The 2023 Ohio Dept. of Commerce /Div. of Real Estate & Professional Licensing (REPL)Cemetery Grant Program is now available for application - ONLINE ONLY TO APPLY - ONLY for ACTIVE NOT FOR PROFIT CEMETERIES - WHICH EXCLUDES cemeteries that are Inactive = meaning no burials in the past 25 calendar years, OR cemeteries deemed to be Family Cemeteries per the Ohio Revised Codes - DEADLINE TO APPLY IS AUGUST 1, 2022

Please note.:  

This is a Link to information from the Ohio Department of Commerce - Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing regarding applying for the 2023 Cemetery Grant Program. 

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"CEMETERY GRANT"

"The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing (REPL) is pleased to announce the availability of the FY2023 Cemetery Grant for qualifying not-for-profit and local government cemeteries. 

Allowable grant requests include those to defray costs of exceptional cemetery maintenance or training cemetery personnel in the maintenance and operation of cemeteries. 

Eligible applicants shall be cemetery operators properly registered with REPL, be a documented not-for-profit entity under the IRS tax code and be in compliance with any applicable endowment and/or preneed cemetery merchandise and services trust accounts. 

"The REPL Superintendent is accepting only online applications."

Please gather all information prior to application entry. 

****"Once you start the application, the information entered cannot be saved and if you exit out of the application you will lose all information previously entered."**** 

"The Cemetery Grant application instructions are being provided as a worksheet guidance document only. This will allow you to gather all of the necessary information prior to submitting the grant application online."

****You can find the grant instructions here.****

"The application must be answered completely to be considered for grant funds and submitted no later than August 1, 2022."

Contact: Laura A. Monick at (614) 466-5384 or

 CemeteryGrants@com.state.oh.us

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****Please keep this information in mind when applying for a 2023 Cemetery Grant."****:  

*****Please read each word carefully.*****  

Please direct any questions you may have to Laura Monick at:

614) 466-5384

 or

 CemeteryGrants@com.state.oh.us

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***WHEN READY TO APPLY":

"THERE IS AN APPLY NOW BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CEMETERYGRANT.COM MAIN PAGE***

Sharing screen prints below.:

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"The Division’s cemetery grant program advances grants to properly registered cemeteries, except for-profit corporations, to defray the costs of exceptional maintenance or training of cemetery personnel in the maintenance and operation of the cemetery. 

A cemetery that has not had a burial in the last 25 years or is a family cemetery is exempt from registration and does not qualify for a grant.

"Reasonable maintenance, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 4767.09, done in the day-to-day operations of a cemetery is not considered exceptional for purposes of awarding grants. Exceptional maintenance is construed broadly to cover non-routine, non-repetitive maintenance.

The grant program runs on a state fiscal year. The grant cycle announcement and application will be announced on our website and via email. The application deadline will be included in the grant announcement.  You may sign up for the email list here.

An operator may apply every other year for one grant of up to $2,500. Operators of five or more cemeteries registered with the Division may apply each year. Grant funds cannot be used for activities or purchases prior to formal approval of the grant application by the Superintendent and the Division’s receipt of a signed grant award agreement."

"Complete information and the application can be found at https://cemeterygrants.com.ohio.gov/ 

"If you have any questions or require additional assistance, please contact the Division at CemeteryGrants@com.state.oh.us."

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***FYI***

"C. 4767.02(A). As used in R.C. 4767.02(C), the term "family cemetery" means "a cemetery containing the human remains of persons, at least three-fourths of whom have a common ancestor or who are the spouse or adopted child of that common ancestor." R.C."

Sharing from "The Portager" - Portage County, Ohio - "Rootstown cemetery restoration underway, with obelisk secured and more work planned" - by Jeremy Brown - July 1, 2022

 Excerpt from story.:

The Rootstown Township Trustees and the Rootstown Old Cemetery Committee sponsored a two-day cemetery workshop June 17-18, kicking off an ongoing tombstone marker process for “The Old Cemetery” on Tallmadge Road. 

The workshop featured cemetery restoration specialist Tim Foor, from Ashley, Ohio, who has helped townships restore cemeteries in locations as far away as Charleston, South Carolina. 

During the workshop, Foor educated trustees, committee members and other participants about the process of tombstone restoration. He also shared his knowledge regarding the history of old cemeteries and gravestones and the vivid record of community history that they hold. More than 20 participants attended the event over the course of both days.  

Restoring the grave markers at what was formerly known as “Ye Olde Cemetery” has been in the plans for a while, Rootstown Historical Society Trustee Don Boyle said, but acquiring the resources to undertake such a project has been a challenge."

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Here is a link to the Facebook Page of "Rootstown OH Old Cemetery Restoration Project"

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Here is a link to "The Old Cemetery" in Rootstown as it currently appears on Find A Grave