Community Garden Grants
With support from Franklin Park Conservatory
and the Columbus & Franklin County Local Food Action Plan
Central Ohio is a thriving hub for community gardening and urban agriculture. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, The City of Columbus, and Franklin County utilize a single application to maximize funding and material resources to gardens and to provide financial and material resources to re-purpose underused land and to create, continue, or expand community gardens and greenspaces to:
- Increase healthy, affordable, and local food access and education, particularly for people in under-resourced neighborhoods;
- Connect individuals to the life-enhancing benefits of community gardens and greenspaces, including health and wellness, environmental, community building, and beautification.
Nonprofit gardening efforts may apply for funding (up to $1,500) and in-kind product donations (up to $300 from The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company) on a yearly basis. Ongoing personnel costs are not allowable requests.
ELIGIBILITY
New and existing gardens and greenspaces, including community gardens, school gardens, pollinator gardens, and beautification efforts.
- 501(c)(3) status or a fiscal sponsor;
- Location in Columbus or Franklin County;
- Ability to complete project within one calendar year from date of application.
DEADLINE
- The Community Garden Grant application opens Wednesday, February 19, 2025 and will close on Friday, March 21, 2025. You will be notified of decisions via email by Friday, April 7, 2025. Click here for the 2025 Community Garden Grant Application
- Final reports will be assigned to all approved grantees via the application platform. Click here for a sample of the 2025 final report. Final reports will be due in late November 2025.
- For past grantees, final reports are due November 29, 2024. Grantees will receive an email one month prior to the final report deadline with the link to submit their final report. Final report questions can be viewed here. Photos of past grantee gardens are not necessary, but appreciated. Photos can be emailed to scoffman@columbusfoundation.org.
STAFF CONTACT
For questions, please contact Stefanie Coffman.
FAQS
The proposal’s alignment with the Urban Gardening Grant; and the ability to describe the garden’s intended impact on the community, capacity of the responsible party to carry out the project, sustainability plan for the garden and the garden project’s budget.
Locate your parcel ID to determine if the property is located in an eligible area. You can find this by visiting www.franklincountyauditor.com or calling 614-525-4663. Your proposal must include a Parcel ID (i.e. 010-067474).
Both new and existing gardens that are either themselves a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) registered with the Internal Revenue Service or have partnered with a 501 (c)(3) as their fiscal sponsor. Examples of applicable groups are neighborhood groups, churches and block watches. Eligible gardens must benefit a group of people, and not be for personal benefit.
Prior experience with the fiscal organization is advised to ensure communication upon receiving grants and throughout the season. Make sure you have a trusting and working relationship with your fiscal sponsor to ensure accountability in all fiscal matters. Checks will be made out to the fiscal sponsor. They are responsible for releasing funds to the garden group.
Yes, your garden group may be a neighborhood group, a church, a block watch or similar organizations. Your fiscal sponsor must be registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit 501 (c)(3).
Gardens may apply for up to $1,500 for supplies and/or contracted services. This does not include any in-kind product awards from ScottsMiracle-Gro.
Personnel costs and utility bills, and items that do not align with the grant purpose and funder priorities. The list is subject to the reviewers’ discretion. It is possible that an eligible item may not be funded due to funding limitation, or grant making prioritization.
Yes, ScottsMiracle-Gro provides in-kind donations of in-ground soil, topsoil, mulch, all-purpose plant food, and humus and manure. Recipients can receive up to $300 worth of product, although the exact amount and types of products vary from year to year. Awards are based on needs and product availability.
Yes. Provide ample justification throughout the application and in the budget for why the ScottsMiracle-Gro donated product is not sufficient for the needs of the garden. Funding for product is given at the discretion of the grant reviewers, and is based on justification, need and funding availability.
All grant notifications will be sent via email by April 7, 2025.
Grant funds will be distributed by The Columbus Foundation the week following the grant decision emails. For those gardens utilizing a fiscal sponsor, it is advised that you confirm when they should expect the grant agreement notification and agree upon a timeline for the grant agreement to be signed and returned for payment.
If nothing can be salvaged from the previous garden such as garden beds, soil or plants, the garden can be considered new.
Yes, as long as those resources/materials are directly tied to healthy eating education linked with the garden. Requests for funding will be at the discretion of the reviewer.
Yes, the landowner must sign the Acknowledgment Document, or else the application will be considered incomplete and unable to be considered for funding.
Yes. All gardens located on Land Bank sites must have the Application Acknowledgment Form signed by the appropriate Land Bank representative.