If your organization has been sitting on a land preservation project without a clear path to funding, this might be the blog post you’ve been waiting for.
The Clean Ohio Conservation Fund is one of the state’s most powerful tools for protecting the open spaces, wetlands, creek corridors, and natural areas that make Central Ohio worth living in. And according to Dr. Edwina Teye at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and Dave Heithaus, Chair of the Natural Resources Assistance Council for District 17, there’s roughly $3 million available in the current funding cycle for applicants right here in our region.
We sat down with both of them to get the full picture.
What Is the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund?
Ohio voters approved the Clean Ohio Fund back in 2000. Since then, it has directed hundreds of millions of dollars toward land acquisition, habitat protection, recreational trails, and farmland preservation across the state.
The conservation component, which is what Dr. Teye and Dave focus on, funds projects that protect high-quality natural areas and open spaces. Think wetlands, river and creek corridors, forests, prairies, and habitat for endangered or rare species.
Dr. Teye put it simply: “The Clean Ohio Conservation Fund is one of our state’s most powerful tools in preserving and protecting the spaces and places that make our region home.”
MORPC serves as the regional liaison for this program. “As a regional planning commission, we convene, we collaborate, we coordinate,” Dr. Teye explained. “Within the context of Clean Ohio, we bridge the gap between the Ohio Public Works Commission and provide administrative support to our applicants throughout this process.”
Why Central Ohio Specifically?
Central Ohio is growing faster than most of the Midwest. That’s the whole reason this program matters here.
Dr. Teye frames MORPC’s mission around that reality. “Our goal is to grow better as we grow bigger,” she said. “That means collaborating on best practices to inform our growth and plan for sustainability in our region.”
The Clean Ohio Fund is one of the tools that makes that possible. Without it, the land that gets preserved today is the land that doesn’t become a strip mall in ten years.
Who Can Apply?
This is broader than most people realize.
Eligible applicants include local governments (cities, townships, counties), park districts, soil and water conservation districts, and qualifying environmental nonprofits. Dr. Teye confirmed the full list: “It’s open to subdivisions, park districts, soil and water conservation districts, environmental nonprofits, organizations, to name a few.”
It’s not just for big cities, either. Dave put it plainly: “Clean Ohio Funding is available across the state. We cover urban areas, very rural areas, everything in between.”
Columbus is its own district (District 3). But if your organization is based in Morrow, Knox, Licking, Fairfield, Delaware, or Pickaway County, you’re in District 17, and that’s where the $3 million figure applies.
There is one financial requirement worth knowing upfront: applicants must bring a 25% match. Dr. Teye spelled it out clearly. “If you’re requesting $100,000, you need $25,000 of your own.” There is no cap on how much you can request. A strong application from a smaller community or nonprofit could realistically secure seven figures.
What Are Reviewers Looking For?
Dave has been reviewing Clean Ohio applications for years. He broke it down clearly.
Reviewers prioritize high-quality habitat. That means wetlands, river corridors, forests, and prairies. Projects that include public access, say through a county park district where the land would be open to visitors, earn additional points. Habitat for endangered species or other examples of Ohio’s unique natural history also carries weight.
The scoring methodology is publicly available online. If you’ve never written a grant before, that document is your roadmap. Go through it point by point, write your application to match it, and reference your supporting documentation by page number when you get to the narrative. That last part sounds small. Dave says it’s the difference between one point and five on a sliding scale.
Three Tips from Someone Who Reads the Applications
Dave offered three pieces of inside advice for anyone thinking about applying.
Start early. The moment you identify a project that looks like a candidate, get moving on documentation. Appraisals take time. Letters of support take time. The sooner you start, the more runway you have to fix anything that comes up. Starting early also gives you the most time to connect with Dr. Teye and her team at MORPC before the deadline pressure sets in.
Write to the scoring methodology. It’s not a suggestion. It’s the actual framework reviewers use. If you’re not addressing each scoring criterion clearly, you’re leaving points on the table.
Document everything. More is better. Some scoring criteria use a sliding scale, and a well-documented application consistently scores higher than one with gaps. Reference your documentation by page number throughout your narrative.
You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone
This is where MORPC’s role goes beyond just processing paperwork.
Dr. Teye is the NRAC liaison for District 17. She’s your first call when you have questions, when something in the application is confusing, or when you just want to know if your project is a good fit before you commit time to it.
“We want to make sure our goal is efficiency and providing the support that applicants need to make these projects a reality,” she said.
If questions go beyond her scope, she’ll connect you with Dave as NRAC Chair or with a representative at the Ohio Public Works Commission. The point is: reach out early, not late.
How to Get Started
Go to morpc.org and navigate to the Programs tab. Look for the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund section. You’ll find the application schedule, the scoring methodology, and the NRAC supplement required as part of the submission.
If you run into any difficulty, contact Dr. Edwina Teye directly at eteye@morpc.org. She’s here to help. If you are in western Licking County (for example, Johnstown!), you can also reach out to regional liaison Andria Coppel at andria@johnstownchamber.org.
Central Ohio is growing fast. Dr. Teye’s whole job is making sure that growth doesn’t come at the expense of the natural places that define this region. The Clean Ohio Conservation Fund is one of the main ways she does that. If you’ve got land worth protecting, this program exists for exactly that.
Don’t wait until the deadline is close. You’ll want to start the conversation now.