Grants

Bill Long Foundation Grant Applications for 2025 are now available and will be accepted until Friday, January 31, 2025. Please review this page for more information and to download the grant application document.

2025 Grant Application Process

Our mission: The Bill Long Foundation is a membership-powered community foundation that gives grants to support nonprofit projects and activities in Oberlin that address basic human needs or enrich cultural life. Membership in the foundation is open to all. Members elect volunteer trustees who manage all operations and award grants based on the vote of members attending the annual meeting.

Our grants: The Bill Long Foundation (BLF) provides small grants exclusively to projects and activities that meet basic human needs or enrich cultural life within the Oberlin community. To honor our roots with the Oberlin Consumers Co-operative, we strongly encourage applications from emerging organizations that have not previously received funding. Grants typically range from $125 to $3,000, but the BLF Board will recommend funding up to $5,000 if organizations demonstrate exceptional need. Organizations are limited to one application per grant cycle.

The application process is simple:

1. Complete the form and attach supporting documents. This form is also available on our website blfoberlin.org on the Documents page. Need help? Contact us!

2. Find a member of BLF who thinks what you’re doing is a good idea and would sponsor your request. This could be you! To become a member and sponsor yourself make a donation of $10 or more ($5 for students).

3. Please submit your completed request by email to blfoberlin@gmail.com. If you need an alternative method, you can use one of these:

●  US mail: Bill Long Foundation, P.O. Box 0141, Oberlin, OH 44074

●  Personal delivery to: Krista Long, Ben Franklin/MindFair Books, 13 W. College St., Oberlin

Grant applications must be submitted by Friday, January 31, 2025

4. Participate in our annual membership meeting Wednesday, April 2, 2025, to present your request and answer our members’ questions. The membership votes on grant requests at this meeting. It is mandatory that someone be present who is knowledgeable about your request. Groups who fail to do this rarely get funded. This meeting may be held online due to COVID restrictions.

5. Submit by Wednesday, October 1, 2025, a brief written mid-year report acknowledging receipt of funds and providing a summary, as specific as possible, of how funds were used and how effectively the goals of your project were met. Including photographs with your report is encouraged. Those photographs may be posted to the BLF website.

Questions? Contact:

Brandon County (brandon.county@gmail.com)

or Julia Robinson (robinsonjm0@gmail.com)