Cincinnati Children's Hospital as the lead agency, collaborating with at least 13 partner agencies.
The project involves establishing a network of eight neighborhood resource hubs with urban farms. The focus is serving firearm injury survivors, youth involved in the criminal justice system, and public school students.
"The project aims to drive citywide policy advocacy, narrative change through media storytelling, and structural improvements like transit accessibility to create lasting systemic transformation," said Lauren Merten, chair of the Human Services Advisory Committee.
What happens next
City Council currently is deliberating changes to the budget draft proposed by City Manager Sheryl Long (plus Mayor Aftab Pureval's suggestions).
A final public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Budget and Finance Chair Jeff Cramerding says he expects to finalize the budget by June 18, ahead of the final deadline of June 30. Fiscal year 2026 begins July 1.
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