History of The Helen Steiner Rice Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Beginning as a young child and continuing throughout her entire life, Helen Steiner Rice loved to write thoughtful and inspirational poetic verse.  As the “poet laureate of inspirational verse,” her expressions reflected a deep, personal religious faith and a genuine desire to offer encouragement and healing to those in need of support.  During Mrs. Rice’s final years, she decided to set up The Helen Steiner Rice Foundation.  She believed that through this charitable foundation she could continue, even after her death, to give both inspiration and assistance to those in need.  Since her passing in 1981, The Helen Steiner Rice Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants to worthy charitable programs that assist the needy and the elderly.  In 2005, the Trustees of The Helen Steiner Rice Foundation determined that a formal conversion to an advised fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation would resolve issues around successor trustees and continuity of Mrs. Rice’s legacy.

Purpose of The Helen Steiner Rice Fund
The general intent of The Helen Steiner Rice Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation is to award grants for purposes of helping the poor, the needy and the elderly.  The Fund Advisors include the following as primary objectives in considering grant requests: 1) satisfy basic necessities and human needs of the poor and the elderly; 2) give preference to meeting immediate needs of the poor; and 3) open to innovative approaches.  The Fund Advisors will not consider grant requests for the following purposes:  1) building programs (ex. capital campaigns, new buildings or renovations to existing buildings); 2) endowments; 3) direct gifts to specific individuals or families (scholarships); and 4) arts and cultural programs.

Policies and Restrictions:

Applicant must have an IRS determination as a 501(c)(3) organization.

The Greater Cincinnati area includes Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn County in Indiana.

• The Fund will not provide continuing operational support to a grantee, and discourages annual requests. Grantees are advised to wait at least 2 years from the date of last grant payment before reapplying to the HSR Fund. An organization that is declined, may resubmit after a 12 month wait.
• Grants will not be made to individuals, taxing authorities or political subdivisions, or for conferences, or as loans.
• The Fund usually prefers to participate along with other donors in the support of a project.

As a grantseeker, if you believe that your organization qualifies for applying to the Fund, please complete and submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) as found on the link below.