We’re excited to share a few highlights from our recent grants to organizations serving residents of Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties. These October grants focus on expanding access to arts and culture, as well as health and human services and youth development.

Arts & Culture – Expanding Access:

• $14,850 to A Kid at Art for the Heart to support mobile art education for underserved children in Geauga and Lake counties. Using a mobile art classroom on a renovated school bus, our grant will allow for the expansion of art education services to Head Start students, Geauga County Educational Service Preschool students and home-based preschool students.
• $15,000 to the Cleveland Opera to support the production of free and inclusive programming, as well as the implementation of an artist development program. By focusing on diversity and inclusion around both initiatives, Cleveland Opera aims to bring opera to traditionally underserved populations while strengthening both its organizational sustainability and the opera ecosystem.

Services & Opportunities for People with Developmental Disabilities:

• $45,000 to New Avenues to Independence to support the organization’s continued transformation from delivering services only at its facilities, to developing collaborative community partnerships in Cuyahoga and Lake counties that allow adults with developmental disabilities to take advantage of employment opportunities and day services in the communities in which they live.
• $40,000 to the TWO Foundation to support the expansion of the TWO Café and Boutique. TWO helps individuals with mild to moderate disabilities integrate into the local workforce, and our grant will allow the organization to serve more patrons at the café as well as have dedicated space for programming that will serve a younger population.

Resources & Support for Children:

• $200,000 to Birthing Beautiful Communities (BBC) to support its Perinatal Support Program. Necessitated by a reduction in the organization’s Ohio Medicaid allocation, the grant will allow BBC to increase its fundraising capacity while continuing to provide its nationally recognized care model to parents, pregnant women, and babies.
• $70,000 to the Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio to support targeted outreach to the 1.4 million people in Ohio that are identified as “at-risk” of being uncounted in the upcoming 2020 Census. These efforts will include an integrated communications plan, advocacy and engagement with grassroots organizations in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties – including a small grants program.
• $125,000 to the Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood for the continued growth of the Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK) program in East Cleveland. SPARK is a family-focused intervention program that helps preschool-aged children get ready for school by building reading, language and social skills. Our grant will allow an additional 40 children and their families to participate in the program.
• $105,000 to Cuyahoga County Public Library for the continued support of its homework centers. There are currently 10 library branches with homework centers that provide services to K-8 students in Cuyahoga County. Last year, the centers served nearly 1,800 students.

These are just a few of our October grants. Want to learn more about our grantmaking? Click here.