Woodruff Foundation Grant

The Woodruff Foundation Grant supports nonprofit organizations in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, focusing on behavioral health through treatment, education, resource coordination, research, and advocacy. Grants are typically awarded annually, encouraging collaboration among organizations. Key eligibility requirements include being a tax-exempt entity under IRS 501(c)(3) and having a relevant focus area. The Foundation prioritizes initiatives that enhance access to mental health care and strengthen the local behavioral health workforce.

The Woodruff Foundation welcomes grant requests from tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, whose work addresses behavioral health through the following focus areas:

• treatmenteducation and preventioncoordination of resources in the communityresearchadvocacy

Grants will generally be awarded on a one-year basis. The Woodruff Foundation’s general policy is to make only one grant per year directly to an organization. The Foundation does, however, encourage collaboration and partnership among its grantees. The Foundation will consider joint requests from partner agencies, even if one of the partner agencies has already received a grant individually or plans to submit a separate request.
Definitions
Treatment –Interventions to address mild, moderate, and severe mental illness and addiction. Includes medication management, therapy, counseling, case management, vocational supports, housing, peer support, and recreation.
Education – Efforts to train new behavioral health workers and provide professional development to those working in the field. Also, efforts to instill knowledge about mental health and mental illness and drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general public or in specific at-risk groups.
Prevention – Programs to prevent risky behaviors, to enhance strengths, or to develop competencies that can help to impede further development of mental illness and/or addiction.
Coordination of Resources – The process through which providers or systems are brought into partnership in order to improve access and/or quality of care.
Research – Systematic investigation of questions related to any aspect of mental health, mental illness, or addiction.
Collaboration – Work conducted jointly by two or more organizations or stakeholders. Examples of collaboration might include joint program development, shared staffing, programs to establish shared purchasing, one organization training another to deliver certain interventions, mergers, or consolidations.
Advocacy – Initiatives designed to impact the development of policies that promote and/or increase access to behavioral health care for residents of Cuyahoga County. This can include general advocacy work, research intended to educate policy makers or for a specific advocacy project. The Foundation cannot grant funds specifically for lobbying. The Woodruff Foundation is willing to consider proposals from organizations without a presence in Cuyahoga County for this priority ONLY, provided the applicant can clearly demonstrate how the proposed project would impact the residents of Cuyahoga County. Advocacy initiatives aimed at increasing and strengthening the behavioral health workforce are of particular interest. Partnership with a local organization or Woodruff Foundation grantee is strongly encouraged.

Eligibility

The Foundation will consider requests for support of capital or program expenses. Your organization or your program must:be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS codebe consistent with one of our four focus areas: Treatment; Education & Prevention; Coordination of Resources in the Community; or Researchbe located in Cuyahoga Countyhave submitted an interim or final report on any previous grants before a new request can be considered

Ineligibility

The Foundation does not consider requests for general operating expenses, endowment, scholarships, fellowships, annual fund raising campaigns, or general solicitations for funds.