We’re thrilled to announce $3.7 million in October grants to organizations serving Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga County residents! Many of our grants this month concentrated on the arts and social services. Just a few highlights include:

Social Services:

• $40,800 to the Lake County Free Clinic (LCFC), the only free clinic in Northeast Ohio to address the unmet healthcare needs of community residents by providing quality medical and dental care. Our grant will support staff additions and technology advancements that will increase capacity to provide care to the community. We have supported LCFC over the past few years, including a $48,000 grant last year to hire a volunteer coordinator position that has helped the clinic recruit volunteer staff and increase service. Part of our latest grant will support a position that manages free medication for patients.
• $100,000 to Cuyahoga County Public Library’s (CCPL) after-school Homework Centers (HWC) program, which has helped thousands of K-8 students improve grades in 10 branch locations across Cuyahoga County since 2002. Our grant will support staffing and supplies needed to serve students with quality, academically relevant and developmentally appropriate homework help and tutoring.
• $60,000 to Waiting Child Fund (WCF), which has worked to place children in foster care with a permanent family since 2005. Our grant supports a collaboration with the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services and community partners to develop programs and best practices to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth in foster care. Our support goes toward a new family specialist position to work with LGBTQ youth in the foster care system, as well as consultation and related expenses.
• $199,735 to Stella Maris, Inc., a nonprofit leader for substance abuse treatment in Northeast Ohio for the past 69 years. Our support will help Stella Maris address substance disorder treatment in four ways: filling a void in the organization’s continuum of care for women through a Partial Hospitalization Program for Women; expanding a recovery house for women; expanding their Job Readiness and Placement Program to include women in recovery; and launching an outreach campaign to build awareness in the community.

Arts & Culture:

• $50,000 to Dancing Wheels Company and School, a professional dance company uniting the talents of dancers both with and without disabilities, as they secure and move into a new space in Mid-Town Cleveland. The dance company needed to vacate its home of more than 20 years and move equipment and studio materials to a new space, which also offers the potential for expanded programming for disabled and non-disabled dancers via their inclusive school. Since 1980, Dancing Wheels has served thousands of individuals in the Greater Cleveland community. Their school serves over 7,000 children across Cuyahoga, Lorain, Summit and Columbiana counties. Our grant will help Dancing Wheels secure their new space and begin the move-in process.
• $85,000 to Apollo’s Fire, a world-renowned Baroque ensemble that plays concerts around the globe and offers educational programs and workshops, as they launch a new Community Access Initiative to reach new and diverse audiences. We’ve supported Apollo’s Fire for many years, and our latest grant will help Apollo’s Fire – now in its 26^th season – develop and test new models, including ticket discounts, “family nights,” and more performances in the city of Cleveland and beyond. 

These are just a few of our October grants. Follow our grantmaking each month – and get the latest news from the Cleveland Foundation – by signing up for our monthly e-newsletter here.