Opportunity Overview
AES Ohio Foundation 2026 Community Impact Grant Cycle is open to qualifying 501(c)(3) public charities serving communities within AES Ohio’s 24-county West Central Ohio service territory. The Foundation’s current priorities include improved health outcomes and health and human services, education and employment readiness, the arts, and urgent community needs.
Funding and Deadline
Applications for the 2026 cycle are due October 1, 2026, with awards expected in December 2026. The controlling application page does not state a deadline clock time or time zone, so Atlas does not infer either. The Foundation does not publish a universal current-cycle minimum or maximum request amount. Historical context only: the Foundation awarded approximately $1.565 million to 54 organizations in the prior cycle, and its separate Power Grant program has included awards at $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 and higher. Those historical amounts are not a current-cycle ceiling.
Eligibility
The applicant must be a public charity under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), the program or project must be located within AES Ohio’s 24-county service area, the request must align with Foundation priorities and demonstrate measurable goals and outcomes, and the organization must demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. One grant application may be submitted every 12 months. Organizations funded in the prior cycle must first submit their required final report and thank-you video in the GOapply grant-management system before discussing future funding.
Allowable Uses, Exclusions, and Match
The Foundation funds community-impact work aligned with education and employment readiness, health and human services, the arts, and urgent community needs. The current public guidance specifically excludes political campaigns or activities, school organizations such as bands, athletic teams and clubs, individuals, sponsorships, discriminatory organizations, religious programs administered for religious purposes, and mass funding appeals. The controlling public guidance does not state a mandatory match or cost-share requirement and does not publish a complete line-item allowable-cost schedule, so Atlas does not infer one.
Submission Rules and Required Materials
Applications are handled through the Foundation’s GOapply grant-management system. The public application page requires applicants to review funding priorities, eligibility requirements and exclusions before applying. It does not publicly enumerate a complete current-cycle attachment checklist, so applicant-controlled forms or attachments should be confirmed inside GOapply rather than fabricated. Previously funded organizations must complete the prior-cycle final report and thank-you video before a new funding discussion. The 2026 award cycle also requires a final report and thank-you video after project completion in 2027.
Strategic Fit
Atlas Opportunity Score: 87/100. This is a verified open Ohio opportunity with direct health and education relevance, a broad West Central Ohio footprint, measurable-outcome requirements, and a history of meaningful community investments. Uncertainty remains because the current cycle does not publish a universal per-request ceiling or full attachment checklist on the public page.
N9+ Fit Score: 48/100, conditional applicant-led. The explicit improved-health-outcomes and healthcare-access orientation creates a plausible N9+ pathway where an eligible nonprofit owns a defined access-to-care, school-based health, mobile care, or clinical-workflow project and the technology is a necessary project cost. N9+ should not be treated as a standalone product purchase. Dr. Miltie/QC Healthcare is not an eligible direct grantee because the Foundation requires a 501(c)(3) public charity applicant; any role would be as an applicant-selected vendor or partner.
Potential Applicant Profile
Five Rivers Health Centers is a realistic applicant profile. Five Rivers describes itself as a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center serving Montgomery and Greene counties, with multiple primary-care, behavioral-health, dental, women’s-health and pediatric services and two school-based health-center locations. Its Dayton Public School-Based Health Center provides primary care and dental services, creating a credible setting for an applicant-owned access-to-care or school-health project if the organization independently determines the need and confirms current-cycle eligibility.
Contact and Controlling Source
Controlling source: AES Ohio Foundation, Apply for grant funding. Previously funded organizations are directed to complete required prior reporting and then contact Vivian O’Connell at vivian.oconnell@aes.com about future funding. New organizations are directed to review priorities, requirements and exclusions before scheduling a funding discussion.