Grace Care Center Awarded a 2026 HCCF Strategic Grant
We have some big news! Grace Care Center has been awarded a $125,000 Strategic Grant from the Hamilton County Community Foundation.
This investment will support something incredibly important: expanding and enhancing our programs so that the Care Center is always ready for the next family…and the next…and the next.
Because this strategic grant will do more than support a new building or flashy project – it will help us implement our strategic plan and intentionally build the organizational foundation we need for the future.
The Inaugural HCCF Strategic Grants
Hamilton County Community Foundation funds nonprofit organizations serving county residents and working to advance long-term opportunity in our community. The Foundation connects donors, nonprofits, and partners to address the county’s most pressing challenges and drive lasting change.
HCCF recently conducted a Community Needs Assessment to determine that these most pressing needs include childcare, social services, accessible housing, and workforce and education opportunities. Then, they introduced Strategic Grants this year as a way to invest in area organizations working to meet these needs.
“Our Strategic Grants are very different from our traditional funding,” says HCCF President Danielle Stiles-Polk. “They are designed to meet organizations at key moments when a larger investment can help them take the next step. These resources allow nonprofits to pursue opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.”
A Grant for the Future
When the Grace Care Center and Grace Care Center Foundation teams collaborated at the end of last year to develop the 2028 Strategic Plan, we utilized data uncovered by the Community Needs Assessment.
This data supported what we were already seeing every week at the Care Center: more and more people here in Hamilton County are facing financial pressure. Meeting those needs will require intentional preparation.
So, we asked ourselves, “How can we be part of the solution?” And what emerged was a clear roadmap toward 2028.
The next several years will be about strengthening what already works, building stronger systems, and ensuring Grace Care Center can continue serving our community with excellence as needs continue to grow.
And this HCCF Strategic Grant will make it possible!
The Impact of This Strategic Grant
So, how will this strategic grant impact the Care Center Friends we serve?
It’s true that they won’t directly see many of the improvements made possible by the grant. There will be a lot – like planning meetings, the development of new systems, and intentional work – that will happen behind the scenes.
But they will feel the difference.
Our Friends will continue to experience a place that welcomes them with dignity. They will benefit from enhanced programs and expanded offerings, and discover a place that walks alongside them toward a more stable future.
“This investment gives us the exciting opportunity to build for the future instead of simply responding to today's needs,” shares Grace Care Center Foundation CEO Cara Augspurger. “A few months from now, we'll have families who experience an even better Grace Care Center because of this investment.”
When this grant is paired with the investments made by our donors, volunteers, and community partners are already making every day, the impact will be incredible!
Thank you to each of our supporters for helping Grace Care Center be ready for every neighbor who walks through our doors.
And thank you to the Hamilton County Community Foundation for selecting Grace Care Center as a 2026 Strategic Grant recipient! You can read more about HCCF and these new grants here.
