ProtectingStark'sFuture

Stark Community Foundation’s Protecting Stark’s Future initiative supports collaborative community-based solutions to reduce child poverty.

History

Stark Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Stark County, in partnership with the Center for Community Solutions, released Protecting Stark’s Future: A Call to Coordinate Child Poverty Strategies in late 2020. Rooted in research, the report outlines why Stark County stakeholders need to intentionally work together to collaborate and coordinate efforts and target resources to reduce child poverty.

As we drilled down into our community’s data, it became apparent that every issue of concern was related to poverty. In particular, the high child poverty rates in our community demand our increased and continued attention.

Apply

Stark Community Foundation’s initiative Protecting Stark’s Future (PSF) was created with one central goal: to reduce childhood poverty in Stark County. The original PSF framework is represented by this three‑layer bullseye:

Immediate‑needs services remain essential, but they are well represented across Stark County’s nonprofit landscape. The 2026 RFP focuses on the middle and center rings — strategies that increase earnings of families and disrupt the long‑term conditions that keep children and families in poverty.

To do this, Stark Community Foundation through PSF is investing in 2026 in four distinct initiative areas.

2026 Focus Areas

• FOCUS AREA 1: ECONOMIC STABILITY & OPPORTUNITY

Purpose: Strengthen household economic security and create pathways to higher earnings.

Eligible strategies may include:

• Workforce development initiatives.
• Expansion of Navigator roles to define success as achieving both stability and sustainable employment. Navigators should support individuals as they move fluidly from crisis to employment using shared tools such as ConnectWell CIE and direct service providers. This integrated, employment‑focused model should improve economic mobility and align with Community Metrics, especially per capita income, tracked by Strengthening Stark.

Bullseye connection: Primarily the middle ring (increasing earnings), with potential influence on the center.

• FOCUS AREA 2: EDUCATION & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Purpose: Improve educational engagement, developmental outcomes, and long‑term opportunities for children and youth.

Eligible strategies may include:

• Youth career pathways programs offered independently or through school‑based, out‑of‑school time or multi-generational program models
• Stabilization or transformation of high‑value youth programs at risk due to funding cuts

Bullseye connection: Supports the center by promoting educational achievements and strengthening long‑term opportunity for youth.

• FOCUS AREA 3: POSITIVE NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENT & PLACE-BASED RESILIENCE

Purpose: Improve the physical and environmental conditions of the neighborhoods that shape childhood opportunity.

Eligible strategies may include:

• Restoring vacant or blighted land to parks or community green spaces to improve walkability, safety, or environmental quality
• Resident‑driven efforts that build neighborhood pride, cohesion, and social connection

Bullseye connection: Supports the center by improving long‑term neighborhood conditions.

• FOCUS AREA 4: OPEN INNOVATION, HIGH‑IMPACT STRATEGIES

Purpose: Capture emerging ideas that do not fit into the three initiative areas above but still advance PSF’s core purpose to reduce child poverty.

Eligible strategies may include:

• New models for community‑based economic mobility
• Programs that consider the interplay between ecological, social, economic, and cultural aspects of a place, including identity and emotional connection
• Systems‑level innovations that close gaps created by siloed or fragmented service systems and drive collaboration

Bullseye connection: Flexible — applicants must show how the proposal supports the middle or center rings.

Collaboration & Partnerships

Proposals must show meaningful partnerships among community‑based organizations, schools, nonprofits, local governments, and residents. Partnerships should align with the selected focus area.

What We Are Not Looking for in 2026

To encourage innovation and alignment with initiative goals, Protecting Stark’s Future will not consider:

• Traditional program expansion without system-level impact or cross-sector collaboration
• One-time events, short-term activities or immediate needs proposals
• Projects lacking a sustainability plan, clear community need, or alignment with PSF framework
• Navigator proposals that replicate existing siloed models

Eligibility Requirements

Primarily makes grants to IRS-qualified 501(c)(3) public charities, educational institutions, and government entities.

Preference may be given to neighborhood‑based strategies aligned with the selected focus area. Preference may also be given to grants with strong data support. Visit SCF Community Data Hub to find place-based insights, research and reports that support the unique character of individual neighborhoods and the bigger Stark County picture.

Grant Amount

Funds may support planning, implementation, partnership development, and evaluation. Grants range from 1-year planning grants at $15,000 to implementation grants for a maximum of $100,000 for up to 3 years. For implementation grants, you must show that planning has been completed with all partners and that the project is financially stable.

Important Dates

Application Opens: Jan. 26
Application Deadline: March 20
Site Visits: April 4 – April 24
Awards: Late May

Grant award recipients will be notified by email of the Board’s decision.

Application Instructions

Only online applications will be accepted. Apply online through Stark Community Foundation’s Grant Portal.

Evaluation

• Demonstrates clear alignment with the selected initiative area
• Shows a clear, measurable connection to increasing earnings or breaking cycles of poverty
• Includes strong partnerships and meaningful resident engagement
• Advances equity and access for children in high‑poverty neighborhoods
• Presents a sustainable model with potential for long‑term community impact
• Demonstrates feasibility and readiness for planning or implementation

Grantees will report on both traditional outcomes and initiative‑specific indicators (e.g., access to green space, youth engagement, workforce outcomes, neighborhood improvements) and take part in shared learning to support continuous growth and improvement.

Download the 2026 Protecting Stark’s Future RFP

Resources

2023 Stark County Community Assessment
2023 Community Assessment Webinar and Webinar Slides
Stark County 2022 Data Webinar and Webinar Slides
2022 Digital Whiteboard
Protecting Stark’s Future Report
Protecting Stark’s Future Webinar

Questions?

For more information, contact Amy Krebs, vice president of grants and community initiatives, at 234-458-2912 or akrebs@starkcf.org.

Give

Donate to Stark Community Foundation's Protecting Stark's Future initiative to fight childhood poverty in our community.