Jerry Grier Scholarship

In 2014, Ohio Capital Impact Corporation (OCIC) launched the Jerry Grier Scholarship (JGS) program to help reduce financial barriers low-income students often face in their pursuit of higher education. OCIC’s intent through the JGS is to provide both financial and support services for students to create a more stable platform from which they can follow their dreams while elevating their trajectory. The JGS is available to residents of affordable housing developments where OCCH has investment.

The JGS is uniquely designed in that it takes a two-pronged approach allowing applicants to simultaneously apply for both a tuition and performance-based scholarship. The tuition scholarship awards up to $8,000 per school year. This funding is available to help close the gap between tuition requirements and student debt. The performance-based scholarship awards up to $2,000 per school year. This funding is incentive for students to excel academically in order to earn additional monies to help cover cost associated with higher education such as books and supplies.

In 2015, OCIC partnered with I Know I Can (IKIC), a college access program, to enhance the JGS. Through this partnership, JGS recipients are given access to an AmeriCorps Retention Specialist who works with students throughout the school year to provide guidance, peer support, and mentoring.

Since inception, OCIC has committed approximately $1,300,000 in scholarships to over 90 students pursuing higher-learning opportunities. 

The scholarship program is named after and in memory of Jerry Grier, who was a longtime Area Counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Jerry served on OCCH’s Board for many years.