March Grant Highlights

← Back to Blog March 20, 2017 by Aging Purposefully, Economic Transformation, Education & Youth Development, Grantmaking, Health & Human Services, In the Community, Nonprofit, Strengthening Cleveland
A group of college students sit around a table

We’re thrilled to announce our board of directors has approved $13 million in March grants to support organizations serving residents of Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga counties! These grants, which provide significant support for education and youth development efforts, bring our first quarter grantmaking total to nearly $20.6 million. Here are some highlights from our March grantmaking:

High-quality education

In 2016, the Cleveland Foundation and its donors invested more than $21 million in support of education in our community. We’re continuing our commitment to education in March with the following grants:

  • $860,000 to College Now Greater Cleveland for their efforts to increase college access and educational attainment levels in our community. The grant will support their college advisers and career pathway coaches in Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) schools; the Cleveland Foundation College Now Scholars Program; scholarships for CMSD students; and personalized college advising, financial aid counseling and scholarships for adult learners.
  • $175,000 to the Cleveland Transformation Alliance to help continue its work as the trusted adviser on education reform in Cleveland and the go-to resource for families seeking information about public schools.
  • $250,000 for two programs to celebrate the role of teachers in the success of our schools. We’re proud to support the Excellence in Teaching Award, launched in May 2016 by CMSD, the Cleveland Teachers Union, the Cleveland Foundation and the George Gund Foundation to recognize and reward CMSD teachers who demonstrate instructional expertise, creativity and innovation in their classrooms. The same organizations are collaborating with the Mid-American Conference to design and implement a new teacher induction and development program, which aims to help new teachers commit to Cleveland and the Cleveland Plan.
  • $78,000 to Teach For America, Inc. (TFA) to continue the third year of its Encore mentorship program, which connects first year TFA teachers with experienced adults who support the teachers and connect them more deeply to the Greater Cleveland community. This program is part of our Encore Cleveland Initiative.

Positive Youth Development

In 2016, the foundation and its donors invested more than $16 million to support human services and youth development in our community. We’re thrilled to continue our support in these areas with March grants, including:

  • $200,000 to Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) to support the placement of at least 3,000 youth in summer employment opportunities in fields including allied health, business and marketing, retail/sales, as well as the public and nonprofit sectors. These summer jobs help youth prepare for careers by providing employability skills training and exposing youth to career pathways.
  • $1.03 million to Neighborhood Leadership Institute (NLI) to continue its role as the intermediary and lead agency for youth and neighborhood engagement in our MyCom initiative. This funding will help NLI continue to serve all 17 MyCom neighborhoods, expand into 5 new neighborhoods, and provide youth engagement services and opportunities. Learn more about MyCom here.
  • $50,500 to Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL) for programs that are part of our Encore Cleveland Initiative. The grant will help the STEAM volunteers program – which pairs teens ages 11-18 with adults ages 50+ who have experience in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and design – expand opportunities for Encore volunteers to serve seven additional library branches. The grant also continues our support for the Encore Entrepreneur Series at CCPL, which supports entrepreneurial growth and education for adults ages 50+ via a free series of six, one-hour weekly classes that can help individuals launch a small business or new product through the library’s Innovation Centers.

These are just a few of our grants this month. To follow our grantmaking throughout the year and get the latest news from the foundation, sign up for our monthly e-newsletter here.