The Erma A. Bantz Foundation
The Erma A. Bantz Foundation supports Greater Cincinnati organizations serving people with visual impairments, funding specific projects that carry out its founder’s vision of improving their lives.
Funder: Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Due Dates: November 1, 2026 (Proposal) | December 31, 2026 (Decision) | May 1, 2027 (LOI) | June 1, 2027 (Proposal) | July 31, 2027 (Decision) | October 1, 2027 (LOI)
Funding Amounts: Specific-project support, preferably alongside other donors
Summary: The Erma A. Bantz Foundation supports Greater Cincinnati organizations whose missions include helping people with visual impairments.
Key Information: Support for visually impaired people must be a stated purpose in the applicant’s mission statement.
Description
The Erma A. Bantz Foundation partners with Greater Cincinnati Foundation to carry out Erma Bantz’s charitable vision through regional grantmaking. Bantz lived in Cincinnati for 95 years and experienced severe hearing loss throughout her life, followed by loss of eyesight later in life. The foundation was established to improve the lives of people with hearing or visual impairments.
Its current funding focus is organizations that explicitly include support of, or aid to, visually impaired people in their mission statements. The foundation makes grants to Greater Cincinnati organizations and generally prefers to join other donors in supporting specific projects. Funding designated for hearing impairment was fully distributed in 2022, and requests for that purpose are no longer accepted.
