Nearly $100,000 awarded through community fund to support 25 projects and programs
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio – The Guernsey County Foundation, with the support of its donors and in partnership with the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO), has awarded $99,501 during its 2025 grant cycle to advance 25 projects and programs benefiting the county’s residents and communities.
“Each of these grants represents the power of generosity and community dedication,” said Mandy McGlumphy, Guernsey County Foundation committee member. “We are deeply grateful to the donors who make these investments possible and to the educators, first responders, nonprofit leaders and volunteers who turn those dollars into real and lasting impact across our county.”
Nonprofits, schools and public organizations serving Guernsey County were invited to apply for grants – made possible by gifts to the Guernsey County Foundation’s endowment fund – to advance opportunities across five funding areas: arts and culture, community and economic development, education, environmental stewardship, and health and human services. Emphasis is on supporting individuals of all ages who are spearheading projects and programs that create opportunities, meet pressing needs and unleash the potential within Guernsey County.
The 2025 grant recipients are:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Appalachian Ohio to expand the Lunch Buddies mentoring program at Cambridge and Brook intermediate schools to include interactive, educational enrichment activities
- Buckeye Trail Band Boosters to purchase musical instruments
- Cambridge Band Boosters to help cover students’ costs for a performance and educational trip to Disney World
- Cambridge City Schools received three grants: (1) to purchase books for a new French classroom library at Cambridge High School; (2) to help stock the Pawsitive Place store at Cambridge Middle School and reinforce positive behavior; and (3) to help stock the PAX store at Cambridge Intermediate School and reinforce positive behavior
- Cambridge Fire Department to help purchase a Safe Haven Baby Box to allow for the anonymous and legal surrender of newborn babies
- Cambridge-Guernsey County Community Improvement Corporation to support a new program that will provide financial incentives to help retain and attract young people to Guernsey County
- Dickens Victorian Village to help fund a new Little Dickens event that will provide entertainment and educational opportunities for children
- East Central Ohio Educational Service Center to purchase books for the Guernsey County Reading Festival
- East Guernsey Local School District to purchase and install equipment for a new school-based enterprise that will allow Buckeye Trail High School students in the career-tech pathways to design, personalize and sell products
- Feed My People of Guernsey County to purchase food and supplies for its free community kitchen
- Genesis HealthCare Foundation to purchase two automated external defibrillators for community-based locations in Guernsey County
- Guernsey County Historical Society to help fund exterior painting of the Guernsey County History Museum
- Guernsey County Senior Citizens Center to provide out-of-county transportation for seniors, with priority to those requiring out-of-county medical care
- Hospice of Guernsey to support the Un-Valentine’s Day dinner for Guernsey County widows and widowers
- The Living Word Outdoor Drama to help fund accessibility improvements to its Welcome Center Circle
- Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio to purchase food for pantry distributions in Guernsey County
- Muskingum Valley Council of Scouting America to support its special assistance fund for Guernsey County families who may not be able to afford participation in the Scouting program
- Ohio Arts and Crafts Foundation to upgrade displays in the student art tent at the Salt Fork Arts and Crafts Festival
- Partners for the Park to help replace the basketball hoops at Cambridge City Park
- Rolling Hills Local School District to support the launch of a student-managed store at Meadowbrook High School
- The Salvation Army-Guernsey to support its Utility Assistance Program, which helps Guernsey County households facing urgent electric bill crises
- United Way of Guernsey, Monroe and Noble Counties to increase local enrollment in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio and to provide books to Guernsey County children in the program
- Washington State College of Ohio Foundation to purchase food and hygiene items for the student food pantry
In addition, the Old Guernsey County Conservation Association (previously known as the Old Cambridge Conservation Association) Fund, one of 84 funds in the Guernsey County Foundation’s family of funds, awarded a total of $10,000 to two organizations:
- The Country Store Museum in Quaker City to support restoration work at the museum, home of the Ohio Hills Folk Festival
- Guernsey County Historical Society to help fund exterior repairs and painting of the Guernsey County History Museum
The Guernsey County Foundation, one of FAO’s 15 affiliate foundation partners, was established in 1988 to develop and grow permanent resources that provide continuous investment in Guernsey County and its nonprofits, schools and communities. Each year, earnings from charitable giving to the Guernsey County Foundation’s endowment fund are reinvested in Guernsey County through grants that meet the county’s greatest needs and most promising opportunities.