Siemer Family Foundation

The Siemer Family Foundation is guided by Barbara Siemer as chairperson; Mrs. Siemer’s career experience as a high school English teacher, and her many community volunteer experiences benefiting children, inform the Foundation’s grantmaking interests.

The Siemer Family Foundation supports programs that benefit the central Ohio community by:

• Improving educational opportunities for school age children, including those during the school day and those outside of traditional school hours, relating to specific academic areas, or enhancing overall academic achievement;
• Providing young children access to opportunities that prepare them for school, especially those including a parental involvement component;
• Improving education and literacy throughout the community; or
• Improving the economic or housing status and physical well-being and safety of underprivileged families with the intention of creating greater stability for all family members, especially children.

The Siemer Family Foundation’s annual grant application deadline for 2025 is anticipated to be July 1, with decisions announced by November 30.

Please note that only those applications that are closely aligned with the Foundation’s grantmaking focus, as outlined above, will be considered.

For those unfamiliar with The Columbus Foundation’s application process, you are encouraged to attend one of the Grant Opportunity Open House events that are held throughout the year. These events provide an opportunity for nonprofit organizations to meet the staff managing grant processes for Supporting Foundations and The Columbus Foundation. View Deadlines for specific dates. 

• City Year, Columbus: $15,000 to support the Whole School Whole Child program in seven Columbus schools.
• Dominican Learning Center: $10,000 to support GED instruction and preparation.
• Gladden Community House: $10,000 to support the preschool program serving Franklinton and the near west side communities.
• I KNOW I CAN: $25,000 to support AmeriCorps Ohio College Guides for middle school college and career advising. 
• Urban Concern: $15,000 to support an afterschool program serving students in the south Linden neighborhood.

To provide an update on a past grant, log in under “GRANTSEEKERS” using the same username and password you have established to complete grant applications or to view grant details. 

• If a report has been requested and assigned to you, you will be able to access the report form directly from your dashboard. In the column labeled "Assigned to You," there will be a list of items awaiting your attention together with due dates; where a report is listed, clicking "Start" will take you to the report form. Alternatively, the column headed "Action Needed" will display 'cards' for each item due, together with some basic information about the grant and due date; clicking the report link on the 'card' will take you to the report form.
• If you are unsure of whether a report has been requested, you can review the history of grants for your organization by clicking on "Organization History", then "Request History." Clicking any project name will take you to the records associated with that project.

If you have additional questions, or if a report needs to be assigned to a different staff member at your organization, please contact InfoSupporting@columbusfoundation.org.

If you have questions about how your organization’s program might fit with the grantmaking interests of the Siemer Family Foundation, contact a Supporting Foundations team member. Be sure to include a brief summary of the program.

For technical assistance, contact a Supporting Foundations team member.