First Financial Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About First Financial Foundation
First Financial Foundation centers its giving on community and economic development in the Cincinnati region, funding organizations that deliver neighborhood revitalization, workforce and small/minority business development, and K–12 programming in underserved areas. Grants are sizable and concentrated — several repeat, multi-award commitments to a small set of regional partners — and the foundation also underwrites community-serving intermediaries (United Way, Hamilton Community Foundation) that advance local infrastructure and job-creation efforts.
Focus Areas
Neighborhood revitalization and West End community developmentK–12 programming for underserved Cincinnati neighborhoodsMinority and small business development in the Cincinnati regionRegional community infrastructure and job-creation (port authority/economic development)Support for local fundraising intermediaries and pooled community services (United Way)
Who They Fund
low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities and neighborhoodsminority-owned businesses / Black-owned businessesimmigrants and asylum seekers
About First Financial Foundation
A defining pattern in First Financial Foundation’s recent giving is its repeated backing of the Cincinnati region’s neighborhood and economic-development ecosystem. The largest listed grant is a $435,390 annual campaign payment to United Way of Greater Cincinnati, followed by repeated support for Hamilton Community Foundation to help develop a port authority in Hamilton and create jobs on underproductive real estate. The foundation also returns to the same local partners across multiple years, including Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Minority Business and FC Cincinnati Foundation, which points to a grantmaking style built around sustained regional initiatives rather than one-time awards. Its portfolio reaches across community infrastructure, minority and small business development, school programming in underserved neighborhoods, affordable housing, and cultural institutions. Several grants are tied to practical place-based outcomes: redevelopment of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, support for Black-owned businesses, and capital funding for a new building that would house performances and school programming for disadvantaged children. The grant list also shows the foundation using community intermediaries and pooled campaigns as vehicles for local support, including annual campaign funding through United Way and matched employee contributions through local funds. Overall, the pattern is regional, recurring, and anchored in community development.
What First Financial Foundation Funds
Neighborhood revitalization is a central thread. First Financial Foundation gave $75,000 to Working in Neighborhoods for the redevelopment of five low- and moderate-income Cincinnati neighborhoods, and $58,333 to Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corp. for community WiFi and code-enforcement remediation in Lincoln Heights. Affordable housing appears alongside that place-based work. The foundation awarded $50,000 to County Corp. for rebuilding tornado-damaged affordable housing in Dayton, and another $50,000 to Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corp. to help build affordable housing in the Village of Lincoln Heights. Youth and school programming is another clear line of support. Accelerate Great Schools received $200,000 for school programming in underserved neighborhoods, while Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park received $125,000 for a new building tied to performances and school programming for disadvantaged children. Minority and small business development is also explicit in the recent grants, including $75,000 to Fundnoire to fund 24 Black-owned businesses across Cincinnati over two years.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$7.6M
Total Assets
$1.9M
Total Revenue
$4.4M
Total Expenses
$1.6M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $5K and $25K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$25K
Geographic Reach
Regional4 states funded
About 55% of grants go to recipients in OH.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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