FUNDING & GRANTS

Fund Timeline:

• Applications are open once a year.

  • July 15- September 1 2026

• Committee Review: September

• Grants Awarded: October

Selection Criteria:

• The Education Fund Committee is responsible for recommending award recipients to the Chapter Board for final approval. The review process is a blind review.

• Review criteria are ultimately up to the discretion of the Education Fund Committee. However, the grant recipients must meet the following:

  • The activity/request must align with the OHKY Chapter and IIDA Foundation’s mission and goals

    • IIDA Foundation Mission: The IIDA Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit philanthropic organization with a mission to drive innovation and advancements in the commercial interior design field. The foundation seeks to make a meaningful impact through supporting grants and funding opportunities, and continued support of education, research, and outreach opportunities.

    • IIDA OHKY Chapter Mission & Vision: The IIDA Ohio Kentucky Chapter provides meaningful resources to commercial interior designers to elevate and advocate for the profession.Through a network of design leadership, our vision is to positively impact the health and well-being of people's lives by fostering a safe, inclusive and sustainable community.

  • The activity/request must move our profession forward

  • Information learned/obtained must be able to be shared for benefit of all OHKY Chapter members

  • The event/request must contain an educational component

Eligibility

• Applicants must be a current IIDA Ohio Kentucky professional or associate member in good standing

• Applicants cannot also receive full funding for the activity from their employer or any other funding source. If funding from another source does not cover the activity 100%, the applicant may request funding for the remaining amount only.

• Applicants cannot have received funding from the ENRICH fund within the past three years.

• Current Chapter Board Members or City Center Directors are not eligible during active term. (City Center or Signature Event committee members are eligible)

Examples of Eligible Activities Include:

• Activities must be related to education, knowledge or research. Opportunities can include but are not limited to the following:

  • Professional Conferences and Trade Shows, Leadership training/classes, Professional Development classes, Educational Trainings, Business Development, College level Classes, Art/Design Classes,Travel with a clear emphasis on learning.

  • The opportunity must be a future event and not a past class taken seeking reimbursement.

  • The opportunity needs to occur during calendar year 2027.

• The following activities/requests are not eligible for funding:

  • Test reimbursement; IIDA Headquarters offers reimbursement support for NCIDQ, LEED and WELL AP thru the IIDA Foundation: https://iida.org/foundation

  • Travel for NeoCon

  • IIDA Futures program

Requirements:

• Grant recipients shall be required to complete a Chapter “Give Back”  within the calendar year that the fund was received (or 90 days post event) following experience. This component is to benefit the whole Chapter from the awarded individual's experience. The goal for the give back is for the awardee to pass along knowledge gained/learned from their experience to benefit the greater membership. This “give back” can come to fruition through one of the following but in not limited to:

  • A presentation, virtual webinar, a panel discussion, a teaching seminar, social media take over, etc.

  • A website blog post summarizing the experience and hosted on the IIDA OHKY Enrich page is a requirement as well.

  • A Summary of what sort of giveback could apply to this grant is requested as part of the application.

Recieving Funding:

• Recipient must submit a W-9 once awarded funding. All awarded funding is taxable income under IRS regulations. Recipients should work with their tax professional on accounting for these payments in their tax documentation.

• Funding shall be provided in full after completion of grant experience. Opportunity for portion payment is available prior to experience upon request.

• Recipient must submit receipts for their funded expenses in order to receive the payment.