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To Our Community and Grantee Partners:

Thank you all for your continued work to support Greater Cleveland throughout some of the most tumultuous times in our region’s history. Our residents, organizations, and institutions continue to be tested, but in the face of adversity, we have demonstrated that our greatest strengths lie within the people who have come together to relentlessly serve others. We cannot thank our donors, nonprofit and community organizations enough for their generous hearts and partnership.

As many of you have heard, the Cleveland Foundation will begin moving into our new office in Midtown/Hough later this year. In preparation, we want to ensure a smooth transition of all our grantmaking and want to inform you that we will not award grants during the months of July and August next year.

Our offices and grant application process will remain open, and organizations can continue to submit inquiries and applications throughout the months of July and August. However, our regular monthly grant decisions and awards during this time will be paused until September. If your organization is hoping to receive a grant in an amount under $200,000 before September, we encourage you to submit your inquiry by May 15. Deadlines and awards for grants over $200,000 will not be impacted by this pause. Please see details about our normal grantmaking schedule, below.

Please note: Deadlines and distributions for affiliated funds at the Cleveland Foundation will not be impacted by this pause, and organizations should continue to apply to these funds as they normally would. Please click here for a list of affiliated funds at the Cleveland Foundation.

Our normal grantmaking schedule

Aside from the pause in our grantmaking in July and August 2022, the Cleveland Foundation typically considers grant inquiries and applications year-round on a rolling basis as they are received. Decisions for grants under $200,000 are generally made on a monthly basis, and decisions for grants over $200,000 are made on a quarterly basis. Please review the information below on our general grantmaking timeline:

Inquiries should be submitted well in advance of the start date of your project/program. It is not required that you speak to a staff person before submitting, but you are welcome to contact them to discuss your request. The Grants Management team is available to assist you with any requests.

If it is determined that your project fits the foundation’s guidelines, you may be asked, typically within a few weeks of your inquiry, to submit a full application. For details on the application process, visit our Apply for a Grant page. Please note that an invitation to submit a full application does not guarantee funding at any level. 

Under $200,000 (Monthly Decision)

Inquiry	Full Application	Decision
Any time	Upon invitation	4-6 weeks after submission of full application*

*Decisions may be delayed for applications submitted in July and August 2022.

Applications that involve complex or new programs, or those that have significant unanswered questions, may require a longer review period. Your Program Officer, Manager, or Director will communicate to you when your proposal will be scheduled for review.

Over $200,000 (Quarterly Decision)

Inquiry	Full Application	Decision Date
January 15	January 31	March 31
April 15	April 30	June 23
July 15	July 31	September 29
October 15	October 31	December 15

 

Meet Our Team – Who to Call

We have had several new staff join the Foundation as well as promotions in positions.

Below is a list of staff by focus areas that you can reach out to discuss your grant submissions. If you’re not sure who to call, start with the Grants Management team.

Arts & Culture:

• Courtenay Barton, Program Director – Email Courtenay 
• Joi Carter, Program Officer – Email Joi 
• Analese Chandler-Nieves, Arts Fellow – Email Analese 
• Karen Long, Anisfield-Wolf Program Manager – Email Karen 
• Mary Clare Donnelly, Executive Assistant – Email Mary Clare 

Cleveland Black Futures Fund:

• Courtenay Barton, Program Director – Email Courtenay 

Cleveland Purpose Built Communities:

• Kimalon Dixon, Senior Project Director – Email Kimalon
• Annabel Bryan, Executive Assistant – Email Annabel 

Digital Equity & Inclusion:

• Leon Wilson, Chief of Digital Innovation & Chief Information Officer – Email Leon 
• Raghav Rao, Digital Innovation Fellow – Email Raghav

Economic & Workforce Development:

• Keisha M. González, Program Manager – Email Keisha 
• Debbie Slocum, Program Assistant – Email Debbie 

Education:

• Helen Williams, Program Director – Email Helen 
• Katie Brennan, Program Officer – Email Katie 
• Debbie Slocum, Program Assistant – Email Debbie 

Environment:

• Stephen Love, Program Manager – Email Stephen 
• Deepa Vedavyas, Program Manager – Email Deepa
• Zaija Pelligree, Program Coordinator – Email Zaija

Leadership Development: (Public Service & National Urban Fellows, Summer Interns, American Marshall Memorial Fellows)

• Kathleen Hallissey, Program Director – Email Kathleen 
• Stephanie Molnar, Program Officer – Email Stephanie
• Ciba Jones, Program Coordinator – Email Ciba

Neighborhood Revitalization & Engagement:

• Deepa Vedavyas, Program Manager – Email Deepa 
• Ciba Jones, Program Coordinator – Email Ciba

Youth, Health & Human Services:

• Dale Anglin, Vice President – Email Dale 
• Kate Terrell, Program Officer – Email Kate
• Darlene Toney, Program Officer – Email Darlene
• Emma Kopp, Program Coordinator – Email Emma 

Responsive Grantmaking:

• Andrew Katusin, Program Officer – Email Andrew 
• Zaija Pelligree, Program Coordinator – Email Zaija

Grants Management:

• Diane Kaszei, Director – Email Diane 
• Kirby Suntala, Associate Director – Email Kirby 
• Karen Bartrum-Jansen, Grants Coordinator – Email Karen 
• Colleen McCaughey, Grants Coordinator – Email Colleen  
• Jane Marquiss, Grants Coordinator – Email Jane

Have questions? Find answers here. 

Thank you again. We look forward to seeing you in the community’s new space in 2022!

India Pierce Lee, Senior Vice President, Program

Email India

Annabel Bryan, Executive Assistant

Email Annabel